Week 7: Mental Illness Flashcards
Which branch of psychology focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders?
Clinical Psychology: Clinical or “abnormal”, psychology focuses on diagnosing and treating mental disorders. This branch of psychology is rooted in the work of Sigmund Freud who took a medical, rather than experimental, approach to understanding the causes of human behavior.
When does an “abnormal” trait become characterized as a mental disorder?
When it interferes with the quality of a person’s life. While we all possess one or more “abnormal” traits, they do not typically mean that we have a mental disorder. Abnormal traits are only used to diagnose a mental disorder when they interfere with a person’s life in a negative way. For example, the ability to remember pi to 100 decimal places is considered abnormal – in the sense that most people are not able to do this – however, it is unlikely that this abnormal trait has a negative impact on a person life and, thus, does not warrant a diagnosis of mental disorder.
What is the DSM
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is used by clinicians and psychiatrists to diagnose psychiatric illnesses. In 2013, the latest version known as the DSM-5 was released. The DSM is published by the American Psychiatric Association and covers all categories of mental health disorders for both adults and children.
Axis I of DSM
Clinical Syndromes: This is what we typically think of as the diagnosis (e.g., depression, schizophrenia, social phobia)
Axis II of DSM
Developmental Disorders and Personality Disorders
Developmental disorders include autism and mental retardation, disorders which are typically first evident in childhood
Personality disorders are clinical syndromes that tend to have longer-lasting symptoms and encompass the individual’s way of interacting with the world. They include Paranoid, Antisocial, and Borderline Personality Disorders.
Axis III of DSM
Physical Conditions: which play a role in the development, continuance, or exacerbation of Axis I and II Disorders. Physical conditions such as brain injury or HIV/AIDS that can result in symptoms of mental illness are included here.
Axis IV of DSM
Severity of Psychosocial Stressors: Events in a person’s life, such as the death of a loved one, starting a new job, college, unemployment, and even marriage can impact the disorders listed in Axis I and II. These events are both listed and rated for this axis.
Axis V of DSM
Highest Level of Functioning: On the final axis, the clinician rates the person’s level of functioning both at the present time and the highest level within the previous year. This helps the clinician understand how the above four axes are affecting the person and what type of changes could be expected.
What disorder is characterized by overwhelming and concurrent feelings of sadness, worthlessness, helplessness, lethargy, and apathy?
Major Depressive Disorder: While we all feel all of these emotions at some point in our lives, a person with Major Depressive Disorder feels all of these feelings at the same time and all of the time.
Major Depressive Disorder is ________ common in females
“More” Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is more common in females than in males. However, MDD overall is more common in the general population than most other mental disorders and often appears in the “post-pubescent” period of a person’s life when social context and interactions begin to play a prominent role.
Bipolar disorder 1
Bipolar I disorder (pronounced “bipolar one” and also known as manic-depressive disorder or manic depression) is a form of mental illness. A person affected by bipolar I disorder has had at least one manic episode in his or her life. A manic episode is a period of abnormally elevated or irritable mood and high energy, accompanied by abnormal behavior that disrupts life.
Most people with bipolar I disorder also suffer from episodes of depression. Often, there is a pattern of cycling between mania and depression. This is where the term “manic depression” comes from. In between episodes of mania and depression, many people with bipolar I disorder can live normal lives
Bipolar disorder 2
Bipolar II disorder (pronounced “bipolar two”) is a form of mental illness. Bipolar II is similar to bipolar I disorder, with moods cycling between high and low over time.
However, in bipolar II disorder, the “up” moods never reach full-blown mania. The less-intense elevated moods in bipolar II disorder are called hypomanic episodes, or hypomania.
What does the term “Schizophrenia” mean?
“Split mind” The term Schizophrenia means “Split Mind”. However, this does not mean split or multiple personalities. Instead, it refers to the distorted thoughts, perceptions, behaviors, and emotions that are characteristic of this group of psychological disorders.
In males, at what age does Schizophrenia most often result in hospitalization?
Midlife (20-40yrs) Schizophrenia in males is often diagnosed between 20 and 40 years of age. In contrast, women are often diagnosed with schizophrenia slightly later: between 35 and 50 years of age. While there are very few cases of schizophrenia during childhood, the onset can occur at any time in life, even during later life and old age.
What class of personality disorder does “Antisocial” belong to?
“Dramatic/Emotional” Antisocial personality disorder is a form of dramatic/emotional personality disorder. In it’s a most extreme form, psychopathy, a person is both charming and manipulative and can understand emotions in others as a means to manipulate them, but does not share those emotions (i.e., they have a Theory of Mind, but lack empathy). In it’s lesser form, sociopathy, a person will appear impulsive and irresponsible – constantly getting into trouble and repeating negative behaviors.
