Mental Disorders

Mental Disorder: a behavior or psychological syndrome that occurs in a person and that is associated with distress or disability; increased risk for suffering, pain, disability, loss of freedom, death Causes: A. biological- genes, physical injuries, and illnesses that affect the brain ex: strokes, brain tumors, accidents B. psychological- stress, traumatic experiences, poor coping skills C. behavioral- anxiety, social situations

1. Anxiety Disorders A disorder in which real or imagined threats prevent a person from enjoying life General Anxiety Disorder: feeling anxious most of the time; physical symptoms of headaches, muscle aches, irritability Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: persistent thoughts, images, or habits, “rituals”. Panic Attack: period of fear accompanied by physical changes; increased heart rate, faintness, dizziness Other examples: Specific phobia, Social Anxiety Disorder, PTSD

2. Cognitive Disorders A disorder in which a person’s brain deteriorates in function -Dementia: can affect memory, language, and reasoning; progressively gets worse, from mild to severe and is fatal ex: Alzheimer’s Disease

3. Conduct Disorders A person who regularly violates the rights of others and breaks social rules; they can bully, fight, be cruel to animals, steal, set fires

4. Eating Disorders A person has a compelling need to starve, to binge, or to binge and purge; at risk for depression, anxiety, and substances abuse -Anorexia: a person is starving his/her body and weighs 15% or below their age/gender weight; distorted body image, may exercise to extremes, vomit, and use laxatives -Bulimia: when a person binges and then purges -Binge Eating Disorder: when a person binges on large quantities of food; can increase risk for obesity and chronic diseases

5. Mood Disorders Involves moods that are extreme; can be called an affective order -Clinical Depression: long-lasting feelings of hopelessness, sadness, or helplessness -Bipolar Disorder: person’s moods vary from extreme happy to extreme depression; manic phase (happy) to depressive phase (passive, no energy)

6. Personality Disorders A person’s patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting interfere with daily living -Antisocial Personality Disorder: person’s patterns of behavior conflict with society; hateful, aggressive, irritable, insensitive -Borderline Personality Disorder: person has sudden changes in mood, relationships, and behaviors; very impulsive

7. Schizophrenia Disorder in which there is a breakdown in logical thought process, results in unusual behaviors Includes hallucinations, delusions, and a distorted perception of reality. Actions, words, and emotions are confused Has no cure but can be treated with medication

8. Somatoform Disorders A person has symptoms of a disease but no physical cause -Hypochondria: misinterpret aches and pains, feel symptoms, worry about illnesses, but are completely healthy

Treatments for Disorders and Addictions Formal Intervention- for those who deny their condition of refuse to get help Evaluation- both physical and psychological; family doctor, psychiatrist (can provide medication)/ psychologist (specializes in counseling), social worker Medication- will the patient benefit? There are many side effects

D. Inpatient and Outpatient Treatment- Inpatient- staying at a hospital or treatment facility during part or all of the treatment Outpatient- staying at home and just visiting health facilities E. Therapy- individual, group, or family therapy F. Support Groups- groups for patients, and also groups for family and friends