Abnormal Quiz

Myth #3

Personality weakness or character flaws cause mental health problems. People with mental health problems can snap out of it if they try hard enough.

Truth of Myth #3

Mental health problems have nothing to do with being lazy or weak and many people need help to get better.

Factors of Mental Health Problems

• biological factors

• Life experiences

• Family history of mental health problems

• Etc.

Myth #4

There is no hope for people with mental health problems. Once a person develops mental health problems, they will never recover.

Truth of Myth #4

Studies show show that people with mental health problems get better and many recover completely.

Myth #5

I can’t do anything for a person with a mental health problem.

Truth of Myth #5

Friends and loved once’s can make a big difference.

History of abnormal behavior

• astrology

• Evil spirits → led to the drilling of skulls to “release” evil spirits (trephination)

• Satanic possession

  • “Work of the devil”

  • Punishment by the divine for deviation

Medical model

Concept that diseases, in this case psych disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and cured

Medical model

• based on syphilis

• Infects brain

  • Visible physical changes along with behaviorist → causes realization that disorders caused by something unseen

Biopsychosocial Approach

• Comes after medical model

• Belief that all behavior is the product of an interaction between nature (genes & biology) & nurture (environment & past experiences)

Reformers of Mental Health Treatment

• Philipe Pinsel

• Dorothea Dix

• Nellie Bly

Philippe Pinel

• believed in “Moral Treatment”

  • Better treatment → better recovery

• Before him:

  • Madness - illness

    • Treatment: inhumane, captivity, chaining

Dorothea Dix

• criticized cruelty toward mentally ill

  • Standard: caging, incarceration w/o clothing, painful physical restraint

  • Belief: shameful, so hid people so others wouldn’t know & others would still marry into the family

• Crusaded for reform

  • Ran state-run mental institutions

Nellie Bly

• journalist; mid-1800s to early 1900s

• Write undercover exposé on horrific conditions inside NY mental institution

  • Pretended to be “mad” to assimilate

How to Diagnose?

• DSM-5 (published by APA)

  • Means Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, 5th Edition

  • Way of classifying/diagnosing disorders

  • Provides description, not explanation (explanation = widely controversial/not agreed upon)

  • Aims to be reliable, objective, and observable

  • Now in more searchable online platforms

  • Helps professionals confirm/fact-check assumed diagnosis

Major Risk Factor

• poverty

  • B/c it affects other factors: healthcare access, etc (less money → less support/treatments)

  • Associated w common psych disorders (e.g. depression 2x likely)

  • Causal

ACE Study Basic Details

• Adverse Childhood Experience Study

• Asked 17500 adults about exposure to adverse childhood experiences

Link between mental health

• Person wit 4 to more ACEs is 4.5 times more likely to ave depression

• Person with 4 to more ACEs is 12 times more likely to face suicidality

Link between ACEs and overall ealt

• predictor of poor overall ealth

• Person with 7 to more ACEs is 3 times more likely than the lifetime risk to have lung cancer

• One with 7 to more ACEs is 3.5 times more likely to be at risk for ischemic heart disease

Effect of Persistent Trauma on the Brain

• inhabits the growth and development of crucial parts of the brain (prefrontal cortex, amygdala, etc)

• Repetitively causes one to experience “fight-or-flight” responses

  • Consistent production of stress hormones (adrenaline/cortisol)

• Excess production of stress hormones damages health of children, affects immune system, the way DNA is read/transcribe, etc.

Anxiety Disorder Def

• characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety

Maladaptive behaviors

• unhealthy coping/adapting behaviors

• Hinders normal function

Sympathetic NS

• Dickson of autonomic NS responsible for anxiety responses

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

• continually, inexplicably apprehensive

• Unable to get over minor stressors

• Consistently worried

GAD Population

• 2/3 female

• Rate by 50, prevalence decreases as age increases.

GAD Coping

• exercise

• Reduce caffeine

• Increased sleep

Panic Disorders Definition

• marked by occurrence of panic attacks

Panic attacks definition

• predictable minutes-long episodes of…

  • Intense dread

  • Terror

  • Chest pain

  • Choking

  • Frightening sensations, etc.

Agoraphobia

• an intense fear of being in open places or in situations where it may be hard to escape/seek help.

Phobias Definition

• persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation

  • Specifics: heights, animals, flying, etc

  • Avoidance - ex. Of maladaptive behavior

Exposure Therapy

• treatment for phobias involving systematic desensitization

• Gradual exposure paired with relaxation techniques

• Uses ladder/hierarchy of fear

  • Work to build up to most exposure/fear-inducing activities

Flooding

• form of systematic desensitization (most aggressive type)

• Immediate exposure - “thrown into deep end”

Dr. Hurst Video

• with patient consent, treats specific phobias in less than 3 hours

• Interviews her (45 min), prepares her (15 min), exposes her to different levels of her fear

• Doesn’t use breathing/relaxing techniques (wouldn’t be exposure therapy)

• Once achieved, provides patients w post recommendations of exposure

• More than 80% improve with his methods

Why do Dr. Hurst’s methods work?

• habituation - decreased responsiveness, body can’t keep up stress

• Increased Self-efficiency - one’s sense of their own competency increases in a specific task

• Positive reinforcement

Pavlov

• Russian physiologist

• father of classical conditioning

Classical conditioning definition

• preparation of body with early response to stimuli associated with specific feelings

  • Drool at sight of food

Pavlov Experiment

• observed odd patterns of salivation

  • Dogs drooling not at food, but before

• Rang a bell every time he fed them food

  • If rang bell but no food, dog still salivate

    • Learned the associatations

Pavlov connection to anxiety

• dogs learned the associations

  • Associations trigger anxiety

  • Exposure therapy tries to create more positive associations

Obsessive Compulsion Disorder (OCD) Definiton

• disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)

  • Obsessions - thought-based

  • Compulsions - action-based

Obsessions ex.

• germs, dirt, toxins

• Thought that smth terrible is happening

• Need for symmetry, order, exactness

Compulsions ex.

• excessive personal care

• Repetitive Rituals

• Checking behavior

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• addresses both thoughts & behaviors

• Video: confronting fears with radical actions

Mood Disorder Definition

• psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes

Mood disorders ex.

• major depressive disorder

• Bipolar disorder

Major Depressive Disorder

• Type of mood disorder

• Leading cause of disability worldwide

• Must display 2 or more weeks of 5 or more symptoms

Symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

• significantly depressed moods* (must experience this)

• Feelings of worthlessness

• Appetite issues

• Sleep issues

• Problems with thinking/concentrating

• Loss of interest/pleasure (must experience this)

Anhedonia

• Lack of interest/pleasure

• Required symptom of depression

Cognitive Therapy

• Way to deal with mood disorders

• Goal: teach ppl new, more adaptive ways of thinking

  • Thoughts intervene between events and our reaction

Antidepressants

• SSRIs -Selective Serotonin Receptor Inhibitors

• Stops sending neuron from re-uptake of serotonin neurotransmitters

• Would have same effect as exercise in moderate cases

  • So serotonin may be used more

• Aids in managing anxiety, depression, OCD, etc.

Bipolar disorder Def

• large category of mood disorders

Bipolar Disorder Symptoms

• alternating cycles of depression & mania

Mania

• is itself a mood disorder/symptom characterized by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state

  • Loud, hard to interrupt

  • Overactive, elated, insomnia

  • Reckless decision making

  • Wild optimism→ unaware of consequences

Lithium

• possible treatment of Bipolar disorder

• Mood-stabilizer

• Discovered by John Cade on accident (experimented on himself)

Schizophrenia Def

• “split-mind”

• Split from reality (not multiple personalities)

5 Symptom Areas

• delusions

• Hallucinations

• Disorganized thinking/speech

• Disorganized motor behavior

• Negative symptoms

Delusion

• false beliefs

• Often of persecution or grandeuR

  • Paranoid delusion - where one thinks someone’s spying on them, etc.

Hallucinations

• not limited to schizophrenia

• False sensory experiences w/o sensory stimulation

  • Most often auditory ( hearing voices)

Disorganized thinking/speech

• jumbled ideas create “word salad”

  • Stringing together words in nonsensical ways

  • Mind going everywhere

Disorganized motor behavior

• Catalonia (inappropriate movement)

  • Excitement - compulsive motions

  • Stupor - lack of motion

Negative Symptoms

• Flat affect

  • Lack of emotional expression

• Catalonic stupor

  • Lack of movement

• Meds often coincide to treat both

Target Population of Schizophrenia

• emerges in late teens, early 20s

• Global - rate unaffected by culture (don’t differ culture to culture)

• Experienced by males and females

• Genetic predispositions, but triggered/affected by environmental factors

Diathosis-stress theory

• describes on both genetics and environment play a role in disorders like schizophrenia

• One may have a genetic predisposition to a disorder, but the disorder is ultimately affect by environmental factors

Cause of Schizophrenia

• dopamine overactivity

  • Excess of receptors for dopamine

Genetic Component of Schizophrenia

• no specific causes have been discovered to decidedly or even w moderate probability produce schizophrenia

Probability of schizophrenia

• no relative → 1 in 100

• Relative → 1 in 10

• Twin → 1 in 2

Dissociative Disorders Def

• controversial disorder

• When one’s conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous thoughts, & feelings

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

• multiple personality, split personality

• Person exhibits 2 or more distinct & alternating personalities

  • One body, never simultaneous personalities

• Kim Noble - women with 100 personalities

DID associated with what?

• associated with severe physical & sexual abuse in childhood

Caveats with DID

• rare & controversial (a bit Freudian)

  • Seen more in western countries