Psychological Disorders

Defining Psychological Disorders

An ongoing pattern of thoughts, feelings, and actions that is deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional (Comer, 2004).

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Prevalence of Disorders

PrevalenceFrequency of a disorder over a given time

American Psychiatric Association study20,000 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 ageSupernatural forces/Trephining

The Ancient WorldNatural Causes Imbalance of body humors

Middle Ages and RenaissanceReligion/Supernatural forcesLunatic/asylums

Historical Views (con’t)

1800sSeparate mentally ill from prisoners

Early/Mid 20th centuryOvercrowding in mental hospitalsHarsh treatment

Late 20th centurydeinstitutionalization

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 disorderProlonged 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 DisorderAnxiety 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 memoriesDissociative amnesiaDissociative fugueDepersonalization disorderDissociative identity disorder

Mood Disorders

Major Depressive DisorderExperience profound unhappiness, most of

the timeLoss of interestLoss of energyLoss of appetite, sleep disturbances,

difficulties in thinking, feelings of worthlessness, excessive guilt

Mood Disorders

Bipolar DisorderDepressionMania

Euphoric statesExtreme physical activityExcessive talkativeness Distractedness Sometimes grandiosity

Causes of Depression

Biological factorsNorepinephrine and serotonin lower in

depression, higher in mania Psychological factors

Cognitive distortionsLearned helplessness

Causes of Depression

Biological factorsNorepinephrine and serotonin lower in

depression, higher in mania Psychological factors

Cognitive distortionsLearned 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 inThought

delusions

PerceptionsAffect Motor behaviorSocial functioning

Schizophrenia

Positive symptomsHallucinations, delusions

Negative symptomsWithdrawal, 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 behavingDistress 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