Psychopathology - characteristics of disorders Flashcards
What is a phobia?
An intense, overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal. They are more prominent than fears and may lead to an individual organising their life around their phobia.
What type of disorder is a phobia?
A very common anxiety disorder
What is the estimation of how many people suffer from a phobia?
15-20%
What is the basic requirement to be diagnosed with a disorder?
an interference of day-to-day functioning that lasts longer than 6 months.
What are the three main types of phobia?
specific phobias, social phobias, and agoraphobia
What are the 3 types of characteristics covered in characteristics of disorders?
emotional characteristics
behavioural characteristics
cognitive characteristics
what are the emotional characteristics associated with phobias?
Anxiety - feelings of worry/distress
Fear (persistent/excessive) - from exposed objects. Feelings of terror/scared and result in panic attacks
what are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?
Avoidant behaviour - go out of their way to avoid situations whereby they face their phobia, disruption of everyday functioning
Panic behaviours - leading to crying, screaming, running away, freezing, fainting, vomiting, no collapsing
What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?
Recognition of exaggerated anxiety - phobic recognises that their phobia is irrational and unreasonable, they pay selective attention to their feared object, and irrational beliefs and cognitive distortions
What disorder is depression and what is it?
A mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variet of emotional and physical problems
What is depression also called?
Major depression or clinical depression
How common is depression and what percentage of people are estimated to have it?
Depression is a fairly common mood disorder. Globally, it is estimated that 5% of adults suffer from depression and is a leading cause of disability worldwide.
What is the requirement to be diagnosed with depression?
Interfering with day-to-day functioning
What are the emotional characteristics of depression?
Loss of enthusiasm/anger constant depressed mood - sufferers must experience this for 2 weeks to be diagnosed with the condition
Worthlessness/lowered self-esteem
What are the behavioural characteristics of depression?
Loss of energy/lethargy - often accompanied by a loss of interest or pleasure in previously enjoyable activities
Social impairment - reduced interactions with friends and family , aggressive acts, and self harm
Weight changes - can either increase or decrease significantly due to disrupted eating
Sleeping issues - insomnia and a tendency to want to stay in bed is common
What are the cognitive characteristics of depression?
Negative schemas/cognitive bias - a distorted belief not grounded in reality. Themes tend to revolve around feelings of guilt and worthlessness, black and white thinking
Reduced concentration - sometimes a consequence of a lack of sleep, also a major symptom
Thoughts of death - persuasive thoughts of death or suicide
What is obsessive compulsive disorder?
An anxiety disorder. The condition has two main parts: obsessions (thoughts) and compulsions (behaviours)
What is the estimated percentage of people with OCD?
OCD is not as common as phobias or depression, but approximately 1.2% of the UK population have OCD
What are the requirements for an OCD diagnosis?
the disorder must be interfering with day-to-day functioning
What are the emotional characteristics of OCD?
Extreme anxiety - worry of being caught carrying out unacceptable behaviour
Fear of loss of identity - caused primarily by intrusive thoughts and the nature of losing your ability to think your own thoughts.
Distress - worry of being caught carrying out unacceptable behaviour
What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD?
Debilitation in functioning - people can’t function in everyday life
Social impairment - huge drop off in social activities with friends and families
Repetitive - sufferers feel compelled to repeat behaviours as a way to deal with thought patterns
What are the cognitive characteristics of OCD?
Recurrent and persistent thought patterns - constantly repeated that are intrusive and uncontrollable thoughts
Self-generated recognition - sufferers know the thoughts aren’t externally inserted, so it’s different to a normal delusion
Awareness/realisation of inappropriate and irrationality - sufferers know their thoughts are not socially accepted, and will go to great lengths to prevent them from being discovered
