Psychological Disorders and Treatments: DSM-5, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Therapy Types

Psychological disorders

Persistent harmful thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that cause distress or impair functioning.

Deviant

Behavior outside societal norms.

Distressful

Causes significant personal discomfort.

Dysfunctional

Interferes with daily functioning; maladaptive.

DSM / DSM-5-TR

Manual used to classify and diagnose psychological disorders; includes symptoms, criteria, frequency, and risk factors.

Labeling

Giving someone a diagnosis; affects perception.

Stigma

Negative beliefs or discrimination toward people with disorders.

Anxiety

State of tension, apprehension, and physical arousal.

Pathological anxiety

Irrational, persistent anxiety that disrupts life.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Chronic, excessive worrying and tension with physical symptoms.

Autonomic nervous system arousal

Increased heart rate, sweating, shaking, shortness of breath.

Panic Disorder

Sudden, frequent panic attacks without warning.

Panic Attack

Minutes-long episode of intense fear: choking, dizziness, chest pain, heart racing.

Triple vulnerabilities model of emotional disorders

Biological predisposition + low control + sensitivity to physical sensations.

Agoraphobia

Fear of situations where escape/help may be difficult during panic.

Somatic symptom disorders

Ongoing physical symptoms + lots of worry

Conversion disorder

psychological distress is converted into physical symptoms such as loss of sensory or motor function (blindness/paralysis) with no medical cause.

Phobia

Irrational fear of something specific.

Specific Phobia

Extreme fear causing avoidance and impaired functioning.

Situational phobia

Fear of flying, driving, elevators, etc.

Natural environment phobia

Fear of heights, water, storms.

Blood-injection-injury phobia

Fear of injections, blood, procedures.

Animal phobia

Fear of snakes, spiders, dogs, cats.

Other phobia

Fear of choking, clowns, vomiting.

Social Anxiety Disorder

a mental health condition characterized by an intense, persistent fear of being judged or humiliated in social situations, leading to avoidance of many social activities.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions).

Obsessions

Unwanted, intrusive thoughts.

Compulsions

Rituals performed to reduce anxiety from obsessions.

Washing compulsion

Repetitive cleaning.

Checking compulsion

Repeatedly verifying locks, appliances, etc.

Ordering compulsion

Symmetry/arranging behavior.

Counting compulsion

Repetitive counting routines.

Contamination obsession

Fear of germs/dirt.

Pathological doubt

a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) where a person is plagued by a fear that something terrible will happen.often over seemingly insignificant issues

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Trauma exposure leading to intrusive memories, avoidance, mood changes, hyperarousal.

Acute Stress Disorder

a mental health condition where symptoms like intrusive memories, anxiety, dissociation, and avoidance develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event.(this condition is short term only lasting any where from 3 days up to 4 weeks)

Adjustment Disorder

Emotional reactions to a stressor (less severe than PTSD).

Traumatic event

a frightening or dangerous incident that causes physical, emotional, or psychological harm and threatens your sense of safety

Dissociative experience

Temporary break in awareness or memory.

Dissociative disorders

Severe disruptions in identity, awareness, memory.

Dissociative Amnesia

Inability to recall important personal info due to stress/trauma.

Dissociative Fugue

a temporary mental state characterized by sudden, unexpected travel, a loss of personal identity, and memory loss, often triggered by severe stress or trauma. Individuals with dissociative fugue may assume a new identity or engage in uncharacteristic behavior while unable to recall their previous life.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

Two or more distinct identities + memory gaps.

Paranoid Personality Disorder

Extreme distrust and suspicion.

Schizoid Personality Disorder

a mental health condition characterized by a lifelong pattern of emotional detachment and social isolation.(indifferent to lack of relationships)

Schizotypal Personality Disorder

a mental health condition characterized by odd behavior, speech, thinking, appearance.few close relationships, and great distrust of others.(Desires relationships but has difficulty maintaining them due to these symptoms)

Antisocial Personality Disorder

No remorse, violates rights of others, manipulative.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

A mood disorder periods of extreme euphoria alternating with periods of extreme depression.(moods shifts last for minutes or hours)

Biosocial Developmental Theory

BPD caused by biological emotional sensitivity + invalidating environment.

Histrionic Personality Disorder

a mental health condition marked by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking behavior.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

a personality disorder characterized by an exaggerated sense of self-importance, a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy for other people.

Avoidant Personality Disorder

Fear of rejection; avoids social interactions.

Dependent Personality Disorder

Needs others to take care of them; clingy, helpless.

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)

Rigid perfectionism; preoccupied with order and rules.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Long-lasting sadness, hopelessness, loss of interest.

Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia)

Long-term low-level depression.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Depression during fall/winter.

Learned helplessness

Feeling powerless after repeated negative events.

Bipolar Disorder

Shifts between extreme euphoric highs and depressive lows, impacting mood and behavior.(moods that last for days, weeks, or months.)

Manic Episode

Extreme energy, fast speech, no sleep, grandiose ideas.

Cyclothymic Disorder

a milder form of bipolar disorder. Symptoms include periods of emotional highs and lows These mood changes can affect daily functioning, relationships, and a sense of stability. 

Schizophrenia

a chronic mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves, characterized by symptoms like hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized speech

Delusions

False beliefs despite evidence.

Hallucinations

False sensory perceptions.

Positive symptoms of schizophrenia

Extra behaviors: hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech.

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia

Lack of behaviors: flat affect, alogia, avolition.

Dopamine hypothesis

suggests that schizophrenia is caused by too many dopamine receptors → positive symptoms.

Psychotherapy

Talk therapy between therapist and client.

Psychoanalysis

Freud's therapy to uncover unconscious conflicts.

Free association

Saying thoughts freely without filter.

resistance in psychoanalysis

The patient's attempts to block the process of revealing repressed memories and conflicts.

Dream analysis

Examining dreams to reveal unconscious content.

Interpretation

Therapist explains unconscious meanings.

Transference

Client transfers feelings about others onto therapist.

Psychodynamic therapy

a form of talk therapy that focuses on understanding how unconscious thoughts and past experiences shape current feelings and behaviors

Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)

a brief, structured talk therapy that focuses on improving relationships to help relieve symptoms of mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder

Unresolved grief

Difficulty accepting loss.

Role disputes

conflicts arising from mismatched expectations between individuals in a relationship, whether personal or professional.

adjustment disorder

an emotional or behavioral reaction to a stressful life event or change, causing significant distress and problems with daily functioning

Interpersonal deficits

Lack of social skills.

Client-centered therapy

a non-directive approach that empowers clients to lead their own growth by creating a supportive environment

Active listening

Restating and clarifying what the client says.

Unconditional positive regard

Total acceptance without judgment.

Behavior therapy

Changes behavior using learning principles.

Classical conditioning

Learning through association.

Counterconditioning

Replacing fear with relaxation,basically reverse conditioning It is a behavioral therapy technique that pairs a feared stimulus with a new, positive response, aiming to diminish the fear response.

Exposure therapy

Facing feared stimuli gradually.

Systematic desensitization

technique that gradually reduces fear responses by pairing relaxation + gradual exposure.

Anxiety hierarchy

List of fears ranked least → most scary.

Progressive relaxation

Relaxing muscles to reduce anxiety.

Aversive conditioning

Pairing unwanted behavior with something unpleasant.

Operant conditioning

Behavior shaped by reward/punishment.

Reinforcer

Increases a behavior.

Punisher

Decreases a behavior.

Cognitive Therapy (Beck)

a talk therapy developed by Dr. Aaron Beck in the 1960s that focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns to improve mental health.

Cognitive distortions

irrational or exaggerated negative thinking patterns that twist reality, often leading to increased stress, anxiety, or depression

Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT)

a type of psychotherapy that helps challenges irrational beliefs.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Changes thoughts and behaviors together.

Family therapy

a type of psychotherapy where family members or people in close relationships work with a therapist to improve communication, resolve conflicts, and strengthen relationships

Group therapy

Several clients meet together with a therapist.