LP 14A Psy disorder intro 1 09/04/19 Part of a statement by David Satcher, the Former Surgeon General From the Preface of Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General . Promoting mental health for all Americans will require scientific know-how but even more importantly, a societal resolve that we will make the needed investment. The investment does not call for massive budget; rather, it calls for the willingness of each of us to educate ourselves and others about mental health and mental illness, and thus to confront the attitudes, fears, and misunderstanding that remain as barriers before us. It is my intent that this report will usher in a healthy era of mind and body for the nation. David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D. Surgeon General You can find it at: www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mental illness
Transcript
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 1 09/04/19
Part of a statement by David Satcher, the Former Surgeon General
From the Preface of Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General.
Promoting mental health for all Americans will require scientific know-how but even more importantly, a societal resolve that we will make the needed investment. The investment does not call for massive budget; rather, it calls for the willingness of each of us to educate ourselves and others about mental health and mental illness, and thus to confront the attitudes, fears, and misunderstanding that remain as barriers before us. It is my intent that this report will usher in a healthy era of mind and body for the nation.
David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D. Surgeon General
You can find it at: � www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mental illness
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 2 09/04/19
The descriptions of psychological disorders and the guidelines to help prevent suicide are meant to help you provide “psychological first aid”. They do not qualify you as a clinical psychologist to diagnose psychological disorders, or as a suicide prevention expert. If we look back on Latane and Darley’s decision tree for helping, these guidelines provide you with the means of
• noticing the event,
• deciding if the situation is an emergency by starting a conversation,
• taking responsibility for helping the person
• and implementing that knowledge such as: o calling White Bird 24-hour crisis number (687-4000) o visiting Student Health Services
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 3 09/04/19
Some Myths and Misconceptions about Abnormal Behavior
Myth or Misconception
Fact
Abnormal behavior is always bizarre.
The behavior of many people who are diagnosed as having a mental disorder often cannot be distinguished from that of “normal” people.
• I one case, Jim is an unemployed, single man who says that what really bothers him is that he has a special power. He can influence other people with the way he breathes. This would be considered bizarre.
• Janet who is depressive, her behavior would not be considered bizarre.
Normal and abnormal behavior are different in kind.
Few, if any, types of behavior displayed by individuals with a mental disorder are unique to them. Abnormal behavior often consists of a poor fit between the behavior and the situation in which it is enacted.
People with a mental disorder are dangerous.
With the exception of a few people, such as those with antisocial personality disorder, most people with a mental disorder are not dangerous.
Once people have a mental disorder, they will never get rid of it.
Most people can be successfully treated for a mental disorder.
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 4 09/04/19
What is a Psychological Disorder? A pattern of behavioral and psychological symptoms that causes significant personal distress, impairs the ability to function in one or more important areas of life, or both (page 525). This pattern of behavioral or psychological symptoms must be a serious departure from the prevailing social and cultural norms.
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 5 09/04/19
What is abnormal behavior? What is normal behavior?
The common usage of the word abnormal is not the same as how we use the word abnormal in psychology.
What is the difference between normal and abnormal?
Human behavior lies on a continuum from “normal” to “abnormal”.
normal abnormal
When does normal behavior become abnormal behavior? Context and culture always needs to be considered when determining the difference.
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 6 09/04/19
Psychologists use the following guidelines when assessing whether behavior is abnormal:
1. Deviant: Does the person act in a way that deviates from the cultural norms for behavior?
2. Dysfunction: Does the behavior interfere with the person’s ability to function in relationships, work, school, etc.
3. Distressing: Does the behavior harmful toward themselves or others. Does the behavior harm others?
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 7 09/04/19
Deviant Is the behavior a large departure from the norms of their society? Is the behavior considered strange within the person’s own culture? Is the behavior a serious deviation from the social norms of that culture?
� What is considered normal within a culture is not necessarily normal in another culture.
� Likewise, what is abnormal in one is not necessarily abnormal in another.
• In some cultures it is normal for women to appear in public bare-breasted. It would be abnormal for a female executive in an industrialized culture to go to work that way.
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 8 09/04/19
Dysfunctional Behavior
A psychological disorder is manifested in symptoms that involve disturbances in behavior, thought or emotions.
Behavior Thinking Emotions • Do they drink excessively?
• Do they talk and move VERY fast?
• Do they shout at coworkers?
• Are they sleeping too much (or not enough)?
• Are they excessively eating (or not eating)?
• Do they experience delusions or hallucinations?
• Are their ideas disconnected?
• Are they unaware of their identity?
• Are they persistently depressed for no reason?
• Have they lost interest in things that they once enjoyed?
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 9 09/04/19
Distress
When a person experiences considerable emotional distress, they may have a psychological disorder. This can range from being sad and depressed, anxious, agitated or frightened by objects or hallucinations.
• Do these behaviors cause personal distress?
• Are they troubled by these feelings? If behavior is distressing to the individual, psychologists may consider the behavior abnormal. However, some people with anti-social personality disorder, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are not distressed by these feelings, objects or perceptions.
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 10 09/04/19
Both disturbing and distressing behavior can be more disturbing if the person cannot control their reactions or are unaware of the reasons for their distress and dysfunction.
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 11 09/04/19
Factors Influencing Psychological Disorders
Understanding and treating psychological disorders can be challenging because many factors can lead to psychological disorders. What we see is the symptoms and not the underlying causes.
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 12 09/04/19
Factors that lead to Depression
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 13 09/04/19
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 14 09/04/19
To qualify for a psychological disorder, thoughts, feelings and emotions must be persistent, harmful to the person experiencing them, and uncontrollable.
Anxiety before an exam or feelings of loss for a cherished pet would be normal.
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 15 09/04/19
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 16 09/04/19
National Institute of Mental Health 2004 Statistics on Psychological Disorders For Adults ages 18 and older
26.2% adults are estimated to suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year
• 6% suffer from a serious mental illness
• 45% suffer from 2 or more disorders
Anxiety (40 million)
Mood (20.9 million)
Schizophrenia (2.4 million)
• GAD (6.8 million)
• Panic Disorder (6 million)
• Phobias o Social (15 million) o Agoraphobia (1.8
million) o Specific (19.2 million)
• PTSD (7.7 million)
• OCD (2.2 million)
• Major Depression (14.8 million)
• Bipolar (5.7 million)
For comparison, 4.5 million suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease.
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 17 09/04/19
Lifetime Prevalence of Psychological Disorders from NCS-R, 2005
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 18 09/04/19
What does the National Comorbidity Survey tell us about Psychological Disorders?
• 26% of the respondents experienced the symptoms of a psychological disorder in the previous year.
• Almost one in two adults (46%) had experienced the symptoms of a psychological disorder at some point in their lifetime. o The lifetime prevalence rate of cancer is 30%. Psychological disorders
represent a significant source of misery for individuals and lost of productivity for society.
• 59% of those who suffered the symptoms of a psychological disorder in the previous year did not seek treatment or help for their symptoms.
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 19 09/04/19
What are the possible explanations of these findings?
• There is still a stigma attached to seeking treatment for psychological disorders.
• There is a lack of awareness about psychological disorders. We label those with a psychological disorder as “strange”.
• There is a lack of awareness and access to mental health services.
• People don’t know where to start the process of seeking help and go seek help.
• There is a lack of financial resources to pay for treatment of psychological services.
• Most people seem to weather the symptoms without becoming completely debilitated without professional intervention.
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 20 09/04/19
Why should you care about psychological disorders? Common responses for not caring are:
• Psychological disorders are not that big of a problem--No one I know has a psychological disorder. o Due to the negative stigma attached to psychological disorders, people
don't talk about psychological disorders, so you are not aware of the problems people experience. Examples are not psychologically available, and thus a tendency to underestimate the problem.
o Also, due to the negative stigma, people tend to deny that it is a problem. Denial of the problem prevents you from dealing with the problem or taking responsibility for dealing with it. [cog dissonance]
• Psychological disorders will happen to someone else who is less deserving than me. o There is a tendency for people to think they are better than average.
Assertions like this helps reduce psychological tension. (60%in top 10%, 25% in top 1%)
• Psychological disorders are fairly rare and uncommon. o People are unaware of the suffering experienced by people.
Acknowledge of it can make us uncomfortable. o See the National Comorbidity Study and NIMH (National Institute of
Mental Health) results.
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 21 09/04/19
Who Has A Psychological Disorder? Anxiety Phobia John Madden (fear of flying) Panic Disorder Charles Darwin (suspected) Obsessive-
Compulsive Howard Hughes Howie Mandel “Monk” “Elecktra” “Host of double-dare” (Mark Somers)
Harrison Ford David Beckham Jessica Alba Jennifer Love Hewitt
Mood Depression Drew Barrymore
Sheryl Crow Tipper Gore Vincent Van Gogh F. Scott Fitzgerald Ernest Hemingway Abraham Lincoln Winston Churchill Kurt Cobain Janis Joplin Hugh Laurie Marilyn Monroe Marie Osmond Mike Wallace William Blake
Emily Dickinson Victor Hugo Edgar Allan Poe Walt Whitman Hans Christian Anderson Charles Dickens Ralph Waldo Emerson Ernest Hemingway William Faulkner Herman Melville Leo Tolstoy Peter Tchaikovsky Michelangelo T.S. Eliot
Bipolar Ben Stiller
Jonathan Winters Carrie Fisher Patty Duke Linda Hamilton
Robin Williams Ludwig Van Beethoven (suspected) Judy Garland (suspected) George Frederick Handel (suspected)
LP 14A Psy disorder intro 22 09/04/19
Unconfirmed Mood Disorders
Axl Rose* Kristy McNichol* Jack London* Tom Waits* Charlie Pride* Claude Monet* Tim Burton* Max Rebennack (Dr. John)* Richard Nixon* Margo Kidder* Gordon Sumner (Sting)* Laurence Olivier* Buzz Aldren* Brian Wilson* George S. Patton* Ned Beatty* Calvin Coolidge* Norman Rockwell* Francis Ford Coppola* John Denver* Burgess Meredith* Ray Davies* Tammy Wynette* Larry Flynt* Diane Spencer (Princess of Wales)*
