Psychological disorders Flashcards
Nature of psychological disorders
According to the Mental Health Continuum Model (Keyes, 2002) they are two opposite poles of the same continuum sequence in which two adjacent points are not clearly different from each other. An individual can be on any point at one particular time and we keep shifting our position on it as our situations improve or deteriorate
Stage 1 of MHCM
These individuals are positive and are functioning well. They show stable mood. They are calm, peaceful and satisfied with life. They feel motivated and energetic. They are physically as well as psychologically healthy. They are satisfied with their life
stage 2
These individuals are neutral but reactive. They do feel nervous and worried at times and get affected by the stressors of life.
Sometimes they may doubt them selves which will cause anxiety and this can affect their performance. They may feel tired soon and may lack energy. But in this stage if the individuals becomes more realistic and accepts their limitations or constraints placed by the environment, they can manage to reduce the stress. At the same time following a healthy diet and a healthy life style, with adequate rest and by engaging in more social activities, it is possible to push themselves back more towards positive healthy functioning
stage 3
When the individuals are at the point of Stage 3, they show signs of psychological damage and they are moderately ill. They may experience negative feelings like sadness, fear,inadequacy, restlessness or irritability. They may lack motivation to take up new challenges. Sometimes they feel overall apathy and feel tired even while completing their daily routine or work. Their relationships may get strained and they may even turn towards drug abuse or alcohol. Though they show clear signs of mental illness, they may still be productive and functioning properly, but may find difficult to do it. But this point is also not irreversible. By consciously trying to find the realistic root cause of the stress and with the help of emotional support such individuals can fight with the moderate illness they are facing. They can get emotional support either from family and friends or at times they may need professional help
stage 4
Individuals show clear signs of major psychological disorder. They show extreme distress and impairment in all three areas of functioning, i.e. mental, emotional and social. They need professional care and treatment.
Clinically significant syndrome
When we have some physical symptoms or complaints we know that we are ill. In the same way, in psychological disorders there should be certain patterns of important behavioural or psychological syndrome that occurs in an individual. There are certain symptoms that occur together in a particular disorder. These clusters of symptoms together is called a syndrome. Psychologists rely on these syndromes to diagnose the disorder
Distress and impairment
There should be presence of distress and/or impairment. Distress is the psychological pain. The pain may arise due to negative feelings like sadness, fear, inadequacy, restlessness or irritability. It may also be due to stress. Impairment is inability or difficulty to perform appropriate duties and roles in personal, social and work related situations.
Dysfunction
If the symptoms lead to an underlying psychological, biological or developmental dysfunctions, then it leads to the diagnosis of mental disorder, e.g. inability to remember, inability to learn, inability to concentrate, etc
If any response given to stressors or losses are accepted as a response to that situation, it is not considered as a sign of mental disorder
It should not be a response that is normally given to common
stressors and losses (like sadness experienced at the death of a loved one is not a sign of any mental disorder). Or it should not be a culturally sanctioned response to a particular event (e.g. trance state in certain religious rituals, should not be considered as sign of mental disorder)
Any behaviour which is just deviant or conflicting with society but not producing dysfunction or distress or disability, then
it does not become a sign of mental disorder
Behaviour should not solely be a result of social or cultural deviance or conflicts with society or conflicts with political system. For example in certain societies and cultures homosexuality is considered as abnormal behaviour. But according to DSM 5 it is not considered as a sign of disorder.
Define mental wellness
World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental wellness as, “a state of wellbeing in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope up with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make contribution to his or her community.
DSM 5
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM) is classification of officially recognized psychiatric disorders published by American Psychiatric Association (APA). It is mainly
used to ensure uniformity of diagnosis by mental health professionals. Its first version was published in the year 1952 (DSM-I) and subsequently revised periodically. The present version of it is DSM-5 was introduced in 2013. It contains 22 broad categories of mental disorders with many sub categories.
ICD
International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) is created by The World Health Organization
(WHO) for documenting all types of diagnoses, diseases, signs and symptoms and social circumstances. It contains a section on psychological disorders. The latest, 11th version of ICD was presented in 2019. According to the ICD-11, there are 19 broad categories of mental disorders, most of which overlap with DSM-5
Anxiety etymology
The term anxiety is derived from latin word “Anxietas” which means uneasy or troubled mind
Def of anxiety disorder
When a person feels nervous or worried without any obvious reason for a long time such that it starts interfering with the daily life, it is called Anxiety Disorder.
