Chp. 13 - Psychological Disorders Flashcards
Risks
Labels can be self-fulfilling; biasing power. Mentally ill individuals are viewed as potentially violent and face many challenges in society.
Benefits
Labels guide medical diagnosis and treatment. Labels help mental health professionals communicate about their cases and study the causes and treatments of disorders.
Anxiety Disorders
Characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions), actions (compulsions), or both. Compulsive behaviors are responses to obsessive thoughts.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, and other symptoms for weeks after a severely threatening and uncontrollable event.
Victims of PTSD
Victims include survivors of accidents, disasters, and violent and sexual assaults.
Cognition
Includes one’s thoughts, interpretations, memories, and expectations. Observing others can contributor to the development of fears. Interpretations and expectations shape reactions.
Substance Use Disorder
Continued substance craving and use despite significant life disruption and/or physical risk.
Psychoactive Drugs
Chemicals that change perceptions and mood.
Depressants
Reduce neural activity and slow down bodily functions.
Stimulants
Excite neural activity and speed up body functions.
Hallucinogens
Psychedelic drugs that distort perception and trigger sensory images.
Alcohol
Disrupts long-term memory processing by suppressing REM sleep. Binge drinking has long-term effects on the brain. Reduces pace of body functions. Lessens the pace of sympathetic nervous system activity. Potent sedative when paired with lack of sleep. Overdose can lead to poisoning.
Barbiturates (Tranquilizers)
Depress central nervous system activity. Reduces anxiety, but impairs memory and judgment. Often prescribed to induce sleep or reduce anxiety.
Opiates
Opium and its derivatives. Herion, pain-reliever narcotics, OxyContin, Morphine, and Fentanyl. Depress nervous system activity; provide temporary relief from anxiety and pain.
Stimulants: Effects on user
Dilation of the pupils. Increase in heart and breathing rates. Rise in blood-sugar levels leading to loss of appetite. Rise in energy and self-confidence.
Cocaine
Powerful and addictive stimulant derived from the coca plant; snorted, injected, or smoked.
Ecstasy
The street name for methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).
Tolerance
Dwindling effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug.
Addiction
Caused by increased intake of psychoactive drugs or by compulsive and dysfunctional behaviors.
Behavior Addictions
Compulsive, dysfunctional. With continued use of alcohol and some other drugs, the user’s brain chemistry adapts to offset the drug’s effect.
Major Depressive Disorder
Depressed mood most of the time. Dramatically reduced interest or enjoyment in most activities most of the time. Significant challenges regulating appetite and weight. Significant challenges regulating sleep. Physical agitation or lethargy. Feeling listless or with much less energy. Feeling worthless, or feeling unwarranted guilt. Problems in thinking, concentrating, or making decisions. Thinking repetitively of death and suicide.
Mania
Hyperactive and wildly optimistic state in which dangerously poor judgment is common. The flood of ideas during milder forms of mania can fuel creativity.
Delusions
False belief of persecution or grandeur that may accompany psychotic disorders.
Psychotic Disorders
Group of disorders marked by irrational ideas, distorted perceptions, and a loss of contact with reality.
Anorexia Nervosa
A person maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight.
Bulimia Nervosa
A person alternates binge eating with purging or fasting.
Binge-Eating Disorder
Significant binge eating, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the purging or fasting.
Dissociative identity disorder (DID)
Individuals exhibit two or more distinct and alternating personalities.
Personality Disorders
Inflexible and enduring behavior pattern that impairs social functioning.
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members.
