Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Psychological Disorders
Psychological Disorders
AN ASSIGNMENT
On
“PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS”
1 Anxiety Disorders
5 Dissocia;ve Disorders
6 Depressive Disorders
9 Personality disorders
10 Sleep disorders
13 Conclusion
14 References
Introduction to Psychological Disorders
Psychological disorders are also called mental illnesses or mental health conditions. They can
affect your thinking, emotions, and behaviour, often affecting your relationships and day-to-
day functioning. These conditions may be temporary or lifelong. Mental health conditions are
common.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that 1 in 5 adults in the United States
experiences a psychological disorder each year.
Although psychological disorders can be challenging to live with, they can be treated. Talk
therapy, self-care strategies, and medication can all play a role in helping people with
psychological disorders function better.
Psychological disorders are conditions characterized by abnormal thoughts, feelings, and
behaviours. Although challenging, it is essential for psychologists and mental health
professionals to agree on what experiences and actions constitute the presence of a
psychological disorder. Inner experiences and behaviours that are atypical or violate social
norms could signify the presence of a disorder; however, each of these criteria alone is
inadequate. It is generally accepted that a psychological disorder is defined by significant
disturbances in thoughts, feelings, and behaviours; these disturbances must reflect some kind
of dysfunction (biological, psychological, or developmental), must cause significant
impairment in one’s life, and must not reflect culturally expected reactions to certain life events.
Classification of Psychological Disorders
1. Anxiety Disorders
2. Obsessive- Compulsive And Related Disorders
3. Trauma And Stressor- Related Disorders
4. Somatic Symptom And Related Disorders
5. Dissociative Disorders
6. Depressive Disorders
7. Bipolar And Related Disorders
8. Schizophrenia Spectrum And Other Psychotic Disorders
9. Personality disorders
10. Sleep disorders
11. Feeding and eating Disorders
12. Substance- Related And Addictive Disorders
Anxiety disorders
Everybody feels anxious from time to time, and anxiety is a natural part of life. But people with
anxiety disorders experience persistent anxiety that often gets in the way of their day-to-day
functioning. Often, their anxiety is disproportional to the situation at hand.
According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), anxiety disorders are the most
common type of neurodevelopmental condition, affecting nearly 30% of adults at some point
in their lives. Although anyone can have an anxiety disorder, they’re more common among
women than men.
Common types of anxiety disorders include:
• generalized anxiety disorder
• illness anxiety disorder (previously called hypochondria)
• separation anxiety disorder
• social anxiety disorder
• specific phobias
• panic disorder
Dissociative Disorders
o Dissociation :
• It can be viewed as severance of the connections between ideas and emotions
o Symptoms :
• feelings of unreality, estrangement, depersonalisation and sometimes a loss of shift of
identity
o Dissociative disorders:
• Sudden temporary alternations in consciousness that blot out painful experiences are a
defining characteristic of dissociative disorders.
Psychosocial intervention, which can include individual therapy, family therapy, and social
skills training, may also help.
Psychosis is a symptom of schizophrenia, but people can also have psychosis without
schizophrenia. In some cases, it can be a temporary condition where you have delusions and
hallucinations.
If someone is having an episode of psychosis where they pose a risk to themself or others, they
may undergo rapid tranquilization, which is when they’re injected with a substance that will
relax or sedate them.
After an episode of psychosis, you may be prescribed antipsychotic medications to help
manage hallucinations and delusions. Individual talk therapy, group therapy, and family
therapy may also help.
Personality disorders
People with personality disorders may have a way of thinking, feeling, and behaving that
deviates from the expectations of the culture in such a way that it causes distress and makes it
difficult for them to function healthily.
In order to be diagnosed with a personality disorder, you have to have long-term patterns of
behaviour and inner experiences that affect at least two of the following:
The 10 personality disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th
edition, text revision (DSM-5-TR) are:
• antisocial personality disorder
• avoidant personality disorder
• borderline personality disorder
• dependent personality disorder
• histrionic personality disorder
• narcissistic personality disorder
• obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
• paranoid personality disorder
• schizoid personality disorder
• schizotypal personality disorder
Personality disorders are usually treated with talk therapy and, when necessary, medication.
Certain medications can help improve the symptoms of personality disorders, such as low
mood, anxiety, or impulsivity.
Sleep disorders
Sleep disorders can affect your sleep pattern, which means you may sleep significantly more
or significantly less than typical.
Certain sleep disorders involve unusual behaviour while asleep, such as sleepwalking.
Heroin
• Heroin intake significantly interferes with social and occupational functioning.
• Most abusers further develop a dependence on heroin, revolving their lives around the
substance, building up a tolerance for it and experiencing a withdrawal reaction when
they stop taking it.
• The most direct danger of heroin abuse is an overdose, which slows down the
respiratory centres in the brain almost paralysing breathing and in many cases death
Cocaine
• Regular use of cocaine may lead to a pattern of abuse in which the person may be
intoxicated throughout the day and function poorly in social relationships and at work.
• Problems in Short term memory and attention will be present • Dependence may
develop so that the cocaine dominates the person’s life , more of the drug is needed to
get the desired effects and stopping it results in feelings of depression, fatigue, sleep
problems, irritability and anxiety.
• Cocaine poses serious effects on psychological functioning and physical well-being.
Conclusion
Psychological problems are widespread and cause not only personal suffering but also loss of
work days and a heavy burden to health care systems. Therefore, effective treatment methods
should be at the top of the priority list. PST has some advantages over other treatment
approaches. Research indicates that problem-solving treatments promote some psychological
characteristics such as problem-solving skills, improved self-esteem, interpersonal
effectiveness, and feelings of self-efficacy and agency that are considered protective against
diverse psychopathological situations. This is an important advantage that goes beyond the
traditional treatment approach. One can assert that the problem-solving treatment, among
others, suits well to the developmental needs of young people.
The review of research findings assessing the efficacy of the PST shows that there is reliable
evidence in the literature supporting the effectiveness of the approach in dealing with problems
such as depression, suicidal behavior, and aggression. In light of these research findings, PST
appears to be an empirically supported treatment approach. There is also scientific evidence
supporting the use of PST in the treatment of depression among primary care patient groups.
The empirical evidence also demonstrates that PST meets the treatment and rehabilitation needs
of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Moreover, this review shows that problem-
solving approach is an effective method of treatment for emotional and behavioral problems
secondary to a wide range of medical conditions. The number of research done on the efficacy
of problem-solving treatment for anxiety disorders, however, is not sufficient to arrive at a valid
conclusion yet.
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