Unit 15: Clinical Disorders

Question 1

What’s considered an abnormality?

Answer 1

• Something that’s not typical, follows a developmental trajectory that isn’t common.

Question 2

What are the three criteria that must be met in order for something to be considered an abnormality?

Answer 2

• Deviance (unique)
• Distress (to those and those around you)
• Maladaptive (not healthy, not helping you)

Question 3

What are some major topics discussed in the history of Mental Illness?

Answer 3

• Superstition - mental illness was initally treated with a lot of superstition, which meant patients recieved very poor treatment, if any at all.
• Organic causes - Believed that mental illness was linked to physciological causes (ex. syphillis allowed people to experience manic episodes)
• Asylums - Facilities where the mentally ill were sent to recieve treatment. Started with good intentions but the funding became greatly reduced so the care diminshed to a point where it was considered abuse.
• Medicalization - advancements in medecine have allowed for less people to require in-person care. This includes the developments of pills.
• Compassion care - Started during the 1700s. Smaller homes/cottages used to better assist patients

Question 4

What’s the medical model? What are its criticisms?

Answer 4

• Knowledge and methods of treating physical illnesses should be transferred to methods of mental illness. The idea that mental illness should be less stimatized and should recieve proper treatment just as physcial illness does.
• There’s obvious differences in severity and duration of mental illness in comparison to physical illnesses.
• Only looking for a cure, not focusing on prevention or building support.
• Creates a clean division between the sick and the healthy, which is not very accurate for mental illness.
• The key is maintaining mental health in order to prevent mental illness

Question 5

What is the DSM-5

Answer 5

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders which came out in 2013. 512 disorders organized into 20 groups

Question 6

What is definetly not a disorder?

Answer 6

• Psychotic
• Insane
• Crazy

Question 7

Wat are criticisms of the DSM?

Answer 7

• Changes when social norms change (constantly changing)
  -Ignores causes, only focused on symptoms. Need to treat the causes.
• Can invalidate the experiences and disorders of others
• Changing labels leads to changing diagnoses

Question 8

What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?

Answer 8

• An anxiety related disorder where a person is constantly worried about different things all of the time, never satisfied with what they have gotten done
• Can lead to burn out

Question 9

What is panic disorder?

Answer 9

• An anxiety disorder where the individual experiences recurrent panic attacks
• Very intense physiological symptoms
• Very preoccupied with preventing panic attacks that it affects your life, constantly in fear
• Start receiving treatment when it affects your everyday life as panic attacks themselves aren’t uncommon

Question 10

What are phobias?

Answer 10

• Specific, overwhelming fears that can be anything
• They’re persistant and irrational and can take over your life if they become too much
• Very curable
• An anxiety disorder

Question 11

What’s social anxiety?

Answer 11

• An anxiety disorder that involves excessive anticipation and distress when in social situations
• Constantly concerned about embarassing yourself and that you may disappoint others
• Must continue for at least six months
• May refrain from talking and withdrawal from social situations.

Question 12

What is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder?

Answer 12

• An anxiety disorder that is inflicted by trauma, where memories from the traumatic event cannot be repressed and keep reoccuring as flashbacks
• Individual is constantly reliving the experience
• Can occur long after trauma has occured (at least a month)
• Not everyone who experiences trauma will develop PTSD
• Treatment involves reliving the experience in a safe space

Question 13

What’s Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)?

Answer 13

• An anxiety disorder characterized by constant and uncontrollable obsessions and compulsions
• Obsessions - intrusive thoughts and ideas that cannot be supressed by the mind
• Compulsions - Behaviors that are used to quiet obsessions in the mind
• If unable to complete compulsions, leads to emotional distress
• Must be long-lasting in order to be considered a clinical diagnosis

Question 14

What’s hoarding disorder?

Answer 14

• An anxiety disorder where an individual experiences great distress over losing their items, allowing them to accumulate an insane amount of stuff
• Does not matter the matter or use, not based off of materialism
• Items do not have to have sentimental value
• House is so full you cannot move around

Question 15

What’s Major Depressive Disorder?

Answer 15

• A mood-related disorder where an individual experiences persistent feelings of sadness.
• Loss of interest in joy or pleasure, also lacking energy and motivation
• Pessimistic view of the world, ruminating on how bad the world and life is
• Can make poor decisions
• Can be biological (including familial) and situational (involves counselling)

Question 16

What is bipolar disorder?

Answer 16

• A mood-related disorder where the individuals moods fluctuate from depression to mania.
• Mania involves a very potent sense of euphoria. Get so energetic they become irritable that they can’t receive any feedback
• Unable to sleep during manic episodes
• Can also experience hypomania, which is not full blown mania
• Can lead to accidental self-harm when in manic episodes

Question 17

Is it true to say that eating disorders can be a learned behavior?

Answer 17

True (from parents)

Question 18

What’s Anorexia Nervosa?

Answer 18

• An eating disorder where an individual has an intense fear of gaining weight, so they place themselves under dangerous food restrictions
• Often involves a disturbed body-image (body dysmorphia)
• Includes purging and binging behavior
• Leads to health complications such as amenorrhea (period stops), hair loss, cardiac arrest etc.
• Leads to most fatalities
• Personalities are often perfectionist and controlling

Question 19

What’s bulimia nervosa?

Answer 19

• An anxiety disorder characterized by binge eating and intense purging behavior
• Want to change the body quickly
• Lots of guilt and shame associated, makes it difficult to reach out
• May also take laxatives and exercise a lot
• Due to major shifts in metabolism, it places a lot on stress on the body
• Dental decay due to constant vomitting
• No weight requirement for bulimia

Question 20

What’s orthorexia?

Answer 20

• An eating disorder that includes severe food restriction for the sake of “better health”. Want only organic and pure food etc.
• Not based on body image
• Tied to health/illness anxiety
• Leads to malnourishment
• More common in men

Question 21

What’s binge eating disorder?

Answer 21

• Includes rapid eating, can’t stop eating or else you feel very guilty and embarrassed
• Often linked to obesity but don’t have to be obese to have it
• Very possessive over food, and very upset when you have to stop eating
• Atypical portions, eat until uncomfortably full
• Can be hormonal or emotional causes, as well as a learned behavior

Question 22

What’s oppositional Defiant Disorder?

Answer 22

• A conduct disorder that can only be diagnosed during childhood
• Child loses temper very easily and is easily annoyed
• Often argues with authority figures such as teachers and parents
• Deliberately annoys and harrasses others, gets pleasure out of it
• Spiteful and vindictive

Question 23

What is Conduct disorder?

Answer 23

• Can only be diagosed in late adolescence (after oppositional defiance disorder)
• Bullies, threatens, intimidates others
• Initiates physical fights with others
• Physically cruel to people and/or animals
• Deliberately destroys property

Question 24

What are manias?

Answer 24

• A type of conduct disorder where an individual receives intense pleasure and gratification out of socially unacceptable acts that can be dangerous and harmful
• Not motivated by money
• Pyromania - the enjoyment of lighting fires. Will light fires in unaccetable environments
• Kleptomania - Intense desire to steal things. Not motivated by money, just the pleasure to steal
• Very impulsive, receive instant gratification
• Usually a response to some sort of trauma, and attempting to navigate the world

Question 25

What’s Schizophrenia?

Answer 25

• A split mind disorder, causing a very fragmented reality
• Often involve delusions - thoughts that aren’t true
• Paranoia is also very common
• Experience hallucinations, these include actual sensations that are tactile, can be very vivid
• Includes blunted emotions, may not experience fear as well and not show sadness
• Can include a lack of self-care as well

Question 26

What is dissociative amnesia?

Answer 26

• A dissociative disorder where you forget who you are, almost a break from your identity, similar to that of an out-of-body experience
• Linked to trauma, not head injuries
• Can occur during a traumatic event where you black out and dissociate for self-protection

Question 27

What is dissociative identity disorder?

Answer 27

• Where an individual has multiple personalities, cannot remeber what happens when one identity takes over
• Personalities have different characteristics, even medical conditions
• Extremely controversial, not enough data

Question 28

What is antisocial personality disorder?

Answer 28

• A personality disorder where the person is chronically violent
• Unaccepting of social norms
• Lack empathy, no remorse
• Want to achieve a sense of power, will sought out careers that provide a sense of authority
• Can be predicted with genetics, as well as biology (decreased size of amygdala)

Question 29

What is narcissistic personality disorder?

Answer 29

• A person who has a preoccupation with their self
• Believe that they are way better than they think they are, think they’re very attractive
• Won’t take any criticism
• Can be comorbid with antisocial disorder

Question 30

What’s histrionic personality disorder?

Answer 30

• A personality where the individual is overly dramatic about everything, emotions tend to fluctuate a lot.
• Take everything far too personally
• Exaggerated physical movements
• Need for approval, may post a lot on social media
• Experience low self-esteem, don’t feel good about themselves
• Can be treatable through talk therapy

Question 31

What’s borderline personality disorder?

Answer 31

• A personality disorder where an individual may feel things more intensely, leading them to be unstable and more impulsive
• Distress often causes them to flip between different personalities very often
• Brain is constantly taking big changes, can cause individual to make big risky changes in their life

Question 32

What is Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder?

Answer 32

• An inability for a child to pay attention for long periods of time, will often lose items
• Much more active which can cause them to make impulsive decisions
• Understimulation of the brain
• Very talkative
• A developmental disorder, often discovered during childhood
• Only becomes clinical when its maladaptive, constantly a stress in your life
• Can be passed down biologically

Question 33

What’s Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Answer 33

• A developmental disorder characterized by atypical social interaction and communication. Unable to make eye contact, unable to understand non-literal meanings
• Can have very specific, intense interests that they love to talk about
• Varying degrees as its along a spectrum
• Don’t like any disruptions to their routine
• Hypersensitivity to certain clothing