ch.12

• psychological disorder - a syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotion, regulation, or behaviour
• medical model - the concept that disease, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through a treatment in a hospital
• epigenetics - the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change
• DSM - 5 - the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders, Fifth Edition; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders
• ADHD - a psychological disorder marked by extreme inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity
• anxiety disorders - psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviours that reduce anxiety
• social anxiety disorder - intense fear and avoidance of social situations
• generalized anxiety disorder - an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal; can cause chronic fatigue and irritablity
• panic disorder - an anxiety disorder marked by sudden episodes of intense dread in which a person may experience terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, sudden dizziness, feelings of lightheadedness, sweating, vomiting, and diarrhea; often followed by worry over a possible next attack
• agoraphobia - fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open places, where one has felt loss of control and panic
• phobia - an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear or avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation
• obsessive - compulsive disorder (OCD) - a disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts, actions, or both; in order to relieve the anxiety-provoking thoughts, on performs behaviours, or rituals
• hoarding disorder - cluttering one's space with acquired possessions one can't let go
• body dysmorphic disorder - preoccupation with perceived body defects
• trichotillomania - hair pulling
• excoriation disorder - excessive skin picking
• posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - a disorder characterized by intense feelings of anxiety, horror, and helplessness after a traumatic experience; can experience flashbacks, nightmares, depression, uncontrollable crying, irritability, and an inability to concentrate and maintain relationships
• major depressive disorder - a disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs, or another medical condition, two or more weeks with 5+ symptoms, at least one of which must be either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure; people often feel lethargic and deeply discouraged leading some to have suicidal thoughts
• Major Depressive Disorder diagnosis

  • depressed mood most of the time
  • dramatically reduced interest or enjoyment in most activities
  • significant challenges regulating appetite, weight, and sleep
  • physical agitation or lethargy
  • feeling listless, with much less energy, worthless, or feeling unwarranted guilt
  • problems in thinking, concentrating, or making decisions
  • thinking repetitively of death and suicide
• bipolar disorder - a disorder in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania
• mania - a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state in which dangerously poor judgement is common
• Mania symptoms

  • elated mood
  • profound irritability
  • racing thoughts + difficulty concentrating
  • feelings of undue power and self-importance
  • reckless spending of money
  • alcohol and/or drug abuse
  • insomnia
  • engaging in unsafe sex
• rumination - compulsive fretting; overthinking our problems and their causes
• schizophrenia - a disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and/or diminished inappropriate emotional expression
• psychotic disorders - a group of disorders marked by irrational ideas, distorted perceptions, and a loss of contact with reality
• hallucinations - a false sensory experiences, such a seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus
• delusion - a false belief, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders
• chronic schizophrenia - aka process schizophrenia; a form of schizophrenia in which symptoms usually appear by late adolescence or early adulthood; characterized by long periods of symptom development and negative symptoms; as people age, psychotic episodes last longer and recovery periods shorten
• acute schizophrenia - aka reactive schizophrenia; a form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age; frequently occurs in response to a traumatic event
• somatic symptom disorder - a psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause
• conversion disorder - a disorder related to somatic symptom disorder in which a person experiences very specific, physical symptoms that are not compatible with recognized medical or neurological conditions; characterized by paralysis, blindness, deafness, or other loss of sensation
• illness anxiety disorder - a disorder related to somatic symptom disorder in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease; aka hypochondriasis
• dissociative disorders - controversial, rare disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings; individuals will feel a compelling need to escape from anxiety and stress
• dissociative identity disorder (DID) - a rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities; usually occurs from a traumatic childhood event; formerly called multiple personality disorder
• personality disorders - inflexible and maladaptive behaviour patterns that impair social functioning
• antisocial personality disorder - a personality disorder in which a person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist; eg. serial killers, ruthless politicians, mercenary businesspeople
• anorexia nervosa - an eating disorder in which a person (usually an adolescent female) maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight; sometimes accompanied by excessive exercise
• bulimia nervosa - an eating disorder in which a person's binge eating (usually high-calorie foods) is followed by inappropriate weight-loss promoting behaviour, such as vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise
• binge - eating disorder - significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory behaviour that marks bulimia nervosa
• unusual - occurs infrequently in a given population