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Psychology 001 Introduction to Psychology Christopher Gade , PhD Office: 621 Heafey Office hours: F 3-6 and by apt. Email: gadecj@gmail.com Class WF 7:00-8:30 Heafey 650. The remaining classes…. In the final two classes of the course, we’ll be discussing three major disorder groups.
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Psychology 001Introduction to PsychologyChristopher Gade, PhDOffice: 621 HeafeyOffice hours: F 3-6 and by apt. Email: gadecj@gmail.com Class WF 7:00-8:30 Heafey 650
The remaining classes… • In the final two classes of the course, we’ll be discussing three major disorder groups. • Anxiety disorders • Mood disorders • Schizophrenia
Anxiety Disorders • Anxiety disorders involve an intense experience of anxiety and a series of efforts to deal with it • Four major categories of anxiety disorders: • Generalized Anxiety Disorder • Panic Disorder • Phobias • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder • Is found in 5-6% of the population • Involves a pervasive and free floating anxiety • Affected people feel continuously tense and jittery, worried, and suffer from sleeplessness • Antidepressant medication & relaxation training have been shown to be effective treatments
Panic Disorder • 1-3% of the population are diagnosed with this disorder at some time in their life • Identified bythe occurrence of frequent panic attacks • Panic attacks: minutes-long episodes of intense fear that something awful is going to happen. These attacks feature… • heart palpitations • shortness of breath • choking sensations • trembling • Repeated incidences lead to fear of ‘panic attack’, and thus a panic disorder and associated phobias, i.e. agoraphobia • Antidepressants and behavior therapy are common treatments • Age and time also are associated with a decrease in panic disorder occurrence rates
Phobias • Afflicts 11% of the population during their lifetime and 5-6% at any time • Fears are identified as a phobia when anxiety or irrational fear of a particular object or situation are extreme enough to interfere with everyday living • There is evidence for a genetic link in the predisposition for developing phobias, (some life experience usually must occur to cause the phobia) • Behavioral therapy that have been shown to ameliorate phobias • systematic desensitization and flooding • Video • Pharmacological therapy for phobias include tranquilizers and antidepressant drugs
Phobias (cont) • Some theories for the cause of phobias: • We might be evolutionarily ‘primed’ for fear of some and situations • Snakes versus electricity • Our fears of certain objects or situations are based on amount of safe vs. scary exposures • Airplanes versus automobiles • people are more prone to develop phobias of objects or situations that they cannot predict or control • Shark attacks
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder • Found in 2-3% of the population • Repetitive, irresistible acts (compulsions) performed to alleviate an ongoing anxious stream of thought (obsessions) with such persistence that they interfere with normal life activities • Typically found in average, hard working perfectionists • Some evidence for genetic contribution to OCD, especially in patients that develop OCD before 18 yrs • Most OCD individuals improve with or without treatment over time • Exposure therapy is often used: present the OCD person with a situation which facilitates the obsessions and prevent them from performing the compulsions to demonstrate that nothing catastrophic will occur
Overview • All of the different disorders discussed in this portionall classified under the anxiety disorders category in the DSM • Each has its own prevalence, defining characteristics, and causes/solutions • However, when looking at these disorders, they are all considered very similar by most clinical psychologists
Mood Disorders • Mood disorders all involve long-term problems with basic emotions • All but one of the most prevalent mood disorders are associated with a negative, unpleasant mood • There are a number of mood disorders that exist, with one being the most prevalent and well known • Depression • Seasonal Affective Disorder • Dysthymia • Bipolar Disorder
Depression • 5% of population is diagnosed in a given year, 10-20% in their lifetime • Multiple symptoms associated with the diagnosis of this disorder • feeling little interest in anything (including food and sex) • little pleasure derived from any activity • little motivation to be productive for an extended period of time (at least 2 weeks) • Also associated with • A feeling of powerlessness, guilt and worthlessness • Suicidal ideation and attempts • sleep abnormalities
Depression (cont.) • Depression is a family and genetic linked disorder • Life events contribute to the emergence of depression • Women are diagnosed with depression about twice as much • Cognitions are associated with depression: • pessimistic vs. optimistic • internal vs. external • global vs. singular • stable vs. dynamic • Treatments for depression: • regular sleep and exercise for mild to moderate depression • ECT (no statistical proof of efficacy, but used for major depression) • placebo • drug interventions • psychotherapies • Few people remain permanently depressed
Moving on… • In the next class, we’ll revisit the topic of mood disorders • We’ll also examine a third common type of disorder, schizophrenia • See you then
