L12: Disorders and Treatment Flashcards
Normal vs. abnormal
Difficult to define.
In psych: Failure of adaptation = abnormal
Definition of disorder
Syndromes, or clusters of symptoms, that tend to occur simultaneously. Comprised of deviance, distress, dysfunction, and danger.
Deviance
Behaviours, thoughts, and feelings that are not in line with normal or usually accepted standards
Distress
Behaviours, thoughts, and feelings that are upsetting and cause pain, suffering and/or sorrow
Dysfunction
Behaviours, thoughts, and feelings that are disruptive to one’s regular routine interference with day-to-day functioning
Danger
Behaviours, thoughts, and feelings that may lead to harm or injury to self or others
Biopsychosocial model
Interactions of a person’s biological makeup, psychological experiences and social environment determine their risk for a psychological disorder
DSM-5
Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition - 2013)
- American manual that provides a list of symptoms, with a decision rule on the number of symptoms present for diagnosis
- Acknowledges the biopsychosocial approach
- Organized with a lifetime development scheme
Problems with classification systems
- subjective
- fosters overdiagnosis
- ignores stigmatization
- creates illusion of objectivity
- over-emphasis on separation between disorders
Stigma
Disapproval, poor treatment or isolation due to being different. Fueled by lack of information, fear, and discomfort
Anxiety disorders
- Characterized by excessive fear and/or worrying
- Includes panic disorder, phobias, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder
- Continuous chronic anxiety and worry that is hard to control and interferes with daily functioning
- Believe in the benefits of worry
Panic disorder
- unexpected panic attacks
- followed by worry about additional attacks and avoidance
- sudden onset of symptoms that reaches a peak within 5-10 mins, then resolves itself quickly
- if persists longer, anxiety attack
Post-traumatic stress disorder
- intrusive symptoms
- avoidance of internal feelings & external reminders
- negative alterations in mood and cognitions
- alterations in arousal and reactivity
- minority of people who experience a traumatic experience will develop PTSD
Obsessive compulsive disorder
characterized by obsessions and compulsions, although one can be present without the other
Obsessions vs compulsions
obsessions - recurrent, unwished for thoughts or images (internal)
compulsions - Repetitions, ritualized behaviours, a person feels unable to control (external)
Bipolar disorder
- characterized by mania/ hypomania
- abnormally elated or irritable mood
- inflated self-esteem
- racing thoughts, distractibility
- divided into bipolar l and ll
Depressive disorders
characterized by persistent depressed mood and/or lack of interest/pleasure in activities
Vulnerability-stress model of depression
interactions between individual and vulnerabilities and stress experiences
Cognitive habits in depression
Rumination: focusing repetitively on the symptoms of distress, possible causes, and consequences of distress
Internal & Global Attribution: Blaming negative events on oneself and believing they will affect everything in one’s life
Attributional theory of depression
People with depression experience internal, stable global styles: Blaming negative events on oneself and believing they will affect everything in one’s life
Schizophrenia
characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, avolition (loss of motivation to take care of oneself), flat affect, and alogia (reduction in speech).
Positive psychotic symptoms
new symptoms not present before the disorder
Negative psychotic symptoms
behaviours lost after the disorder
