Psychological Disorders

1
Psychological Disorders

• Chapter 14, Part II

2
Dissociative Disorders

• Marked by dissociationa break in consciousness,
  memory, or persons sense of identity.
• Dissociative Identity Disorder is a controversial
  diagnosis what many people refer to as multiple
  personality disorder.

3
Mood Disorders

• These psychological disorders are characterized
  by emotional extremes.
• The two primary mood disorders are major
  depressive disorder and bipolar disorder.
• Another somewhat common one is dysthymic
  disordera down mood most days for two years.

4
Major Depressive Disorder

• Depression is the most common reason that people
  seek mental health treatment.
• Depression includes symptoms of depressed mood
  (feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, crying)
  as well as loss of interest in activities,
  changes in sleeping and eating habits, and other
  physical/behavioral symptoms.

5
What we Know fromResearch into Depression

• Depression is widespread, and is twice as common
  in women it is also increasing in prevalence.
• Most depressive episodes last, on average, six
  months.
• Most depressive episodes are preceded by life
  stresses of some sorteither major life stress,
  like a death or divorce, or combination of more
  minor life stresses, like from work, family, etc.

6
Biological Perspective on Depression

• Mood disorders run in familiesrisk increases if
  a parent or sibling has mood disorder, identical
  twins more likely to both have than fraternal.
• We know that depression is related to reduced
  serotonin in brain, which is why drugs to treat
  depression (SSRIs) increase serotonin levels.

7
Bipolar Disorder

• People with this disorder tend to vacillate
  between periods of depression and periods of
  mania the periods are often days or weeks.
• Manic periods include elevated mood as well as
  over-activity, little need for sleep, beginning
  numerous projects, and engaging in impulsive
  behaviors that are often self-destructive
  (spending money irresponsibly, drinking, sex).

8
What is Schizophrenia?

• Schizophrenia is one of the psychotic disorders,
  which means they involve a break with reality in
  some way.
• The most common psychotic symptoms are delusions,
  which are fixed false beliefs (my be paranoid,
  grandiose), and hallucinations, which are false
  sensory symptoms (e.g., hearing voices).
• Can be psychotic without being schizophrenic.

9
Symptoms of Schizophrenia

• Schizophrenia is characterized by both positive
  symptoms (things that exist that shouldnt be
  there) and negative symptoms (things that arent
  there that should be).
• Delusions and hallucinations are examples of
  positive symptoms.

10
Symptoms of Schizophrenia (continued)

• Disorganized thinking is another example of a
  positive symptom this is often demonstrated in
  their speech, which may be tangential and
  disorganized to the point of being difficult to
  understand.
• Negative symptoms include the flat affect and
  difficulty expressing normal emotions that are
  common in schizophrenia.

11
Types of Schizophrenia

• Paranoid type most common preoccupation with
  ones delusions and hallucinations, which are
  often paranoid.
• Disorganized type emphasis is on disorganized
  speech or behavior.
• Catatonic type immobility or waxy flexibility
  and extreme negative symptoms.
• Undifferentiated type doesnt specifically fit
  any of the other three types.

12
Understanding SchizophreniaBrain Abnormalities

• An excess of dopamine is implicated in
  schizophrenia medications that block dopamine
  receptors reduce symptoms.
• Hippocampus, amygdala, and thalamus are all
  implicated in schizophrenia no one region
  appears to be the location.
• Newer research looking at theory of virus during
  fetal development as related to later
  schizophrenia.

13
Understanding SchizophreniaGenetic Factors

• Odds of any person having schizophrenia is 1 in
  100 odds raise to 1 in 10 among those with a
  sibling or parent with schizophrenia, and 1 in 2
  for those who have an identical twin with the
  disease.
• People appear to have a genetic predisposition to
  schizophrenia, but psychological factors may
  affect whether this predisposition develops into
  the disease.

14
Understanding SchizophreniaPsychological Factors

• Psychological factors such as stress and problems
  in family of origin may contribute to whether one
  develops the disorder or not.
• For many people with schizophrenia, their first
  psychotic break is preceded by a very stressful
  life event.