Psychological Disorders

The term psychological disorder is sometimes used to refer to what are more frequently known as mental disorders or psychiatric disorders. Mental disorders are patterns of behavioral or psychological symptoms that impact multiple areas of life. These disorders create distress for the person experiencing these symptoms. While not a comprehensive list of every mental disorder, the following list includes some of the major categories of disorders described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The latest edition of the diagnostic manual is the DSM-5 and was released in May of 2013. The DSM is one of the most widely used systems for classifying mental disorders and provides


  Neurodevelopmental Disorders

 Neurodevelopmental disorders are those that are typically diagnosed during infancy, childhood, or adolescence. These psychological disorders include: Intellectual disability (or Intellectual Developmental Disorder) was formerly referred to as mental retardation. This type of developmental disorder originates prior to the age of 18 and is characterized by limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviors. Limitations to intellectual functioning are often identified through the use of IQ tests, with an IQ score between 70 and 75 often indicating the presence of a limitation. Adaptive behaviors are those that involve practical, everyday skills such as self-care, social interaction, and living skills. Global developmental delay is a diagnosis for developmental disabilities in children who are under the age of five. Such delays relate to cognition, social functioning, speech, language, and motor skills. It is generally seen as a temporary diagnosis applying to kids who are still too young to take standardized IQ tests. Once children reach the age where they are able to take a standardized intelligence test, they may be diagnosed with intellectual disability. Communication disorders are those that impact the ability to use, understand, or detect language and speech.. The DSM-5 identifies four different subtypes of communication disorders: language disorder, speech sound disorder, childhood onset fluency disorder (stuttering), and social (pragmatic) communication disorder. Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by persistent deficits in social interaction and communication in multiple life areas as well as restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviors. The DSM specifies that symptoms of autism spectrum disorder must be present during the early developmental period and that these symptoms must cause significant impairment in important areas of life including social and occupational functioning. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is characterized by a persistent pattern of hyperactivity-impulsivity and/or inattention that interferes with functioning and presents itself in two or more settings such as at home, work, school, and social situations. The DSM-5 specifies that several of the symptoms must have been present prior to the age of 12 and that these symptoms must have a negative impact on social, occupational, or academic functioning.



Bipolar and Related Disorders


Bipolar disorder is characterized by shifts in mood as well as changes in activity and energy levels. The disorder often involves experiencing shifts between elevated moods and periods of depression. Such elevated moods can be pronounced and are referred to either as mania or hypomania. Compared to the previous edition of the DSM, in the DSM-5 the criteria for manic and hypomanic episodes include an increased focus on changes in energy levels and activity as well as changes in mood. Mania is characterized by feeling overly excited and even hyper. Periods of mania are sometimes marked by feelings of distraction, irritability, and excessive confidence. People experiencing mania are also more prone to engage in activities that might have negative long-term consequences such as gambling and shopping sprees. Depressive episodes are characterized by feelings of intense sadness, guilt, fatigue, and irritability. During a depressive period, people with bipolar disorder may lose interest in activities that they previously enjoyed, experience sleeping difficulties, and even have thoughts of suicide. Both manic and depressive episodes can be frightening for both the person experiencing these symptoms as well as family, friends, and other loved ones who observe these behaviors and mood shifts. Fortunately, appropriate and effective treatments, which often include both medications and psychotherapy, can help people with bipolar disorder successfully manage their symptoms.


  Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are those that are characterized by excessive and persistent fear, worry, anxiety and related behavioral disturbances. Fear involves an emotional response to a threat, whether that threat is real or perceived. Anxiety involves the anticipation that a future threat may arise. In one survey published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, it was estimated that as many as 18 percent of American adults suffer from at least one anxiety disorder.

 Types of anxiety disorders include: Generalized anxiety disorder which is marked by excessive worry about everyday events. While some stress and worry are a normal and even common part of life, GAD involves worry that is so excessive that it interferes with a person's well-being and functioning. Agoraphobia is characterized by a pronounced fear a wide range of public places. People who experience this disorder often fear that they will suffer a panic attack in a setting where escape might be difficult. Because of this fear, those with agoraphobia often avoid situations that might trigger an anxiety attack. In some cases, this avoidance behavior can reach a point where the individual is unable to even leave their own home. Social anxiety disorder is a fairly common psychological disorder that involves an irrational fear of being watched or judged. The anxiety caused by this disorder can have a major impact on an individual's life and make it difficult to function at school,

work, and other social settings. Specific phobias involve an extreme fear of a specific object or situation in the environment. Some examples of common specific phobias include the fear of spiders, fear of heights, or fear of snakes. The four main types of specific phobias involve natural events (thunder, lightening, tornadoes), medical (medical procedures, dental procedures, medical equipment), animals (dogs, snakes, bugs), and situational (small spaces, leaving home, driving). When confronted by a phobic object or situation, people may experience nausea, trembling, rapid heart rate, and even a fear of dying. Panic disorder is a psychiatric disorder characterized by panic attacks that often seem to strike out of the blue and for no reason at all. Because of this, people with panic disorder often experience anxiety and preoccupation over the possibility of having another panic attack. People may begin to avoid situations and settings where attacks have occurred in the past or where they might occur in the future. This can create significant impairments in many areas of everyday life and make it difficult to carry out normal routines.

 Separation anxiety disorder is a type of anxiety disorder involving an excessive amount of fear or anxiety related to being separated from attachment figures. People are often familiar with the idea of separation anxiety as it relates to young children's fear of being apart from their parents, but older children and adults can experience it as well. When symptoms become so severe that they interfere with normal functioning, the individual may be diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder. Symptoms involve an extreme fear of being away from the caregiver or attachment figure. The person suffering these symptoms may avoid moving away from home, going to school, or getting married in order to remain in close proximity to the attachment figure.

  Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders

 Trauma- and stressor-related disorders involve the exposure to a stressful or traumatic event. These were previously grouped with the anxiety disorders but are now considered a distinct category of disorders. Disorders included in this category include: Acute stress disorder, which is characterized by the emergence of severe anxiety within a one month period after exposure to a traumatic event such as natural disasters, war, accidents, and witnessing a death. As a result, the individual may experience dissociative symptoms such as a sense of altered reality, an inability to remember important aspects of the event, and vivid flashbacks as if the event were reoccurring. Other symptoms can include reduced emotional responsiveness, distressing memories of the trauma, and difficulty experiencing positive emotions. Adjustment disorders can occur as a response to a sudden change such as divorce, job loss, end of a close relationship, a move, or some other loss or disappointment. This type of psychological disorder can affect both children and adults and is characterized by symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, depressed mood, worry, anger, hopelessness, and feelings of isolation. Post-traumatic stress disorder can develop after an individual has experienced a stressful life event. Symptoms of PTSD include episodes of reliving or re-experiencing the event, avoiding things that remind the individual about the event, feeling on edge, and having negative thoughts. Nightmares, flashbacks, bursts of anger, difficulty concentrating, exaggerated startle response, and difficulty remembering aspects of the event are just a few possible symptoms that people with PTSD might experience. Reactive attachment disorder can result when children do not form normal healthy relationships and attachments with adult caregivers during the first few years of childhood. Symptoms of the disorder include being withdrawn from adult caregivers and social and emotional disturbances that result from patterns of insufficient care and neglect.



  Dissociative Disorders

Dissociative disorders are psychological disorders that involve a dissociation or interruption in aspects of consciousness, including identity and memory. Dissociative disorders include: Dissociative amnesia involves a temporary loss of memory as a result of disassociation. In many cases, this memory loss, which may last for just a brief period or for many years, is a result of some type of psychological trauma. Dissociative amnesia is much more than simple forgetfulness. Those who experience this disorder may remember some details about events, but may have no recall of other details around a circumscribed period of time.. Dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder, involves the presence of two or more different identities or personalities. Each of these personalities has its own way of perceiving and interacting with the environment. People with this disorder experience changes in behavior, memory, perception, emotional response, and consciousness. Depersonalization/derealization disorder is characterized by experiencing a sense of being outside of one's own body (depersonalization) and being disconnected from reality (derealization). People who have this disorder often feel a sense of unreality and an involuntary disconnect from their own memories, feelings, and consciousness.

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Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions.