psychological disorders I

WHAT IS ABNORMALITY

deviance :: having though, emotions, and behaviours that fall outside of the standards of what others are doing. con: incl both extremes ex ppl with extremely high or low IQs are not disordered

distress :: intest negative feelings such as anxiety, sadness, or despair due to behaviours may be indicative of a psychological disorder. con: ppl who lack distress does not mean psychologically healthy

dysfunction :: behaviour interferes day to day life. they can’t fucntion properly. con. ppl may be deliberatly dysfunctional but not disordered ex. hunger strike

danger :: to oneself to another. risky behaviours. con: people may choose to do dangerous things for fun ex. skydiving

CLASSIFYING DISORDERS

DSM :: diagnostic and statistical manual. allows like a standardized way for clinicians to consider disorders. lists the diagnostic criteria mental disorders. starting w ver 5 we move towards a dimensional classifical model instead of a categorical classification

cons of DSM :: some say still has categorical mode; has negative implications for treatment. high comorbidity.

comorbity :: one person can be disgnosed w many psychological disorders. out disgnostic criteria simply overlaps too much

EPIDEMOLOGY

epidemiology :: the study of distribution of health-related states + disorders withing a pop.

prognosis :: probable course of an illness.

acute prognosis :: short-lasting w sudden onset. ex. heart attack

chronic disorders :: long lasting + develop over time

episodic prognosis :: recurrent phases. phases of normal inbetween

point prevalence :: measured at a specific instance in time. However, many psychological disorders are episodic, or go into remission. A person who does not display symptoms at this exact moment, may nevertheless have displayed symptoms of a particular disorder at some point in the past, but this experience would not be included in this prevalence measure.

annual prevalence :: who has the disorder, or has had the disorder, within the past year.

lifetime prevalence :: The lifetime prevalence of a disorder includes anyone who has the disorder, or has had the disorder, within their lifetime

cherry picking :: The unethical process of selecting the numbers that best support a position

SYMPTOMATOLOGY

symptomatology :: the collection of behaviours, thoughts, or feelings that may be a potential indicator of a specific psychological disorder

heterogeneity :: the same psychological disorder often presents with different symptoms, in varying degrees of severity

GAD:: generalized anxiety disorder. repeatedly worried about what most people would consider to be normal life events and routine activities. always feel tense, and this can lead to dizziness, sleep problems, muscle tension, headaches, fatigue, \n sometimes even nausea

positive symptoms :: usually describe the addition of abnormal behaviours, like hallucinations and delusions

negative symptoms:: usually describe the absence of typical behaviours, as in loss of speech or loss of pleasure from eating

positive symptoms of schizophrenia :: hallucinations, delusion, catatonia

delusion :: irrational belief

disorganized thinking/speech :: refers to problems in organizing ideas leading to sentences that are difficult to follow

catatonia :: Disorganized motor behaviour may involve dramatic changes in movement. positive symptom

catatonic excitement :: repeated, frantic motor movements that seem to have no purpose at all.

catatonic stupor :: dramatic reductions in movement

negative symptoms of schizophrenia