Psychological disorders

• Psychological Disorder - syndrome (collection of symptoms) marked by a “clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior”
• Deviant, Distressful & Dysfunctional:

  •Deviant behavior (going naked) in one culture may be considered normal, while in others it may lead to arrest.

  •Deviant behavior must accompany distress.

  • If a behavior is dysfunctional it is clearly a disorder.
• Understanding Psychological Disorders:

  Ancient Treatments of psychological disorders include trephination, exorcism, being caged like animals, being beaten, burned, castrated, mutilated, or transfused with animal’s blood.
• When physicians discovered that syphilis led to mental disorders, they started using medical models to review the physical causes of these disorders: 4. Prognosis- forecast about the disorder.
• When physicians discovered that syphilis led to mental disorders, they started using medical models to review the physical causes of these disorders: 3. Treatment- Treating a disorder in a psychiatric hospital
• When physicians discovered that syphilis led to mental disorders, they started using medical models to review the physical causes of these disorders: 1. Etiology- Cause and development of the disorder.
• When physicians discovered that syphilis led to mental disorders, they started using medical models to review the physical causes of these disorders: 2. Diagnosis- identifying (symptoms) and distinguishing ones disease from another.
• Legal Definition: Claiming insanity as a legal defense means not knowing the difference between right and wrong in any aspect of life. Having a psychological disorder does not make you insane
• Ancient Treatments of psychological disorders

  • trephination
  • exorcism
  • being caged like animals
  • being beaten
  • burned
  • castrated
  • mutilated
  • transfused with animal’s blood
• When behavior is deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional, psychiatrists and psychologists label it
• Diathesis


  Biological predisposition to a psychological disorder
• The American Psychiatric Association rendered a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) to describe psychological disorders
• • Changes in DSM-V: All subtypes of Schizophrenia are removed
  • For social anxiety component, the individual no longer needs to be aware of their symptoms, the clinician must recognize it
  • Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome are combined into autism spectrum disorder
  • Mental retardation is relabeled as intellectual disability
  • Additions of: Disruptive mood dysregulation, Hoarding Disorder, Binge-Eating Disorder
• Psychological Disorder


  Syndrome marked by a “clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013)
• Biopsychosocial Approach

  1. The biopsychosocial approach gave rise to the stress vulnerability model (diathesis-stress model)

  2. Individual characteristics combine with environmental stressors to increase or decrease the likelihood of developing a psychological disorder
• Medical Model

  1. Etiology: Cause and development of the disorder

  2. Diagnosis: Identifying (symptoms) and distinguishing one disease from another

  3. Treatment: Treating a disorder in a psychiatric hospital

  4. Prognosis: Forecast about the disorder
• Biopsychosocial Perspective

  Biological, socio-cultural, and psychological factors combine and interact to produce psychological disorders
• Deviant, Distressful & Dysfunctional behavior

  • Deviant behavior in one culture may be considered normal, while in others it may lead to arrest
  • Deviant behavior must accompany distress
  • Dysfunctional behavior is clearly a disorder
• Physicians and mental health workers use the detailed “diagnostic criteria codes” in the DSM-V to guide medical diagnoses and treatment
• Panic disorder


  A type of anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent and unexpected panic attacks, sudden episodes of intense fear or discomfort
• Phobia


  An extreme and irrational fear of a specific object, situation, or activity that can lead to avoidance behavior
• Anxiety disorders


  A group of mental health conditions characterized by excessive worry, fear, or uneasiness, often leading to disturbances in daily functioning
• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)


  A chronic condition involving excessive and uncontrollable worry about various aspects of life, often without a specific cause
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)


  1. Excessive worry about everyday life events

  2. Physical symptoms like restlessness, fatigue, and muscle tension

  3. Difficulty controlling the worry, which persists for at least six months
• Posttraumatic growth


  Positive psychological changes or personal development that may occur in the aftermath of experiencing a traumatic event
• Social anxiety disorder


  An anxiety disorder marked by an intense fear of social situations and a heightened self-consciousness about being judged or scrutinized by others
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)


  A mental health disorder that can develop after exposure to a traumatic event, causing symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety
• Agoraphobia


  A fear of situations or places where escape might be difficult, leading to avoidance of those environments
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)


  A mental health condition characterized by persistent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) performed to alleviate anxiety
• Panic Disorder


  1. Recurrent, unexpected panic attacks

  2. Sudden onset of intense fear or discomfort

  3. Persistent worry about having additional panic attacks and their consequences
• The basis for OCD is believed to involve abnormal activity in certain brain areas and imbalances in neurotransmitters like serotonin
• Phobias

  • Ablutophobia: Fear of bathing
  • Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia: Fear of long words
  • Coulrophobia: Fear of clowns
  • Arachnophobia: Fear of spiders (common phobia)
  • Trypophobia: Fear of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes
• Normal thinking or behavior crosses over to becoming an obsession or compulsion in OCD when

  It involves persistent, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) leading to repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) performed to alleviate anxiety
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)


  1. Exposure to a traumatic event, such as combat, assault, or natural disaster

  2. Intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, or nightmares related to the trauma

  3. Avoidance of reminders of the trauma

  4. Negative changes in mood and cognition

  5. Increased arousal and reactivity, including irritability and difficulty sleeping
• Stimulus generalization in anxiety disorders occurs when a response learned in the presence of one stimulus generalizes to other, similar stimuli. Reinforcement contributes by strengthening associations between stimuli and fear responses. For example, a person with a phobia might generalize fear from a specific situation to similar contexts
• Biology's influence on disorders

  • Genetic predisposition
  • Neurotransmitter imbalances
  • Brain structure
  • Hormonal factors
  • Neurobiological response to trauma
• Excoriation Disorder


  • Excessive skin-picking
• Body Dysmorphic Disorder


  • Preoccupation with perceived body defects
• Hoarding disorder


  • One clutters a space with acquired possessions one cannot let go
• Trichotillomania


  • Obsessive hair pulling