Psychological disorders and treatment Flashcards
What are the 4 Ds that may provide a framework for spotting mental illness and why they might be problematic
- Deviance
unusual/uncommon/socially unacceptable and/or violate social norms - distress
emotional suffering or discomfort - dysfunction
impairment in daily functioning - danger
risk posed to the person or others
Focusing too much on the criteria in isolation can be problematic
- uncommon behavior is not necessarily indicative of mental illness
- social norms difference, risk of labelling non-conformists as ill
- suffering can be normal given the situation
define the culture-bound syndrome
pattern of mental health symptoms, behaviors, or illnesses that are recognized as distinct in specific cultural groups or societies
Eg. japan’s taijin kyofusho
what’s the importance of culture on our views of mental health. how do individualistic and communistic cultures perceive depression?
culture shapes how it’s perceived, experienced and treated
- individualistic see depression expressed emotionally
- communistic cultures tend to see depression expressed physically
define the medical model of mental illness
the medical model is an (simplified) approach that conceptualizes abnormal psychological experiences as having biological/environmental causes, defined symptoms and possible cures just like physical illnesses
describe the biopsychosocial model
mental disorders are the result of the interactions among biological, psychological and social factors
what is the diathesis-stress model
most disorders have both internal (bio/psycho) and external (envir) causes
Diathesis (internal predisposition) times Stress (external trigger) = Psychological disorder
what is the labelling theory of mental illness
theory suggests that when diagnosed with a mental illness, cultural beliefs about mental illness become personally relevant and foster negative feelings and/or cause a person to act in
accordance with the diagnosis
tldr; effect of labelling mental illnesses, worsening symptoms
what is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders (DSM) and criticism
- most used diagnostic tool in NA
- detailed criteria for disorders
eg. symptom criteria, exclusion criteria, severity specifications, etc
criticism
- potential for over-diagnosis
- cultural bias
- overemphasis on classification
Biological aspect of anxiety disorders: what are they associated with physically?
What happens under a prolonged period?
How does the fight or flight response work and how does it relate to anxiety disorders?
the fight or flight response
- amygdala detects threat and sends positive input to HPA which then triggers the release of cortisol
- the cortisol is detected by the hippocampus and then hippocampus sends a negative signal to the HPA and reduces/stops cortisol release
- anxiety disorders are associated with
1. greater amygdala activity - decreased hippocampal volume
Under prolonged stress, hippocampus loses volume and this lessens the ability to turn off the HPA
what are the 4 psychological contributions to anxiety disorders
- learning
- cognitive styles
- coping abilities
- locus of control
external locus of control –> believing you don’t have control over your life
what are the 4 social contributions to anxiety disorders
- parenting style
- exposure to stressful life events
- lack of social support
- societal factors
what are the main characteristics of generalized anxiety disorder
- persistent and excessive worry about a several different things
- people with it may anticipate disasters or be overly concentered about money, health, etc
define social anxiety disorder and a way to treat it
- characterized by an intense, persistent and irrational fear of being watched/judged by others
- exposure therapy forces individual to face fear in a controlled manner
eg. creation of fear hierarchy to guide graded exposure
what are the terms on both extremes of the mood continuum and define them
- depression
low, sad state in which life seems dark and challenges overwhelming - mania
abnormally elevated or irritable mood, intense energy, racing thoughts, and other extreme and behaviors
describe how major depressive disorder (MDD) is diagnosed and its symptoms
Define anhedonia
Diagnosed based on 1 or more major depressive episodes without mania
- 2 or more weeks marked by 5 or more symptoms of depression
- symptoms include depressed mood/anhedonia
- anhedonia: inabiliy to experience pleasure
