Psychological Disorders

Defining Psychological Disorders  An ongoing pattern of thoughts, feelings, and actions that is

deviant, distressful,

and

dysfunctional

(Comer, 2004).

 p. 314 of text

Prevalence of Disorders  Prevalence  Frequency of a disorder over a given time  American Psychiatric Association study  20,000 participants  15% of population experiencing a significant mental disorder  6% experiencing a substance abuse disorder  Rates vary somewhat in different countries

Historical Views of Disorders  Stone age  Supernatural forces/Trephining  The Ancient World  Natural Causes  Imbalance of body humors  Middle Ages and Renaissance  Religion/Supernatural forces  Lunatic/asylums

Historical Views (con’t)  1800s  Separate mentally ill from prisoners  Early/Mid 20 th century  Overcrowding in mental hospitals  Harsh treatment  Late 20 th century  deinstitutionalization

Contemporary Models

Biopsychosocial Approach biology and our social and cultural surroundings influence the development of disorders

Classifying Abnormal Behavior  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR)  Classifies psychological disorders into categories  Detailed behaviors that make up the disorders  Allows for consistent diagnoses  Has little/no information about causes or treatment

Anxiety Disorders  Source of fear is either unknown, or is inappropriate given the circumstances.

Anxiety Disorders  Generalized anxiety disorder  Prolonged vague but intense fears, not attached to any particular object or circumstance

Anxiety Disorders – Panic Attacks  A sudden, unpredictable, and overwhelming experience of intense fear or terror without any reasonable cause  Biological and psychological factors

Anxiety Disorders - Phobias  Specific  Intense, paralyzing fear of some object or thing  Social  Excessive, inappropriate fears connected with social situations or performances in front of other people

Anxiety Disorders - Phobias  Agoraphobia  Involves multiple, intense fear of crowds, public places, and other situations that require separation from a source of security  Acrophobia: Fear of Heights  Gephyrophobia: Fear of Bridges  Aerophobia: Fear of Flying  Herpetophobia: Fear of Reptiles

 Mikrophobia: Fear of Germs  Ailurophobia: Fear of Cats  Murophobia: Fear of Mice  Ophidiophobia: Fear of Snakes  Brontophobia: Fear of Thunder  Cynophobia: Fear of Dogs  Trichophobia: Fear of Hair  Dementophobia: Fear of Insanity  Xenophobia: Fear of Strangers

Anxiety Disorders  Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder  Anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)

Anxiety Disorders  Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)  a disorder in which people persistently reexperience the traumatic event in their thoughts or dreams, persistently avoid stimuli linked with the trauma, and persistently experience symptoms of increased arousal

Causes of Anxiety Disorders  No single cause  Genetic factors  Neurochemical  Overactive autonomic system?

 Behavioral approach  Cognitive approach

Three Factors in Dissociation  Depersonalization  “Had the experience of feeling that my body did not belong to me”  Self-absorption  “Find that I sometimes sit staring off in space, thinking of nothing, and am not aware of the passage of time”  Amnesia  “Found evidence that I had done things that I did not remember doing”

Behavioral Associations  Spent an hour at a time daydreaming  Stayed away from a social event in order to finish some work  Had a nightmare  Ate until I felt sick  Drove faster than normal because I was angry

 Borrowed money  Received public assistance (such as food stamps or welfare)  Borrowed something and lost it, broke it, or never returned it  Stayed up all night  Did something I thought I would never do  Smashed a vase or other object in anger or frustration.

Dissociative Disorders  The separation, or dissociation, of conscious awareness from previous thoughts or memories  Dissociative amnesia  Dissociative fugue  Depersonalization disorder  Dissociative identity disorder

Mood Disorders  Major Depressive Disorder  Experience profound unhappiness, most of the time  Loss of interest  Loss of energy  Loss of appetite, sleep disturbances, difficulties in thinking, feelings of worthlessness, excessive guilt

Mood Disorders  Bipolar Disorder  Depression  Mania  Euphoric states  Extreme physical activity  Excessive talkativeness  Distractedness  Sometimes grandiosity

Causes of Depression  Biological factors  Norepinephrine and serotonin lower in depression, higher in mania  Psychological factors  Cognitive distortions  Learned helplessness

Causes of Depression  Biological factors  Norepinephrine and serotonin lower in depression, higher in mania  Psychological factors  Cognitive distortions  Learned helplessness  Social factors

Postpartum Depression  20-30% new mothers  Why?

Psychosomatic and Somatoform Disorders  Psychosomatic disorders  Real physical illness, largely caused by psychological factors (such as stress and anxiety)  Somatoform disorders  An apparent physical illness, but for which there is no organic basis.

Somatoform Disorders  Hypochondriasis  Conversion disorder

Schizophrenia  Disturbances in  Thought  delusions  Perceptions  Affect  Motor behavior  Social functioning

Schizophrenia  Positive symptoms  Hallucinations, delusions  Negative symptoms  Withdrawal, apathy, absence of emotions

Causes of Schizohprenia  Biological factors  Family factors  Cognitive factors  Biochemical factors  Brain structure

Childhood Disorders  Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)  Autistic disorder  Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD)

Personality Disorders (Axis II)  Inflexible and maladaptive ways of thinking and behaving  Distress to person and/or with others  Schizoid, paranoid personality disorders  Odd or eccentric behavior  Narcissistic, borderline, antisocial  Dramatic, emotional, or erratic behavior  Dependent, avoidant  Anxious or fearful