Psychological Disorders: Conceptions of Mental Illness Flashcards
What is mental illness (MI)?
It’s often seen as a failure of adaptation to the environment.
The ‘Failure Analysis Approach’ examines breakdowns in adaptation to understand healthy functioning.
The criteria for defining MI includes
- Statistical rarity
- Subjective distress
- Impairment
- Societal disapproval
- Biological dysfunction
The historical conceptions of MI includes
The ‘Demonic Model’ during the Middle Ages assumed MI was due to evil spirits infesting the body. To remove one’s MI, Trephination and Exorcism were performed.
The ‘Medical Model’ during the Renaissance assumed MI was due to physical disease that can be cured. To remove one’s MI, moral treatments were performed.
The ‘Biopsychosocial Model’ of the Modern Era focused on medication development and deinstitutionalization.
The Rosenhan Experiment
Were psychiatric diagnoses in 1970s reliable and valid? NO!
What is the DSM-5?
It helps to make treatment decisions, communicate among clinicians, and inform research.
However, there are criticisms.
- Not all disorders have criteria validity.
- High level of comorbidity among diagnoses.
- Reliance on categorical model of psychopathology.
- Tendency to “medicalize normalcy”.
What are the laws associated w/ MI?
Insanity / Mental Disorder Defence (<1%)
This defence indicates that defendant is not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder. The following 2 criteria must be met:
- Not aware of what they were doing at time of crime.
- Didn’t know what they were doing was wrong.
Incompetence to Stand Trial
Do defendants understand the charges against them?
Can defendants assist in their defence?
What is anxiety?
The unpleasant feelings of fear and apprehension. Although it’s typically transient, it can become excessive and impair normal functioning.
What are some anxiety disorders?
The DSM-5 includes 11 anxiety disorders, however 7 will be discussed:
Specific Phobia
An intense fear of a specific object or situation that is greatly out of proportion to its actual threat.
Social Phobia (i.e., Social Anxiety Disorder)
A marked fear of public appearances or social interactions in which embarrassment or humiliation is possible.
Agoraphobia
The fear of being in a place or situation from which escape is difficult or embarrassing. An example of this is ‘Kayak Angst’ which affects the Greenlandic Inuit fishermans.
Panic Disorder
The repeated, unexpected episodes of intense fear w/ physical symptoms (ex. laboured breathing, extreme sweating), along w/ either:
- Persistent concerns about future attacks.
- Changing personal behaviour to “avoid” them.
It can be associated w/ specific situations, or come “out of the blue.”
Generalized Anxiety Disorders (GAD)
The chronic, uncontrollable worry (60%) about all manners of things, lasting over 6 months. It interferes w/ daily functioning (ex. muscle tension, trouble sleeping). It affects 3% of the population, and is more prevalent in females and Caucasians.
Somatic Symptom Disorder
The presence of physical symptoms suggesting an underlying medical illness, but is actually psychological in origin. The patient complains about somatic symptoms for over 6 months, and tend to be worrying excessively.
Illness Anxiety Disorder
The belief that one is suffering from a real-life illness; however, no physiological issues present. No symptoms are present, but the patients misrepresents normal body reactions as problematic or indicative of an illness.
Why do people have anxiety disorders?
Biological Influences
Social-Cultural Influences
- Significant Life Events (ex. death, divorce)
- Learning Models (ex. Baby Albert , -‘ive Reinforce.)
Psychological Influences
Catastrophic Thinking
Predicting terrible events (i.e., “worst-case outcome”) despite their low probability.
Anxiety Sensitivity
High levels of anxiety or concern about anxiety-related sensations. An example includes exam-takers; 1 can be more anxious in writing an exam than another.
What are some mood disorders?
Depression (i.e., constant sadness; negative feelings)
Major Depressive Disorder
>5 of these these symptoms must be present, for at least 2 weeks:
- Depressed mood for most of the day.
- Loss of interest in normal daily activities.
- Difficulties in sleeping.
- Change in activity level.
- Poor or increased appetite/weight loss.
- Daily fatigue or loss of energy.
- -‘ive self-concept (worthlessness; excessive guilt).
- Trouble concentrating or making decisions.
- Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.
Mania (i.e. constant energy; positive feelings)
Why do people have mood disorders?
Biological Influences
NT Imbalances (ex. <serotonin)
Socio-Cultural Influences
Significant Life Events
Interpersonal Model
The idea of seeking excessive reassurance, leading to limited social support.
Psychological Influence
Maladaptive Attributions
Internal -“It’s totally my fault.”
Stable -“I was born stupid.” 1 domain
Global -“I’ll probably fail all my courses.” >1 domain
Learned Helplessness
A study conducted on dogs shared that a single bad situation where you have no control will force you to beleive: “I give-up! It’s worthless in trying as it didn’t work the first time” in every situation.
What are some personality disorders?
Psychopathic Personality
A condition marked by superficial charm, dishonesty,
manipulativeness, self-centeredness, lack of empathy/guilt, and risk taking.
The potential causes of psychopathic personality include:
- Deficit in Fear?
- Deficit in Arousal?
- Deficit in Emotional Processes? According to MRI scans, those w/ PP don’t elicit sad emotions to emotional words -“I don’t care”; “It’s just a word.”
What are some dissociative disorders?
These are conditions involving disruptions in consciousness, memory, identity, or perception.
Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder
The ability to observe your body from an outside perspective.
Dissociative Amnesia
The inability to recall important personal information—most often related to a stressful experience—that can’t be explained by ordinary forgetfulness.
Dissociative Fugue
The sudden, unexpected travel away from home or the workplace, accompanied by amnesia for significant life events.
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
It’s where the individual alternates between two or
more distinct identities.
Why do people have Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)?
The ‘Post-Traumatic Model’ assumes that DID is r/t to one’s abusive childhood.
‘Socio-Cognitive Model’
What is schizophrenia?
This is a severe disorder of thoughts and
emotions associated with a loss of contact with reality. It involves fundamental disturbances in thinking, language, emotion, and relationships.
Positive Symptoms
The observable expression of abnormal behaviours.
Negative Symptoms
The elimination or reduction of normal behaviours.
Why do people have schizophrenia?
Biological Influences
NT Imbalance (ex. >DA)
Brain Abnormalities
- Enlarged ventricles and sulci
- Decreased hemispherical asymmetry
- Decreased activation of amygdala, hippocampus, FL
Diathesis-Stress Model
The model emphasizes that schizophrenia is caused by a genetic vulnerability (diathesis) coupled with stressors.
