1. Psychological Disorders

2. What are Psychological Disorders?
Psychological disorders are behavior patterns or mental processes that cause serious personal suffering or interfere with a person’s ability to cope with everyday life.
These disorders are very common. 23% of people in the U.S. experience some type of psychological disorder in their lifetime.

3. Identifying Psychological Disorders.
Deviation from the majority is the primary determinant for abnormality.
Often, the primary difference is the simple exaggeration of certain behaviors or mental processes.

4. Symptoms of Psychological Disorders
Psychologists use several criteria to determine if someone has a psychological disorder.
These include: how typical the behavior is in people in general, whether the behavior is maladaptive, whether the behavior causes the individual emotional discomfort, and whether the behavior is socially acceptable.

5. Classifying Psychological Disorders
The most widely used classification system for psychological disorders is the DSM or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychological Association.
It recognizes 18 different categories of disorders.

6. Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety refers to a general state of dread or uneasiness that occurs in response to a vague or imagined danger.
It differs from fear, which is a response to a real danger or threat.
Anxiety is typically characterized by nervousness, inability to relax, and concern about losing control.

7. Physical signs and symptoms of anxiety may include trembling, sweating, rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, increased blood pressure, flushed face, and feelings of faintness or light- headedness.

8. Feeling anxious is normal at times but some people feel anxious a majority of the time or their anxiety is out of proportion to the situation provoking it.
This can interfere with effective living, the achievement of life goals, life satisfaction, and emotional comfort.
Anxiety-based disorders are the most common of all psychological disorders.

9. Types of Anxiety Disorders
Phobic Disorder is the most common of all anxiety disorders. It refers to a persistent excessive or irrational fear of a particular object or situation.
Some common phobias include:
Claustrophobia: a fear of enclosed places
Acrophobia: a fear of heights

10. Social Phobia is characterized by persistent fear of social situations in which one might be exposed to close scrutiny of others and thus be observed doing something embarrassing or humiliating.
People with social phobias tend to avoid the situations they fear. This can greatly interfere with work and social life.

11. Many people with panic disorder also have agoraphobia.
Agoraphobia is a fear of being in places or situations in which escape may be difficult or impossible.
Panic disorder and agoraphobia both lead to avoidance behavior. Thus, these phobias can be very serious.

12. People with Panic Disorder have recurring and unexpected panic attacks.
Panic Attacks are relatively short periods of intense fear or discomfort, characterized by shortness of breath, dizziness, rapid heart rate, trembling or shaking, sweating, choking, nausea, or other distressing physical symptoms.
It may last from a few minutes to a few hours.
People having a panic attack may feel like they are dying and have a persistent fear of another attack.

13. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is an excessive or unrealistic worry about life circumstances that lasts for at least six months.
The worry is present most of the time.
The worries are typically about finances, work, interpersonal problems, accidents, or illness.

14. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsessions are unwanted thoughts, ideas, or mental images, that occur over and over again.
The majority of people with obsessions practice compulsions , which may reduce the anxiety the obsessions produce.
Compulsions are repetitive ritual behaviors, often involving checking or cleaning something.

15. Stress Disorders include post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder.
Acute Stress Disorder is a short term disorder with symptoms similar to PTSD but are short term and within a month of the traumatic event. Anxiety lasts from a few days to a few weeks.

16. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) refers to intense persistent feelings of anxiety that are caused by an experience so traumatic that it would produce stress in almost anyone.
PTSD symptoms include: flashbacks, nightmares, numbness of feelings, increased tension, and avoidance of stimuli associated with trauma.
Anxiety Disorders are usually genetic.

17. Dissociative Disorders
Dissociation refers to the separation of certain personality components or mental processes from conscious thought.
Some dissociation is normal such as not hearing your name called while watching TV. However when it occurs to avoid stressful events or feelings, it is a disorder.

18. Types of Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative Amnesia is characterized by a sudden loss of memory, usually following a particularly stressful or traumatic event.
Usually a person forgets the events that occurred for a certain period of time surrounding the traumatic event.
Less commonly, a person may forget all prior experiences, friends, family, and personal experiences.
Dissociative Fugue is characterized not only by forgetting personal information and past events but also by suddenly relocating from home or work and taking on a new identity.
This usually follows a psychologically traumatic event.

19. Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly called multiple personality disorder) involves the existence of two or more personalities within a single individual.
The personalities take turns controlling the person’s behavior.
Those with this disorder have usually suffered physical, sexual, and/or psychological abuse most often during childhood.
Depersonalization Disorder refers to feelings of detachment from one’s mental processes or body. People with this disorder describe feeling as though they are outside their bodies, observing themselves at a distance.
Dissociative disorders have primarily psychological causes. Dissociation represses unacceptable urges and anxiety.

20. Somatoform Disorders
People with somatoform disorders have psychological problems but experience inexplicable physical symptoms.
Somatoform disorders include conversion disorder and hypochondriasis.

21. Types of Somatoform Disorders
People with Conversion Disorders experience a change in or a loss of physical functioning in a major part of the body for which there is no known medical explanation.
Often people with conversion disorder show little concern for their symptoms.
Hypochondriasis is defined as a person’s unrealistic preoccupation with thoughts that he or she has a serious disease.
Somatoform disorders are primarily psychological. The physical problems are a result of repressed emotions and instead express them symbolically in physical symptoms.

22. Mood Disorders
Mood disorders are when people experience mood changes that seem inappropriate for or inconsistent with the situations to which they are responding.
Mood disorders fall into two general categories:
Depression typically involves feelings of helplessness , hopelessness, worthlessness, guilt, and great sadness.

23. Bipolar Disorder involves a cycle of mood changes from depression to wild elation and back again.

24. Types of Mood Disorders
Major Depression has been estimated to affect more than 100 million people worldwide.
Major Depression is diagnosed when an individual has at least five of the nine and one of the first two symptoms of depression:
1. loss of interest or pleasure in all or almost all activities
2. persistent depressed mood for most of the day
3. significant weight loss or gain due to change in appetite
4. sleeping more or less than usual
5. speeding up or slowing down of physical and emotional reactions
6. fatigue or loss of energy
7. feelings of worthlessness or unfounded guilt
8. reduced ability to concentrate or make meaningful decisions
9. recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
As many as 15% commit suicide.

25. Bipolar Disorder is characterized by dramatic ups and downs in mood.
Periods of mania, or extreme excitement characterized by hyperactivity and chaotic behavior, can change into depression very quickly and for no apparent reason.

26. Explaining Mood Disorders
There are both psychological and biological reasons for mood disorders.
About 25% of people with mood disorders have a family member with mood disorders. So there is a genetic link.
Psychologically, learned helplessness, bad habits, and internalizing anger are all factors.

27. Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is considered one of the worst psychological disorders. It is characterized by loss of contact with reality.
It usually appears in young adulthood and if left untreated, can worsen over time.
Symptoms include hallucination and delusions. Most hallucinations are auditory, voices telling the individual to do things or commenting on the individual’s behavior.

28. People with schizophrenia may have delusions of grandeur, meaning that they believe they are superior to other people. They might think they are famous or on a secret mission.
They might repeat words or seem disorganized and confused.
They may become emotionally unresponsive or go into a catatonic stupor; an immobile, expressionless, comalike state.

29. Types of Schizophrenia
Paranoid Schizophrenia sufferers often have delusions or frequent auditory hallucinations that have a common theme.
They may have delusions of grandeur, jealousy, or persecution.
They may have disorganized thoughts and bizarre behavior while also being afraid, agitated, and confused.

30. People with Disorganized Schizophrenia are incoherent in their thoughts and speech and disorganized in their behavior.
They usually have delusions and hallucinations as well, but these tend to be fragmentary and unconnected.
They can seem emotionless or have inappropriate emotions and might neglect appearance and hygiene.

31. The most obvious symptoms of Catatonic Schizophrenia is disturbance of movement.
Individuals may hold unusual positions for hours.
Some may alternate between periods of immobility and periods of frenzied activity.

32. Explaining Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia appears to be a brain disorder.
Schizophrenics have smaller brains than other people and their frontal lobe is especially small.
Research suggests that the difficulties may reflect a loss of synapses, the structures that connect neurons and make it possible for them to communicate with one another.
There are three biological risk factors for schizophrenia: heredity, complications during pregnancy or birth, and birth during winter.
Once the disease develops, it may be negatively affected by family environment.
Over 2,000,000 people in the U.S. alone suffer from schizophrenia.

33. Personality Disorders
Personality disorders are patterns of inflexible traits that disrupt social life or work and/or distress the individual.
They usually affect all areas of personality including thought processes, emotions, and behavior.

34. It is important to realize the difference between personality disorders and other psychological disorders.
Psychological disorders are episodes of illness that an individual experiences.
Personality disorders are enduring traits that are major components of a person’s personality.

35. Types of Personality Disorders
Paranoid Personality Disorder:
Suspiciousness and distrust about others’ motives.
Often lead isolated lives.
Unlike paranoid schizophrenia, paranoid personality disorder sufferers are not confused about reality. However their views of reality are distorted and they are unlikely to see their mistrust and suspicions as abnormal.

36. Antisocial Personality Disorder:
Show a persistent behavior pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others.
They do not feel guilt or remorse for their antisocial behavior.
Continue behavior despite threat of social rejection or punishment.

37. Avoidant Personality Disorder:
Desire relationships with others but are prevented by tremendous fear of disapproval of others.
They act shy in social situations, afraid they will say or do something embarrassing.
Almost all have social phobias as well.

38. Dependent: submissive and clinging.
Narcissistic: need for admiration and lack of empathy.
Borderline: instability in relationships and self-image.

39. Schizotypal: discomfort in close relationships and eccentric behavior.
Histrionic: excessive emotionality and need for attention.
Schizoid: detachment from social relationships.

40. Explaining Personality Disorders
Freud claimed that antisocial behavior was a result of an underdeveloped superego.
Some claim that when children’s good behavior is not reinforced, they learn antisocial behavior.
Genetic factors are also involved.
Methods of treatment will be discussed next.