Unit 15 Disorders Module 46 Defining Psychological Disorders What Makes a Behavior Abnormal What does it means to be normal or abnormal The types of behavior considered normal or abnormal fall on a spectrum and are often less easily definable than you think Psychological disorder an ongoing dysfunctional pattern of thought emotion and behavior that causes significant distress impairs a person s normal functioning and is considered deviant in that person s culture or society They are out of the patient s control may be treated by drugs and their treatment is often covered by medical insurance Psychological disorders have biological nature and environmental nurture influences These influences are reflected in the bio psycho social model of illness People with psychological disorders are stigmatized by people around them resulting in shame embarrassment prejudice and discrimination The understanding and treatment of has broad implications Abnormal psychology applying psychological science to our understanding and treatment of psychological disorders Prevalence the frequency of a given condition in a population at a given time Defining Disorder Bio psycho social model of illness a way of understanding disorder that assumes that disorders are caused by biological psychological and social factors Biological component the influences on disorder that come from the functioning of the individual s body Particularly important are genetic characteristics that make some people more vulnerable to a disorder and the influence of neurotransmitters Psychological component the influences that come from the individual such as patterns of negative thinking and stress responses Social component the influences on disorder due to social and cultural factors such as socioeconomic status homelessness abuse and discrimination Schizophrenia has a biological cause because it is known that there are patterns of genes that make a person vulnerable to the disorder Whether or not the person with a biological vulnerability experiences the disorder depends in large part on psychological factors such as how the individual responds to stress as well as social factors such as whether or not he is exposed to stressful environments in adolescence and if he has support from people who care about him Mood and anxiety disorders are caused in part by genetic factors such as hormones and neurotransmitters by the individual s particular thought patterns and by the ways that other people treat the person with the disorder Psychological disorders are different from medical conditions Diagnosis of psychological disorders can be more difficult The brains of people with severe mental disturbances often look identical to those of people without such disturbances Psychological disorders are diagnosed on the basis of observations of behaviors Emotional states and behaviors operate on a continuum ranging from more normal and accepted to deviant abnormal and unaccepted The behaviors that are associated with disorders are usually the same behaviors we that engage in our everyday life Whether a given behavior is considered a psychological disorder is determined by whether that behavior is unusual maladaptive and dysfunctional to the individual The focus on distress and dysfunction means that behaviors that are simply unusual are not classified as disorders Another difficulty in diagnosing psychological disorders is that they frequently occur together People diagnosed with anxiety disorders often have mood disorders and people diagnosed with one personality disorder frequently suffer from other personality disorders Comorbidity when people who suffer from one disorder also suffer from other disorders Many psychological disorders are comorbid and most severe mental disorders are concentrated in a small group of people 6 who have more than three of them Psychology in everyday life combating the stigma of abnormal behavior Every culture and society has its own views on what constitutes abnormal behavior and what causes it The Old Testament Book of Samuel tells us that as a consequence of his sins God sent King Saul an evil spirit to torment him Ancient Hindu tradition attributed psychological disorders to sorcery and witchcraft During the middle ages it was believed that mental illness occurred when the body was infected by evil spirits Remedies included whipping bloodletting purges and trepanation to release the demons Until the 18th century the most common treatment was to incarcerate them in asylums During the 18th century some reformers began to oppose this brutal treatment arguing that mental illness was a medical problem that had nothing to do with evil spirits or demons Phillipe Pinel believed that mental illness was caused by a combination of physical and psychological stressors exacerbated by inhumane conditions He advocated the introduction of exercise fresh air and daylight for the inmates as well as treating them gently and talking with them Benjamin Rush and Dorothea Dix were instrumental in creating mental hospitals that treated patients humanely and attempted to cure them Pinel Rush Dix fought the often brutal treatment of the mentally ill and were instrumental in changing perceptions and treatment of them Public attitudes about those who suffer from psychological disorders still stigmatize people with the disorders A Stigma a disgrace or defect that indicates that person belongs to a culturally devalued social group The stigma of mental illness is accompanied by the use of disrespectful and dehumanizing labels The stigma of mental disorder affects people while they are ill healing after they have healed Stigma can affect the kinds of services social service agencies give to people and the treatment provided to them It often leads to employment discrimination The mass media has a significant influence on society s attitude toward mental illness While media portrayal is often sympathetic negative stereotypes still remain Advertisements may perpetuate negative stereotypes about the mentally ill The most significant problem of the stigmatization is that it slows recovery People with mental problems internalize societal attitudes about mental illness often becoming so embarrassed or ashamed that they conceal their difficulties and fail to seek treatment Stigma leads to lowered selfesteem increased isolation and hopelessness and may negatively influence the individual s family and professional life Despite all of these