mental illness - personality and schizophrenia Flashcards
1
Q
what is a personality disorder? formal diagnosis? (adolescence, stable, variet, distress)
A
- deeply ingrained and inflexible pattern of thinking, feeling and relating to others or controlling impulses that cause distress or impaired functioning
- Adolescence: symptoms appear in adolescence – if they appear in adulthood you don’t have PD
- Inflexible
- Stable: stable pattern of reacting
- variety of situations: behave the same way in different places, to strangers, etco
- Distress/impairment
2
Q
3 categories of personality disorders to know?
A
- Odd/eccentric: others exploiting them, trying to harm them or lying to them, trustworthiness so can’t relationships, introversion, hidden meanings in everything, weird ways of speaking and dressing, strange beliefs
- Dramatic/erratic: disregards social norms, illegal things, lies ,lack of remorse, unstable moods, attention seeking, inflated ego, physical fights not uncommon, high risk for substance abuse, alcoholism
- Anxious/inhibited: obsessive compulsive, avoid interpersonal contact because they are afraid of criticism, rejection, disapproval]
3
Q
Borderline Personality Disorder - what? growing up?
A
- instability in mood, identity and impulse control
o calm and pleasant one moment, aggressive the next - Self-destructive: cutting themselves, suicide attempts
- Dangerous promiscuity – numerous sexual partners, over eat, over indulge in drugs and alcohol
- While growing up, had cold unempathetic mothers or overreacting mothers & difficulty with emotions made them angry and frustrated, left with no coping skills
4
Q
Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) - what? characteristics?
A
- pervasive pattern of disregard for & violation of others’ rights that begins in childhood or early adolescence & continues into adulthood
- aggressive, violent, dangerous
- constant lying, lack of remorse, narcissism, bored very easily, need constant stimulation, violent tendencies
- So impulsive, hard to hold down a job
- But can appear to be very charming
- Dangerous because of complete disregard for safety
5
Q
APD: diagnose how? %? biological cause? risk factors?
A
- To be diagnosed: have to have symptoms arise in adolescence
- History of conduct disorder before age 15: aggression, destruction of property, rule violations, lying, stealing, setting fire, cruelty to animals
- Diagnosis of APD if at least 3/7 signs: illegal behaviour, deception, impulsivity, physical aggression, recklessness, irresponsibility, lack of remorse
- Characteristics: constant lying, lack of remorse, narcissism, bored very easily, need constant stimulation, violent tendencies
o So impulsive, hard to hold down a job
o But can appear to be very charming
o Dangerous because of complete disregard for safety
o American Psycho video clip example
o “sociopath”, “psychopath” - 3.6% of general population, male rate three times higher
- No clear biological cause but suggested by early onset and lack of success in treatment
o Less sensitivity to fear: psychopaths show less activity in amygdala and hippocampus in response to negative emotional words
o - Risk factors: substance abuse, ADHD, conduct disorders, childhood abuse or neglect, antisocial peers, antisocial or alcoholic parents
6
Q
Psychopathy - what? combination of? characteristics?
A
- specific form of APD, a controversial category
- like a stronger, more extreme APD
- combination of antisocial behaviours and lack of remorse or guilt
- Guiltless, dishonest, manipulative, unempathetic, self-centered, highly paranoid but at the same time: charming, personable & engaging
7
Q
Schizophrenia - what? not the same as?
A
- psychotic disorder marked by severely impaired thinking, emotions and/or behaviours
- profound disruption of basic psychological processes – distorted perception of reality, altered or blunted emotion, disturbances in thought, motivation and behaviour
- “Split mind” not split identity
- not the same as dissociative identity disorder
8
Q
Schiz - % canadians? living where? gender? develops when?
A
- 1% population over 18 in Canada is schizophrenic
- One half of schizophrenics live at home/group home, one quarter are in jail, and the other quarter live on the streets
- Slightly more common in men
- Rarely develops before early adolescence - first episode usually late adolescence/early adulthood
9
Q
Schiz - DSM requirements?
A
- DSMIVTR: diagnosed when two or more of the following symptoms emerge during a continuous period of at least one month, with signs of disorder persisting for at least 6 months:
o Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganize behaviour or catatonic behaviour, and negative symptoms
10
Q
Schiz - Positive Symptoms?
A
- doesn’t mean good or nice, present in the schizophrenic mind but not in a normal mind
- Aka the “haves” – things added to a normal mind
- Delusions, paranoia, persecution, thought broadcasting, thought disorder, grandiose thinking, mind reading, being controlled/controlling, movement problems: motionless, clumsy, repetitive actions, hallucinations,
- anosognosia: lack of insight, not denial
11
Q
Schiz - Hallucinations?
A
- False perceptual experience that has a compelling sense of being real despite absence of external stimulation
- sensory in nature, when you see/hear something that’s not there
- Most common form of hallucination is not visual but auditory (65%)
12
Q
Schiz - Delusions - persecution? grandeur? control? jealousy? identity?
A
- Patently false belief system, often bizarre and grandiose, that is maintained In spite of its irrationality
- unusual thought process – ex thinking that the neighbour’s dog is controlling your mind
- persecution: person thinks that other people are out to get them
- grandeur: thinks that he/she is destined to do something incredibly important alike saving humanity
- control: someone else is controlling their mind or behaviour – recurrent obsessive thoughts because someone is controlling their mind
- jealousy: absolutely convinced that their loved one is cheating on them, conspiring against them, loving someone else
- identity (think that they’re some famous person)
13
Q
Schiz - negative symptoms?
A
14
Q
Schiz Types - Paranoid
A
- preoccupied with delusions and hallucinations that revolve around a common organized theme, usually one of persecution
- great deal of time thinking about how to protect themselves
- impairs critical judgment -> erratic, unpredictable and occasionally dangerous behaviours
- Most highly functioning of all schizophrenics – can have a job, attend university, very intelligent
15
Q
Schiz Types - Catatonic?
A
- mmobility/ stupor or agitated/purposeless motor activity
- psychomotor disturbance
- alternating periods of extreme withdrawal and extreme excitement
- Withdrawal: sudden loss of all animation, tendency to remain motionless in a single position
- Abrupt change to excitement: shouting, pacing, uninhibited, impulsive and frenzied behaviour =potentially dangerous
