Psychological Disorders

Psychological Disorders

Anxiety Disorders • Acute Stress Disorder • Agoraphobia • Generalized Anxiety Disorder • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder • Panic Disorder • Phobias • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Acute Stress Disorder • After a traumatic experience: • the person will re-live the trauma • Have panic attacks • This is very similar to PTSD as it is stress following a traumatic experience, but it occurs immediately after the trauma and lasts only a few days to a few weeks

Agoraphobia • a panic disorder in which people fear being caught in crowded, public places when they have an attack • 2/3 of agoraphobics are women

Generalized Anxiety Disorder • Excessive or unrealistic worry that appears to be present nearly all the time • They mostly worry about normal concerns such as finances, work, relationships, etc.’ • more common in women then men

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder • Unwanted thoughts or ideas; impulses that are difficult or impossible to resist, such as repeated hand washing connected with the idea that one’s hands remain unclean (an obsession)

Panic Disorder • Recurring, unexpected panic attacks characterized by rapid heart rate. • a panic attack is a short period of intense fear or discomfort, characterized by shortness of breath, dizziness, rapid heart rate, trembling or shaking, sweating, choking, nausea, etc.

Phobias • a persistent, excessive, or irrational fear of an object or a situation • it must be so bad that it interferes with the person’s normal life • a social phobia is when someone is worried about others making fun of them and so avoid situations where this might occur

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder • intense persistent feelings of anxiety that are caused by an experience so traumatic that it would produce stress in almost anyone • may experience flashbacks, nightmares, numbness of feelings, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, increased tension • people who react more strongly to the event are more likely to have PTSD

Anxiety Disorder • Treatment is normally: • Therapy • Anti-anxiety medication • Relaxation techniques

Dissociative Disorder • Dissociative Amnesia • Dissociative Fugue • Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder) • Depersonalization Disorder

Dissociative Amnesia • this is a sudden loss of memory usually following a stressful or traumatic event • Normally lasts a few hours but may persist for years • normally the person cannot remember any events that occurred during a certain period of time surrounding the traumatic event

Dissociative Fugue • It usually follows a traumatic event • the person may travel away from home and take on a new identity in addition to forgetting who they are • when they come to, they normally cannot remember what happened during the fugue • they can’t remember specific information about their lives but can normally still remember how to do math and drive

Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder) • involves the existence of two or more personalities within a single individual • follows some sort of trauma, more often than not abuse • often misdiagnosed as schizophrenia

Depersonalization Disorder • the feeling that a person is outside their bodies and observing themselves at a distance • it follows depression and anxiety as the most common complaint among patients

Dissociation Disorders • Treatment is normally therapy to help the victim cope with what happened

Eating Disorder • Anorexia Nervosa • Bulimia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa • A disorder where the person tries to control his/her life through diet and exercise • They also might use diuretics or laxatives to continue losing weight • 95% of anorexics are girls

Bulimia Nervosa • This eating disorder is characterized by chronic over-eating and then purging or vomiting • Patients also use diuretics and laxatives as well • Affects 3% of all women at some point in their lives

Eating Disorders • Treatment • Begin with getting the patient healthy • Therapy to keep the person healthy

Impulse Control Disorders • Intermittent Explosive Disorder • Kleptomania • Pathological Gambling • Pyromania • Trichotillomania

Intermittent Explosive Disorder • When a person overreacts to situations with extreme anger and aggressiveness • Could be road rage and domestic abuse • People often feel remorse or embarrassment after attacking someone or their property

Kleptomania • Also called compulsive stealing • Kleptomaniacs steal items that are cheap or worthless to them • They are normally ashamed and try to keep it a secret

Pathological Gambling • Women tend to get addicted to slot machines and bingo; men tend to get addicted to poker and black jack type games • Men become addicted at a younger age; women become addicted at an older age

Pyromania • A person deliberately sets fires for pleasure • They feel the need to set the fire and are very tense until they finally set the fire and then they are calmed

Trichotillomania • A compulsion to pull hair • Scalp, eyebrow, eyelash, arm/leg/body hair • Related to stress and tension

Impulse Control Disorders • Treatment • Behavior modification • Therapy • If it is linked to depression, antidepressants are also used or antianxiety medications

Mood Disorders • Bipolar Disorder • Cyclothymic Disorder • Dysthymic Disorder • Major Depressive Disorder

Bipolar Disorder • periods of mania change into depression • mania is when the person has hyperactivity and extreme excitement as well as chaotic behavior • manic moods can be accompanied by an inflated self-esteem, inability to sit or rest, continues to talk, difficulty concentrating and having racing thoughts

Cyclothymic Disorder • a chronic but relatively mild symptoms of bipolar disturbance

Dysthymic Disorder • a chronic depression that is insufficient in severity to justify diagnosis of a major depressive episode • 7-18% of Americans experience a depressive disorder • women are twice as likely to get it than men

Major Depressive Disorder • the most common of all psychological disorders • affects more than 100 million people worldwide • symptoms are persistent depressed mood for most of the day, loss of interest or pleasure in most activities, significant weight loss and change in appetite, sleeping more or less than usual, unable to make meaningful decisions, fatigue, etc. • to be this disorder, patient must have 5 symptoms especially the first two and be present every day for 2 weeks

Mood Disorders • Treatment: • Antidepressants • Antianxiety medication • Mood stabilizers • Therapy

Psychotic Disorders • Brief Psychotic Disorder • Delusional Disorder • Schizoaffective Disorder • Schizophrenia • Schizophreniform • Shared Psychotic Disorder

Brief Psychotic Disorder • A short-term illness that usually only lasts a month or less • Characterized by: • Hallucinations • Delusions: beliefs that are not true they refuse to give up • Can be caused by childbirth in women!

Delusional Disorder • delusions are false beliefs that are maintained even though they are clearly out of touch with reality

Schizoaffective Disorder • Similar to schizophrenia • The patient withdraws from family and friends • The patient develops a flat affect or loss of personality

Schizophrenia • loss of contact with reality including hallucinations, delusions, and thought disorders • 3 Types • Disorganized • Catatonic • Paranoid

Schizophrenia con. • Disorganized Schizophrenia is when people are incoherent in their thought and speech and disorganized in their behavior • often have no emotions or inappropriate emotions • Catatonic Schizophrenia is when patients hold unusual positions for long periods of time even if uncomfortable • Paranoid Schizophrenia is when people have delusions or hallucinations relating to a single idea • Often they believe someone is after them • they have more bizarre behavior than other schizophrenics

Schizophreniform • A person with schizophreniform exhibits the symptoms of schizophrenia, but it only lasts between 1 to 6 months

Shared Psychotic Disorder • Two or more people share in a delusion • Alien abduction • Everyone else is after them

Psychotic Disorders • Treatment: • Antipsychotic medications • Sometimes antidepressants or antianxiety medication • Therapy and coping skills

Somatoform Disorders • Body Dysmorphic Disorder • Conversion Disorder • Hypochondriasis Disorder • Pain Disorder • Somatization Disorder

Body Dysmorphic Disorder • When a person is preoccupied with minor or imaginary flaws or imperfections • They tend to have a lot of anxiety or stress about the flaw • May get a lot of plastic surgery to fix the “problem”

Conversion Disorder • people experience a change in or loss of physical functioning in a major part of the body for which there is no known medical explanation • they may not be able to move their legs or suddenly can no longer see at night; it sticks with one organ system • often they are not worried about what is happening to them

Hypochondriasis Disorder • people who become preoccupied with the fear they have a serious disorder or disease • they continue to believe they are sick even when doctors tell them they are not • hypochondriacs normally suffer from anxiety or depression as well

Pain Disorder • Also called Somatoform Pain Disorder • A person feels pain in a specific area in their body, but there is no known cause for the pain • This can also cause insomnia, fatigue, depression, inactivity and even disability

Somatization Disorder • a disorder marked by a history of diverse physical complaints that appear to be psychological in origin • this occurs mostly in women • the patient normally complain of a variety of pains not limited simply to one body part or system

Somatoform Disorders • Therapy: • Normally only therapy • Some medication if necessary • Antidepressants • Antianxiety medications

Personality Disorders • Antisocial Personality Disorder • Borderline Personality Disorder • Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Psychological Disorders