Download Breakdown of Psychological Disorders

Breakdown of Psychological Disorders
A psychological disorder is defined as deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional behavior patterns.
 Anxiety Disorders-psychological disorders characterized by distressing persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors
that reduce anxiety. (NOTE: OCD is no longer classified as an anxiety disorder.)
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Generalized anxiety disorder-a person is unexplainably and continually tense and uneasy.
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Panic disorder-person experiences sudden episodes of intense dread.
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Phobias-person feels irrationally and intensely afraid of a specific abject or situation.
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Examples:
Post-traumatic stress disorder-a person has lingering memories, nightmares, and other symptoms for
weeks after a severely threatening, uncontrollable event.
 Somatoform Disorders- psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without
apparent physical cause.
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Conversion Disorder-a rare somatoform disorder in which a person experiences very specific genuine
physical symptoms for which no physiological basis can be found.
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Hypochondriasis-a somatoform disorder in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as
symptoms of a disease.
 Dissociative Disorders-disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous
memories, thoughts, and feelings.
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Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)-a rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more
distinct and alternating personalities. (formerly known as multiple personality disorder)

Dissociative Fugue-patients temporarily lose their sense of memory and personal identity and impulsively
wander or travel away from their homes or places of work. Fugue comes from the Latin for wander.
(formerly known as psychogenic fugue)

Dissociative Amnesia- occurs when a person blocks out certain information, usually associated with a
stressful or traumatic event, leaving him or her unable to remember important personal information. With
this disorder, the degree of memory loss goes beyond normal forgetfulness and includes gaps in memory
for long periods of time or of memories involving the traumatic event. (formerly psychogenic amnesia)
 Mood Disorders-psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes.
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Major Depressive Disorder- a mood disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs or a
medical condition, two or more weeks of significantly depressed moods, feelings o f worthlessness, and
diminished interest or pleasure in most activities.
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Dysthymic disorder/dysthymia is a chronic, low level depression. Symptoms usually last for at least two
years, and often for much longer than that. Occasionally, individuals with dysthymia also experience a
major depression. People may lose interest in normal daily activities, feel hopeless, lack productivity, and
have low self-esteem and an overall feeling of inadequacy. People with dysthymia are often thought of as
being overly critical, constantly complaining and incapable of having fun.

Mania-a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state.
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Bipolar Disorder-a mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of
depression and the overexcited state of mania. (formerly called manic-depressive disorder).
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Cyclothymia, also called cyclothymic disorder, causes emotional ups and downs that are not as extreme as
in bipolar disorder type I or II.
 Personality Disorders-psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair
social functioning.

Antisocial personality disorder-a personality disorder in which the person (usually a male) exhibits a lack of
conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members.
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Borderline Personality disorder
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Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder
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Avoidant Personality Disorder
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Schizotypal Personality Disorder
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Narcissistic Personality Disorder
 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders and related disorders:

Obsessive-compulsive disorder
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Body dysmorphic disorder
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Trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder)
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Excoriation (skin-picking) disorder
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Hoarding disorder
 Schizophrenia- a group of psychotic disorders, characterized by a general loss of contact with reality
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Five areas of major disturbance:
Perception (hallucinations – imaginary sensory perception)
Language (word salad, neologisms->a newly coined word or expression)
Thoughts (psychosis- loss of reality, delusions – extreme mistaken beliefs)
Emotion (exaggerated or flat affect/mood)
Behavior [unusual actions (e.g., catalepsy – assume immobile stance, waxy flexibility – maintain given postures)]
 Substance-related disorder -abuse of, or dependence on, a mood or behavior-altering drug)