Characteristics Of Disorders - A01 Flashcards
What do mental disorders lack?
They lack biomarkers for mental disorders but there are biomarkers for cancer.
What are the 2 diagnostic manuals most commonly used in psychiatry?
The DSM and the ICD, which are books that are used by professionals to categorise/ diagnose mental disorders.
What is DSM?
Diagnostic Statistical Manual, which is currently in its fifth version, DSM5.
It was published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA).
What is ICD
International Statical Classification of Diseases which is currently in its eleventh version (ICD11). It was published by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
What are the 3 categories of symptoms that you need to be aware of?
Emotional – feelings.
Behavioural – actions.
Cognitive – thoughts.
What is the definition of a phobia?
- A persistent irrational fear that’s disruptive to daily life.
- Which is either purposefully avoided or endured with marks of distress.
Common phobias?
Arachnophobia - fear of spiders. Up to 18% of men and 55% of women have symptoms of arachnophobia.
Ophidiophobia - fear of snakes. Approximately 1/3 of adults are ophidiophobic.
Acrophobia – fear of heights. Around 5 % of the general population suffers from this but it varies.
Agoraphobia – an extreme fear of entering crowded or open spaces where it is difficult to escape. This affects approximately 1.7% of adult; women are twice as likely to be affected.
Cynophobia – Fear of dogs; the figures vary.
What are the 3 categories of phobias recognised by DSM-5?
Agoraphobia
Social phobia/ social anxiety
Specific phobia
What is agoraphobia?
Having a phobia or being outside or in a public place.
What is a social phobia/social anxiety?
Having a phobia of social situations. E.g using a public toilet or public speaking.
What is a specific phobia?
Having a phobia of an object. E.g. a body part, animal, or situation like injections or flying.
What are the diagnostic criteria for phobias for DSM-5?
The presence of emotional, behavioural and cognitive responses is typically triggered in response to the phobic stimulus for a period of 6 or more months.
Describe the emotional symptoms (feelings) associated with phobias.
Fear
Anxiety
Unreasonable
Definition of fear
An immediate and unpleasant response when we think about or encounter a phobic stimulus.
Definition of anxiety
Phobias involve the emotional response of anxiety: high arousal, by definition.
Definition of unreasonable
Disproportionate to any threat posed.
Describe the behavioural symptoms (actions) associated with phobias.
Avoidance
Endurance
Panic
What is avoidance
Showing the effort to avoid the phobic stimulus, which can affect their everyday life.
E.g. reducing the amount of sleep you have.
What is endurance
This occurs when a person chooses to remain in the presence of the phobic stimulus.
An example of this is a person with arachnophobia staying in a room with a spider in order to keep your eye on it rather than leaving.
What is panic
Phobic people experience panic, which causes shaking, high heart rates, and shortness of breath.
Describe the cognitive symptoms (thoughts) associated with phobias.
Cognitive distortions
Selective attention
Irrational beliefs
What are cognitive distortions
Phobic stimulus thoughts are distorted.
E.g. someone with arachnophobia sees a spider as bigger than it actually is.
What is selective attention
A person finds is difficult to look away from the phobic stimulus.
What are irrational beliefs
The person with a phobia doesn’t respond to evidence.
E.g. someone finds out that it is safer to fly than to drive doesn’t reduce the phobia.
What is the definition of a depression?
A persistent sadness and lack of interest in pleasure.
In addition, it can disturb sleep and appetite with common factors of tiredness and poor concentration.
What are the 4 categories of depression recognised by DSM-5?
Premenstrual dysphoric
Persistent depressive disorder
Major depressive disorder
Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder