PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

Redefining our perceptions

of what constitutes
psychological disorders.
Learning to ask “Why?”
Focus on observable data.
 PSYCHOLOGICAL
DISORDERS
 Learning Objectives:
 Introduction: 3 cases
 Anxiety Disorders
 Dissociative Disorders
 Somatoform Disorders
 Mood Disorders
 Schizophrenia
 Personality Disorders
 Psychological
Disorders
 Three cases:
– Jim Gordon
– Vincent “The Chin “Gigante
– Andrea Yates
 What is Insanity?
 Disease vs. Disorder (illness)
What’s your perception?
 Psychological Disorders
 Psychological
Disorders
 A brief history: the pendulum swings
– Greeks: perceived natural causes
– Middle Ages: natural & supernatural
causes
– Colonial America: supernatural or
natural?
– hysteria + ergot
= trouble
– Present: natural versus supernatural
– The role of technology
 Anxiety
Disorders
 Phobias (irrational fears)
– specific, social
 Panic Disorder
 Generalized Anxiety
Disorders
– at least 6 months duration
 Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder
– thoughts and actions
 Anxiety Disorders
 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD)
 Acute Stress Disorder
– occurs w/i 1 month of event, lasts 2 days
- 4 weeks

 Gamma-aminobutyric Acid (GABA)

– Inhibitory neurotransmitter implicated in
anxiety reactions
– aids in calming us during anxiety
 Dissociative
Disorders
 Sudden, temporary changes in
consciousness or self identity.
– Dissociative Amnesia, Fugue (fleeing)
– Depersonalization Disorder
– Dissociative Identity Disorder (MPD);
Most extreme form of chronic PTSD,
Dissociation as coping mechanism
 Four Cases:
 Chris Sizemore; Shirley Ardell Mason; Billy
Milligan; Truddi Chase.
Somatoform
Disorders
 Complaints of physical
(somatic) problems
despite physical
abnormalities.
 Symptoms are not
intentional.
 Motivation for illness is
unconscious
 Conversion
Disorder
 unconscious conflicts are
converted into physical
symptoms.
 Symptoms are often
significant to the patient.
 Can persist for years.
 Conversion
Disorder
 FYI: Hysteria = womb / uterus
– Psychosomatic (Hysterical)
Blindness
– Psychosomatic (Hysterical)
Pregnancy
 Couvade
 “La belle Indifference”
– characterized by an indifference
to their symptoms.
 Conversion
Disorder
 Hypochondriasis
– Not attention seeking
behavior

 Related Somatoform
Disorders:
– Pain Disorder
– Body Dysmorphic Disorder
 Mood Disorders
 Major Depression
– Characteristics
– Types
 Bipolar Disorder (manic
depression)
– Types
 Seasonal Affective Disorder
 Suicid
e
 Rates
– 300,000 people per year
 Factors
– Links to depression /
hopelessness
 Diversity
 Myths
 Schizophre
nia
 Split between thought and
reality
 Characteristics
– Delusions
– Stupor
– Loss of control of thought
processes
– inappropriate emotional
responses
– Onset

Schizophrenia
 Three types:
– Paranoid
– Disorganized
– Catatonic: waxy flexibility,
mutism
 Dopamine Hypothesis:
Glutamate may be the more
important precursor.
 Personality Disorders
Enduring patterns of maladaptive
behavior.
– Sources of distress to the individual or
others.

 Overview of Types of Personality

Disorders.
– Paranoid / Schizotypal / Schizoid /
Avoidant / Antisocial
 Personality
Disorders
 Paranoid Personality Type

– Persistent suspiciousness
– Emotionally detached
– bear persistent grudges.
 Schizotypal Personality
Type
– Oddities of thought and behavior
– Eccentricities of behavior
– “Magical thinking”
– inappropriate dress
 Personality
Disorders
 Schizoid Personality
Type
– Social withdrawal
– Express few emotions
 Avoidant Personality
Type
– Generally unwilling to enter
relationships without
assurance of acceptance
 Personality
Disorders
 Antisocial Personality Type
(“Sociopath”)
– Frequent conflict with society, undeterred by
punishment
– little guilt, anxiety, or remorse for actions
– Ongoing disregard for the rights of others
– Deceitfulness
– Repeated lying (lying for personal gain and/or
pleasure)
– Must be at least 18 years old
 Personality
Disorders
 Malingering: “disease
forgery”
 Factitious Disorder
– attention
– Munchausen Syndrome (by
proxy)
 hero / victim
– Rarely treated successfully
 Personality
Disorders
 Narcissistic Personality Type
– exaggerated sense of self importance,
entitlement
– Disturbed self-centered relationships.
 Histrionic Personality Type
– excessive emotionality
 Borderline Personality Type
– Pattern of unstable personal relationships.
– poor self image, impulse control.
 Impulse Control Disorders:
– Kleptomania, Pyromania, Trichotillomania
(hair pulling)