1. CHAPTER 16: PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

2. SECTION 1: DEFINING ABNORMAL

3. DEVIATION FROM NORMALITY
Abnormality is when a person deviates from the average or majority
Limitations: cultural norms must be considered and the majority is not always right or best

4. ADJUSTMENT
Idea that normal people can function in the world physically, socially, and emotionally
Abnormal is a failure to adjust
Limitations: not all psych disorders are violent or destructive

5. PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH Treats abnormality as a sickness
Uses phrases such as mental illness or mental health
Believe that healthy people should strive for ideal functioning (self- actualization)
Problem: How can you tell?

6. THOMAS SZASZ Believed labeling someone as “mentally ill” is damaging
Mentally ill simply have “problems in living”
They are not ill at all

7. THE PROBLEM OF CLASSIFICATION

8. DSM-V
Def: the 5th version of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Used to categorize mental illness

9. DSM AXES DSM-V uses 5 major dimensions or axes:
Axis I: list current symptoms
Axis II: developmental disorders, personality disorders
Axis III: general medical conditions
Axis IV: current stress level
Axis V: highest level of adaptive functioning in the last year

10. ADAPTIVE FUNCTIONING 3 major areas:
1) Social relations: quality of relationships
2) Occupational functioning
3) Use of leisure time

11. SECTION 2: ANXIETY DISORDERS

12. ANXIETY
Def: a vague, generalized apprehension or feeling that one is in danger

13. GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER
Non-specific anxiety
Fear of the unknown and unforeseen
Neglects relationships
Physical symptoms: muscle tension, inability to relax, furrowed brow, strained face, difficulty sleeping
Causes: stress, trauma, genetics, learning

14. PHOBIC DISORDERS
Phobia: an intense and irrational fear of a particular object or situation
Specific phobia: fear something specific (dark, snakes, etc…)
Social phobia: fear of embarrassing yourself in public
Phobias range in intensity
Caused by classical conditioning, maintained by operant conditioning

15. PANIC DISORDER
Def: an extreme anxiety that manifests itself in the form of panic attacks
Panic is a feeling of sudden, helpless terror
Panic attacks: feel a sense of smothering, choking, dizziness, nausea, chest pains
Usually last a few minutes

16. OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER (OCD)
Obsession: uncontrollable pattern of thoughts
Compulsion: repeated coping behaviors
Become a problem when they interfere with what a person needs and wants
Possible genetic cause

17. POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)
Def: disorder in which victims of traumatic events experience the original event in the form of flashbacks and dreams
Common among war veterans, survivors of: terrorism, natural disasters, and rape

18. SECTION 3: SOMATOFORM AND DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS

19. SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
Def: physical symptoms for which there is no apparent physical cause
Used to be called “hysteria”
2 major types…

20. CONVERSION DISORDER
Def: changing emotional difficulties into a loss of specific voluntary body functions
Usually mild
La Belle Indifference: calmly accepting the loss of function (shows the problem is psychological)

21. HYPOCHONDRIASIS
When a person in good health becomes preoccupied with imaginary ailments
Occurs mainly in young adulthood
Equal among genders
Usually caused by repressed emotions

22. DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS
Def: when a person experiences alterations in memory, identity, or consciousness
Very rare

23. DISSOCIATIVE AMNESIA
Def: inability to recall important personal events or info; usually associated with stressful events
Caused by trauma

24. DISSOCIATIVE FUGUE
Def: when a person suddenly and unexpectedly travels away from home or work and is unable to recall the past
Could last days or decades
It is an attempt to escape from unbearable conflict or anxiety

25. DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER
Multiple personalities
Def: person exhibits 2 or more personality states, each with its own patterns of thinking and behaving
Usually caused by severe physical, psychological, or sexual abuse during childhood

26. SECTION 4: SCHIZOPHRENIA AND MOOD DISORDERS

27. SCHIZOPHRENIA
Def: a group of disorders characterized by confused and disconnected thoughts, emotions, and perceptions
Affects 1 in 100 (1%)
It is a problem with cognition
Can impair motor functions
Usually experience Delusions: false beliefs maintained in the face of contrary evidence; or Hallucination: perceptions with no external cause

28. SYMPTOMS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA
Incoherence
Disturbance of affect: display inappropriate emotions
Deterioration of normal movement
Decline of level of functioning
Diverted attention

29. TYPES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA
Paranoid type: hallucinations, delusions of grandeur or persecution
Catatonic type: remain motionless for long periods of time
Disorganized type: incoherence, inappropriate emotions, poor motor function
Remission type: symptoms not severe
Undifferentiated type: basic symptoms

30. TREATMENT FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA
Long term
Usually requires hospitalization
May lead to “burn out”: patient can no longer function in society

31. POSSIBLE CAUSES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA
Dopamine hypothesis: idea that schizophrenia is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain
Excess dopamine in certain synapses
Don’t know if it is a cause or a result of schizophrenia

32. FAMILY AND INTERACTION
Living in a pathogenic (unhealthful) family may add to problems in adult years
Disorganized communication, families on the verge of falling apart

33. POSSIBLE CAUSES CONTINUED
Diathesis-stress hypothesis: states an individual may inherit a predisposition to schizophrenia
For it to develop, must be exposed to an environment with certain stressors

34. MOOD DISORDERS

35. MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER
Def: severe form of lowered mood in which a person experiences feelings of worthlessness and diminished pleasure or interest in many activities
Must last at least 2 weeks
Symptoms: problems eating, sleeping, thinking; lack of energy, suicidal thoughts

36. BIPOLAR DISORDER
Def: disorder in which a person alternates between feelings of mania (euphoria) and depression
Manic Phase: elation, easily distracted, impulsive
Depressive Phase: low self- esteem, lethargy, despair

37. SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER
Deep depression during winter
Eat and sleep excessively
Due to less sunlight
This causes a release of melatonin
Treatment: sitting under bright fluorescent lights

38. SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION
Suicidal thoughts are common among the depressed
Reasons for suicide: escape from emotional or physical pain, to punish themselves
Roughly 38,000 each year in U.S.
10th leading cause of death in U.S.
More women attempt, but more men are successful

39. THESE CREATURES NEED HELP!

40. SECTION 5: PERSONALITY DISORDERS AND DRUG ADDICTION

41. PERSONALITY DISORDERS
Def: maladaptive or inflexible ways of dealing with others and one’s environment
Antisocial: violate rights of others w/o remorse
Dependent: submissive; need to be taken care of
Histrionic: excessive emotions; seeks attention
Obsessive-Compulsive: controlling; perfectionist
Paranoid: distrusts others
Schizotypal: intense discomfort in close relationships; eccentric behavior

42. NARCISSISTIC “I’m a genius” “I’m Shakespeare” “I’m Michelangelo”
“I feel like I’m too busy making history to read it”
“I still think I am the greatest”

43. ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY
Treat people as objects
Live for the moment
Feel no shame or guilt
Intelligent, entertaining, can feign emotions

44. ORGANIZATION OF PDs
CLUSTER A (Odd Disorders): Paranoid, Schizoid, Schizotypal
CLUSTER B (Dramatic, emotional or erratic): Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic
CLUSTER C (Anxious/Fearful): Avoidant, Dependent, Obsessive-Compulsive
OTHERS: change due to medication, other specified PD, Personality disorder not otherwise specified

45. SMURFS BE MESSED UP TOO!

46. SERIAL KILLERS

47. DRUG ADDICTION
Addiction: pattern of drug abuse; an overwhelming and compulsive desire to obtain and used the drug
Tolerance: physical adaptation to a drug so that a person needs an increased amount in order to produce the original effect
Withdrawal: symptoms that occur after a person discontinues the use of a drug to which he/she has become addicted

48. ALCOHOLISM Alcohol slows inhibitions
Creates relaxation (it is a depressant)
Perceptions and sensations distort, behavior becomes obnoxious
Violent withdrawal (delirium tremens)
Use of antabuse is common (makes one violently ill if alcohol is imbibed)