Psychological Disorders — Psychology STD 12 Commerce / Arts — Question

Psychological disorders are also called mental disorders. These are patterns of behavioural or psychological symptoms that impact multiple areas of life and create distress for the person.
According to DSM-5, there are five criteria for psychological disorders are:

1. Clinically significant syndrome – In psychological disorders, there should be a cluster of symptoms together i.e., a syndrome.
2. Distress and Impairment – There should be distress, i.e., psychological pain due to negative feelings and stress, as well as impairment, i.e., inability to perform appropriate roles in personal and social situations.
3. Dysfunction – If the symptoms lead to developmental or psychological dysfunctions, it signifies mental disorders.
4. Responses to stressors that are normally accepted responses e.g., sadness experienced at the loss of a loved one or culturally sanctioned responses are not considered as signs of mental disorders.
5. Behaviour which is only deviant but does not produce any disability/ distress/ dysfunction does not become a sign of mental disorder.

(A) Anxiety Disorders – The word ‘anxiety’ is derived from the Latin word ‘Anxietas’ which means ‘uneasy or troubled mind’. Anxiety refers to a condition in which the person feels worried and uneasy for a long time for no obvious reasons.
The main anxiety disorders are-
(i) Generalized Anxiety Disorder – The person frequently experiences anxiety more intensely so that it starts interfering with the ability to perform daily tasks. Symptoms include irritability, headaches, insomnia, dizziness, breathlessness, etc.

(ii) Phobic disorders – The word ‘photjia’ is derived form the Greek word ‘phobos’ which was used to refer to the God of Fear. A phobia is an intense, persistent but irrational and disproportionate fear of a specific object or situation. DSM classifies phobias as simple phobias, e.g., Acrophobia, Claustrophobia etc., and social phobias, e.g., fear of speaking or eating in public.

(B) Trauma Trauma and Stress-Related Disorders
Stress is inevitable in life. Daily hassles, relationship issue, frustration, chronic illness, etc., lead to stress. If stress is in moderate intensity, it acts as a motivation. However, intense prolonged stress impairs normal functioning of the individual and may lead to stress disorders.
The two types of stress disorders are-
1. Acute Stress Disorder (ASD)
If a person (aged 6 years and above) has experienced extremely stressful situations like death of a loved one, serious disease or injury, sexual abuse, natural disasters, etc., then he/she may experience ASD. The symptoms of ASD include-

• emotional numbness and instability
• nightmares and sleep disturbances
• insomnia, lack of concentration, irritability and guilt feelings
• depression

2. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
If symptoms of ASD continue for more than one month with the same intensity, the person is diagnosed with PTSD. A person who has suffered trauma goes through three stages viz.

• Shock stage – the individual is in shock, i.e., extremely disturbed.
• Suggestible stage – he/she may seek guidance from others and may either accept these suggestions unquestioningly or may get extra sensitive.
• Recovery stage – the person shows signs of recovery.

However, some persons still show signs of mental illness i.e., PTSD.