Mental Disorders-Causes, Nature, and Treatment Essay Example for Free

Mental Disorders-Ca customs, Nature, and Treatment EssayJames is 35 days old and is a successful salesman. He has never married and has no children. His c atomic number 18er focus a good deal makes him appear to be a workaholic. Lately, he has begun to feel exceedingly dissatisfied, lonely, and bored. He thinks often of quitting, selling everything he owns, and pickings off. Is James crazy? Is he depressed? Kay is a young and very attractive high-school instructor who is involved romantically with one of her students.She knows this is tuberculousegal, immoral, and unethical, hardly she continues this dangerous demeanor. Is Kay mentally ill? Peter washes his hands at least 25 times a day. Whenever he feels anxious, he runs to the bathroom or kitchen and washes his hands to dismantle his anxiety level. Is Peters manner ab conventionalism? Abnormal expression, often perceived as a sign of mental unsoundness, is not uncommon in our society. This lesson introduces you to mental disorders, the causes of mental illness, and the treatment of mental illness. This lesson presents the following topics What Is freakishness? Models of irregularity Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders humor DisordersWhat Is Abnormality?What is perverted, and just how bad can it get? If you force field the picture of abnormality in American movies, you would probably think that a person who was identified as creation psychologically abnormal could be pretty difficult to be around. In fact, for hundreds of years, sight with psychological abnormalities were intellection to be possessed by demons. Remember the movie, The Exorcist? Exorcism The formal casting out of a demon through a religious ritual became popular in the Middle Ages as a modality to cast out demons. an otherwise(prenominal) method used in prehistoric times to cure the irrational was trepanning The process of cutting holes into the skull of a living person.In this procedure, ho les were cut in the skull to provide a agency for the demons to be released. During the Renaissance period, belief in demons carried through to a belief in witchcraft. Mentally ill people were called witches and were often put to death. These executions were often carried out by burning at the stake. Thankfully, psychopathologythe study of abnormal sorthas come a long way over the centuries, and attitudes toward and treatment of mental illness have also changed.Definitions of Abnormal BehaviorIt is difficult to define abnormal air. One way is to use the statistical definitions that frequently occurring demeanour is normal and behavior that is rare is abnormal. But these definitions dont work for every situation. Another way to define abnormality is behavior that goes against the norms or standards of society. But going against friendly norms is not ceaselessly regarded as an abnormality, especially in the case of championing social or political causes. In addition, behavior th at whitethorn be unacceptable in one culture may be completely acceptable in another. The social or environmental setting of a persons behavior is a potent factor in the determination of abnormality. Joan hates to go to large parties where she doesnt know everyone.Unfortunately, her husbands business often holds large gatherings, and spouses are expected to attend. Joan delays getting ready until the last minute and then spends the evening feeling uncomfortable because she doesnt look as well-put together as some(a)what(a) of the other women. She hesitates to mingle because of her subjective irritation Emotional distress or emotional pain that keeps her from face-off new people and having a good time. Ed is a 34-year-old college student. He has been in college since he was 18, taking one course after another and pursuing one degree after another.He is what some people call a professional student. Ed works the typical part-time student jobs and earns comme il faut to pay for h is classes and his student apartment. He once laughingly said that he couldnt stand the thought of a real job, but there is nothing funny nigh his situation. Ed is extremely anxious about the prospect of meeting the demands of daily life in the real world, and his maladaptive behaviour Anything that does not forfeit a person to function within or adapt to the stresses and everyday demands of life keeps him from achieving his potential.Both Joan and Eds behavior can be classified as abnormal. So, how do psychologists define abnormal behavior? It is the pattern of behavior that causes people significant distress, causes them to harm themselves or others, or harms their ability to function in daily life. spare-time activity is a list of criteria for determining abnormal behavior (at least two criteria must be met) Is the behavior unusual? Does the behavior go against social norms? Does the behavior cause the person significant subjective discomfort? Is the behavior maladaptive? Does the behavior cause the person to be a danger to themselves or others? Models of AbnormalityThe theories you have studied about personality can be used to help explain normal and abnormal behavior. Explaining disordered behavior depends on the model used to explain personality. The biological model Model of explaining behavior as caused by biological changes in the chemical, structural, or genetic systems of the body proposes that psychological disorders have a biological or medical cause. You might also hear this model called the medical, organic, or disease model. Such models insinuate to thinker trauma, infectious disease, or genetic reasons as the cause of psychological disorders.Several psychological models try to explain disordered behavior as forms of various emotional, behavioral, or thought-related malfunctioning. The psychoanalytic model explains disordered behavior as the result of repressing, or hiding, ones thoughts, memories, or concerns. Behaviorists believe that d isordered behavior is learned behavior, just as normal behavior is learned. Cognitive psychologists Psychologists who study the way people think, remember, and mentally organize information believe abnormal behavior to be a result of illogical thinking patterns.Mental Disorders Causes, Nature, and TreatmentsWe have looked at some characteristics of abnormal behavior. Now lets see how psychologists decide what type of disorder a person has. The Diagnostic and statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) was first published in 1952 to help psychology professionals diagnose disorders. It has been revised several(prenominal) times over the years. The DSM describes about 250 different psychological disorders based on symptoms, the path the disorder takes, and the criteria checklist. The manual of arms divides the disorders into five categories, or axes. showcase of reading Clinical Disorders and Other Conditions That May Be a strain of Clinical Attention. Description in sketch Psych ological disorders that impair functioning and are stressful and factors that are not disorders but that may affect functioning, such as academic or social problems. fictional character of Information Personality Disorders Mental Retardation Description in Brief Rigid, enduring, maladaptive personality patterns. Type of Information General Medical Conditions Description in Brief Chronic and acute illnesses and medical conditions that may have an impact on mental health. picpic Type of Information Psychosocial and Environment Problems Description in Brief Problems in the physical surroundings of the person that may have an impact on diagnosis, treatment, and outcome. Type of Information Global Assessment of Functioning Description in Brief Overall judgment of current functioning, including mental, social, and occupational. Disorders unremarkably first diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence. For example, learning disabilities, ADHD, bedwetting, and speech disorder Delir ium, dementia, amnesia, and other cognitive disorders. For example, Alzheimers, Parkinsons, and amnesia caused by physical causes Psychological disorders caused by a general medical condition. For example, personality change because of a brain tumor Substance-related disorders. For example, alcoholism and drug addiction Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. For example, schizophrenia, delusional disorders, hallucinations, and paranoid psychosis Mood disorders. For example, depression, mania, and bipolar disorders Anxiety disorders. For example, panic disorder, phobias, and stress disorders Somatoform disorders. For example, hypochondria and conversion disorder Factitious disorders. For example, pathological fiction and Munchausen syndrome Dissociative disorders. For example, multiple personality and amnesia not caused by physical causes Sexual and gender identity disorders. For example, sexual desire disorders and paraphilias Eating disorders. For example, anorexi a and bulimia Sleep disorders. For example, insomnia, sleep terror disorder, sleepwalking, and narcolepsy Impulse-control disorders not elsewhere classified. For example, kleptomania, pathological gambling, and pyromania Adjustment disorders. For example, mixed anxiety and conduct disturbances You may think you dont know anyone with a psychological disorder, but they are more common than you think.According to the National Institute on Mental Health, about 22 percent of adults over 18 suffer from a mental disorder, that is, about 44 million people in the United States. Many people who study psychology begin to believe they suffer from some type of disorder. Why? Because many psychological disorders are really ordinary variations on human behavior taken to the extreme. Now, lets take a look at some of the various categories and types of disorders.Anxiety DisordersIn 2004, Raoul was pass with his parents in Sri Lanka when the resort they were staying in was hit by a devastating tsu nami. Thousands of people died, and Raouls family barely escaped. To this day, Raoul feels extremely anxious whenever he is near the ocean or hears the sounds of waves breaking on the beach. His heart begins to pound, his hands tremble, and he wants to run away. Raouls anxiety is one of the anxiety disorders Disorders in which the main symptom is excessive or phantasmagorical anxiety and fearfulness that can be traced to a specific event. Anne feels anxious nearly all the time. She wakes up in the morning with a vague sense of dread that intensifies as the day goes on.This free-floating anxiety Anxiety that is unrelated to any realistic, known source is keeping her from doing her best at work and is also getting in the way of her contiguous relationships with others. A phobia An irrational, persistent fear of an object, situation, or social activity is also a type of anxiety disorder. Phobias are classified as either of the following Social phobias panic of interacting with othe rs or being in social situations that might lead to a negative evaluation Specific phobias business organisation of objects or specific situations or events Melanie is afraid to go into large arenas. Because of her agoraphobia Fear of being in a place or situation from which escape is difficult or impossible she did not attend her sons high school basketball championship game. Agoraphobia keeps her from living life to the fullest. Some other common phobias and their scientific names are given below Fear of washing and bathing Ablutophobia Fear of spiders Arachnophobia Fear of lightning Ceraunophobia Fear of dirt and germs Mysophobia Fear of snakes Ophidiophobia Fear of darkness Nyctophobia Fear of fire Pyrophobia Fear of foreigners and strangers Xenophobia Fear of animals Zoophobia