Psychology: Chap. 14; Physcological Disorders

psychological disorders

• syndrome (a collection of symptoms) marked by “clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013)

• dysfunctional or maladaptive thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that interfere with the day-to-day quality of life

• definitions of what constitutes a “significant disturbance” have varied over time

the medical model

diseases (in this case, psychological disorders) have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital

the biosychosocial approach

• general approach posits that biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors play significant roles in human functioning in the context of disease or illness

• gave rise to vulnerability-stress model that assumes that individual psychological disorders

classifying disorders-labeling people

• to study a disorder it must be named and described

• diagnostic classification in psychiatry and psychology has important functions

  • predicts the disorder’s future course

  • suggests appropriate treatment

  • prompts research into its causes

features of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM)

• published by American Psychiatric Association

  • current edition is DSM-5-TR (2022)

• the tool most frequently used in the US by physicians and mental health workers to guide diagnoses and treatment

• identifies conditions that must present for a diagnosis to be given

  • specific symptoms, frequency, and duration

• uses a categorical approach (symptoms are present or absent)

• has sometimes appeared to classify normal behaviors as abnormal

factors associated with different rates of suicide

• nationality

• race

• gender

• traits

• age

• other characteristics

• year

race (in terms of suicide)

within the United States, white and native American people die by suicide roughly twice as often as black, hispanic , and asian people

gender (in terms of suicide)

women are much more likely than men to consider or attempt suicide. But worldwide, men are twice as likely to actually die by suicide

traits (in terms of suicide)

suicidal thoughts increase when perfectionists feel driven to reach a goal or standard and find it unattainable

age (in terms of suicide)

in late adulthood, rates increase worldwide, with the highest rate among those over the age of 70

other characteristics (in terms of suicide)

suicide rates have been much higher among the high-income, the nonreligious, and the unmarried. Gender-nonconforming youth who face an unsupportive environment are also at increased risk of attempting suicide

what to do when someone talks about suicide

• listen, empathize, and offer hope

• connect the person with their campus counseling center

• protect someone who appears at immediate risk by seeking help from campus health/counseling, doctor, or nearest hospital

anxiety disorders

group of disorders characterized by excessive fear and anxiety and related maladaptive behaviors

generalized anxiety disorder

an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal

characteristics of generalized anxiety disorder

• excessive and uncontrollable worry that persists for 6 months or more

• free-floating anxiety

• jittery, on edge, and sleep deprived

• furrowed brows, twitching eyelids, trembling, perspiration, or fidgeting

• concentration suffers

• emotions can feel overwhelming, confusing, and hard to manage

• often co-occurs with depressive mood and physical problems

classical conditioning

• neutral events are paired with a traumatic event

• the neutral events becomes conditioned stimuli which can elicit anxiety

• stimuli similar to the conditioned stimuli can also elicit anxiety

reinforcement (operant conditioning)

• responses that avoid or terminate the conditioned stimuli are negatively reinforced

• these responses help maintain learned fears and anxieties

observational learning

observing someone show fear to a stimulus can induce the observer to also fear the stimulus

interpretation and memory

individuals with anxiety tend to interpret stimuli as threatening and they more readily remember threatening events

hypervigilance

a state of increased alertness and sensitivity to potential threats or dangers

genes involvement in anxiety disorders

• gene variations are associated with different anxiety disorders

• some genes may influence anxiety disorders by regulating brain levels of neurotransmitters

the brain’s involvement with anxiety disorders

anxiety disorders are associated with overarousal of brain areas involved in impulse control and habitual behaviors

natural selections involvement in anxiety disorders

• we are biological prepared to fear threatening stimuli

• evolutionary relevant stimuli are easily conditioned and difficult to extinguish

• compulsive acts typically exaggerate behaviors contributing to survival

depressive disorders

a group of disorders characterized by an enduring sad, empty, or irritable mood, along with physical and cognitive changes that affect a person’s ability to function

major depressive disorder

a person experiences, in one absence of drugs or another medical condition, two or more weeks with five or more symptoms, at least one of which must be either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure

prevalence

• the number-one reason people seek mental health services

• 5 percent of people in a survey of 15 countries

• US: 17 percent of adolescents and 8 percent of adults have experienced a depressive episode

genes involvement in depression

• risk increases if a family member has depression

• many genes each having small effects interact to increase risk for depression

brain structure and activity involvement in depression

• reduced activity in the brain’s reward centers

• reduced serotonin

nutritional effects involvement in depression

refined sugar and red meat are linked to inflammation, which is associated with depression

explanatory style for depression

the characteristic way an individual explains the causes of the events in their lives, especially negative events

pessimistic explanatory style for depression

• an especially self-focused, self-blaming way of responding to events

• involves explaining bad events in terms that are stable, global, and internal

• depression-prone people use a pessimistic explanatory style

the vicious cycle of depressed thinking

(1). stressful experiences interpreted through

(2). a ruminating, pessimistic explanatory style creates

(3). a hopeless, depressed state that

(4). hampers the way the person thinks and acts

• therapists try to break this cycle