Psychological Disorders

Psychopathology is the scientific study of the origin, symptoms, and development of psychological disorders.

•Psychopathology is the foundation of mental disorders, how they develop and their symptoms. It is the in-depth study of problems related to mental health.

•Psychopathology is all about exploring problems related to mental health: how to understand them, how to classify them, and how to treat them.

•A psychopathologist, is a mental health professional who has specialized in studying mental illness and distress and the conditions that can result from them. He or she is a researcher of psychology that seeks to contribute to the research on mental illness.

Psychological disorder or mental disorders are patterns of behavioral and psychological symptoms that causes significant personal distress, impairs the ability to function in one or more important areas of life.

•Distress reflects as significant disturbances in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

•Significant disturbances reflect from biological, psychological, or developmental dysfunction.

•An important qualification for a psychological disorder is that the pattern of behavior or psychological symptom must represent a serious and persistent departure from social and cultural norms.

The DSM-5, is the guide used by clinicians to diagnose mental health conditions. It is the principal authority for psychiatric diagnoses. Treatment recommendations, as well as payment by health care providers, are often determined by DSM classifications. Describes more than 260 specific psychological disorders. It provides codes for each disorder and includes the symptoms, the criteria that must be met to make a diagnosis, the frequency, typical course, and risk factors for each disorder.

In the DSM-5, right before each disorder name, ICD codes are provided. ICD codes are used for reimbursement through health insurance. As of 10/2014 the ICD-10-CM codes are what is used.

Anxiety is an unpleasant emotional state that involves feelings of worry, dread, apprehension, and tension, along with heightened physical arousal

•Anxiety is the mind and body's reaction to stressful, dangerous, or unfamiliar situations.

•Feelings of anxiety and panic interfere with daily activities, are difficult to control, are out of proportion to the actual danger and can last a long time.

•People may avoid places or situations to prevent anxiety feelings.

Symptoms may start during childhood or the teen years and continue into adulthood

Anxiety Disorders are categories of psychological disorders in which extreme anxiety is the main diagnostic feature and causes significant disruptions in a persons cognitive, behavioral, or interpersonal functioning.

•Anxiety disorders involve repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes.

A Generalized Anxiety Disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by excessive global, and persistent symptoms of anxiety, also called “free floating anxiety.”

A “Panic attack” is a sudden, short lived episode of extreme anxiety that rapidly escalates in intensity.

A “Panic Disorder” is an anxiety disorder in which the person experiences frequent  and unexpected panic attacks.

Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder involving extreme fear of experiencing a panic attack or other embarrassing or incapacitating symptoms in a public situation where escape is impossible and help is unavailable.

Phobias are persistent and irrational fear of a specific object, or activity.

Specific Phobias are excessive intense, and irrational fear of a specific object, situation, or activity that is actively avoided or endured with marked anxiety,

Social Anxiety is an anxiety disorder involving the extreme and irrational fear of being embarrassed, judged, or scrutinized by others in social situations

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is a disorder that is triggered by extreme trauma that results in intrusive memories; avoidance of stimuli; negative changes in thoughts and emotions; and a persistent state of heightened physical arousal.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a disorder characterized by intrusive, repetitive, and unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental acts that an individual feels driven to perform (compulsions)

•Obsession: Repeated, intrusive, and uncontrollable irrational thoughts or mental images that cause extreme anxiety and distress

•Compulsions: Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that a person feels driven to perform in order to prevent or reduce anxiety and distress or to prevent a dreaded even or situation.

Major depressive disorder is a mood disorder characterized by extreme and persistent feelings of despondency, worthlessness, and hopelessness, causing impaired emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and physical functioning

Bipolar Disorder is a mood disorder involving periods of incapacitating depression alternating with periods of extreme euphoria and excitement; formerly called manic depression.

·Bipolar I disorder. You've had at least one manic episode that may be preceded or followed by hypomanic or major depressive episodes. In some cases, mania may trigger a break from reality (psychosis).

·Bipolar II disorder. You've had at least one major depressive episode and at least one hypomanic episode, but you've never had a manic episode.

·Cyclothymic disorder. You've had at least two years — or one year in children and teenagers — of many periods of hypomania symptoms and periods of depressive symptoms (though less severe than major depression).

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a major depressive disorder that occurs at certain times of the year. Repeated episodes or symptoms of major depressive disorder are triggered by the season especially in the autumn or winter when there is the least amount of sunlight.

A “manic episode” is a sudden rapidly escalating emotional state characterized by extreme euphoria, excitement, physical energy, and rapid thoughts and speech. During a manic episode a person's thoughts may rapidly shift from topic to topic, this is called “a flight of ideas.”.

“Eating Disorder” is a category of mental disorders characterized by severe disturbances in eating behaviors.

“Anorexia Nervosa” is an eating disorder in which the individual refuses to maintain a minimally normal body weight, is extremely afraid of gaining weight or becoming fat, and has a distorted perception about the size of his or her body.

•Restrictive: People with the restrictive subtype of anorexia nervosa severely limit the amount and type of food they consume.

•Binge-Purge: People with the binge-purge subtype of anorexia nervosa also greatly restrict the amount and type of food they consume. In addition, they may have binge-eating and purging episodes—eating large amounts of food in a short time followed by vomiting or using laxatives or diuretics to get rid of what was consumed.

“Bulimia Nervosa” is an eating disorder characterized by binges of extreme overeating followed by self induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, or other methods to purge excess food and prevent weight gain.

Personality Disorders are inflexible, maladaptive, and stable patterns of thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and interpersonal functioning that deviate from expectations of the individual’s culture.

Antisocial Personality Disorders” is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of disregarding and violating the rights of others; such individuals are also often referred to as psychopaths or sociopaths.

“Borderline Personality Disorder” is a personality disorder characterized by instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and emotions, and marked impulsivity.

•Biosocial Development Theory suggest borderline personality disorder is the outcome of unique combination of biological, psychological, and environmental factors.

•Biosocial Development Theory suggest that some children are born with a biologically sensitive temperament that makes them more vulnerable to developing the disorder, especially when they are raised by caregivers who do not teach them how to control their impulsiveness or help them learn how to understand, regulate, and appropriately express their emotions

Paranoid personality disorder (PPD) is characterized by pervasive but unwarranted distrust and suspicious: assumes that other people intend to deceive, exploit, or harm them.

•Schizoid personality disorder is characterized by pervasive detachment from social relationships; emotionally cold and flat; indifferent to praise or criticism from others; preference for solitary activities, lacking in close friendships.

•Schizoid personality disorder: being detached from social relationships and expressing little emotion. A person with schizoid personality disorder typically does not seek close relationships, chooses to be alone and seems to not care about praise or criticism from others.

Dissociative Disorders” are a category of psychological disorders in which extreme and frequent disruptions of awareness , memory, and personal identity impair the ability to function.

Dissociative Experience” is a break or disruption in consciousness during which awareness memory, and personal identity become separated or divided.

“Dissociative Fugue” Type of dissociative amnesia involving sudden and unexpectant travel away from home, extensive amnesia, and identity confusion.

Dissociative Amnesia” is a dissociative disorder involving the partial or total inability to recall important personal information.

Dissociative Identity Disorder” formerly called multiple personality disorder, is a dissociative disorder involving extensive memory disruption along with the presence of two or more distinct identities or personalities.

“Schizophrenia” is a psychological disorder in which the ability to function is impaired by severely distorted beliefs, perceptions, and thought processes.

•Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may result in some combination of hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior that impairs daily functioning, and can be disabling.

•Positive symptoms reflect an excess or distortion of normal functioning. Positive symptoms include delusions, or false beliefs, hallucinations, or false perceptions, severely disorganized thoughts processes and speech, and severely disorganized behavior

•Negative symptoms reflect an absence or reduction of normal functioning, such as greatly reduced motivation, emotional expressiveness, or speech

Delusions. These are false beliefs that are not based in reality. For example, you think that you're being harmed or harassed; certain gestures or comments are directed at you; you have exceptional ability or fame; another person is in love with you; or a major catastrophe is about to occur. Delusions occur in most people with schizophrenia.

·Hallucinations. These usually involve seeing or hearing things that don't exist. Yet for the person with schizophrenia, they have the full force and impact of a normal experience. Hallucinations can be in any of the senses, but hearing voices is the most common hallucination.

·Disorganized thinking (speech). Disorganized thinking is inferred from disorganized speech. Effective communication can be impaired, and answers to questions may be partially or completely unrelated. Rarely, speech may include putting together meaningless words that can't be understood, sometimes known as word salad.