1. Chapter 18: Mental Disorders
For those living with mental disorders, the world can often seem like a distorted and frightening place.

2. Warning:
As we progress through chapter 18, some of you may be tempted to say, “Hey, that sounds like me…oh, and that’s me, too!” Many of us will feel like we share some of the same characteristics as some of these mental disorders; however, it does not mean we have the disorder. The same type of thing can happen when we look up information on Web MD or other websites. This is a normal temptation. Anyone of us can share some of the symptoms described in this chapter.
On a second note, there is nothing wrong with having a mental disorder. Just like any other syndrome or disease, it is beyond the person’s control.

3. The Nature of Mental Disorders
A. It is extremely difficult to define a mental disorder.
1. A handful of the disturbed are dangerous, the average mental patient is confused and withdrawn, bothering no one.
2. Statistically, mental patients are less violent than those making up the “normal” general public.
3. Emotionally disturbed people are not that much different from you or your friends in most areas, except for the exaggeration of certain behaviors.
4. The person distorts or exaggerates characteristics that are shared by all of us. It comes down to a matter of degree.

4. If mental health is all a matter of degree, this implies that we’re all a little crazy—or at least we all have the potential to be crazy. Writers like Edgar Allan Poe, Rod Serling, and Stephen King know all about this continuum. They describe people who are walking a tightrope between madness and normalcy and who can fall at any time. If their stories were about people who were just severely disturbed, they wouldn’t be as compelling.

5. B. Definitions of Abnormal Behavior
1. There is something “abnormal” in all “normal” people.
2. One very workable definition of those who do need help has three parts to it:
a. The person suffers from discomfort more or less continuously.
1) Suffers from extreme anxiety
2) Suffers from endless worry
3) Suffers from long periods of depression
4) The person feels that something is wrong with his or her life far more than the average person does.
b. Possibly the person behaves in a bizarre fashion.
1) He or she constantly misinterprets what is going on and what others are doing or saying.
2) He or she is afraid to go to work or school.
3) He or she falls apart over minor things or sinks into depression.

6. c. People who need help can be very inefficient.
1) They are unable to perform their life roles properly.
a) An alcoholic who refuses to accept that there is a problem.
b) A person who does nothing while his or her family life is falling apart.
c) A parent at home with children who cannot even cope with the dirty dishes.
3. Many people in need of help have trouble getting along with others and are typically inflexible.
4. Another characteristic is that these people constantly see a threatening environment.

8. II. Classifying Disorders—The DSM-V (It was updated in 2013)
A. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V—A
book that classifies the symptoms of mental problems into
formal categories.
B. Remember that even though these categories have
names and symptoms, no person really fits into any one
category perfectly, and symptoms overlap with one
another.
C. The DSM system is used only to provide some degree of
order when trying to decide the kind of problem the
patient has.

9. Quick Review What are some signs of abnormal behavior?
Continuous discomfort
Acting in a bizarre fashion
Inefficiency
Inflexibility
Constantly perceiving a threatening environment

10. One of the problems of labeling someone mentally ill is the stigma attached to the label. There’s nothing wrong with labels; we use them all the time. But when the labels limit us, because of our own shame or the attitudes of others, then the labels become destructive.
Mental illness is a heavy load in itself, and each of us needs to avoid attaching any extra burdens with our own stereotypes and irrational fears.
Mental illness is serious. Mental illness is treatable.

11. III. Anxiety Disorders
A. Anxiety—A generalized feeling of apprehension and
pending disaster.
B. Anxiety Disorder—A disorder whose major symptom is
anxiety.
1. Panic Disorder—A type of anxiety disorder in which one
cannot relax and is plagued by frequent and
overwhelming attacks of anxiety.
2. Phobic Disorder—A type of anxiety disorder in which a
person becomes disabled and overwhelmed by fear in
the presence of certain objects or events.
a. Specific Phobia—A major anxiety that arises when
faced with a specific object or situation, such as a
snake, dog, elevator, heights, and so on.
b. Agoraphobia—The fear of leaving a familiar
environment, especially home.

12. Added Information…
It is very likely that a person with a panic disorder will develop phobias.
If a person has an anxiety attack near a dog, she may associate the dog with the attack and later feels uneasy around dogs (conditioning – chapter 7).
Anxiety attacks can last one –two minutes. This seems short, but the attacks can be very overwhelming.

13. 3. Obsessive-compulsive Disorder—Having continued
thoughts (obsession) about performing a certain act
over and over (compulsion).
a. Obsession—An endless preoccupation with an urge
or thought.
b. Compulsion—A symbolic, ritualized behavior that a
person must keep acting out in order to avoid
anxiety.
Crash Course OCD and Anxiety Disorders
Video: 48 Hours: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

14. Additional Information:
People with OCD are usually good workers. They strive to do a perfect job.
Freud’s term for OCD was Anal Retentiveness or Anal Fixation
Activity: Psychological Disorder Chapter 18 WS #1