Psychological disorders can affect persons of any age race sex religion or income Pre lecture Instructor s Guide Pre Mental illnesses are not the result of a personal weakness lack of character or poor upbringing Why should I care Because understanding of mental health issues brings awareness to the community and our surrounding We will become a society that is accepting of others who do not fit our idea of a perfect population Myths of Mental Illness Mental illness is caused by bad parenting Fact Most diagnosed individuals come from supportive homes The mentally ill are violent and dangerous Fact Most are of violence People with a mental disorder are not smart Fact Numerous studies have shown that many have average or above average intelligence 1 Creativity and Mental Illness What are some possible reasons that the rate of mental illness in general is slightly higher among those in the arts than those in other professions Availability Heuristic We make a judgment based on what we can remember rather than complete data In particular we use this for judging the frequency or likelihood of events Various factors can affect availability MORE NAMES FOR MEN FEMALE NAMES WERE MORE CURRENT High profile or stereotypic views of persons with mental illness are often the EXCEPTION not the rule Defining Normal and Abnormal A Psychological Disorder is a condition in which a person s thoughts feelings or behavior is judged to be Three criteria The Th person experiences i significant i ifi pain i or distress Their behavior deviates from acceptable behaviors for that society Their everyday behavior is maladaptive 2 Psychological Disorders 4 Models of Abnormality Model Mental disorders are caused by biology and can be treated medically Historical Hippocrates pp 460 BC four humors Imbalances of bodily fluids Yellow bile Phlegm Blood Black bile Modern Brain treatment drugs brain surgery etc Models of Abnormality Model Mental disorders are caused and maintained by one s life experiences Death of mother before age 7 doubles risk of depression Model Psychological y g disorders are influenced byy culture Poor and unemployed are more often depressed US troubled teenagers get into fights take drugs Thailand troubled teens sulk go quiet sleep Eskimos experience Pibloktoq intense excitement followed by seizures and 12 hr coma Anorexia nervosa is uniquely Western Synthetic Model of Mental Illness 3 Common Psychological Disorders Disorder Frequency Male Female Substance abuse 5 More common for men Anxiety disorders 19 About 2 3 disorders 7 18 Antisocial personality Schizophrenia 1 3 About 1 2 More men than women 1 Psychological Disorders Diagnosis Diagnosis The process of identifying and grouping mental disorders with similar symptoms Acronym for the American Psychiatric Association s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition Originally 1952 with 60 disorders today 410 Beware medical students syndrome availability heuristic Five Axes Axis I Clinical Syndromes Disorders or Mental Axis II Retardation Axis III General Medical Conditions Axis IV Psychosocial and Environmental Problems Axis V Global Assessment of Functioning 4 Anxiety 1 disorder Acute fear helplessness hopelessness Periods of acute terror Shortness of breath irregular heartbeat unreality clammy sweat feel like going to die Anticipatory anxiety fear of having attack Attacks are embarrassing prefer to avoid situations 31 men 19 women Medical Model Appears to be inherited Treatable with drugs Psychological model 1st attack usually occurs after severe illness or other trauma become anxious around cues associated with that event Anxiety 2 Anxiety Disorder Free floating anxiety evoked by nothing in particular Causes difficulty making decisions The common cold of psychiatry Anxiety 3 disorders Fear of Agoraphobia open spaces Social phobia other people Specific phobias fear of snakes spiders darkness heights etc Learned via classical conditioning or vicarious conditioning Biological basis more likely to fear snakes than cars 5 Anxiety Disorders Frequency of the Most Prevalent Simple Phobias Simple Phobia An intense irrational fear of a specific object or situation Figure 13 4 Conditioning as an explanation for phobias Anxiety 4 Obsessive compulsive thoughts that will not go away dirty Compulsions behaviors one must keep performingg washing p g hands Compulsive behavior defends against anxiety typically cleaning Obsessions fear uncertainty doubt Anxiety will do something terrible rarely do have heart attack wet self 6 Anxiety Disorders Phobias I Social Phobia An intense fear of situations that invite public scrutiny Socially phobic and non non phobic adults prepared a speech Both groups showed increased heart rate in anticipation of the speech but those with social anxiety react more strongly Learning Objective 3 Anxiety Disorders Phobias II However only those with social phobia reported feeling more anxious Anxiety Disorders Influences Three findings from cross cultural comparisons are Anxiety is universal and is exhibited by the same bodily reactions Culture influences the cognitive component of anxiety i e what people worry about and their beliefs about the causes of it Treatment needs to acknowledge cultural diversity 7 Disorders Somatization Disorder Conversion Disorder Hypochondriasis Etiology of somatoform disorders Cognitive factors Personality factors The sick role Dissociative Disorders Dissociative amnesia and fugue Dissociative disorder Etiology severe emotional trauma during childhood Controversy Media creation Mood Disorders Major Depressive Disorder Characterized by sadness despair feelings of worthlessness and low self esteem Depression is universal Depression rates are on the rise Women W are 2x 2 more likely lik l tto seek k ttreatment t t Some people get depressed on a seasonal basis Seasonal Affective Disorder SAD Depressive episodes often last only a few weeks Dysthymic Disorder Chronic state but not severe enough to be classified as major depression 8 What is Depression is a medical issue that affects a persons mood to be down blue and or fed up Depression is the most common mood disorder affecting approximately 20 million people each year Signs and Depression Fatigue or loss of energy Thoughts of death or suicide including suicide attempts Feeling guilty hopeless or worthless Difficulty concentrating remembering or making decisions of Persistent sad anxious or empty mood Sleeping too much or too little odd