Mental Illness

Mental Disorders

Psychological disorder  Defined

as atypical, disturbing, maladaptive, and unjustifiable behavior of a person. Neuroses and Psychoses  Neuroses- are mild form of mental disorders characterized mainly by anxiety which is manifested directly or altered through defense mechanisms that lower efficiency.  Psychoses- severe form of mental disorders involving loss contact with reality with which psychotic person must have to be institutionalized.

 Characteristics

of psychological Illness

1.People are unproductive 2.People don’t get along well w/ others 3. People have poor understanding of themselves and how others view them. 4. People have poor understanding of the physical world. 5. People have poor intellectual functioning 6. People have trouble focusing on their attention. 7. People Have generally poor judgment 8. People have difficulty experiencing pleasure. 9.People can feel strongly about things, some cannot. 10.People have trouble giving and receiving love and affection. 11. People are unique individuals.

Mental disorder classification Anxiety disorder- condition in which intense feelings of fear and dread are long standing and disruptive. Types: 1.Phobia- involves strong, irrational fear of an object or situation that does not objectively justify such a reaction.( e.g. acrophobia-fear of heights) 2.General Anxiety disorder-involves relatively mild but long- lasting anxiety that is not focused on any particular object or situation. o

3.Panic Disorder- anxiety in the form of severe panic attacks that come without warning or obvious cause. 4.Obsessive Compulsive Disorder- anxiety disorder with which a person becomes obsessed with certain thoughts or feels a compulsion to do certain things. o Somatoform disorder- a person displays the symptoms of some physical (somatic) disorder for which there is no physical cause. Types: 1.Conversion Disorder- old term (hysteria). A person appears to be, but actually is not blind, deaf, paralyzed, or insensitive to pain in various parts of the body.

2. Hypochondriasis - strong, justified fear of physical illness. A person is worried about his health and physical state. 3.Somatization Disorder – a person has numerous physical complaints without verifiable physical illness. 4. Pain Disorder- marked by complaints of severe, often constant pain with no physical cause. 5. Dissociative Disorder- involves a sudden and usually temporary disruptions in a person’s memory, consciousness, or identity. o Fugue- sudden loss of memory that continues for a long period of time. o Amnesia-sudden loss of memory of one’s own name or other information and forgets temporarily all the experiences but retains much of his past experiences.

Multiple personality- a person has more than one identity. • Substance related Disorders- problems that involve use of psychoactive drugs for months or years in ways that harm the user or others. o Addiction-development of a physical need for a psychoactive drug. o Alcoholism-pattern of continuous or intermittent drinking that may lead to addiction.  Schizophrenia-literally means “split or broken mind”. Refers to madness, insanity or psychosis. A pattern of severely disturbed thought, emotion, perception, and behavior that constitutes one of the most serious and disabling of all mental disorders. Types: o Paranoid Schizophrenia- delusions of grandeur or persecution,anger,anxiety,argumentativeness and extreme anxiety. o

Disorganized Schizophrenia-delusions, hallucinations, incoherent speech, inappropriate laughter and neglected personal hygiene. o Catatonic Schizophrenia- disordered movement, alternating between total immobility(stupor) and wild excitement. o Undifferentiated Schizophrenia-patterns of disordered behavior, thought and emotion. o Residual Schizophrenia-people who had prior episodes of schizophrenia but not currently displaying symptoms. Symptoms: o Disorders of thought- disturbed content, delusions and disorganization, loose associations, neologism and word salad. o Disorders of perception- hallucinations or false perceptions; poorly focused attention. o

Disorders of emotion-flat affect, inappropriate tears, laughter or anger. Possible causes: -Biological cause- genetics -Psychological cause- learned maladaptive behavior, disturbed patterns of family communication and values. • Mood Disorders- also called affective disorders, severe disturbances of mood, especially depression, mania and bipolar disorder. o Depression- extreme sadness o Mania- elated, very active emotional state o Bipolar disorder- alternating experiences of two emotional extremes or poles. o

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Sexual and gender disorders-these include disorders that affect sexual desire, performance and behavior. Sexual dysfunction- a person’s desire for or ability to have satisfying sexual experiences is inhibited. Paraphilias - a person’s sexual arousal is directed toward stimuli that are defined as inappropriate. Personality disorders- have extreme and inflexible personality traits that are distressing to the person and/or cause problems in work, school or social relationships. Narcissistic personality disorder- exaggerated sense of self importance accompanied by lack of empathy for others.

Antisocial personality- marked by long term pattern of irresponsible, impulsive behavior beginning in childhood or early adolescence. Eating disorders-involve extreme emotions, attitudes and behaviors involving weight and food. Sleep disorders-involving the sleep-wake cycle, inability to sleep well at night or to stay awake during the day. Factitious disorders-are conditions in which physical and/or emotional symptoms are experienced in order to place the individual in the role of a patient or a person in need of help. Adjustment disorders- failure to adjust to or deal well with stressors. o

Specific development disorders-mental retardation and autistic disorder as well as other problems in development of skills such as reading, speaking etc. Organic mental disorders- caused by physical deterioration of the brain due to aging, disease, drugs or other chemicals. o Delirium- inability to think straight o Dementia-loss of memory and other intellectual functions. Delusional (paranoid) disorder – problems involving false beliefs in real-life situations that could be true, such as being followed, being conspired against or having a disease. These delusions persist for at least one month.

 Psychological

treatment  Psychotherapy- treatment of psychological disorders through psychological methods. o Psychoanalysis- method of psychotherapy which seeks to help clients gain insight into work through unconscious thoughts and emotions presumed to cause psychological problems. o Phenomenological Psychotherapy- operates on the following assumptions: 1.Treatment is a human encounter between equals, not a cure given by an expert. 2.Clients will improve on their own, given the right conditions.

3.Ideal conditions through a therapeutic relationship. 4.Clients must remain responsible for choosing how they will think and behave. o Behavior Therapy- helps clients view psychological problems as learned behaviors. o Group Therapy- psychotherapy involving groups of clients who interact with one another in sessions often organized around specific problems. o Family Therapy-method of treatment involving 2 or more members in the same family system. o Couples Therapy-form of therapy focusing on

improving communication between intimate partners.  Biological Treatments Psychoactive Drugs- affects neurotransmitter systems and consciousness with which it describes the effect of drugs to treat anxiety,depression and schizophrenia. Categories of drugs: -Antipsychotics (Neuroleptics) -Antidepressant Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)- brief electric shock administered to the brain to reduce severe depression that does not respond to drug treatments.