1. Psychological Disorders

2. Normal or Abnormal?
There is no clear dividing line between normal and abnormal behavior. Definitions of normal vary depending upon culture, location, and historical time period.

3. Anxiety Disorders

4. Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety is vague feeling of apprehension or nervousness
Every person experiences anxiety (big tests, school projects, work environment, relationship problems, etc.); anxiety disorders differ from these feelings in that anxiety begins to take control and dominate life.
There are five types of anxiety disorders: generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder.
How might anxiety begin to dominate life?

5. Major Symptoms of Anxiety
Nervous habits
Muscle tension
Feeling on edge
Restlessness
Difficulty concentrating
Irritability
Sleep disturbance
Why do people who have severe anxiety have trouble sleeping?

6. PHOBIA More than just a fear!
Person becomes disabled and overwhelmed in the presence of certain objects or situations.
Must be disruptive and irrational to be considered a phobia.
Why do phobias have to be irrational to be considered a disorder?

7. Types of Phobias Social Phobia Simple Phobia Agoraphobia
Fear in social situations
Extreme difficulty speaking in public
Simple Phobia
Fear of a particular object or situation
Agoraphobia
Fear of situations the person views as difficult to escape if panic begins to build up
May end up being “trapped” in their own home
Why would people end up trapped in their house? What is this called?

8. Phobia Examples Name Phobia of Why are some people scared of blood?
hematophobia
Blood
nyctophobia
Darkness
claustrophobia
Enclosed Space
spermophobia
Germs
acrophobia
Heights
musophobia
Mice
ophidiophobia
Snakes
arachnophobia
Spiders
spheksophobia
Wasps
aerophobia
Air
ommatophobia
Eyes
sciophobia
Shadows
phagophobia
Swallowing
Why are some people scared of blood?

9. OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER
Obsession = thoughts that intrude into a person’s mind repeatedly (usually negative)
Compulsion = repetitive actions (checking and rechecking, required steps to follow, hand washing, counting)
Someone with obsessive thoughts may feel compelled to complete a ritualized behavior in order to reduce feelings of anxiety.

10. Most common obsessions are: Concern with dirt, germs, or toxins
Something terrible happening (fire, death, illness)
Symmetry, order, or exactness
Excessive hand washing
Most common compulsions are:
Excessive hand washing, bathing, tooth brushing, or grooming
Repeating rituals (in/out of a door, up/down from a chair)
Checking doors, locks, appliances, car brake, homework
Why do you think that order is important?
Why do you think that checking things is important?

11. PTSD first identified during Vietnam conflict. Symptoms include:
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is characterized by reliving a severely upsetting event in unwanted, recurring memories and dreams
PTSD first identified during Vietnam conflict.
Symptoms include:
Nightmares
Persistent fear
Troubling memories
Flashbacks
Why do you think that PTSD is such an issue in the modern military?

12. Causes of Anxiety Disorders
Heredity – some of us inherit a predisposition, or likelihood, for developing anxiety disorders. The specific fear is not inherited, but the predisposition to be fearful is.
Brain Function – brain-scanning techniques show that people with anxiety disorders have brains that literally function differently from those of people who do not

13. Evolution – we are likely to fear situations that posed danger to the earliest humans. Anxiety disorders may be a malfunctioning of this mechanism.
Conditioning – Anxieties may be learned either by observation or through experience.
Does this picture of the snake cause you anxiety? Why?
Have you picked up a fear by observing someone being scared?

14. MOOD DISORDERS
Mood disorders are characterized by extreme disturbances in emotional states

15. Major Symptoms of Mood Disorders
Mood change or disturbance
Irritability
Changes in eating habits
Sleep problems
Difficulty concentrating
Feelings of worthlessness
Fatigue or loss of energy
Why do we eat less or more when we are depressed?
Why do we have difficulty concentrating when we are depressed?

16. Major Depression
Extreme mood disorder in which the person experiences depression not otherwise explained by outside circumstances
Feels like an inescapable weight
Can lead to suicide
Diminished interest in activities
What things might people stop caring about? Brainstorm a list.

17. Dysthymia
Chronically depressed mood that occurs for most of the day, more days than not, for at least two years
Lasts longer, but is less severe than major depression
Sometimes called the “common cold” of mental illness
Should Dysthymia be medicated?

18. Two out of every three people who are depressed are women.

19. Before the age of 11, girls and boys have the same rates of depression
Before the age of 11, girls and boys have the same rates of depression. By age 18 girls have twice the depression rate of boys.
What is your theory? Why are women twice as likely to be depressed than men?

20. Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar Disorder – previously known as manic depressive disorder – is mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness of depression and the overexcited and unreasonably optimistic state of mania
Also known as manic-depression
Why do you think it is called bipolar disorder?

21. Mania
It’s good to be optimistic, but these manic phases are well beyond normal.
During mania, a person may go long periods without sleeping, may experience racing thoughts, may be easily distracted, and may set impossible goals.
Mania is sometimes associated with bursts of creative energy. Many well-known creative people, from Mark Twain to Vincent van Gogh, are believed to suffered from bipolar disorder.
Why do you think that Mania is associated w/ creative work?

22. It is common for people with Major Depression, Dysthima and Bipolar disorders to self-medicate.
Why do you think that self-medication is so common for mood disorders?

23. Causes of Depression
Heredity – many disorders run in families, and mood disorders are no exception
Brain function – depressed people have depressed brains. The two neurotransmitters that are most important for depression are serotinin and norepinephrine, which are lacking during times of depression.
Do you think that depression is really just a biochemical imbalance?

24. Learned helplessness – people develop a sense of helplessness when subjected to unpleasant events over which they have little or no control
Attributions – when things go wrong, we try to explain them. It turns out that depressed people are likely to blame internal characteristics rather than external influences.
Why did the rat give up?

25. Attributions
You failed a test. Think of possible attributions that you could make.
Internal:
External:

26. Learned Helplessness
Can you think of a time when you have just given up? Discuss w/ a partner & please share some example w/ the class.