Chapter 17 (1)

Chapter 17: Defining Psychological Disorders

• Focuses on abnormal psychology to understand and treat mental disorders affecting over 500 million people globally.

• A psychological disorder is an ongoing dysfunctional pattern of thought, emotion, or behavior that causes distress and is deviant by cultural standards, influenced by biological and environmental factors under the bio-psycho-social model.

Classification of Disorders:

• Diagnosis considers both unusualness and the maladaptive nature of behaviors, requiring significant distress.

• Examples such as phobias highlight that behaviors must impact life choices to be classified.

Challenges in Diagnosis:

• Diagnosing is complex due to comorbidity; around 6% face high concentrations of severe mental disorders.

• Historical reforms, led by figures like Philippe Pinel and Dorothea Dix, established humane treatment for the mentally ill.

Stigma:

• Mental illness stigma results in harmful labels and discrimination, which can affect recovery and employment opportunities.

Diagnostic Manual:

• The DSM provides a framework for classification, reflecting knowledge and cultural shifts, with recent revisions including the DSM-5 (2013) and DSM-5-TR (2021). Criticisms include broad categorizations and a Western-centric perspective.

Anxiety Disorders:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Excessive worrying impacting daily life, prevalent primarily in women.

• Panic Disorder: Sudden anxiety attacks often leading to avoidance behaviors.

• Phobia: Intense, specific fears resulting in avoidance.

Other Disorders:

• OCD: Characterized by obsessions and compulsions, affecting 1% of the population.

• PTSD: Develops post-trauma, affecting about 8%, often alongside other disorders.

• Dissociative Disorders: Include memory disruptions as defense mechanisms, notable types are Dissociative Amnesia, Fugue, and Identity Disorder (DID), the latter involving distinct personalities.