Download Section 3: Dissociative Disorders

Section 3: Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative Disorders
• Dissociation – separation of certain
personality components / mental processes
from conscious thought
– Somewhat common
– Becomes a disorder when used to avoid stressful
events or feelings
– Lose memory of an event, forget identity
Amnesia
• Sudden loss of memory,
usually following
traumatic event
• Can’t remember anything
surrounding event
• May even forget identity
• Memory returns as
suddenly as it was lost
• Wartime and natural
disasters huge causes
Fugue
• Forgetting personal
information and past
events, but also
relocating and taking on
new identity
• Usually follows traumatic
event
• May not appear to be ill
at all
• Eventually ends, can’t
remember anything
Dissociative Identity Disorder
• (multiple personality disorder)
• Two or more personalities that
may or may not be aware of
one another
• Different voice, facial
expressions, handedness, age,
gender, allergies, etc.
• Usually severely abused as kid
• Suffered severe physical
sexual and or psychological
abuse
Depersonalization Disorder
• Feelings of detachment
from one’s mental
processes or body
• Usually preceded by
stressful event
• Third most common
complaint among
psychiatric patients
Explaining Dissociative Disorders
• Psychoanalytic theory – dissociate in order to
repress unacceptable urges
• Learning theorists – learned not to think
about disturbing events in order to avoid
feelings of guilt, shame, or pain
Section 4: Common Disorders in
Children
Overview of ADHD
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Attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder
Trouble focusing on task at hand
May be easily distracted
Causes problems at school (learning and
social)
• Most common reason kids are referred to
mental health professional
Diagnosing ADHD
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Usually young boys
Most common in USA
Ritalin (actually a stimulant) is most helpful drug
Pregnant mothers that smoke 3x more likely to
have ADHD child
• Side effects can be a problem
• If not dealt with – problems in school,
relationships, delinquent behavior, substance
abuse, etc.
Autism
• Early signs
– Aloof and unresponsive babies
– Attach to inanimate objects instead of family
– Inappropriate speech
– Unexplained tantrums
– Difficult to feed
– Don’t like being held or cuddled
– Very little sensitivity to pain
– Rarely maintain eye contact
Symptoms
• Failure to develop normal communication
patterns, social interactions, emotional
responses
• Strong and negative reaction to change
• Few able to speak normally, many practice
echolalia (repeating what has just been said)
• May abuse themselves or repeat single hand
motion for hours
Famous people
Rumored to have Autism
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Emily Dickenson
Mozart
Albert Einstein
Thomas Jefferson
Jane Austen
Vincent Van Gogh
Alexander graham bell
Bach
Beethoven
Leonardo Da Vinci
Thomas Edison
Isaac Newton
Michelangelo
Mark Twain
Who it affects
• 1 in 88 kids born today
• Usually boys
• Kids regardless of parental styling (doesn’t
mean autistic kids have bad parents)
• Neurological problem – make up of brain is
different
• Possible link between autism and
schizophrenia
Causes of Autism
• Mothers that
– Don’t take pre-natal vitamins
– Are obese
– Are older when giving birth
• Other possible causes:
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Vaccines
Food allergies
Immune system deficiencies
Heredity
Premature birth
Environmental factors (pollutants, etc.)
Autistic Savant
• Extraordinary skill of some kind
• Complicated numerical operations, musical
talents, artistic ability, memory capability
• A medical mystery
Asperger's
• High functioning Autism
• Difficulty with social situations & limited,
repetitive behaviors
• 1 in 500 kids
• Literal thinking (difficulty noticing sarcasm)
• Trouble reading body language and emotions
• 3 to 4x more likely in boys
• Many are highly intelligent
• Behavior therapy can help, drugs to help anxiety