Chapter 16: Psychological Disorders

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Chapter 16 Psychological Disorders

• Stewart
• Seattle Pacific University

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What makes you normal?

• We all have crazy moments.
• It is the duration of such behavior that makes a
  disorder.
• Psychological disorders harmful dysfunctions
  that are atypical, disturbing, maladaptive, and
  unjustifiable.
• Some disorders are culturally determined.
• Depression and Schizophrenia are see through out.

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Culture-bound Syndromes

• Koro Malaysian origin- episode of sudden and
  intense anxiety that the penis (or vulva and
  nipples) will recede into the body and possibly
  cause sudden death.
• Ghost sickness American Indian- preoccupation
  with death and the deceased including bad dreams,
  weakness, feeling of danger, fainting,
  hallucinations, LOC, sense of suffocation.
• Anorexia/bulimia western societies.

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Classification and Labeling Disorders

• DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
  Mental Disorders)
• This outlines symptoms, time limits, severity
• The good it gives an objective measure, that
  gives a reliability to diagnosis.
• The bad once someone is diagnosed, they are seen
  in that way. All behavior is interpreted
  according to the diagnosis.

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Rosenhan Study

• Eight participants presented themselves for
  admission to 12 psychological hospitals
• Complained of hearing voices say empty hollow
  thud
• They then acted as they normally would
• They were all admitted and hospitalized from 7 to
  52 days.
• They found
• Minimal staff-patient contact
• All behavior was understood according to their
  diagnosis.

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Anxiety Disorders

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Continually tense, apprehensive, in a state of
  autonomic nervous system arousal
• Panic Disorder
• Minute to 10 minute long episode of intense dread
  where person experiences terror, chest pain,
  choking, feeling of impending death
• After several panic attacks, the person is
  frightened of another attack occurring
• Agoraphobia can develop with panic.
• Fear or avoidance of situations in which escape
  would be difficult and help unattainable.

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Anxiety Disorders

• Phobias
• Focus anxiety on a specific object, activity, or
  situation.
• They are irrational fears that disrupt daily
  functioning.
• Ie Systematic Desensitization Demo
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Obsessions senseless or offensive thoughts that
  will not go away. (the thoughts)
• Compulsions rigid behavior checking, ordering,
  cleaning, or hoarding. (the actions)

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Why do anxiety disorders exist?

• Fear conditioning
• Stimulus generalization
• Reinforcement
• Observational learning
• Aids in survival
• Physiological- our brain is just wired that way

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Dissociative Disorder

• Under extreme stress a person might repress
  painful memories and separate them from conscious
  awareness.
• Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple
  personalities)- due to extreme trauma an
  individual will at some point in their life
  develop alternative personalities
• This disorder is highly criticized as an American
  fad disorder and its existence is questioned as a
  manifestation of client- therapist interaction
  and suggestion.
• In support evidence has been found that brain
  states change when switching personalities as
  well as handedness.

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Personality Disorders

• Unlike disorders such as depression or anxiety-
  personality disorders are long standings patterns
  of behavior that are rigid to change.
• Avoidant social isolation
• Schizoid eccentric behavior with social
  isolation
• Histrionic shallow, attention-getting emotions
  at great length to gain praise and approval
• Narcissistic exaggerated self-importance, rage
  with criticism
• Borderline intense emotional instability,
  unstable identity, unstable relationships

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Personality Disorders cont.

• Antisocial little concern for welfare or respect
  of autonomy of others, lack a conscience
• (ie how to know if you are dating someone like
  this)

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Mood Disorders

• Major Depressive Disorder
• Lethargy, feelings of worthlessness, loss of
  interest in things once pleasurable, lasting two
  weeks or more, without notable cause.
• Ie video
• Bipolar Disorder
• Vacillate between episodes of major depression
  and mania
• Manic episode over-talkative, overactive,
  elated, little need for sleep, impulsive
  behaviors.
• Hypomania- more mild version of this.

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Explanations for mood disorders

• Genetic influence They run in families
• Physiological
• In depression- less norepinephrine and serotonin.
  Brain is also less active.
• In mania- too much norepinephrine. Brain is
  overactive.
• Social-cognitive Interplay between our brain
  chemistry, what we think, and the mood that we
  experience.
• Negative thoughts feed negative moods
• Negative moods feed negative thoughts
• Learned helplessness

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Global, Stable, Internal Depression
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Seligman Study

• Seligman Learned Helplessness study
• Dogs in three groups
• Escape group experienced shock but could learn
  to escape it.
• No-escape group experienced shock but could not
  stop it.
• No-harness group experienced shock but could
  learn to escape it.
• They were then all entered into a box where they
  were not harnessed and could escape shock.
• Escape group didnt need to relearn, no harness
  learned quickly, but no-escape group didnt show
  learning to escape at all.

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Seligman
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Schizophrenia

• Split in reality seen in
• disorganized thinking fragmented, bizarre, and
  distorted thinking called delusions. Word salad
  is also likely present.
• disturbed perceptions hallucinations which are
  usually auditory.
• inappropriate emotions and actions completely
  inappropriate.
• Ie Beautiful Mind

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Why does Schizophrenia occur?

• Brain abnormalities dopamine overactivity, brain
  anatomy
• Question of fetal-virus
• Genetics
• Acute stress vs. family supportiveness

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Rates