Psychological/Psychiatric Disabilities

Question 1

List the four types of anxiety disorders

Answer 1

1. Panic disorder
2. Phobias
3. Post-traumatic stress disorder
4. Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Question 2

Describe panic disorder

Answer 2

An anxiety disorder that causes feelings of terror or impending doom. Symptoms can resemble a heart attack.

Question 3

Describe phobias

Answer 3

Strong, excessive, paralyzing fears of particular objects or situations (e.g. claustrophobia, spiders, social interactions, etc.). Symptoms can be similar to panic attacks, with a rapid heart rate, difficulty breathing, etc.

Question 4

Describe post-traumatic stress disorder

Answer 4

An anxiety disorder that may occur after a person has been exposed to a terrifying or traumatic event (e.g. acts of violence, war, natural disasters, etc.)

PTSD may cause nightmares, flashbacks of the event, or feelings of worry, anger, sadness or guilt

Question 5

Describe obsessive-compulsive disorder

Answer 5

An anxiety disorder where a person has perpetually upsetting or distressing thoughts called obsessions. To alleviate the obsessions, the person may perform repeated acts called compulsions. For example, if a person has obsessions about germs they may repeatedly wash their hands or clean a room.

Question 6

Name three common types of mood disorders

Answer 6

depression, bipolar disorder, seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

Question 7

Describe depression

Answer 7

Depression is characterized as a brain disorder. People who have depression may experience sadness, loss of interest in enjoyable activities, worthless feelings, or suicidal thoughts. Causes of depression can be genetic, biological, environmental and psychological

Question 8

Describe bipolar disorder

Answer 8

A mood disorder that consists of cycles where a person may feel mania (highs and happy feelings) and depression (low, sad feelings)

Question 9

Describe seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

Answer 9

SAD is a mood disorder that affects individuals during the fall and winter months, possibly due to shortened daylight hours

Question 10

List some potential causes of schizophrenia

Answer 10

Not known for sure, but theories suggest that genetics and biology may be factors

Question 11

Describe positive schizophrenia

Answer 11

Positive schizophrenia experiences include hallucinations and delusions.

People with positive schizophrenia see things and hear voices.

Question 12

Describe negative schizophrenia

Answer 12

Negative schizophrenia experiences involve a lack of motivation, a dreary mood, and isolating oneself from society.

Other things people experience include difficulty expressing themselves, attention and memory deficits, and trouble controlling movements.

Question 13

Define/describe Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Answer 13

ADHD is a behavioral disorder where a person has difficulty focusing, paying attention, and controlling behavior.

The person may also be hyperactive.

ADHD typically starts in childhood and continues into adulthood.

Question 14

What are some of the potential causes of ADHD

Answer 14

Unknown, but genetics and environmental factors may play a role.

Question 15

Name and describe the three sub-categories of ADHD.

Answer 15

1. Inattention - difficulty focusing and processing new information, being distracted easily, daydreaming, difficulty organizing and completing a task, difficulty following instructions
2. Hyperactivity - continuous talking, running around, fidgeting, touching things, difficulty completing quiet tasks
3. Impulsivity - lack of patience, difficulty waiting on things, shouting unsolicited remarks, difficulty controlling emotions, interrupting activities and conversations

Question 16

Describe anti-social personality disorder

Answer 16

A personality disorder where a person exhibits a pattern of behavior that shows no regard for the rights of others and violates the rights of others.

People with antisocial personality disorder may fail to conform to social norms and laws, habitually lie, or act impulsively and recklessly.

Question 17

Describe borderline personality disorder

Answer 17

A person experiences long term instability in mood, behaviors, relationships, and self-image.

Someone may experience lingering feelings of loneliness, boredom, and anger.

Reactions to situations may be extreme and range from panic to depression to rage.

May include substance abuse or self-harming/suicidal behaviors

Question 18

Describe anorexia nervosa

Answer 18

An eating disorder that causes a person to eat very little food to keep weight at an unhealthy low.

Involves a strong fear about gaining weight.

The person may cut their food into very small pieces, refuse to eat in front of people, exercise excessively, and may have a distorted perception of body image.

Question 19

Describe bulimia nervosa

Answer 19

Characterized by cycles of bingeing on food and then purging.

The person overeats, then feels a loss of control and self-disgust for overeating.

This causes the person to rid himself/herself of the food through vomiting, using laxatives or diuretics, excessively exercising, or fasting.

Question 20

Describe compulsive eating disorder

Answer 20

Characterized by eating a very large period of food over a short period of time.

A person may feel out of control during an episode.

May involve eating much faster than normal, eating when there is no indication of hunger, eating between daily meals, or eating more than 5,000 calories in one sitting.

This may result in the person feeling self-disgust or depressed