2. Specific Phobias
12.4 Anxiety Disorders
Fear of flying can be
triggered by a bad childhood
experience, a previous
turbulent flight, or a tragedy
such as the terrorist attacks
on the World Trade Center.
3. Agoraphobia
12.4 Anxiety Disorders
Agoraphobia arises out of
an underlying fear of either
having a full-blown panic
attack or having a sudden
and unexpected onset of
panic-like symptoms.
8. Bipolar I Disorder
12.5 Mood Disorders
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9. 12.1 Introduction
12.2 Understanding Abnormal Behavior
12.3 Assessing and Diagnosing Mental Disorders
12.4 Anxiety Disorders
12.5 Mood Disorders
12.6 Schizophrenic Disorders
L011 Describe three types of schizophrenia and discuss the recovery process
for people with schizophrenia
L012 Summarize the possible causes of schizophrenic disorders
12.7 Dissociative Disorders
12.8 Somatoform Disorders
12.9 Personality Disorders
10. Schizophrenic Disorders
12.6 Schizophrenic Disorders
Schizophrenia includes at
least two of the following
symptoms: delusions,
hallucinations, disorganized
speech, disorganized
behavior, and decreased
emotional expression.
11. What it Feels Like to
Have Schizophrenia
12.6 Schizophrenic Disorders
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12. Disorders of Thought
12.6 Schizophrenic Disorders
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13. 12.1 Introduction
12.2 Understanding Abnormal Behavior
12.3 Assessing and Diagnosing Mental Disorders
12.4 Anxiety Disorders
12.5 Mood Disorders
12.6 Schizophrenic Disorders
12.7 Dissociative Disorders
L013 Describe and distinguish between the three dissociative disorders
L014 Summarize the possible causes of dissociative disorders
12.8 Somatoform Disorders
12.9 Personality Disorders
22. 12.1 Introduction
12.2 Understanding Abnormal Behavior
12.3 Assessing and Diagnosing Mental Disorders
12.4 Anxiety Disorders
12.5 Mood Disorders
12.6 Schizophrenic Disorders
12.7 Dissociative Disorders
12.8 Somatoform Disorders
12.9 Personality Disorders
L017 Define personality disorder and identify which axis it belongs to on the DSM
L018 Describe the symptoms and causes of borderline personality disorder
L019 Describe the symptoms and causes of antisocial personality disorder
23. Defining Personality Disorders
12.9 Personality Disorders
Maladaptive traits that
cause significantly
impaired functioning or
great distress in one’s
personal and social life.
This is the chapter that covers PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS. It covers how we define abnormal behavior and assess and diagnose Mental Disorders. It will review several types of disorders including:
ANXIETY DISORDERS
MOOD DISORDERS
SCHIZOPHRENIC DISORDERS
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS
SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
and PERSONALITY DISORDERS
SPECIFIC PHOBIAS include fear of certain objects or situations. Some common ones are fear of animals (zoophobia), heights (acrophobia), confinement (claustrophobia), spiders (arachnaphobia), etc.
AGORAPHOBIA is a fear of being out in a public place and not being able to escape or being caught in an embarrassing moment if a panic attack occurred. Some people become literally house-bound from this phobia.
OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER consists of OBSESSIONS that are persistent recurring thoughts, and OBSESSIONS that are irresistible impulses to do engage in some behavior such as repeated hand washing, or counting, or checking things, or making sure things are in order.
The CAUSES of ANXIETY DISORDERS range from biological, genetic, neurological and psychosocial and may be a combination of any but the underlying factor is they are ways people deal with or try to alleviate the anxiety provoking situations in their lives.
This video shows what it’s like to live with OCD.
MOOD DISORDEERS are prolonged and disturbed emotional states that affect all areas of person’s life including their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
They can be very debilitating.
MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER is present when there has been at least two continuous weeks of feeling down, having no interest in life, and getting no pleasure from normal activities.
CAUSES include genetic components in that there may be a predisposition for the disorder, neurological factors involving chemical imbalances in the brain, and psychosocial factors such as stressful life events and personality styles.
This video shows what it is like to live with major depressive disorder.
BIPOLAR I DISORDER is the presence of depression but also the experience of mania where the mood is extremely elevated. The disorder is cyclical and recurring. In manic modes people experience racing thoughts, rapid speech, and engage in high-risk behaviors.
This video shows what it is like to live with bipolar disorder.
SCHIZOPHRENIA is a serious mental disorder that lasts for at least 6 months and includes at least two of these symptoms: delusions (irrational beliefs), hallucinations (hearing voices or seeing things that are not there), disorganized behavior and decreased motional expression.
There are several types of Schizophrenia:
PARANOID – delusions and hallucinations accompanied by thoughts of being persecuted or thoughts of grandeur.
DISORGANIZED – bizarre ideas (like the feeling their body is melting) confused speech, childish behavior such as making faces at people and extreme mood swings. There is also extreme neglect of personal hygiene.
CATATONIC – periods of wild excitement or immobility even assuming frozen postures for hours.
CAUSES include genetic predisposition, prenatal infections, brain structure abnormalities and environmental stressors.
This video helps us understand what it’s like to live with schizophrenia.
DISORDERS OF THOUGHT is a symptom of schizophrenia. This video lets us see what it would be like to have disordered thought.
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS are a disruption, split, or breakdown of a person’s normal sense of self. It is very rare and unusual.
In DISSOCIATIVE AMNESIAS the person in unable to recall vital personal information or events and is usually associated with some stressful or traumatic event.
Sometimes patients are given the drug sodium amytal that helps them to recall the specific event that triggered the amnesia.
DISSOCIATIVE FUGE is a strange occurrence where a person may turn up long distances from their home and not have any idea who they are or how they got there.
DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER used to be called multiple personality disorder because there is the presence of two or more distinct identities within one person. The different personalities take control of the persons’ thoughts and behaviors at different times.
It is believed to be a result of extreme trauma and abuse in childhood that caused a splitting or dissociation of identities in order to cope with the terrible ordeal. Others think it is due to cultural factors, in that it is a way to express frustrations or manipulate people.
This video explores what it’s like to have dissociative identity disorder.
This video gives us information about how to successfully cope with dissociative identity disorder.
SOMATOFORM DISORDERS are marked by a pattern of recurring, multiple and significant bodily (somatic) symptoms such as pain, paralysis and blindness that last several years but have no apparent physical cause.
SOMATIZATION DISORDER begins before age 30, and lasts several years. There can be multiple physical symptoms as just explained but they have no apparent cause. The symptoms are real, but the cause is psychological.
Many times these individuals have been subject to childhood abuse and this disorder is a way of coping with stress or getting attention.
BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER is an extreme preoccupation with an imaginary or exaggerated physical defect affecting one’s appearance.
It seems to come on in teen years when we become acutely aware of our appearance. Those suffering from this disorder may also have exceptional drives to be perfect and gain approval from others.
This video shows what it’s like to live with this disorder.
PERSONALITY DISORDERS consist of inflexible, long-standing, maladaptive traits that cause significant impairment in functioning or extreme distress in one’s personal and social life.
CAUSES can be traced to childhood problems that continue into adult years. They arise from a combination of genetic, psychological, social, and environmental factors.
BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER is one of the most disturbing and intense of the personality disorders in that individuals have unpredictable emotional outbursts, and lack control over impulsive behaviors that can be very dangerous to others and themselves. They have a pattern of instability in relationships, a very negative self-image, and high rates of self-mutilation (cutting) and suicide.
Causes appear to generate from both environmental issues and genetics. Again childhood abuse seems to play a role and brain scans also point to over-activity in Amygdala of the brain that controls emotions.
Watching this video will help us understand what it’s like to have borderline personality disorder.
ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER is one that frightens most of us due to it’s hidden dangers to the general public.
People ( 3% of the population - predominantly males) with this disorder have patterns of ignoring or violating the right of others without experiencing any guilt or remorse. Not all are extreme cases like Dennis Rader and other serial psychotic killers, but they still represent the negative aspects we see in bullies and criminals of all degrees.
CAUSES include childhood problems such as conduct disorder, physical or sexual abuse but also include biological factors as seen by abnormalities or damage in the Prefrontal Cortex of the brain.
This video shows what it is like to have antisocial personality disorder.
