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Anxiety Disorders:

Etiology- Freud s psychoanalytic theory proposed that, beginning in childhood, people repress intolerable impulses, ideas, and feelings that submerge mental energy sometimes producing mystifying symptoms such as anxiety. Perspectives- Researchers have linked general anxiety with classical conditioning of fear. The biological perspective helps explain why we learn some fears more readily and why some individuals are more vulnerable. Specific DisordersGeneralized Anxiety Disorder: a persona is unexplainably and continually tense and uneasy. (Example: Tom has unfocused, out-of-control, negative feelings) Panic Disorder: a person experiences sudden episodes of intense dread (Example: Panic attacks, heart rate increases) Phobias: a person feels irrationally and intensely afraid of a specific object or situation (Example: Social phobia, shyness) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: a person is troubled by repetitive thoughts or actions (Example: He compulsively dictated the same phrases over and over again)

Dissociative Disorder:
y    The escape of reality through unhealthy and involuntary ways (a sense of being outside of own body) Usually develops to repress memories Stress contributes to dissociation Cultural phenomenon- therapists may unintentionally conjure up different personalities (e.g Have you ever felt like another part of you does things you can t control? Does this part of you have a name? A patient may then act out a fantasy in response.) Etiology- Dissociation is caused by environmental influences, especially in childhood. It is common in people who have experienced chronic exposure to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Perspectives- Researchers have found DID to be a way to cope with both anxiety and trauma. Psychoanalysts view this as a defense against unacceptable impulses something that provides an easy escape. Learning theorists see it as a behavior reinforced by anxiety reduction. In terms of trauma, DID enables one to detach themselves from a horrific experience. Specific Disordersy Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) (known as multiple personality)- A person exhibits two or more alternating personalities y Controlling one s behavior through several identities (e.g a murderer takes on a second self of a loving person) y Memory is impaired across the different personality states y DID patients are highly hypnotizable Dissociative Amnesia/ Dissociative Fugue- A person experiences a conscious state of amnesia y Usually involves unplanned travel (e.g. finding yourself in an unknown area without recollection of how you got there) y Precipitated by a stressful episode, fugue state offers an escape to what caused the stress y During recovery, memories prior to fugue are intact but there is none of the fugue state

Schizophrenia split mind


Characterized by disorganized delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions o Disturbed perceptions: hallucinations (usually auditory, in the form of voices making insulting statements/giving orders Inappropriate emotions/actions: ex: laughing after recalling grandmother s death; flat affect: zombielike state of apparent ability; senseless, compulsive acts; catatonia remain motionless for hours and then become agitated Etiology: linked with brain abnormalities & genetic predispositions, strikes young people going into adulthood Subtypes of Schizophrenia: Paranoid: preoccupation w/ delusions or hallucinations, often with themes of persecution or grandiosity Disorganized: disorganized speech/behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion Catatonic: immobility (or excessive, purposeless movement), extreme negativism, and/or parrotlike repeating of another s speech or movements Undifferentiated: many and varied symptoms Residual: withdrawal, after hallucinations and delusions have disappeared Brain Abnormalities Dopamine overactivity: high level may intensify brain signals in schizophrenia, creating hallucinations/paranoia Abnormal brain activity/anatomy: Abnormally low brain activity in frontal lobe reasoning, planning, problem solving Decline in brain waves PET scan vigorous activity in thalamus & amygdala when heard voice or saw something during hallucinations Shrinkage of cerebral tissue. > shrinkage = more severe Maternal Virus During Midpregnancy Increased risk if country experienced flu during fetal development Genetic Factors Odds of developing schizophrenia are: 1/100 in general population 1/10 if a family member has it if an identical twin has it adoption studies show that child s chance increase if biological parents have disorder Psychological Factors No environmental event can trigger schizophrenia itself Early warning signs: mother has severe & long-lasting disorder, birth complications, separation from parents, short attention span and poor muscle coordination, disruptive or withdrawn behavior, emotional unpredictability, and poor peer relations

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Personality Disorders
- Inflexible & enduring patterns of behavior that impair one s social functioning. Avoidant Personality Disorder expresses anxiety - fearful sensitivity to rejection Schizoid Personality Disorder expresses eccentric behavior emotionless disengagement Histrionic Personality Disorder dramatic / impulsive behavior shallow, attention-getting emotions Narcissistic Personality Disorder exaggerates own importance react to criticism badly Borderline Personality Disorder unstable identity, relationships, impulsive emotions enduring pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting **Antisocial Behavior typically male, lacks self confidence, *before the age of 15 = starts to steal, fight, have unrestrained sexual behavior o o o o o Has little regret over violating others Biological & psychological contributions Feel & fear little As kids = react with lower levels of stress hormones to situations Reduced activity of frontal lobe = cognitive functions decrease (organizing, planning) Violence = social/cultural motives

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