Clinical characteristics of mental disorders

• Symptoms of Phobias


  • Behavioural symptoms
  • Emotional symptoms
  • Cognitive symptoms
• Behavioural symptoms of Phobias


  • Panic - behaviours such as crying, running, screaming, freezing, fainting, collapsing, vomiting in the presence of the feared stimulus
  • Avoidance - behaviours such as not going to places where the feared stimulus might be encountered
  • Endurance - behaviours such as remaining in the presence of the feared stimulus (better to keep an eye on the danger)
• Emotional symptoms of Phobias


  • Anxiety - feelings of worry/distress in the presence of the feared stimulus
  • Fear - feelings of terror/feeling scared
  • Emotional response is unreasonable (disproportionate to any threat posed)
• Cognitive symptoms of Phobias


  • Irrational beliefs (don't have any basis in reality) about the stimulus that causes fear
  • Selective attention to the phobic stimulus - keep looking at it (which causes poor concentration on other things)
  • Cognitive distortions - perceptions (how we see things) are inaccurate
• Behavioural symptoms of OCD


  • Compulsions - actions that are repeated e.g., counting
  • Compulsions reduce anxiety - repetitive behaviour performed in order to reduce anxiety e.g., washing hands
  • Avoidance - keep away from situations that trigger their anxiety e.g., not touching bins if they fear germs
• Emotional symptoms of OCD


  • Anxiety and distress - the obsessive thoughts can cause someone to feel frightened
  • Accompanying depression - low mood and lack of enjoyment in activities
  • Guilt and disgust - over minor moral issues and things like dirt
• Cognitive symptoms of OCD


  • Obsessions-persistent and reoccurring thoughts or images that are unwanted and cause distress
  • Awareness that obsessions and compulsions are not rational; however, they remain hyper vigilant (constantly looking for danger) and have catastrophic thinking (think worst case scenario)
  • Cognitive coping strategies - people do things that they think will help alleviate their obsessions
• Behavioural symptoms of Depression


  • Disruption to sleep and eating behaviour - increase (hypersomnia) or decrease (insomnia) and likewise for eating leading to weight loss or gain
  • Aggression towards self (self-harm) and others
  • Change in activity levels - usually reduced (lethargy) which leads to withdrawal from work, education and social activities. Sometimes the opposite; psychomotor agitation (pacing up and down)
• Emotional symptoms of Depression


  • Lowered mood - extreme sadness (feeling worthless and empty)
  • Anger - directed to self or others
  • Lowered self-esteem - like themselves less than usual
• Cognitive symptoms of Depression


  • Negative schema - focus on the negatives (a glass half-empty rather than half-full)
  • Poor concentration - unable to stick to a task or make decisions
  • Absolutist thinking - see unfortunate events as an absolute disaster