W HAT ARE P SYCHOLOGICAL D ISORDERS ?

W HAT IS A P SYCHOLOGICAL D ISORDER ? Discuss this term with a partner and agree on a definition. A psychological disorder is a behavior pattern or mental process that causes serious personal suffering or interferes with a person’s ability to cope with every day life.

W HAT DO YOU THINK ? Very few people are actually affected by psychological disorders. People sometimes forget a very traumatic event as a way of coping with the psychological stress of the trauma. People whose illnesses are “all in their heads” do not really have symptoms of disease. Depression is the most common type of psychological disorder. Some people do not feel guilty, even when they commit serious crimes.

I DENTIFYING P SYCHOLOGICAL D ISORDERS Why is it difficult to identify a psychology disorder? …because it is hard to define what is “normal” or “abnormal.” -using this definition of normality, deviation from the majority becomes the primary criterion for abnormality - people with PDs usually do not differ much from “normal” people -difference is an exaggeration of certain behaviors or mental processes -example: laughing

S YMPTOMS OF PD S several behavior patterns and mental processes may suggest that an individual has a PD: -typicality - maladaptivity - emotional discomfort - socially unacceptable behavior

T YPICALITY -the degree to which a behavior is average, or typical, of the behavior of the majority of people What is the problem with trying to judge this symptom? The fact that a behavior is not typical of most people does not mean it is abnormal.

M ALADAPTIVITY -behavior that impairs an individual’s ability to function adequately in everyday life causes misery and stress hazardous behavior -most people who commit violent crimes do not have PDs - the majority of people with PDs are not violent or dangerous

E MOTIONAL D ISCOMFORT -constantly feeling sad, helpless, hopeless, worthless, or any extreme negative emotion - often lose interest in virtually everything they once enjoyed and believe that life is no longer worth living - sometimes leads the individual to consider suicide

S OCIALLY U NACCEPTABLE B EHAVIOR -behavior that violates a society’s accepted norms - what is considered normal in one culture may be considered abnormal in another - cultural context of a behavior must be taken into account before deciding the behavior indicates a PD

C LASSIFYING PD S -most widely used classification system for PDs is the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) - classification of PDs is constantly changing and has changed significantly from its past stigma

P SYCHOLOGICAL D ISORDERS We will be looking at six major types of PDs: -anxiety disorders -dissociative disorders -somatoform disorders -mood disorders -schizophrenia -personality disorders Many of the symptoms are just exaggerations of normal thoughts, feelings, or behaviors

Turn to pg. 412 in your textbooks We are going to read a case study together