Psychological disorders Flashcards
Psychopathology literally translates to
‘sickness of the mind’ but more formally refers to patterns of thought, feeling or behaviour that significantly disrupt personal, social (family and friends) and occupational functioning and cause significant distress to the person and significant others
According to Thomas Szasz (1974), psychopathology is a
myth
‘mental illness’ is a
socially constructed and stigmatic label to punish people when they do not conform to social or cultural norms; thus, it is on cultural norms that we distinguish ‘normal’ from ‘abnormal’ behaviour.
Two limitations of the assertion that ‘mental illness is not real’ is that
(i) the symptoms of many mental disorders are recognised cross-culturally (i.e. they are not just socially constructed because they are independent of cultural factors), and (ii) the disruption to a person’s well being is significant enough to warrant differentiating normal from abnormal behaviour and for creating ‘categories’ or types of mental illnesses.
mental disorder’ more specifically refers to a
clinically recognisable set of symptoms and behaviors that usually need treatments to be alleviated; also, mental disorders are simply ‘mental health problems’ at more intense levels
Mental health problems refer to the
normal and wide range of emotional and behavioral abnormalities that affect almost all people at some point throughout their lives, and can include cognitive impairment and disability, phobias, panic attacks, drug-related harm, anxiety, personality disorders, depressive disorders and symptoms of psychoses
Mental health refers to a
state of emotional and social wellbeing where the individual realises their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and contribute to the community
There are five main theoretical approaches to psychopathology:
(i) psychodynamic, (ii) cognitive-behavioural, (iii) biological, (iv) systems and (v) evolutionary; each of these are best used in complement as they are not mutually exclusive and competing theories
neuroses refer to
normal and everyday problems in living; they occur in almost all people at some point in their life but do not stop people from functioning reasonably well
personality disorders
where a person exhibits more enduring maladaptive patterns of thought, feeling and behaviour that are leading to chronic disturbances in interpersonal relationships and occupational functioning; that is, they have difficulty maintaining meaningful relationships and employment, they interpret interpersonal events in highly distorted ways and are chronically vulnerable to depression and anxiety
psychoses refer to
gross disturbances in mental functioning to the point where there is a loss of touch with reality (e.g. hallucinations and delusions)
neuroses and personality disorders stem mostly from
environmental experiences (esp. traumas experienced in childhood)
psychoses stem mostly from
biological factors with some stressors from environment
from the behaviourist point of view, mental disorders develop because
of associations with a previously neutral stimulus that has become paired with an emotionally arousing one
from the point of view of cognitive psychology, there is an
emphasis on dysfunctional attitudes, beliefs and cognitive processes (e.g. irrational beliefs and maladaptive cognitive processes)
In the biological approach,
mental disorders result from brain dysfunction in specific parts of the brain or in the functioning of neurotransmitters
The cognitive-behavioural perspective
integrates classical and operant conditioning (behaviorism) with theories of social cognition
In the systems approach, mental disorders and abnormal behaviour are
explained in terms of the social context or social system that that individual belongs to
According to the evolutionary perspective,symptoms of mental illness have evolved because
they are useful to ensuring the species survives and reproduces, but individuals with extreme levels of these symptoms require therapy
according to the ‘diathesis-stress model’, a mental illness occurs under an episode of stress because
of an underlying vulnerability that is either biological (e.g. genetic predisposition) or environmental (e.g. childhood trauma)
One common type of ‘disruptive, impulse-control and conduct disorders’ is
conduct disorder.
Conduct disorder is
characterised by the persistent violation of societal norms and the rights of others; symptoms include physical aggression toward people and animals, chronic fighting, persistent lying, vandalism, stealing, resent taking direction, lack of empathy and compassion
One common type of ‘neurodevelopmental disorder’ is
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
ADHD is
characterised by inattention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity that is inappropriate for the child’s age;
Substance abuse refers to the
continued use of a substance that negatively affects psychological and social functioning, that can be any substance, e.g. Alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin etc.
The most common ‘substance related disorder’ is
alcoholism
Schizophrenia is a
broad umbrella term for psychotic disorders in which there are disturbances in thought, perception, behavior, language, communication and/or emotion
delusions which refer to
false beliefs that firmly held despite evidence to the contrary e.g. delusions of persecution, grandeur, identity and being controlled
hallucinations which refer to
perceptual experiences that distort, or occur without, external stimulation, e.g. hearing voices
positive symptoms signal the
presence of something not usually there (e.g. delusions, hallucinations)
negative symptoms signal the
absence of a function that is usually there (e.g. appropriate affect, complex thought)
Symptoms of schizophrenia can be grouped into
(i) positive or (ii) negative
Mood disorders are characterised
by significant disruption to emotion or mood. They include depressive and bipolar disorders.
major depressive disorder is the
most severe type of depressive disorder in which there is a significant depressed mood and loss of interest in activities that were once pleasurable (anhedonia)
persistent depressive disorder (aka dysthymic disorder) is
a less severe type of depressive disorder; it is characterised by chronic low-level depression that lasts for more than two years, with some intervals of normal moods, but those intervals don’t last for more than a few weeks or months
The most common type of ‘bipolar related disorders’ is,
bipolar disorder
bipolar disorder is
characterised by significant disruption in emotion (e.g. severe sadness) and mood (e.g. dangerously positive mania)
Although anxiety is a normal and useful emotion because it signals potential danger, in anxiety disorders, the anxiety is
intense, frequent and/or continuous; these ‘false alarms’ lead to dysfunctional avoidance behaviour
Anxiety disorders are
one of the most frequently occurring categories of mental disorders (prevalence is about 10%);
obsessions refer to
persistent irrational thoughts or ideas
compulsions refer to
highly stereotyped behaviours or mental acts that are performed in response to an obsession to ward off those obsessive thoughts
Personality disorders refer to
chronic and severe disturbances that substantially inhibit an individual’s capacity to love and work; the prevalence is quite high with estimates of about 10% in the general population
[Cluster A] paranoid personalities are
high on distrust and suspiciousness
[Cluster A] schizoid personalities are
detached from social relationships and have a restricted range of emotional expression
[Cluster A] schizotypal personalities display
acute discomfort in close relationships, cognitive or perceptual distortions and eccentricity
[Cluster B] antisocial personalities
disregard and violate the rights of others
[Cluster B] borderline personalities
are high on impulsivity and instability in their interpersonal relationships, self concept and emotion
[Cluster B] histrionic personalities have
excessive emotionality and attention seeking
[Cluster B] narcissistic personalities are
high on grandiosity, need for admiration and lack empathy
[Cluster C] avoidant personalities
exhibit social inhibition and avoidance, feelings of inadequacy and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation
[Cluster C] dependent personalities are
submissive, display clinging behaviour and excessive need to be taken care of
[Cluster C] obsessive-compulsive personalities have
a preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism and control
