Depression, anxiety and schiziophrenia Flashcards
Medical Model:
Analogy by which psychological disorders are treated as if they were a disease with an organic cause that can be treated medically.
Diagnostic Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM):
Catalogue published by the American Psychiatric Association and used by mental health professionals and insurance companies to recognize and diagnose mental disorders.
schizophrenia:
A heterogeneous collection of psychotic disorders involving severe deficits to cognition (delusions), perception (hallucinations), behaviour, and emotion.
How can schizophrenia be treated today
By the use of medical model (drugs)
Psychopathology
The study of psychological disorders
Diagnosis:
The medical term describing the classification of a psychological disorder
Etiology
Medical term describing the factors related to (or causes responsibl for) the development of a psychological disorder
Epidemiology
Medical discipline studying the distribution of psychological disorders in the population
Prevalence:
Medical term describing the proportion of the population likely to manifest a psychological disorder during a given unit of time. One-year and lifetime prevalences are common time intervals used.
Prognosis:
Medical term forecasting the likely outcomes of a psychological disorder; whether or not various forms of treatment are likely to lead to improvement.
Superstitious Model
If you lived as early as 200 years ago, like others of the time, you would have probably believed in the Superstitious Model and would have invoked demonic possession, witchcraft, or an affliction (punishment by the gods) to explain your friend’s bizarre behaviour.
negatives of medical model
One criticism is that some disorders, like schizophrenia, fit the model much better than others.
Another criticism of the medical model is that it has led to the over-prescription of drugs and an overmedicated population.
he DSM is not without its critics. what are they
One problem is that it pathologizes to some extent normal behaviour.
A related criticism is over-diagnosis.
One final criticism of the DSM has to do with the effects of Diagnostic Labelling. Once an individual receives a particular diagnosis, their subsequent behaviour is interpreted through the lens of that label. This is problematic because misdiagnosis is common
Anxiety
Anxiety reflects an increase in sympathetic nervous system activity. Subjectively, this rise in autonomic arousal is accompanied by an aversive emotional experience, ranging from apprehension at relatively low levels of activation, to panic at relatively high levels of activation.
anxiwty good or bad
Although unpleasant, anxiety is not in and of itself a bad thing. In fact, it’s essential for mobilizing energy usage necessary for addressing threats to our personal well-being. These are called Stress Responses.
Fight-or-Flight-Response, where it originate and how it work
One stress response is adapted to respond to imminent danger
hypothalamus, sends neuronal signals to the adrenal gland by way of the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. Stimulation of the Adrenal Medulla (inner part of the adrenal gland) leads to the release of adrenalin and noradrenalin. These hormones in turn dramatically increase immediate energy reserves.
HPA stress response
A second stress response also originates in the hypothalamus. But in this case, the signals travel to the Adrenal Cortex (outside part of the adrenal gland) by way of the Pituitary Gland and endocrine system. Collectively, this pathway (Hypothalamus – Pituitary Gland – Adrenal Gland)
Stimulation of this pathway leads to the secretion of a stress hormone called Cortisol, which again increases the metabolic rate to boost energy reserves.
The function of the HPA pathway is to cope with long-term psychological stress, like studying for final exams, dealing with relationship conflict, or developing a major project at work.
Together, these two stress pathways are responsible for regulating adaptive responses that help us overcome different types of stress. what the two pathways
HPA stress response, anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder, why called general
is characterized by chronic, high-level anxiety tied to no specific threat. Onset is insidious, meaning that the condition develops slowly, gradual building over several weeks. Eventually, the anxiety plateaus and remains at an elevated level.
The condition is described as “general” because the anxiety has no easily discernable cause. That is, there is no single stimulus one can identify as being responsible for provoking the anxiety response. It’s more likely that the individual is experiencing multiple sources of low-grade stress.
Panic Disorder
involves discreet, recurrent, sudden and unexpected attacks of overwhelming anxiety. Discreet means that attacks are acute, with recognizable onset and offset. Attacks are sudden in the sense that onset is rapid (building quickly in a matter of seconds). Attacks are unexpected because, like GAD, there is no single stimulus responsible for provoking the response.
Agoraphobia
Because attacks are unpredictable, some individuals may become reluctant to venture outside their homes, concerned that they might experience a panic attack in public or while driving a vehicle. This potential complication of panic disorder is called
Phobic Disorder
involves persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation. Irrational in this sense means that the fear response is disproportionate to the threat posed.
where do most common phobias coe from
Although it is possible to develop a phobia to just about any stimulus, the most common phobias reflect real dangers encountered in the ancestral environment.
extinction in phobias
happen very rarely so classically condishoned phobias persist, maintained by operant conditioning,
