Psychological Disorders: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments

Posted on Mar 7, 2025 in Psychology and Sociology

Understanding Psychological Abnormality

Abnormality emphasizes that psychological disorders exist on a spectrum, characterized by the 4 D’s:

  • Dysfunction: Impairment in normal functioning.
  • Distress: Emotional pain, suffering, or discomfort experienced by oneself or others.
  • Deviance: Infrequent behaviors that deviate from societal norms.
  • Dangerousness: Behaviors that result in harm to oneself or others.

Cultural Relativism: Norms and values are culturally specific; there are no universal standards for abnormality. Gender Influences: The way people express symptoms, their willingness to reveal symptoms, and their likelihood to seek treatment can vary by gender. Theory Types: Include biological, supernatural, and psychological theories. Ancient Theories: Varying explanations, from supernatural to biological causes (Ancient China 2000s BC, Ancient Egypt 1900s BC, Ancient Greece/Hippocrates 460-377 BC). Medieval Theories: (400-1400) Abnormal behaviors were often attributed to severe emotional trauma, physical illness, or witchcraft. Asylums: Defined treatment during medieval times to the early 1800s. They were precursors to psychiatric hospitals but often had prison-like conditions and religious symbolism. Moral Treatment: An 18th-19th century theory positing that mental illness could be cured by restoring dignity and tranquility (Philippe Pinel in France, Dorothea Dix in the US).

Historical Timeline and Brain Dysfunction

Timeline:

  • 1960: Patients’ rights movement.
  • 1963: Deinstitutionalization – patients were released from long-term psychiatric hospitals.
  • 1960s-Today: Managed care.

Brain Dysfunction:

  • Cerebral Cortex: Responsible for advanced thinking processes.
  • Thalamus: Relays sensory information.
  • Hypothalamus: Regulates hunger, sleep, and sex drive.
  • Pituitary Gland: Controls hormone release.
  • Limbic System:
    • Amygdala: Involved in fear and emotional responses.
    • Hippocampus: Plays a crucial role in memory formation.

Biopsychosocial Approach: Considers biological, social, and psychological factors.

Research Methodologies in Psychology

Methodologies: The scientific method formulates hypotheses and investigates variables (Independent Variable/Dependent Variable).

  • Correlational Studies: Identify relationships but cannot infer causation.
  • Case Studies: Provide in-depth analysis but may lack generalizability.
  • Epidemiological Studies: Focus on the prevalence and risk factors of disorders.
  • Experimental Studies: Evaluate treatments through control and experimental groups.
  • Therapy Outcome Studies: Assess the efficacy of treatments.
  • Statistical Significance: Determines if findings are likely due to chance.

PTSD and Anxiety Disorders

Psychological Response to Threat: Activation of the fight, flight, or freeze response (involving the amygdala, hypothalamus, sympathetic nervous system, HPA axis, and cortisol).

Cognitive & Behavioral: How one perceives and reacts to threats.

Disorders and Treatments

PTSD:

  • Symptoms: Re-experiencing, avoidance, negative alterations in cognition, arousal, and reactivity.
  • Risk Factors: Trauma type, environment, society/culture, and individual factors.
  • Prevalence: 7% lifetime prevalence; 70-90% of individuals are exposed to one or more traumatic events, with 10% developing PTSD.
  • Protective Factors: Social support, ethnic identity, and supportive friends, family, and educators.
  • Treatment: Positive therapist-client relationship, treatment credibility, and confronting painful emotions.
  • Cognitive Behavioral Model: Thoughts influence emotions and physical sensations, which in turn influence behaviors.
  • Two Cognitive Behavioral Therapies:
    • Prolonged Exposure (8-15 sessions).
    • Cognitive Processing Therapy (12 weekly sessions).

Phobias and Panic Disorders

Phobias: Fear of specific objects or situations. Development occurs through classical and operant conditioning, and environmental influences. Treatment includes exposure therapy, modeling, and flooding techniques, which are highly effective.

Panic Disorders (Panic Attack): Abrupt surge of fear or discomfort with four or more physical symptoms that peak within minutes.

  • Symptoms: Recurrent, unexpected panic attacks; persistent concern about having another attack; significant behavioral change related to attacks for a month or longer; sudden and intense fear.
  • Development: Biological, cognitive, and learning factors.
  • Agoraphobia: Avoiding places where escape might be difficult.
  • Treatment: Cognitive behavioral therapy, cognitive restructuring, interoceptive exposure, *in vivo* exposure, and medication (benzodiazepines, SSRIs).

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Primarily a worrying disorder.

  • Symptoms: Excessive worry for more days than not for at least six months, causing stress and impairment.
  • Development: Biological, cognitive, and environmental factors.
  • Treatments: Cognitive-behavioral therapy, relaxation therapies, and medication.
  • Biological Factors: Genetics, GABA receptors, growth, and maturation throughout life.
  • Cognitive Factors: Hypervigilance; learning to think and reason.
  • Environmental Factors: Stressors, parenting styles.

Theoretical Perspectives on Abnormality

Biochemical Imbalance: Neurons and neurotransmitters are chemical messengers. Theory suggests that neurotransmitter imbalances, receptor issues, or reuptake problems (too much or too little) can cause disorders. For example, too much serotonin is hypothesized to cause depression.

  • Serotonin: Affects mood, sleep, appetite, and overall well-being; low levels can contribute to depression.
  • Dopamine: Linked to reward pathways, pleasure, motivation, and movement control; imbalances can be involved in conditions like Parkinson’s disease.
  • Norepinephrine: Plays a role in alertness, focus, and the body’s response to stress; often referred to as the “fight or flight” neurotransmitter.
  • GABA: Acts as a calming agent, inhibiting neuronal activity and promoting relaxation; low GABA levels can contribute to anxiety and seizures. (Serotonin, Dopamine and Norepinephrine are “feel-good” neurotransmitters that play a significant role in mood regulation, while GABA acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter, essentially calming down the nervous system).

Genetics Abnormalities: Behavioral genetics often involve polygenic (multiple genes) processes, gene-environment interactions, and epigenetics (where environments can alter how and when genes are turned on or off in early stages).

Treatments: Include drug therapies, novel biological treatments, brain stimulation, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, and psychosurgery.

Psychodynamic Theory

Psychodynamic Theory: Developed by Freud, involving the Id, Ego, and Superego. It emphasizes unconscious processes. Catharsis (the expression of emotions surrounding memories and conflicts) is central to the healing process.

  • Pros: Importance of early childhood; acknowledges that we are not always aware of why we do what we do.
  • Cons: Limited research support; theories are not testable; long and difficult to access.
Behavioral and Cognitive Approaches

Behavioral Approach: Abnormal behaviors are learned through modeling. Operant conditioning shapes behaviors through reward and punishment. Classical conditioning involves pairing a stimulus with a response. Uses learning principles to change behaviors, affecting thoughts and feelings.

  • Pros: Testable hypotheses, well-supported by research.
  • Cons: Cannot explain everything; disregards thoughts and beliefs.

Cognitive Approach: Thoughts affect behavior and emotions. Psychological disorders involve inaccurate or unhelpful cognitions. This approach involves identifying inaccurate thoughts and working to change them.

  • Pros: Similar to behavioral approach.
  • Cons: Thoughts may not always precede emotions and behaviors; may overemphasize changing thoughts.
Assessment and Diagnosis

Assessment: A clinical interview is the process of gathering information. It may include a mental status exam and can be unstructured or structured. A good assessment should have validity, reliability, test-related reliability, and interrater reliability.

Diagnosis: A label attached to a set of symptoms. Issues include categorization versus continuum and differentiating disorders from one another.

Why Diagnose? Communication, treatment decisions, predicting behavior, and advancing research and treatments.

Scientific Method Steps
  1. Define the problem and formulate a testable hypothesis.
  2. Identify dependent variables (factors we are trying to predict) and independent variables (factors we believe will affect the DV).
Encountering a Threat

Fears & Anxiety:

  • Psychological: Increased heart rate, breathing, sweating, and muscle tension.
  • Cognitive: Increased focus on threat, increased thoughts of fear.
  • Behaviors: Fight, flight, or freeze.

Mowrer’s Two-Factor Method: Classical conditioning develops fear, while operant conditioning maintains it.

Fight, Flight, Freeze Responses: Threat → Amygdala → Hypothalamus → Sympathetic nervous system or Pituitary-Adrenal system.