In-class notes from Dr. Herman's general psychology course at Rutgers (Fall 2023). Contains the following info: mental health treatment, classifying psychological disorders (DSM), anxiety disorders, dissociate disorders, mood disorders, etc.
Psychological disorders - persistently harmful thoughts, feelings, and actions
Mental health works view psychological disorders as a pattern of behavioral and
psychological symptoms that cause significant personal distress, impair the
ability to function in one or more important areas of life, or both
Ultimately, to meet the criteria of a disorder, [finish]
According to the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R),
approximately 1 out of 4 (26%) American adults have experienced the symptoms
of a psychological disorder during the previous year
- The NCS-R found that most people in the US with symptoms of a mental
disorder (59%) received no treatment during the past year. Of those who did, the
treatment provided was often inadequate
- More often provided by general medical practitioners than any kind of mental
health clinician
Reasons most do not seek mental health treatment
- Lack of insurance
- Low income
- Live in developing countries/rural areas of developing countries where facilities
are not available
- Lack of awareness
- Fear of being stigmatized
Multiple studies have shown that people with major mental illness belong to one
of the most stigmatized groups in modern society
Classifying Psychological Disorders
- DSM: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
, - System for classifying psychological disorders
- Classification: orders and describes symptoms
- Ultimately used to identify disorders
- Main problem is the concept of labeling
- Labeling effects how we perceive others
DSM-5:
- Describes more than 260 specific psychological disorders
- Provides codes for each disorder
- Provides symptoms, frequency, typical course, and risk factors for each disorder
- Describes the specific criteria that must be met for diagnoses
According to the course test, the DSM has been criticized for using cutoffs to
draw the line between people with and without a particular disorder
Anxiety Disorders
- Anxiety - an unpleasant emotional state characterized by physical arousal and
feelings of tension, apprehension, and worry
- Anxiety disorders - extreme anxiety is the main diagnostic feature and causes
significant disruptions in the person’s cognitive, behavioral, or interpersonal
functioning
- Normal anxiety is reasonable and infrequent as opposed to pathological
anxiety which is irrational and persistent
Fill in the blank question
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) - a person is unexplainably and continually
in a state of tension, apprehension, and autonomic nervous system arousal.
Anxiety can be attributed to a variety of factors
- Physiological symptoms of anxiety: heart palpitations, shortness of breath,
dizziness, sweaty palms, feeling edgy and shaking
- Panic Disorder: an anxiety disorder where the anxiety suddenly and frequently
escalates into a terrifying panic attack
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