Psychological Disorders and Treatments: Key Concepts and Therapies

Psychological disorder

Pattern of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that cause significant distress, dysfunction, or deviance from cultural norms

Anxiety disorders

Disorders involving excessive, persistent, uncontrollable fear or anxiety, often with physical symptoms (heart rate, sweating)

Phobia

Irrational, persistent fear of a specific object or situation that leads to avoidance behavior

Panic disorder

Characterized by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks and ongoing fear of future attacks

Panic attack

Sudden episode of intense fear with physical symptoms like heart palpitations, shortness of breath

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

Excessive, persistent worry about everyday events, difficult to control

Obsessions

Intrusive, unwanted thoughts, urges, or images that cause anxiety

Compulsions

Repetitive behaviors or mental acts performed to reduce anxiety caused by obsessions

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Disorder involving obsessions and compulsions that interfere with daily life

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Disorder following trauma with flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance, and hyperarousal

Major depressive disorder

At least 2 weeks of depressed mood or loss of interest (anhedonia) plus other symptoms

Persistent depressive disorder

Chronic, long-term depression lasting 2+ years, less severe than major depression

Bipolar disorder

Mood disorder with alternating depressive episodes and manic or hypomanic episodes

Mania

Period of abnormally elevated mood, energy, impulsivity, decreased need for sleep

Anorexia nervosa

Eating disorder with intense fear of gaining weight, food restriction, and distorted body image

Bulimia nervosa

Eating disorder with binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors (vomiting, fasting, excessive exercise)

Schizophrenia

Severe disorder with disorganized thinking, hallucinations, delusions, and impaired functioning

Hallucination

False sensory perception (seeing/hearing things) without external stimulus

Delusion

Fixed, false belief held despite clear contradictory evidence

Dopamine hypothesis

Theory that excess dopamine activity contributes to schizophrenia symptoms

Antisocial personality disorder

Pattern of disregard for others' rights, lack of empathy or remorse, impulsive behavior

Borderline personality disorder

Instability in mood, relationships, and self-image, with impulsive behavior

Narcissistic personality disorder

Grandiosity, need for admiration, lack of empathy

Cluster A personality disorders

Odd, eccentric behaviors (paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal)

Cluster B personality disorders

Dramatic, emotional, erratic behaviors

Cluster C personality disorders

Anxious, fearful behaviors

Stress

Physiological and psychological response to demands or stressors

Distress

Negative stress that can cause anxiety and decrease performance

Eustress

Positive, motivating stress that can improve performance

General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Three-stage stress response: alarm, resistance, exhaustion

Alarm stage

Initial stage with fight-or-flight response activation

Resistance stage

Body attempts to adapt and cope with ongoing stress

Exhaustion stage

Depletion of resources, leading to fatigue and increased illness risk

Fight-or-flight response

Automatic physiological response preparing body for action via sympathetic nervous system

Problem-focused coping

Directly addressing the problem causing stress

Emotion-focused coping

Managing emotional response to the stressor

Learned helplessness

Passive resignation after repeated exposure to uncontrollable negative events

Resilience

Ability to adapt, recover, and bounce back from adversity

Internal locus of control

Belief that you control your own outcomes

External locus of control

Belief that outside forces (luck, fate) control outcomes

Psychotherapy

Treatment using psychological methods, often through talk therapy

Cognitive therapy

Focuses on changing dysfunctional or negative thought patterns

Behavior therapy

Focuses on modifying maladaptive behaviors using conditioning

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)

Combines changing negative thought patterns and behaviors

Exposure therapy

Gradual, repeated exposure to feared stimuli to reduce anxiety

Systematic desensitization

Gradual exposure paired with relaxation techniques

Psychoanalysis

Freudian therapy focusing on unconscious conflicts and childhood experiences

Free association

Client says whatever comes to mind without censorship

Insight therapies

Aim to increase self-awareness and understanding of problems

Biomedical therapy

Use of medications or medical procedures to treat disorders

Antidepressants

Medications that increase serotonin, norepinephrine, or dopamine

Antianxiety drugs

Medications that enhance GABA activity, calming the nervous system

Antipsychotic drugs

Medications that block dopamine receptors, reducing psychotic symptoms

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Treatment using controlled electrical currents to induce seizures for severe depression

Psychotropic medication

Drugs that affect mood, perception, or behavior

Diathesis-stress model

Disorders result from predisposition (vulnerability) + environmental stressor

Diagnosis

Process of identifying a disorder based on symptoms

DSM-5-TR

Manual with standardized criteria for diagnosing mental disorders