Notes : Chapter 6

Psychological Disorders

Teacher: Mr. Siddhant Ajay Pradhan

Email: siddhantpradhan28@[Link]

12TH GRADE​
PSYCHOLOGY
___

Notes That Make You Win

Chapter 6 Psychological Disorders

Criteria for Psychological disorders: 5M

1.​ Clinically significant syndrome - clusters of symptoms together are known

as a syndrome- for calling it a disorder, the symptoms must be present in
sufficient intensity.
2.​ Distress and impairment- the person must be in significant distress (
psychological pain) and impairment ( inability to fulfil the duties and roles
appropriately)
3.​ Dysfunction - inability to function properly. Eg. Inability to learn, remember
4.​ Responses given to stressors and losses are not a sign of disorder. Eg.
Extreme sadness after the death of a loved one
5.​ Any behaviour which is just deviant with the society is NOT considered a
mental disorder. Behaviour that varies from the society ‘s beliefs is not
abnormal. Eg. Lgbtq community
 Mental wellness is a state of wellbeing in which an individual realizes his or
her own potential, abilities, can cope up with normal stresses of life , can
work productively and make contributions to his/her life.

Two major systems that classify mental disorders are:

1.​ DSM
2.​ ICD

Causes of these disorders - biopsychosocial factors - biological factors like genetics,

family history , hormonal changes, neurotransmitter imbalance, etc

Psychological factors like stress, trauma related to life events, family structure,
problems, presence of other disorders, personality , lifestyle, etc.

Social factors like peer pressure, financial problems, unsupportive society, etc

Disorders:

1.​ Anxiety disorders

“Anxietas” means “uneasy” or “troubled mind” according to latin language.

Anxiety is when a person feels nervous or worried without any obvious

reason ( irrational fear).

Anxiety Disorders:

A.​ Generalized anxiety disorder ( feeling anxious for various reasons or

feeling anxious over many things or situations of daily life. Affects
functioning and problem solving in general.
B.​ SPECIFIC Phobia - irrational fear of a specific object or situation. Eg.
Fear of an animal, enclosed spaces,heights, etc.

Symptoms of anxiety:

Extreme fear of unknown

Increased heart beat

Frequent headaches

Lack of sleep

Vomiting sensation

Breathlessness

Blackouts

Heart palpitations

Sweating

Shaking or trembling

Irritability or anger outburst

Problems in decision making

Avoiding people and situations

Forgetfulness

Strong urge to escape the situation

Causes:

1.​ Genetic factors

2.​ Brain chemistry
3.​ Traumatic events
4.​ Parental divorce
5.​ Stress

Depressive disorders/ Unipolar Disorder - where a person experiences extreme

feelings of sadness and guilt for at least 2 weeks.

Symptoms of depression:
Feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, helplessness

Lack of enthusiasm

Lack of sleep or excessive sleep

Weight loss or weight gain

Constant feeling of fatigue

Feeling of guilt

Sexual dysfunction

Suicidal thoughts or plan or attempt

Inability to concentrate

Indecisiveness

Causes - similar as of anxiety

Risk factors- ( if these factors are present, then the individual has more chances of
falling into depression)

[Link] history

2. Unresolved grief from childhood

3. Emotional problems

4. Bullying

5. Exam pressure or problem with friends, etc

Changes seen in the behavior of individuals suffering from depression:-

1.​ Complain of feeling tired all day

2.​ Sleep more than usual or trouble falling asleep
3.​ Withdrawing from family
 4.​ Staying alone
5.​ Continuously remaining sad
6.​ Poor performance in exams
7.​ Bunk classes or remain absent
8.​ Addiction
9.​ Can become irritable and aggressive
10.​Forgetfulness , not doing household chores

Bipolar disorder or Manic depressive disorder

(Bi - 2 , poles - opposite)

Symptoms:

These individuals experience alternate phases of DEPRESSION (extreme symptoms

of hopelessness, worthlessness, irritability or aggression etc) and MANIC ( extreme
happiness, enthusiasm, energetic, elated, creative, etc).

Causes -

1.​ Genetic factors

2.​ Neurotransmitter imbalance ( norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine)
3.​ Environmental factors like various stressors

Trauma and stress related disorder

A.​ Acute stress disorder- (symptoms from 3 days to 4 weeks)

Symptoms start after some traumatic or challenging life event like death,
extreme fear, rape, etc.

B.​ Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ( if the symptoms last more than a month,
the person is diagnosed with post traumatic disorder) ( flashes of the event,
nightmares, etc.)

In normal cases a person goes through 3 stages : 1. Shock stage 2. Suggestible

stage 3. Recovery stage but in ptsd , the person is not able to recover.
Substance related disorder - addiction to substances like various drugs , alcohol,etc.
The person experiences continuous craving, and can go to any extent to get
intoxicated. They experience withdrawal symptoms like pain , irritation, vomiting,
etc if they don't consume the drug.

Schizophrenia

Schizein - split , phren - mind

Who used the term?

PAUL EUGENE BLEULER

More frequent among males

Symptoms : 1. Positive symptoms- symptoms that are in access to the normal

thoughts or behaviour :

A.​ Hallucinations: false perception when nothing is present. Eg visual

hallucination- seeing someone when noone is present , auditory
hallucinations- hearing sound when noone is there,tactile- feeling touch of
someone when noone is there.
B.​ Delusions- fixed false belief which the individual believes to be true even
when there is no evidence or contrary evidence is present. Eg. Persecutory
delusion - believing that someone is planning or plotting against me.
C.​ Disorganized behaviour - odd behaviour , not maintaining basic hygiene ,
screaming ,etc
D.​ Disorganized speech - useless word, no association between words
E.​ Incongruent affect - mood and expression do not match

Negative symptoms: some normal behaviour or expressions are absent

Like diminished emotional expressions, lack of initiative, asocial, apathy, diminished

or reduced speech.
Diagnosis- if positive symptoms present more than a month or negative symptoms
more than 6 months.

Professional help must be taken for treating these disorders.

Example based questions:

1.​ Karan is experiencing delusions and hallucinations. Which psychological disorder is he
experiencing?
2.​ Vaishali has an extreme fear of clowns. Which disorder is he experiencing?
3.​ Nishant feels hopeless and helpless. He feels worthless. Which psychological disorder is
he experiencing?
4.​ Fonan gets easily irritated and gets disturbed over almost everything. He experiences
frequent headaches and heart palpitations. Which psychological disorder is he
experiencing?
5.​ Tarun sometimes feels elated and at times feels depressed. Which psychological
disorder is he experiencing?
6.​ Rakesh was beaten up badly. He experiences nightmares even after 8 months. Which
psychological disorder is he experiencing?
7.​ Namuta is addicted to drugs. Which type of psychological disorder is she experiencing ?
8.​ Rakeshi saw an accident after which she is unable to sleep and is having constant
nightmares for about three weeks. Identify the disorder.
9.​ Vaishali has a constant flight of ideas at times but feels extremely lonely the other times.
10.​Gaurav constantly craves for Marijuana and experiences severe headaches when he is
not able to get it. Which disorder is it?
11.​Radhika thinks that her neighbour wants to kill her even though there is no evidence
suggesting the same.
12.​Manmohan says he is happy but his facial expressions are not matching his words.
13.​Karnamanohara feels the touch of his brother who is not alive. Which type of disorder is
it?
14.​Madhusundara thinks film stars are attracted to her and send her hidden messages on
instagram which is not true. Is she experiencing a disorder?
15.​Sikshatva jumps from one topic to the other and there is no logic in whatever he says.
He also shows odd behaviour like suddenly biting someone.

Mcq

1.​ __________ is irrational fear of objects or situations

A.​ Generalized anxiety disorder b. Phobia c. Tension
2.​ Delusions are a symptom of –-----------
A.​ Schizophrenia b. Depression c. Bipolar disorder
 3.​ Feeling persistently sad with feelings of hopelessness are symptoms of
__________
A.​ Acute stress disorder b. Depression c. Anxiety
4.​ Cravings for a substance is an symptom of –----------
A.​ Addiction b. Schizophrenia c. Bipolar disorder
5.​ The willingness to accept behavior and thoughts that are not similar to us is
known as ___
A.​ Tolerance b. Self acceptance c. Self direction
6.​ Nightmares of a deadly event even after years indicate –------- disorder.
A.​ PTSD B. acute stress disorder c. Addiction
7.​ Feeling elated at one time and feeling depressed the other are symptoms of
_________ disorder
A.​ Depressive disorder b. Anxiety disorder c. Bipolar disorder

8. Anxiety is derived from the latin word _________

A.​ Latinus
B.​ Anxietas
C.​ Anxiotos

9. Visual hallucinations are a symptom of ___________.

A.​ Schizophrenia
B.​ Schizoid
C.​ Dereflection

10. Unable to resist the urge to consume a substance is known as _________.

A.​ Substance use disorder
B.​ Personality disorder
C.​ Anxiety disorder

11. _________ gave the term Schizophrenia for the first time.
A.​ Meuler Bruner
B.​ Paul bleuler
C.​ William James

12. _________ Symptoms of schizophrenia do not improve much with treatment/ has bad
prognosis.
A.​ Positive
B.​ Negative
C.​ Zero

13. Using drugs as medication are known as ____________

A.​ Pharmacotherapy
B.​ Psychotherapy
C.​ Behavioral therapy
14. Anhedonia and apathy are __________ symptoms of schizophrenia.
A.​ Negative
B.​ Positive
C.​ Devoid

15. Incongruent affect comes under_______ symptoms of schizophrenia

16. Experiencing symptoms like nausea , headache if not consumed the drug is known as
A.​ Positive symptoms
B.​ Craving
C.​ Withdrawal symptoms

A B

Schizophrenia Positive symptoms

Bipolar Irrational fear of object

Depression Sadness

Addiction Elated and depressed

Phobia Intoxicated, tolerance