Chapter 15: Psychological Disorders

Abnormal Behavior

As behavior that is personally distressing, personally dysfunctional, and/or so culturally deviant that other people judge it to be inappropriate or maladaptive

Vulnerability-Stress Model

Each of us has some degree of vulnerability (ranging from very low to very high) to developing a psychological disorder, given suffi cient stress

Anxiety

The state of tension and apprehension that is a natural response to perceived threat

Anxiety Disorders

The frequency and intensity of anxiety responses are out of proportion to the situations that trigger them, and the anxiety interferes with daily life

Phobias

Are strong and irrational fears of certain objects or situations

Agoraphobia

A fear of open or public places from which escape would be difficult

Social Phobias

Excessive fear of situations in which the person might be evaluated and possibly embarrassed

Specific Phobias

Such as a fear of dogs, snakes, spiders, airplanes, elevators, enclosed spaces, water, injections, or germs

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Is a chronic (ongoing) state of diffuse, or free-floating, anxiety that is not attached to specific situations or objects

Panic Disorders

Occur suddenly and unpredictably, and they are much more intense

Obsessions

Are repetitive and unwelcome thoughts, images, or impulses that invade consciousness, are often abhorrent to the person, and are very difficult to dismiss or control

Compulsions

Are repetitive behavioral responses that can be resisted only with great difficulty

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Is a severe anxiety disorder that can occur in people who have been exposed to traumatic life events

Neurotic Anxiety

Occurs when unacceptable impulses threaten to overwhelm the ego’s defenses and explode into consciousness or action

Culture-Bound Disorders

Which occur only in certain locales

Hypochondriasis

People become unduly alarmed about any physical symptom they detect and are convinced that they have or are about to have a serious illness

Pain Disorder

Experience intense pain that is either out of proportion to whatever medical condition they might have or for which no physical basis can be found

Conversion Disorder

In which serious neurological symptoms, such as paralysis, loss of sensation, or blindness, suddenly occur

Dissociative Disorders

involve a breakdown of normal personality integration, resulting in significant alterations in memory or identity

Psychogenic Amnesia

A person responds to a stressful event with extensive but selective memory loss

Psychogenic fugue

Is a more profound dissociative disorder in which a person loses all sense of personal identity, gives up her or his customary life, wanders to a new faraway location, and establishes a new identity

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

Two or more separate personalities coexist in the same person; formerly called multiple personality disorder

Trauma-Dissociation Theory

The development of new personalities occurs in response to severe stress

Mood Disorders

Which include depression and mania (excessive excitement)

Major Depression

An intense depressed state that leaves them unable to function effectively in their lives

Dhythmia

A less intense form of depression that has less dramatic effects on personal and occupational functioning

Bipolar Disorder

Depression (which is usually the dominant state) alternates with periods of mania

Mania

A state of highly excited mood and behavior that is quite the opposite of depression

Depressive Cognitive Triad

Involves negative thoughts concerning (1) the world, (2) oneself, and (3) the future