Mental health and psychiatry (10) Flashcards
What is compulsion?
the experience of overwhelming urges to repeat a behaviour even in the knowledge that it is harmful
- present in numerous disorders
What is trait anxiety?
propensity to become anxious under a given set of stresses
- genetic factors: polymorphisms of serotonergic and noradrenergic function
- environment: experiences of threat, insecurity
How can we conceptualise anxiety disorder and depression?
self-perpetuating network of positive feedback loops, arising from normally adaptive responses
When does self-harm typically occur?
in the context of low self-worth and persistent distress- serves various functions e.g.reducing this distress
What is state anxiety?
psychological and physiological transient reactions directly related to adverse situations in a specific moment
What is addiction?
repeated negative reinforcement
- in the context of persistent states of suffering/distress/tension
- powerful unconscious component mediated by substances’ direct action on neural circuits for motivation and reward seeking
- social context= central
What is OCD?
negative reinforcement driven by the distress caused by the intrusive, involuntary thoughts
–> cemented by habit formation- compulsive behaviours that relive state of anxiety/tension
What are some symptoms of eating disorders?
- increased restriction of diet
- purging
- episodes of laxative abuse
- excessive exercise
How can we conceptualise eating disorders?
means of reducing intense distress, particularly that associated with feeling everything is out of control
What are causes of psychosis?
- drugs: cocaine, LSD, cannabis etc…
- metabolic: Ca2+, Mg2+ etc…
- endocrine: thyroid, Cushing’s…
- infections: syphilis, encephalitis etc…
- mania, depression, schizoaffective disorder
What is madness?
people who hear voices/disorganised behaviour/thought disorder considered differently to other mental illnesses
How can we conceptualise psychosis?
reality failure
hallucinations and delusions
What are auditory verbal hallucinations?
thoughts/internal monologue experience as external
- experienced by around 5% of healthy population
What are delusions?
fixed, false, unshakeable belief, out of context with cultural background
- result of efforts to make sense of perplexity
- often persecutory
What are some neuropsychological processes in schizophrenia?
Role of dopamine:
anticipated reward–> directed attention
salience- sense of importance attached to perceptions
Working memory: disruption in thought and perception- loss of context, flow, order
