Auna R.

Allen

Reflection

December 5, 2020

Overall, this course did a great job explaining the symptoms of disorders that we can find

in society today. Not only did we look at disorders prevalent in older populations but, as well as

children and adolescent populations. Looking at disorders where symptoms can vary by age was

an interesting insight. I also think the book did a great job not discriminating nor leaving now

any populations. Therefore, I believe this course to be extremely helpful in explaining and

expanding on how these disorders affect populations across cultures and age groups.

Typically, the disorders I have found to be more relevant to my age group are depression,

anxiety, and bipolar disorders. The book had defined depression as a low or sad state by which

an individual might view life more negatively than an individual who does not suffer from

depression. This chapter opened my eyes to how many individuals are suffering from clinical

depression and how symptoms may vary across individuals. I was able to relate to this chapter

because of my diagnosis with general anxiety disorder, and depression. Reading about these

things makes it easier to personalize the findings researchers gather. This chapter also helps point

out another common disorder. Mania is on the other end of the spectrum when compared to

depression. These individuals have fluctuations in mood and can experience heightened energy,

and optimism. This could be due to growing up in a society that relies heavily on the views of

social media. Thus, we can see more and more individuals getting diagnosed with these types of

disorders. One of the reasons being increased pressure on body image, and self-worth. I have

found that this can induce a state of anxiety. I have seen this not only in me but in many of my

friends. As we constantly compare ourselves to social media influencers feelings of depression

and unfulfillment arise. This is although is very sad but not uncommon in the United States. A

statistic shows that around 8% of adults are affected by depression making the diagnosis easier to

accept.

Another relatable chapter was focused on generalized anxiety disorder. The book

described anxiety as a sense of being in danger. We can see this in both psychological and

physiological features. This disorder was also talked about as one of the most common disorders

in the United States. Around 18% of adults experience one of the DSM-five anxiety disorders.

These types of disorders are either generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobias, agoraphobia,

social anxiety disorder, and panic disorder. Anxiety is also found to play a major role in

individuals suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. One of the approaches to treatment

talked about related to the humanistic perspective, and cognitive perspective. this will help us

better understand the reasoning behind these generalized anxiety disorders and what therapies are

best for treating them. I believe that reading about anxiety helps me better understand it in a

more scientific context.

Lastly, I wanted to focus on things I've learned about children suffering from abnormal

disorders. This chapter had focused on how children from all different types of cultures can

suffer from emotional or behavioral problems throughout their adolescence. some of these

emotions may arise because of fears of school, health, and safety. The most common disorder

found in children is said to be anxiety. Children are new to the world so they might picture things

as scarier than adults do leading them to anxious patterns. one of the more common disorders is

separation anxiety disorder simply because the child feels detached from a parent or other

attachment figure. Psychologists use play therapy to better understand the child since children do

not understand what emotions mean. I think this chapter was extremely important because it
relates to everyday life. What I mean by this is if we can better understand how to prevent these

disorders from an early age then the frequency of diagnosis in adulthood may decrease overtime.

It is also important because although children might not understand their emotional experiences,

they still have them, and we should treat them the same as we treat adult disorders.

Overall, this class taught me the importance of diagnosing disorders among individuals of

all ages. I also wanted to point out the structure of the course did not add to my stress and it was

taught very well. I do feel I have a better understanding of disorders , and treatment approaches

that best suit that disorder.