psychopathology

• Abnormality is a very difficult one to define as every culture, time period, and society has a unique set of standard norms, and any departure from these could easily be seen as abnormal
• Political dissidence in authoritarian regimes have often been classed as psychologically abnormal to justify their repression and imprisonment
• The abnormality of homosexuality was used as an excuse to justify cruelty, prejudice, and hatred for hundreds and thousands of years
• One way of defining abnormality

  As a deviation from statistical norms, like having a very low IQ or showing statistically infrequent behaviors
• This statistical description of abnormality doesn't take into account any desirability of behavior, as having a very high IQ is abnormal but not a negative quality
• This definition also makes no distinction between rare and harmless behavior and rare and dangerous behavior
• Another way of defining abnormality


  As a failure to function adequately, with various criteria for diagnosing abnormal behavior
• Criteria for diagnosing abnormal behavior

  • Dysfunctional behavior
  • Observer discomfort
  • Unpredictable behavior
  • Irrational behavior
  • Personal distress
• Conditions linked with ideal mental health

  • Positive self-attitude
  • Self-actualization
  • Resistance to stress
  • Personal autonomy
  • Accurate perception
  • Adaptation
• It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for any single individual to meet all six of these conditions, and opinions vary wildly on what constitutes ideal mental health
• Symptoms for a condition to be classified as a mental illness

  • Impairment of intellectual functions
  • Alterations to mood
  • Delusional beliefs
  • Disordered thinking
• Depression


  A mood disorder classified by the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders)
• Major depression


  A single episode of depression which can come on suddenly and unexpectedly, caused by internal or external factors
• Manic depression (bipolar disorder)

  An individual alternates between two extremes of mood, usually in cycles
• Symptoms of depression


  • Physical/behavioral symptoms
  • Cognitive symptoms
  • Affective/emotional symptoms
• Phobia


  An extreme and irrational fear, a type of anxiety disorder
• Types of phobias


  • Specific phobias
  • Agoraphobia
  • Social anxiety disorder (social phobia)
• Characteristics of phobias


  • Cognitive symptoms
  • Behavioral symptoms
  • Physical symptoms
  • Emotional symptoms
• Diagnostic criteria for phobias


  • Significant and prolonged fear
  • Anxiety response to stimulus
  • Fear disproportionate to actual danger
  • Changes in normal behavior to avoid stimulus
  • Fear disruptive to everyday life
• OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)


  A condition where people suffer obsessions (cognitive) and compulsions (behavioral)
• OCD


  People suffering from OCD have obsessions about a particular object or process and then compulsions to carry out a specific action
• Obsessions


  Cognitive, affect thinking patterns
• Compulsions


  Behavioral, affect actions
• Obsessions


  Constant, recurring, persistent, intrusive thoughts about a particular thing, often worrying about something all the time
• For thoughts to be classified as obsessions according to the DSM, they must be unwanted, impossible to ignore, and not caused by anything else like medical treatment or substance abuse
• Types of OCD compulsions


  • Checking
  • Contamination
  • Hoarding
  • Orderliness
• ABC model


  Activating event (A) leads to a belief (B) which then leads to a consequence (C)
• Negative triad


  Negative thoughts about ourselves, the future, and the wider world around us all combine to lead to clinical depression
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)


  A type of therapy that aims to identify and change faulty thinking and cognitions
• CBT


  • Empowers patients, generally effective, can be relatively cheap
  • Completely dependent on therapist skill, short-term expensive, time-intensive, doesn't always get desired results
• Classical conditioning


  A natural fear response to a present danger becomes linked with a particular but harmless stimulus
• Operant conditioning


  Reinforces the consequences of actions, responsible for maintaining phobias
• Biological therapy for OCD

  Usually involves selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to influence brain function
• SSRIs are much better than a placebo at reducing obsessional thoughts and compulsive behaviors
• Other antidepressants that don't interact with serotonin seem to have little or no impact on OCD symptoms
• Biological therapy for OCD

  • Extremely expensive, have to be taken long-term, can have severe side effects, stigma attached to mental health medication