Ap Psych mental disorders

Psychopathology

mental disorder

Deviant

represents a serious departure from social and cultural norms of behavior, not normal.

Maladaptive

dysfunctional behavior that interferes with a person's ability to function normally in one or more important areas of life.

Distressful

behavior that prevents a person from thinking clearly or making rational decisions.

Medical model

a way of helping people with abnormal behavior: diagnose, treat, cure.

DSM-5

The book used for classifying psychological disorders by medical professionals.

ICD-10

International Classification of Diseases, Tenth edition, a manual put out by the World Health Organization of the United Nations to help mental professionals classify disorders.

Anxiety disorders

tension, apprehension, & worry that occurs during a personal crisis or from the pressures of everyday life.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

characterized by persistent, uncontrollable, and ongoing apprehension about a wide range of life situations. The cause of the anxiety cannot be pinpointed. GAD can cause chronic fatigue and irritability. It affects twice as many women as men.

Panic Disorder

characterized by sudden episodes of extreme anxiety and panic attacks. The attacks can last from :30 - 1:00 and involve a pounding heart, rapid breathing, sudden dizziness, a feeling of lightheadedness, choking, sweating, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Phobias

characterized by a strong, irrational fear of specific objects or situations that are normally considered harmless.

Mysophobia

fear of germs

Agoraphobia

fear of public places and open places

Claustrophobia

fear of closed spaces

Hemophobia

fear of blood

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

characterized by persistent, repetitive, and unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions). In order to relieve the anxiety-provoking thoughts, one performs behaviors, or rituals.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

characterized by intense feelings of anxiety, horror, and helplessness after experiencing a traumatic event such as a violent crime, military combat, or natural disaster.

Affective (Mood) Disorders

serious, persistent disturbances in a person's emotions that can cause psychological discomfort and impair a person's ability to function.

Major (Unipolar) Depression

characterized by a lasting and continuous depressed mood. People suffering from major depression often feel lethargic and deeply discouraged leading some to have suicidal thoughts. Approximately 10% of those suffering major depression attempt suicide, but it is not until they are coming out of their depression.

Bipolar Disorder

characterized by periods of both depression and mania.

Symptoms of mania

Elated mood, profound irritability, racing thoughts, difficulty concentrating, feelings of undue power, feelings of self-importance, reckless spending of money, alcohol and/or drug abuse, insomnia, engaging in unsafe sex.

Symptoms of depression

Sadness, lack of interest in things that were once enjoyable, disinterest in interacting with others, frequent crying episodes, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, changes in appetite or weight, problems with money or concentration, headaches, backaches, or digestive problems, difficulty sleeping or excessive sleeping, thoughts about death or suicide.

Bipolar I disorder

In bipolar I disorder, one experiences repeated episodes of both mania and depression.

Bipolar II disorder

With bipolar II disorder, one never develops severe mania, but instead experiences hypomania — mild to moderate mania that doesn't usually lead to as much disruptive behavior as severe mania. Bipolar II disorder occurs when episodes of hypomania alternate with depression.

Rapid-cycling bipolar disorder

Rapid-cycling bipolar disorder leads to especially frequent episodes of mania, hypomania or depression — at least four episodes in a given year.

Cyclothymia

In cyclothymia, hypomania alternates with episodes of mild depression over at least a two-year period.

Dysthymia

A type of depression in which the symptoms are not as severe as major depression. It is characterized by chronic sadness, loss of interest in activities, and low energy.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Characterized by loss of energy, sadness, and increased sleep due to lack of light in the winter.

Somatoform disorders

Characterized by physical complaints or conditions which are caused by psychological factors, there are no physical causes for the pain.

Conversion disorder

Characterized by paralysis, blindness, deafness, or other loss of sensation, but with no discernable physical cause.

Hypochondriasis

An exaggerated concern about health and illness. A person suffering from hypochondriasis frequently meets with doctors and constantly reads about health symptoms.

Dissociative Disorders

Disorders of consciousness in which a person appears to experience a sudden loss of memory or a change of identity.

Dissociative identity disorder

Characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personalities in the same individual. Each personality has its own name, unique memories, behaviors, and self-image. DID usually occurs from a traumatic childhood event.

Depersonalization disorder

Characterized by a person feeling detached from his/her body.

Dissociative amnesia

Characterized by a partial or total inability to recall past experiences and important information. This is typically in response to a traumatic event or stressful situation, such as military combat or marital problems.

Dissociative fugue

Characterized by suddenly and inexplicably leaving home and taking on a completely new identity with no memory of a former life. While in the fugue state, the person experiences amnesia, but can otherwise function normally.

Schizophrenia

Means 'split mind', it is characterized by delusional beliefs, hallucinations, disorganized speech & thoughts, and emotional & behavioral disturbances.

Delusions

a bizarre or farfetched belief that continues in spite of competing contradictory evidence.

Delusions of reference

believing that hidden messages are being sent to you via newspaper, TV, radio, or magazines.

Delusions of grandeur

believing you are someone very powerful or important, such as Napoleon.

Delusions of persecution

believing that spies, aliens, the government, or even your neighbors are plotting against you.

Hallucinations

a false or distorted perception that seems vividly real to the person experiencing it.

Positive symptoms

characteristics of schizophrenia that are added to a person's personality, such as hallucinations, delusions, inappropriate emotions, and word salad.

Negative symptoms

characteristics of schizophrenia that are taken away from a person's personality, such as flattening of the emotions and speech, apathy, a general disinterest in life and social withdrawal.

Genetic basis for schizophrenia

the risk of developing schizophrenia increases if there is schizophrenia in the family.

Dopamine hypothesis

overactivity of certain dopamine neurons may cause some forms of schizophrenia, especially those that involve hallucinations and delusions.

Antipsychotic medications

block the excess dopamine activity to reduce the hallucinations and delusions.

Diathesis-stress model

people inherit a predisposition or diathesis that increases their risk of schizophrenia; stressful life experiences then trigger schizophrenic episodes.

Viral effects

mothers who catch certain viruses, such as the flu, while pregnant may increase the risk of brain abnormalities in babies leading to schizophrenia.

Personality disorders

characterized by inflexibility & maladaptive behaviors across a range of situations, usually become evident during adolescence or early adulthood.

Paranoid personality disorder

characterized by high levels of suspiciousness of the motives and intentions of others but w/out the outright paranoid delusions associated with paranoid schizophrenia.

Schizoid personality disorder

characterized by being aloof and distant from others, with shallow or blunted emotions; considered 'cold'.

Schizotypal personality disorder

characterized by odd thinking, often being suspicious and hostile, and having difficulties in establishing close social relationships.

Histrionic personality disorder

characterized by being excessively dramatic, egocentric, and seeking attention and tending to overreact.

Narcissistic personality disorder

characterized by being unrealistically self-important, manipulative, lacking empathy, and not being able to take criticism.

Borderline personality disorder

characterized by being emotionally unstable, impulsive, unpredictable, irritable, and prone to boredom.

Antisocial personality disorder

characterized by violating other people's rights without guilt or remorse, being manipulative, exploitive, self-indulgent, and irresponsible.

Avoidant personality disorder

characterized by being excessively sensitive to potential rejection and humiliation.

Dependent personality disorder

characterized by excessively lacking in self-confidence, subordinating one's own needs, and allowing others to make all decisions.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

characterized by usually being preoccupied with rules, schedules, and details, being extremely conventional, serious, and emotionally insensitive.