Characteristics Of Mental Disorders

Question 1

Phobias:

Answer 1

A persistent and irrational fear of a specific situation, object, or activity. Which is continuously either strenuously avoided or endured with marked stress.
Categorised as:
- Specific phobia, Agoraphobia, Social anxiety

Question 2

Emotional response to phobias:

Answer 2

• Anxiety: By definition phobias involve the emotional response of anxiety:
  high arousal.
• Fear: immediate and unpleasant response when we encounter or think
  about a phobic stimulus.
• Unreasonable: disproportionate to any threat posed.

Question 3

Behavioural response to phobias

Answer 3

Panic: Phobic people experience panic which can cause shortness of breath, shaking, and high heart rates.
- Avoidance: They show effort to avoid the phobic stimulus.
- Endurance: Occurs when the person chooses to remain in the presence
of the phobic stimulus.

Question 4

Cognitive response to phobias

Answer 4

• Selective attention: person finds it hard to look away from the phobic
  stimulus.
• Irrational beliefs: The phobic person does not respond to evidence, e.g.
  finding out that flying is less dangerous than driving does not reduce the
  phobia.
• Cognitive distortions: Thoughts about the phobic stimulus are distorted:

Question 5

Depression:

Answer 5

Depression is a mental health disorder that is characterised by persistent
sadness and a lack of interest or pleasure in previously rewarding or enjoyable activities. It can also disturb sleep and appetite; tiredness and poor concentration are common.
- Categorised as:
- Major depressive disorder: severe, but often short-term depression. - Persistent depressive disorder: long-term or recurring depression,
including sustained major depression (used to be called dysthymia).
- Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder: childhood temper tantrums. - Premenstrual dysphoric disorder: disruption to mood prior to and/or
during menstruation.

Question 6

Emotional response to depression

Answer 6

Lowered mood: (required symptom) This can include feeling ‘empty’ and
‘worthless’ or ‘hopeless’.
- Anhedonia: loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that
were once enjoyed; may be accompanied by avolition (loss of motivation
to perform goal-directed activities.)
- Anger: directed towards others or self – this comes from the general
feeling of being emotionally hurt.
- Lowered self-esteem: low perception of self; can lead to self-loathing.

Question 7

Behavioural response to depression

Answer 7

Reduction in energy Therefore sufferers show a sense of tiredness, desire
to sleep, and lower activity; can be the opposite: psychomotor agitation. - Insomnia or increased sleep.
- Appetite changes: eat more or less.
- Aggression or self-harm: increased irritability; can become verbally or physically aggressive; can lead to ending a job or relationship; self harm can result in cutting or suicide attempts.

Question 8

Cognitive response to depression:

Answer 8

tive:
- Negative thoughts: These include negative self-beliefs such as guilt and a
sense of worthlessness.
- Poor concentration: Sufferers cannot focus on a task as much as normal
and find it difficult to make decisions.
- Memory bias: Sufferers show cognitive bias of remembering unhappy
events more easily.
- Absolutist thinking: See things as ‘black and white’ – can catastrophise
situations, seeing something unfortunate as an absolute disaster.

Question 9

OCD:

Answer 9

Definition: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common mental
health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts (internal) and compulsive behaviours (external).
- Categories:
➢ OCD – obsessive, recurring thoughts, images, and or compulsions
(repetitive behaviours, such as handwashing; most patients with OCD
have both symptoms.
➢ Trichotillomania: compulsive hair-pulling
➢ Hoarding disorder: compulsive gathering of possessions and the inability
to part with anything, regardless of value
➢ Excoriation disorder: compulsive skin-picking

Question 10

Emotional response to OCD:

Answer 10

Anxiety and distress: Obsessive thoughts are intrusive and frightening. The urge to compulsively repeat behaviour also produces anxiety.
• Guilt & Disgust: OCD sufferers are often aware that their obsessive thoughts are irrational and that their compulsive behaviours are abnormal. Alternatively, they can suffer guilt over minor moral issues. Disgust may be direct towards the self, or externally, like dirt.
• Depression: OCD is often accompanied by depression; compulsive behaviour can bring relief, but is short-term only

Question 11

Behavioural response to OCD

Answer 11

Repetitive Compulsive behaviours: Sufferers feel compelled to act on their
obsessive thoughts with repetitive behaviours acts, called compulsions, such as handwashing. Other examples: praying, counting, tidying, ordering groups of objects. These behaviours are repetitive, unpleasant, and interfere with daily life.
- Compulsions reduce anxiety: compulsive behaviours often performed to reduce anxiety caused by obsessions, eg compulsive handwashing in response to obsessive fear of germs; compulsive checking (eg that a door is locked, or appliance switched off), in response to the obsessive thought that it might have been left unsecured.
- Avoidance: Sufferers may attempt to avoid situations which trigger obsessions and compulsions, e.g. avoiding obsessive thoughts about germs by not emptying their bin.