Tags: #notes
Links: Dashboard General Psychology
Psychological Disorder (Mental Illness)
Myths
- Myth 1: Psych disorders are rare
- 18-25% of American adults have a psych disorder in any 1 year period we look at
- Myth 2: Crazy (Psychotic)
- Majority of people with psychological disorders are not psychotic
Abnormal
- Behavior is disturbing
- Hallucinating
- Bed ridden
History of Dealing with mentally Ill People
Stone age
- Trephining: cut/chip a hole in skull
- Based on assumption of an evil spirit possessing the person
- Shape of # (Some had 1,2 or 3)
- Most didn't die and recovered
- Ritual- Cast out evil spirit
Europe, American Colonies
- Witch hunts
- Believed mentally ill persons were witches
- Many were drown
- 1450-1700
- Salem, MA, 1692
- Teen girls acted strangely
- some people thought they learned witch craft from indian tribes
- Spread to other women
- Bacteria had infected the grain supply
- odd behavior was because of the brain damage bc of bacteria
- Judge said later we shouldn't have been forceful against "witches"
16th Century -> early 20th century
- "Insane asylums" "Mad houses" people were locked up or chained up for people acting strange
- Filthy, dark, cold in winter, people weren't treated as humans
- Believed to be insane cause of sin
Philippe Pinel
- France Doctor
- Sympathetic to people who are mentally ill
- Head of asylum in Paris
- Cutting off chains
- Let them out doors (sun/exercise)
- Healthy diet
- Kindness
- This lead to a reform movement around the western world
Current view
- Medical model (term mental illness)
- Psychologists & Psychiatrists work together
- DSM (Diagnostic & Statistic Manual) Now in the 5th major version
- 17 categories of psychological disorders, >300 disorders
Depression (Unipolar Disorder) (Major Depression)
- Mood Disorder
- 10-15(20)% of people have it
- Self Disgust
- Sadness
- Deeper/Darker
- Persistent
- Emptiness
- Anxiety
- Overwhelming
- Eating Disturbances
- Decrease in apatite (usually)
- Cravings for foods high in carbs (carbs increase serotonin)
- Lack of interest/enjoyment
- Fatigue
- Difficulty Thinking, making decisions, remembering
- ruminate: think the same negative thoughts over and over again
- Iritibality
- Men express as anger than sadness
- Sleep disturbances
- Insomnia
- Hypersomnia
- Guilty feelings
- Blame self-
- self esteem issues
- Untreatable aches and pains
- Slowed movement or physical agitation (can't sit still)
- Thoughts of suicide or death
- Expressed wanting to commit suicide, take it seriously.
- Ask: plan?
- Get them help
- Sadness
- Treatment
- Combo of meds and therapy