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Psychological disorders
Concept of Stress and Illness
Psychological disorders
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The human mind is an organ with a balance of power, strength, and fragility that has produced many wondrous and disastrous things in its wake. The potential and power of the mind has yet to be fully explained nor even comprehended but yet like so many other areas of the human existence the fascination with it has left many daunting questions about its machinations. At its disposal is a limitless array of creativity and purpose. Sciences have been developed and studied, evoked from concepts of the very thoughts that have been produced by this human machinery. The intricacies of the human mind may never be explained, but it will always leave us with subject matter to explore.
For years doctors have been presented with the challenge of dealing with human behavior and the reasons for its inner workings. Whether socio or economic factors guide individuals into certain behaviors or even both is yet to be seen. Enter such a subject topic as Somatoform Disorders, a mental disorder characterized by a series of physical symptoms ailing an individual with no real proof that would characterize any physiological cause. “Somatoform disorder is an umbrella term encompassing the following conditions: somatization disorder, conversion disorder, undifferentiated disorder, pain disorder, hypochondria, and last but not least, body dysmorphic disorder” (Schonbeck, 2006).
At the root of this disorder is stress. More females than males experience these symptoms because of the high pressures that are placed on them by societal expectations. “Somatoform disorder is the third highest psychological disorder following depression and anxiety”, respectively (Yates, 2011). Many patients are misdiagnosed because of the need for physical treatment instead of ...
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...aforementioned conditions can change the way they express their emotions, feeling comfortable externalizing what is happening to them internally, instead of having to suppress any kind of thought or feeling that is counterculture. Moreover, relatives need to encourage closer bonds among each other to create a more fostering environment of communication and support.
Although somatoform disorder is pervasive in today’s society, with open conversation, knowledge, and programs to bring the true nature of these conditions to light, there is hope for the many sufferers of this disease.
Works Cited
Longe, E. J. (2006). Somatoform Disorder. Detroit: Gale.
Rebecca J. Frey, P. (2006). Somatoform Disoders. Health & Wellnes Resource Center.
William R. Yates, M. M. (2011). Medscape Reference. Retrieved from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/294908-overview#a0199
One of the major differences between humans and animals is our ability to reason and differentiate our actions from our instincts (Barrett, 2011, p. 3). Justin Barrett further explains this distinction in the first chapter of his book, Cognitive Science Religion and Theology. He explains that cognitive science recognizes the uniqueness of the human mind and focuses on explaining the thinking processes that take place(Barrett, 2011, p. 5). This may seem similar to what the field of neuroscience aims to do but, cognitive science is not as interested with the biological functions of the brain. Instead of looking at physical structures Barrett writes, that cognitive science focuses on broader processes such as perception, attention, memory, reasoning and learning (Barrett, 2011, p. 7). All of these processes interact with each other to create the big questions asked in cognitive science. Some of these big underlying questions of cognitive science are explored in this first chapter, questions such as “What is innate?” or “How are mind and bodies
Understanding psychological disorders are very important in human development, the first step is to define what is meant by a disorder. How do psychologists determine that there something is psychologically wrong with a person? What behaviours are abnormal? A psychological disorder, also known as a mental disorder, is a pattern of behavioural or psychological symptoms that impact multiple life areas and/or create distress for the person experiencing these symptoms. A clear sign of abnormal behaviour or mental state is when an individual's behaviour is destructive to themselves or their social group, such as family, friends. Above all psychological disorders create a maladaptive pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that lead to detriments in relationships and other life areas. There are several ethical issues in treating psychological disorders. There two ways of treating psychological disorders through; psychotherapy this form of treatment involves social interactions between a trained professional (therapist) and client. This is delivered on a one-to-one, face-to-face meeting. Another way of treating psychological disorder is through pharmacological treatments. This is the use of proactive drugs to treat certain disorders. This essay will aim to highlight the pros and cons of using pharmacological and psychological treatments.
This cohesive form of therapy encompasses treatments that are based on “the connection between thinking patterns, emotions, and behavior and… techniques to change dysfunctional thinking patterns,” (Kearny and Trull, 2014). Cognitive behavioral therapy strives to change the way people think and behave through connections with both intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships. Although there is not much information provided regarding her familial life and its possible effects on Suzannia’s self image, it seems as though most of her abnormal thoughts regarding her nose is an intrapersonal issue. Both her OCD and BDD have manifested from her perceived ideas of how she personally believes she appears to be. Others around her are not observant of her nose imperfections but rather, her odd behaviors. Fortunately, Suzannia’s professor has taken notice to the symptoms and encouraged her to seek help. Since she is isolated from friends due to her fear of being judged, it was unlikely that they would have noticed the symptoms and intervene. The therapist could help Suzannia deal with her body dysmorphia through elaborating on issues regarding unrealistic body standards within our culture and promoting body positivity. In addition, Suzannia can work on dealing with her obsessions regarding her nose and controlling her unnecessary
The ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders: Clinical Descriptions and Diagnostic Guidelines. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1992. Print.
In the book "The boy who couldn't stop washing" by Judith L. Rapoport, M.D., the narrator, Rapoport, deals with hundreds of mentally disturbed children and adults who suffer of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Rapoport describes the intricacies of the disease and its treatments as well as the fact that the cause is unknown but there are many probable theories. Victims of this horrible disease are plagued with overwhelming thoughts of insecurity that tear apart their lives and haunt them, increasingly, over their lifetimes. Rapoport while learning about OCD, herself, learned how to treat each one with many different psychological perspectives including: biological, behavioral, and psychodynamic contributions. A story on ABC's 20/20 about OCD brought Rapoport's new study on the disease to the light, resulting in thousands of calls to her office daily from desperate OCD sufferers.
Somatoform disorders, as defined on Merriam-Webster.com states, “Any of a group of psychological disorders (as body dysmorphic disorder or hypochondriasis) marked by physical complaints for which no organic or physiological explanation is found and for which there is a strong likelihood that psychological factors are involved.” So what does this mean? Basically, somatoform disorders include mental factors that are often caused by physical symptoms, but no physical source or psychological cause. The symptoms therefore are imagined, but that does not bring light to the situation that it causes distress and can often be long-term (Kenny, 2011). The DSM-V, the Diagnostic and Statistical manual released in May of 2013 now classifies it as, “Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders.” This new name groups together many categories of disorders linked to somatoform disorders. Different disorders include; somatization, hypochondriasis, conversion, body dysmorphic and pain disorder (Kenny, 2011).
 Mild, chronic depression has probably existed as long as the human condition, although it has been referred to by various different names. The DSM-III replaced the term “neurotic depression” with dysthymic disorder--which literally means ‘ill-humored’-and it was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 1980
The biological perspective examines how brain processes and other bodily functions regulate behaviour. It emphasizes that the brain and nervous system are central to understanding behaviour, thought, and emotion. It is believed that thoughts and emotions have a physical basis in the brain. Electrical impulses zoom throughout the brain’s cells, releasing chemical substances that enable us to think, feel, and behave. René Descartes (1596–1650) wrote an influential book (De Homine [On Man]) in which he tried to explain how the behaviour of animals, and to some extent the behaviour of humans, could be like t...
Human mind is still a mystery to us all. It is hard to conclude on what
Schildkrout, Barbara. “Unmasking Psychological Symptoms: How Therapists Can Learn To Recognize The Psychological Presentation Of Medical Disorders”. n.p.: Hoboken, N.J. : John Wiley & Sons, c2011., 2011. USMAI Catalog. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
Some symptoms which have been known to appear in a patient with a factitious disorder are unbelievable, inconsistent, and have a long medical history in different hospitals or clinics.
Therapy has long been thought of as taboo. In this paper, I will discuss the major forms of therapy and their characteristics along with the strategies that are also used. This essay will also cover examples of each disorder and show which therapeutic method is best used in caring for individual(s).
Numerous speculations have been advanced to clarify the relationship between what we call your mind and your brain. They incorporate Jackson and Nagel 's journey to oppose recognizing what we call 'mental
Rene Descartes’ Theory of Ideas has helped to shape our entire world of thought as it applies to all subjects. While it may seem to be an overstatement to say all subjects, it is not. Whether it is science, literature, or the fine arts, all of these meditations require some degree of thought. People think all day long; they are constantly and unknowingly solving problems, analyzing, detecting, observing, questioning, wondering, and sensing; yet they rarely question their ability to do so or where the knowledge comes from. In his studies, Descartes sought to discover the origin of these thoughts and abilities. Is the information in our head learned or have we had it all along and are simply remembering? Why is it that all animals, humans included, acquire a specific set of survival instincts at birth? While Descartes’ theory led to the further investigation and questioning by other philosophers, it also allowed for many discoveries in the world of psychology, as it relates to development and instinctual behavior.
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