Psychological Disorders- a harmful dysfunction in which behavior is judged to be atypical, disturbing, maladaptive, and unjustifiable.

Trephining- attempt to be rid of evil spirits through the drilling of holes through one's head.

DSMIV

• Diagnostic statistical manual of mental disorders, the big book of disorders
• DSM will classify disorders and describe the symptoms
• DSM will NOT explain the causes or possible cures

Two major classifications in the DSM

Neurotic disorders-distressing but can still function in society and act normally.

Psychotic disorders-person loses contact with reality, distorted perceptions.

I. Anxiety Disorders- a group of conditions when the primary symptoms are anxiety or defense against anxiety. The patient fears something awful will happen to them. They bare in a state of intense apprehension, uneasiness, uncertainty, or fear.

Phobias- a person experiencing sudden episodes of intense dread.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-person is continuously tense, apprehensive, in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal. The patient is constantly tense and worried, feels inadequate, is oversensitive, can't concentrate and suffers from insomnia.

Panic disorder- minute long episode of intense dread in which a person experiences tension and accompying chest pain. choking, and other frightening situations.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder- persisted unwanted thoughts ( obsessions) cause someone to need (compulsion) to engage in a particular action.

Post-traumatic stress disorder- flashbacks or nightmares following a person's involvement in an observation of an extremely stressful event. Memories of the event cause anxiety.

II. Somatoform Disorders- occur when a person manifests a psychological problem through a physiological symptom.

Hypochondria- has frequent physical complaints for which medical doctors are unable to locate the cause.

Conversion Disorder- report the existence of severe physical problems with no biological reason.


III. Dissociative Disorders-these orders are a disruption in the conscious process

Psychogenic Amnesia- a person cannot remember things with no physiological basis for the disruption in memory.

Dissociative Fugue- people with psychogenic amnesia find themselves in an unfamiliar environment

Dissociative Identity Disorder-used to be known as multiple personality disorder, a  person has several rather than on integrated personality, people with DID commonly have a history of childhood abuse or trauma.

IV. Mood Disorders- experience extreme or inappropriate emotion

Major Depression- unhappy for at least two weeks with no apparent cause, depression is the common cold of physiological disorders.

Dysthymic Disorder- suffering from mild depression everyday for at least two years.

Seasonal Affective Disorder- Experience depression during the winter months, based not on temperature, but on amount of sunlight.

Bipolar Disorder- Formally manic depression, involves periods of depression and manic episodes, manic episodes involve feelings of high energy.

V. Personality disorders- well-established maladaptive ways of behaving that negatively affect people's ability to function, dominates their personality.

Antisocial personality disorder-lack of empathy, little regard for other's feelings, view the world as hostile and look out for themselves.

Dependent Personality Disorder- rely too much on the attention and help of others.

Histrionic Personality Disorder-needs to be the center of attention, whether acting silly or dressing provocatively.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder- having an unwarranted sense of self-importance, thinking that you are the center of the universe.

VI. Schizophrenic Disorders (1 in ever 100 persons are diagnosed with schizophrenia)

• Disorganized thinking-fragmented and bizarre and distorted with false beliefs,. Breakdown in selective attention, they cannot filter out information.
• Delusions(false beliefs)- delusions of persecution of grandeur
• disturbed perceptions- hallucinations- sensory experiences without sensory stimulation
• inappropriate emotions and actions- laugh at inappropriate times; senseless, compulsive acts; flat effect- a reduction in emotion; catatonia-motionless, waxy flexibility.

Positive vs. negative emotions
Positive- presences of inappropriate symptoms
Negative-absence of appropriate symptoms

Types of Schizophrenia
Disorganized-disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion.
Paranoid- preoccupation with delusions or hallucination, somebody is out to get me!
Catatonic- parrot like repeating of another's speech and movement.
Undifferentiated many and varied symptoms.