Test 2 - Psychopathology: An Integrative Approach to Mental Disorders

Anxiety

a future-oriented negative mood state characterized by bodily symptoms of physical tension and by apprehension about the future (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Barlow, 2002)

fear

an immediate alarm reaction to danger

panic

sudden overwhelming reaction

panic attack

an abrupt experience of intense fear or acute discomfort, accompanied by physical symptoms that usually include heart palpitations, chest pain, shortness of breath, and, possibly, dizziness

behavioral inhibition system (BIS)

activated by signals from the brain stem of unexpected events, such as major changes in body functioning that might signal danger

fight/flight system (FFS)

originates in the brain stem and travels through several midbrain structures, including the amygdala, the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus, and the central gray matter

generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

the focus is generalized to the events of everyday life

panic disorder (PD)

severe, unexpected panic attacks

agoraphobia

fear and avoidance of situations in which a person feels unsafe or unable to escape to get home or to a hospital in the event of a developing panic, panic-like symptoms, or other physical symptoms, such as loss of bladder control

Panic control treatment (PCT)

concentrates on exposing patients with panic disorder to the cluster of interoceptive (physical) sensations that remind them of their panic attacks

specific phobia

an irrational fear of a specific object or situation that markedly interferes with an individual's ability to function

blood-injection-injury phobias

people with this phobia inherit a strong vasovagal response to blood, injury, or the possibility of an injection, all of which cause a drop in blood pressure and a tendency to faint

situational phobias

Phobias characterized by fear of public transportation or enclosed places

natural environment phobias

fears of situations or events occurring in nature

animal phobias

Fears of animals and insects

Separation anxiety disorder

characterized by children's unrealistic and persistent worry that something will happen to their parents or other important people in their life or that something will happen to the children themselves that will separate them from their parents (for example, they will be lost, kidnapped, killed, or hurt in an accident)

social anxiety disorder (SAD)

more than exaggerated shyness

social phobia

the former name for "SAD"

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

exposure to a traumatic event during which an individual experiences or witnesses death or threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violation

acute stress disorder

occurring within the first month after the trauma, but the different name emphasizes the severe reaction that some people have immediately

prolonged grief disorder (PGD)

the process of adaptation to loss is prolonged and even intensifies with the passage of time instead of diminishing

Adjustment disorders

describe anxious or depressive reactions to life stress that are generally milder than would be seen in acute stress disorder or PTSD but are nevertheless impairing in terms of interfering with work or school performance, interpersonal relationships, or other areas of living (Friedman et al., 2011; Strain & Friedman, 2011)

Attachment disorders

disturbed and developmentally inappropriate behaviors in children, emerging before 5 years of age, in which the child is unable or unwilling to form normal attachment relationships with caregiving adults

reactive attachment disorder

the child will very seldom seek out a caregiver for protection, support, and nurturance and will seldom respond to offers from caregivers to provide this kind of care

disinhibited social engagement disorder

a pattern of behavior in which the child shows no inhibitions whatsoever to approaching adults

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

establishing even a foothold of control and predictability over the dangerous events in life seems so utterly hopeless that victims resort to magic and rituals

Obsessions

intrusive and mostly nonsensical thoughts, images, or urges that the individual tries to resist or eliminate

Compulsions

the thoughts or actions used to suppress the obsessions and provide relief

body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)

a preoccupation with some imagined defect in appearance by someone who actually looks unremarkable (Fang & Wilhelm, 2015)

trichotillomania

The urge to pull out one's own hair from anywhere on the body, including the scalp, eyebrows, and arms

Excoriation

repetitive and compulsive picking of the skin, leading to tissue damage

dissociative disorders

conscious awareness becomes separated from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings

somatic symptom disorder

psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause

Illness anxiety disorder

physical symptoms are either not experienced at the present time or are very mild, but severe anxiety is focused on the possibility of having or developing a serious disease

psychological factors affecting medical condition

the presence of a diagnosed medical condition (such as asthma, diabetes, or severe pain) clearly caused by a known medical condition (such as cancer) that is adversely affected (increased in frequency or severity) by one or more psychological or behavioral factors

Functional Neurological Symptom Disorders (Conversion Disorders)

physical malfunctioning, such as paralysis, blindness, or difficulty speaking (aphonia), without any physical or organic pathology to account for the malfunction.

malingering

faking

factitious disorder

no obvious reason for voluntarily producing the symptoms except, possibly, to assume the sick role and receive increased attention

Munchausen syndrome

what "factitious disorder" used to be known as

derealization

sense of the reality of the external world is lost

depersonalization-derealization disorder

When feelings of unreality are so severe and frightening that they dominate an individual's life and prevent normal functioning

dissociative amnesia

loss of memory for personal information, either partial or complete

generalized amnesia

People who are unable to remember anything, including who they are

localized or selective amnesia

a failure to recall specific events, usually traumatic, that occur during a specific period

dissociative fugue

traveling away from familiar surroundings with amnesia for the trip and possible amnesia for personal information

dissociative trance

When the state is undesirable and considered pathological by members of the culture, particularly if the trance involves a perception of being possessed by an evil spirit or another person

dissociative identity disorder (DID)

may adopt as many as 100 new identities, all simultaneously coexisting, although the average number is closer to 15

alters

the different identities or personalities in DID