Rigo MArtinez
Professor Milani
Psychology
12/01/18
Psychological Disorders
Introduction
Psychological disorders refer to patterns of behavioral symptoms which impact on multiples areas of one’s life leading to distress and discomfort. Psychological disorders are sometimes known as mental or psychiatric disorders. Psychological disorders are therefore generally characterized by abnormal feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. The study of psychological disorders is known as psychopathology. It is highly vital for mental health professionals to accurately identify the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that constitute the presence of psychopathology. As such, this paper will seek to analyze the personality and anxiety psychological disorders, their distinct symptoms as well as the treatment and management methods.
Discussion
According to the American Psychiatric Association, psychological disorders consist of specific characteristics (Barlow 3). First, for individuals to be diagnosed with any psychological disorder, they must experience significant disturbances in their feelings, behaviors, and thoughts. In this regard, one must exhibit disturbances which are troubling to others around them. Secondly, the disturbances should reflect developmental, psychological and biological dysfunctions. A good example is the presence of hallucinations indicating schizophrenia. Thirdly, the disturbances must cause significant disabilities as well as distress in one’s life. Lastly, the disturbances should not be a reflection of culturally approved or expected responses to particular events. For instance, when a person chooses to be alone after the death of a close person, then that doesn’t qualify to be a psychological disorder. If the conditions and symptoms meet these criteria, then a person may be suffering from one or more of the psychological disorders discussed below.
Personality Disorders
Personality refers to one’s consistent, distinctive and stable way of feeling, acting, relating to and thinking about the world. As such, individuals with personality disorders manifest personalities which differ from their cultural expectations. Such personalities are inflexible and pervasive, cause impairments and distress and begin during adolescence age (Gibbon 9). The personality disorders can be divided further into numerous categories of disorders. They include paranoid personality disorder; where a person harbors an unjustifiable or pervasive distrust or suspiciousness of others.
The schizoid personality disorder is characterized by a lack of desire and interest to create relationships with other people as well as the development of an indifferent criticism or disapproval of others. Thirdly, a person with a narcissistic personality disorder has an unjustifiable and overinflated sense of self-importance and is preoccupied with unrealistic fantasies of success. Fourthly, a borderline personality disorder is characterized by unstable mood, self-image as well as behavior which translate to chronic feelings of emptiness. Fifthly, an avoidant personality disorder is manifested in socially oversensitive or inhibited perceptions about negative evaluations (Ross 9). Such a person, therefore, avoids jobs which require interpersonal contact due to the fear of criticism.
Sixthly, a dependent personality disorder is evident in individuals who allow other people to take over their life. As such, individuals with this personality disorder are clingy, submissive and fear separation as they cannot decide without the reassurance and advice from other people. Lastly, individuals with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder have a pervasive obsession with perfectionism, and this compromises their ability to complete set tasks. The reason is that such individuals are preoccupied with rules, details, schedules, and order (Benjamin 4).
Anxiety Disorders
Majority of individuals experience episodes of anxiety from time to time. As much as fear is closely related to anxiety, these two states comprise notable differences. Fear is associated with instantaneous reactions to imminent threats while anxiety involves unjustifiable avoidance, cautiousness, and apprehension of a potential danger, threat or negative events. As such, anxiety disorders are more intense than fear. More specifically, anxiety disorders are characterized by persistent and excessive fear and anxiety as well as by disturbances in behavior (Beck 3).
As much as anxiety is universally experienced by many, anxiety disorders result in considerable distress. According to statistics, between twenty-five and thirty percent of the United States population qualify for an anxiety disorder diagnosis during their lifetime. Moreover, these disorders are more prevalent in women than in men. Indeed, there are various forms of anxiety disorders. One of these forms is specific phobia (Beck 5). An individual diagnosed with this condition experiences distressing, excessive and persistent fear about a particular event or object, for example, animals, elevators. Some individuals go to extremely distressing lengths to avoid encounters with these objects or situations.
Social anxiety disorder, formerly known as social phobia, is also a form of anxiety disorder. This form of the disorder is characterized by persistent and extreme avoidance and fear of social situations which would prompt other individuals to evaluate the person negatively. According to statistics, at least twelve percent of the American population experiences this form of anxiety disorder in their lifetime (Beck 7). Individuals who experience social anxiety disorder fear that they may act in ways that they may prompt them to be embarrassed and humiliated. As such, such individuals become so anxious that they avoid being in social places and this can be distressing; leading to serious impairments in life.
Panic disorder is another form of anxiety disorder. In this regard, individuals with panic disorders manifest unexpected and recurrent panic attacks as well as at least a month of continuous concerns about other panic attacks occurring. Moreover, individuals who have panic disorders tend to worry about the results of their attacks. For example, a person may begin to avoid unfamiliar situations as they may fear that such situations would trigger panic attacks. As such, panic attack disorders are aggravated attacks which lead one to develop agoraphobia; the avoidance and fear of being in situations which help might not be forthcoming in the event that panic attacks occur (Beck 7).
Treatment and Management of Psychological Disorders
Psychotherapy refers to the application of psychological methods to assist an individual to overcome and change problems in the desired way. There are various types of psychotherapeutic approaches which can be used to treat or manage psychological disorders depending on the disorder type. One type of psychotherapy is psychodynamic therapy. In this case, the main aim of this therapy is to prompt the individual to reveal the unconscious elements of his/her psyche to arrive at the main triggers of the psychological episodes. Behavioral therapy aims at understanding the learned and specific behaviors which trigger one to act in a particular manner. Lastly, cognitive behavioral therapy seeks to identify the beliefs, thoughts, reactions, and appraisals which influence negative emotions. Consequently, one can learn how to handle such triggers and this helps in the management of some psychological disorders (Barlow 5).
Conclusion
Psychological disorders are defined as patterns of behavioral symptoms which consequently impact on multiples areas of one’s life leading to distress and discomfort. There are different types of psychological disorders. They include anxiety disorders which are characterized by unjustifiable avoidance, apprehension, and cautiousness towards an expected threat. Secondly, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders involve repetitive, unpleasant, intrusive behaviors. Thirdly, posttraumatic stress disorders are triggered by traumatic and stressful events. Mood disorders are characterized by extreme disturbances in emotions and moods. Other psychological disorders include schizophrenia, dissociative disorders, personality disorders, and neurodevelopmental disorders. These psychological disorders can be treated through various psychotherapeutic methods. The methods include psychodynamic therapy, behavioral therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy.