Chapter(16:(Psychological( Disorders · II.((Whatis(Schizophrenia A. Schizophrenia is a problem of cognition, but it also involves emotion, perception, and motor functions. B. Schizophrenia

Chapter  16:  Psychological  Disorders  

16.4  Schizophrenia  and  Mood  Disorders  

Objec?ves:  

1.  Describe  the  disorder  of  schizophrenia.  

2.  Iden?fy  forms  of  mood  disorders.  

3.  Describe  several  theories  that  try  to  explain  mood  disorders.  

I.    Introduc?on  

A.  Sufferers of schizophrenia often have difficulty using language to communicate.

B.  This confused language may result because schizophrenia affects the working memory, which is used to form sentences.

C.  Psychologists are making progress in furthering our understanding of schizophrenia–the most complex and severe psychological problem we encounter.

II.    What  is  Schizophrenia  

A.  Schizophrenia is a problem of cognition, but it also involves emotion, perception, and motor functions.

B.  Schizophrenia affects 1 in 100 people worldwide (British Columbia Schizophrenia Society, 1997), but the odds increase to 1 in 10 if schizophrenia is already in the family.

II.    What  is  Schizophrenia  

Figure  16.18  The  rela?ves  of  a  schizophrenic  person  have  an  increased  probability  of  developing  schizophrenia  themselves.  Note  that  children  of  a  schizophrenic  mother  have  a  17%  risk  of  schizophrenia  even  if  adopted  by  a  family  with  no  schizophrenic  members.  (Based  on  data  from  GoResman,  1991)  

II.    What  is  Schizophrenia  

Figure  16.16  Although  the  term  schizophrenia  is  derived  from  Greek  roots  meaning  “split  personality,”  it  does  not  refer  to  cases  where  people  alternate  among  different  personali?es.  Rather,  the  term  originally  indicated  a  split  between  the  intellectual  and  emo?onal  aspects  of  a  single  personality.  

II.    What  is  Schizophrenia  (con’t)  

C.  Schizophrenia involves confused and disordered thoughts and perceptions.

D.  With schizophrenia, a person’s thought processes are somewhat disturbed, and the person has lost contact with reality to a considerable extent.

E.  Schizophrenia is not a single problem; it has no single cause or cure.

II.    What  is  Schizophrenia  (con’t)  

F.  Schizophrenia is a collection of symptoms that indicates an individual has serious difficulty trying to meet the demands of life.

Many people with schizophrenia experience delusions and hallucinations.

II.    What  is  Schizophrenia  (con’t)  

•  incoherence, or a marked decline in thought processes. •  disturbances of affect, or emotions that are inappropriate

for the circumstances. •  a severe deterioration in normal movement, which may

occur as slowed movement, non-movement, or as highly agitated behavior.

•  a marked decline in previous levels of functioning.

A person with schizophrenia may show a number of other symptoms as well including:

III.    Types  of  Schizophrenia  

A.  Psychologists classify schizophrenia into several subtypes including:

1.  The paranoid type, involves hallucinations and delusions, including grandeur.

2.  People with the catatonic type may remain motionless for long periods.

3.  Symptoms of the disorganized type include incoherent language, inappropriate emotions, giggling for no apparent reason, generally disorganized motor behavior, and hallucinations and delusions.

III.    Types  of  Schizophrenia  (con’t)  

4.  The diagnostic label remission type is applied to anyone whose symptoms are completely gone or still exist but are not severe enough to have earned a diagnosis of schizophrenia in the first place.

5.  The undifferentiated type encompasses the basic symptoms of schizophrenia.

IV.    Treatment  of  Schizophrenia  

A.  Schizophrenia  is  a  very  complex  condi?on,  and  treatment  is  long-­‐term  and  usually  requires  hospitaliza?on.  

 B.  Long-­‐term  ins?tu?onaliza?on  some?mes  leads  to  a  

pa?ent  who  is  burned  out–one  who  is  unlikely  to  func?on  normally  in  society.  

 C.  Although  recovery  from  schizophrenia  is  possible,  

no  real  cure  for  schizophrenia  exists.    

V.    Causes  of  Schizophrenia  

A.  There are many theories on the cause of schizophrenia, and just as certainly, there is disagreement.

B.  In all likelihood, the ultimate cause is an

interaction of environmental, genetic, and biochemical factors.

V.    Causes  of  Schizophrenia  (con’t)  

C.  The dopamine hypothesis suggests that too much of the chemical dopamine is to blame. However, it is difficult to tell if chemical differences are the cause or result of the condition.

D.  The diathesis-stress hypothesis suggests that a person may inherit a tendency toward schizophrenia. However, for schizophrenia to develop a person must be exposed to an environment with certain stressors (a bad family life for example).

VI.  Major  Depressive  Disorder  A.  We  all  experience  mood  swings  and  even  occasional  

depression  is  a  common  experience.  However,  some  people  get  the  sense  that  their  depression  will  go  on  forever  and  that  there  is  nothing  they  can  do  to  change  it.  

B.  People  with  major  depressive  disorder,  also  known  as  clinical  depression,  spend  at  least  two  weeks  feeling  depressed,  sad,  anxious,  ?red,  upset,  and  less  able  to  func?on.    Symptoms  like  these  are  normal  with  the  loss  of  a  loved  one,  but  if  symptoms  occur  at  other  ?mes  they  may  suggest  the  presence  of  a  major  depressive  disorder.  

VI.  Major  Depressive  Disorder  (con’t)  

C.  To  be  diagnosed  with  major  depressive  disorder  an  individual  must  exhibit  problems  with  at  least  four  of  the  following:  

1.  Ea?ng  2.  Sleeping  3.  Thinking  4.  Concentra?ng  5.  Decision  making  6.  Lacking  energy  7.  Thinking  about  suicide  8.  Feeling  worthless  or  guilty  

VII.  Bipolar  Disorder(con’t)  A.  Another type of mood

disorder is bipolar disorder (formally called manic-depressive disorder), in which individuals are excessively and inappropriately happy or unhappy. These reactions may take the form of high elation (manic phase), hopeless depression (depressive phase), or an alternation between the two.

VII.  Bipolar  Disorder  (con’t)  B.  In the manic phase, a person experiences

elation, extreme confusion, distractibility, and racing thoughts.

C.  In the depressive phase, the individual is overcome by feelings of failure, sinfulness, worthlessness, and despair.

D.  Some people experience occasional episodes of a manic-type or depressive-type reaction, separated by long intervals of relatively normal behavior.

VII.  Bipolar  Disorder  (con’t)  E.  Others exhibit almost no normal behavior,

cycling instead from periods of manic-type reactions to equally intense depressive-type reactions.

F.  Some theorists have speculated that the manic periods serve as an attempt to ward off the underlying hopelessness of the depressive periods.

G.  Others believe that mania can be traced to the same biochemical disorder responsible for depression.

VIII.  Season  Affec?ve  Disorder  (SAD)  A.  There are people who develop a deep

depression in the midst of winter.

B.  These people are victims of seasonal affective disorder, or SAD

C.  People suffering from SAD tend to sleep and eat excessively during their depressed periods.

D.  Researchers have proposed that the hormone melatonin may play a role.

VIII.  Season  Affec?ve  Disorder  (SAD)  (con’t)  

E.  The less light available (in winter), the more melatonin is secreted by the brain’s pineal gland.

F.  Research supports the

idea that daily exposure to bright light, especially with a blue tint, is effective in treating the depressive symptoms of seasonal affective disorder [SAD].

Light  Therapy  is  used  for  trea?ng  individuals  with  SAD  

VIII.  Season  Affec?ve  Disorder  (SAD)  

Figure  16.10  Most  people  feel  slightly  beRer  during  the  summer  (when  the  sun  is  out  most  of  the  day)  than  during  the  winter  (when  there  are  fewer  hours  of  sunlight).  People  with  seasonal  affec?ve  disorder  (SAD)  feel  good  in  the  summer  and  seriously  depressed  in  the  winter  (or  good  in  the  winter  and  depressed  in  the  summer).  Seasonal  affec?ve  disorder  is  commonest  in  far  northern  loca?ons  such  as  Scandinavia,  where  the  summer  days  are  very  long  and  bright  and  the  winter  days  are  very  short  and  dark.  The  disorder  is  unheard-­‐of  in  tropical  loca?ons  such  as  Hawaii,  where  the  amount  of  sunlight  per  day  varies  only  slightly  between  summer  and  winter.  

IX.    Impacts  of  Mood  Disorders  

A.  Psychological  factors  underlying  mood  disorders  include  certain  personality  traits,  amount  of  social  support,  and  the  ability  to  deal  with  stressful  situa?ons.    

IX.    Impacts  of  Mood  Disorders  

B.  Researchers  are  currently  searching  for  possible  neurotransmiRers  that  cause  mood  disorders.  (Biological  causes)  

C.  Researchers  are  also  looking  at  gene?c  factors  and  faulty  brain  structure  and  func?on  as  possible  causes.    (Gene?c  and  Biological  Causes  together)  

X.    Suicide  and  Depression  

A.  Statistics show that every year more than 32,000 Americans end their lives–about 1 every 16 minutes.

B.  More women than men attempt suicide, but more men than women succeed.

C.  Suicide is most common among the elderly but also ranks as the second most common cause of death among college students.

X.    Suicide  and  Depression  (con’t)  

X.    Suicide  and  Depression  (con’t)  D.  Not all people who commit suicide are

depressed, and not all depressed people attempt suicide.

E.  People may take their lives for any number of reasons.

–  It may be to escape from physical or emotional pain. It might be an effort to end the torment of unacceptable feelings, to punish themselves for wrongs they think they have committed, or to punish others who have not perceived their needs (Mintz, 1968).