Characteristics

• Pyscopathology deals with mental, emotional and behavioural problems
• Types of characteristics:

  • Behavioural
  • Emotional
  • Cognitive
• Behavioural characteristics = they way people behave
• Emotional characteristics = a persons feelings or moods
• Cognitive characteristics = The process of knowing (thoughts, reasons, remembrance and beliefs)
• Categories of phobias:

  • specific phobia
  • social anxiety (social phobia)
  • Agoraphobia - fear of being outside or in a public place
• Behavioural characteristics of Phobias:

  • Panic
  • Avoidance
  • Endurance - keeping eyes on the phobic stimulus
• Emotional characteristics of phobias:

  • Anxiety
  • Instant Fear
  • The response is unreasonable to the stimulus
• Cognitive characteristics of phobia:

  • selective attention to the phobic stimulus
  • irrational beliefs
  • cognitive distortions
• Cognitive distortions - Perceptions that are inaccurate and unrealistic
• phobia - an irrational fear of an object or situation
• depression - a mental disorder characterised by low mood and low energy levels
• Categories of depression recognised by the DSM:

  • Major depressive disorder (severe but short term)
  • Persistent depressive disorder (long term/reoccurring)
  • Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (childhood)
  • Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
• Behavioural characteristics of depression:

  • Activity levels (withdrawing from social life)
  • Disruption to sleeping and eating behaviour
  • Agression and self-harm
• Emotional characteristics of depression:

  • lowered mood
  • anger
  • lowered self esteem
• Cognitive characteristics of depression:

  • Poor concentration
  • Dwelling on the negative
  • Absolutist thinking (see situations as an absolute disaster)
• OCD = A condition characterised by obsessions and/or compulsive behaviour
• DSM recognised categories of OCD and similar disorders:

  • OCD
  • Trichotillomania
  • hoarding disorder
• Behavioural characteristics of OCD:

  • Compulsions
  • Reducing anxiety
  • Avoidance
• Emotional characteristics of OCD:

  • anxiety and distress
  • accompanying depression
  • guilt and disgust
• Cognitive characteristics of OCD:

  • obsessive thoughts
  • cognitive coping strategies
  • catastrophic thoughts