Bipolar Disorder

In bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic-depression, there are swings in mood from elation to depression with no external cause. During the manic phase of this disorder, the patient may show excessive, unwarranted excitement or silliness, carrying jokes too far. They may also show poor judgment and recklessness and may be argumentative. Manics may speak rapidly, have unrealistic ideas, and jump from subject to subject. They may not be able to sleep or sit still for very long. These symptoms are predominant for a specific period of time lasting for a few days or even a few months. Hospitalization can often be necessary to keep the person from harming themselves and others.

The other side of the bipolar coin is the depressive episode. Bipolar depressed patients often sleep more than usual and are lethargic. This contrasts with those with major depressions, who usually have trouble sleeping and are agitated. During bipolar depressive episodes, a patient may also show irritability and withdrawal.

The experience of mania varies from person to person. But there are some symptoms of the manic stage of bipolar disorder that most share:
•Decreased need for sleep, or feeling rested after too little sleep
•Increased activity, racing thoughts, excessive talking and energy
•Extreme irritability
•Increased sex drive
•Impaired judgment and poor decision-making
•Inflated belief in powers or abilities
•Excessive involvement in pleasurable activities with a high risk of painful consequences, such as buying sprees, sexual indiscretions, shoplifting, foolish business investments
•Excessive high feelings.

The depressive phase of bipolar disorder can be equally as devastating, including such symptoms as:
•Decreased energy or increased fatigue almost all day long, every day
•Feelings of sadness, hopelessness, emptiness, pessimism, guilt
•Difficulty concentrating
•Loss of interest in previously pleasurable activities
•Significant loss of appetite or weight changes
•Loss of sexual desire
•Changes in sleep patterns
•Difficulty remembering
•Thoughts of death or suicide, planning suicide or attempting suicide (anyone with these symptoms should seek help immediately)

Scientists are learning about the possible causes of manic-depressive cycling in bipolar disorder through several kinds of studies. Most scientists now agree that there is no single cause -rather, many factors act together to produce the illness.People with bipolar disorder often have abnormal thyroid gland function. Because too much or too little thyroid hormone alone can lead to mood and energy changes.Alcohol and drug abuse are very common among people with bipolar disorder and may influence the occurrence of episodes.Sometimes taking antidepressants can trigger severe manic and/or rapid cycling episodes in people who have bipolar disorder, leading to destructive behaviour and an increased risk for suicide.Stress and illness have also been linked to the disease.

Munchausen’s Syndrome

Munchausen’s syndrome is a type of factitious disorder, or mental illness, in which a person repeatedly acts as if he or she has a physical or mental disorder when, in truth, they have caused the symptoms. People with factitious disorders act this way because of an inner need to be seen as ill or injured, not to achieve a concrete benefit, such as financial gain. They are even willing to undergo painful or risky tests and operations in order to get the sympathy and special attention given to people who are truly ill. Munchausen’s syndrome is a mental illness associated with severe emotional difficulties.

Symptoms
*People with this syndrome deliberately produce or exaggerate symptoms in several ways. They might lie about or fake symptoms, hurt themselves to bring on symptoms, or alter diagnostic tests (such as contaminating a urine sample). Possible warning signs of Munchausen’s syndrome include the following:
*Dramatic but inconsistent medical history
*Unclear symptoms that are not controllable and that become more severe or change once treatment has begun
*Predictable relapses following improvement in the condition
*Extensive knowledge of hospitals and/or medical terminology, as well the textbook descriptions of illnesses
*Presence of multiple surgical scars
*Appearance of new or additional symptoms following negative test results
*Presence of symptoms only when the patient is alone or not being observed
*Willingness or eagerness to have medical tests, operations, or other procedures
*History of seeking treatment at numerous hospitals, clinics, and doctors offices, possibly even in different cities
*Reluctance by the patient to allow health care professionals to meet with or talk to family, friends, or prior health care providers
*Problems with identity and self-esteem

What causes Munchausen’s syndrome?
The exact cause of Munchausen’s syndrome is not known, but researchers believe both biological and psychological factors play a role in the development of this syndrome. Some theories suggest that a history of abuse or neglect as a child, or a history of frequent illnesses requiring hospitalization might be factors associated with the development of this syndrome. Researchers also are studying the possible link with personality disorders, which are common in individuals with Munchausen’s syndrome.

Dissociative Disorders

Dissociative Disorders are characterized by a disruption in the normal functioning of consciousness, identity, memory, or the world around her / him. Dissociative Disorders can be acute or chronic.

Dissociative disorders are so-called because they are marked by a dissociation from or interruption of a person's fundamental aspects of waking consciousness (such as one's personal identity, one's personal history, etc.). Dissociative disorders come in many forms, the most famous of which is dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder). All of the dissociative disorders are thought to stem from trauma experienced by the individual with this disorder. The dissociative aspect is thought to be a coping mechanism -- the person literally dissociates himself from a situation or experience too traumatic to integrate with his conscious self. Symptoms of these disorders, or even one or more of the disorders themselves, are also seen in a number of other mental illnesses, including post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder.

Since dissociative disorders seem to be triggered as a response to trauma or abuse, treatment for individuals with such a disorder may stress psychotherapy, although a combination of psychopharmacological and psychosocial treatments is often used. Many of the symptoms of dissociative disorders occur with other disorders, such as anxiety and depression, and can be controlled by the same drugs used to treat those disorders. A person in treatment for a dissociative disorder might benefit from antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication.

Psychogenic Amnesia
Amnesia is the temporary or permanent loss of a part or all of their memory. When this is due to extreme psychosocial stress, it is labeled psychogenic amnesia. This stress is most often associated with catastrophic events.

There are four sub-categories of psychogenic amnesia: localized amnesia, selective amnesia, generalized amnesia and continuous amnesia.

Localized Amnesia
This is most often an outcome of a particular event. The disease renders the afflicted unable to recall the details of a usually traumatic event, such as a violent rape. This is undoubtedly the most common type of amnesia.

Selective Amnesia
As its name implies, this is similar to localized amnesia except that the memory retained is very selective. Often a person can remember certain general occurrences of the traumatic situation, but not the specific parts which make it so.

Generalized and Continuous Amnesia
These less common forms of amnesia are defined as when the diseased either forgets the details of an entire lifetime, or as in the case of continuous amnesia, they can't recall the details prior to a certain point in time, including the present.

Psychogenic Fugue
Recognized as an independent clinical syndrome, a fugue is simply the addition to generalized amnesia of a flight from family, problem, or location. In highly uncommon cases, the person may create an entirely new life.

Multiple Personality
Defined as the occurrence of two or more personalities within the same individual of which any of it during sometime in the person's life is able to take control. This is not often a mentally healthy thing when the personalities vie for control.

Symptoms are of course somewhat self-explanatory, but it is important to note that often the personalities are very different in nature, often representing extremes of what is contained in a normal person. Sometimes, the disease is asymmetrical, which means that what one personality knows, the others inherently know.

Depersonalization Disorder
This is the continued presence of feelings that the person is not oneself or that they can't control their own actions. While these are common human feelings, it is labeled a disorder when it is recurrent and impairs social and occupational function.

One symptom is a change in the person's perception of themselves. The disease may incur strange feelings that one's limbs are not shaped or sized correctly. It also may cause a sense of being outside of one's body. While self-awareness is extremely distorted, "reality-testing functions" remain intact which denotes an absence of delusions or hallucinations. The person perceives others as mechanical or as if they existed in a dream. The afflicted have a constant worry about going insane.

Somatoform Disorders - Hypochondria

Unlike conversion disorder where an individual perceives a functional disorder and simply uses it to escape from uncomfortable situations, hypochondriacs have no real illness, but are overly obsessed with normal bodily functions. They read into the sensations of these normal bodily functions the presence of a feared disease.

More commonly called hypochondria or "health anxiety", Hypochondriasis is best described as the obsessive, irrational fear of having a serious medical condition. This fear is based on an individual's misinterpretation of symptoms, and exists despite medical reassurance that the individual does not have a disease or illness. Hypochondriasis goes beyond normal concerns with health, and can seriously impact academic and professional functioning, as well as interpersonal relationships.

Some examples of Hypochondriacal obsessions include:
-thinking that a headache is indicative of brain cancer
-believing that a cough must be sign of lung cancer
-assuming that a minor chest pain is a heart attack
-thinking that a minor sore is a sign of AIDS

Some example of Hypochondriacal compulsions include:
-multiple doctor visits, often "doctor-hopping" on the same day
-multiple medical tests, often for the same alleged condition
-repetitive checking of the body for symptoms of an alleged medical condition
-repeatedly avoiding contact with objects or situations for fear of exposure to diseases
habitual internet searching for information about illnesses and their symptoms ("cyberchondria")

As demonstrated above, Hypochondriasis has obsessive-compulsive features that are quite similar to those of OCD. Perhaps the most significant similarity linking the two disorders is the cyclical process by which the symptoms of both increase.

Because of these many similarities, the same Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques that are so effective in treating OCD are also employed in treating Hypochondriasis. The primary CBT technique used in treating both of these conditions is Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).

Somatoform Disorders - Conversion Disorder

Primary symptom is often a lack or change in physical functioning. The diseased often react with an attitude of indifference, showing an amazing lack of concern. However, the primary symptoms which may include such serious ailments as blindness, amnesia and paralysis, are used as a defense mechanism by the person to escape from a stressful situation. In addition, there may be an awareness of the gains possible through the use of the symptom, which may prolong the symptom.

Symptoms are grouped as follows:
Sensory Symptoms: These include anesthesia, excessive sensitivity to strong stimulation, loss of sense of pain, and unusual symptoms such as tingling or crawling sensations.

Motor Symptoms: In motor symptoms, any of the body's muscle groups may be involved: arms, legs, vocal chords. Included are tremors, tics (involuntary twitches), and disorganized mobility or paralysis.

Visceral Symptoms: Examples are trouble swallowing, frequent belching, spells of coughing or vomiting, all carried to an uncommon extreme.

Somatoform Disorders

A person with somatization disorder has numerous physical symptoms over many years that suggest the person has a medical illness, but the symptoms cannot be explained fully by a medical diagnosis. The symptoms, called somatic complaints, cause significant distress or impair the person's ability to function. The symptoms are real: The patient is not "faking," and the symptoms are not under the person's conscious control.

People with somatization disorder have multiple complaints over many years, involving several different areas of the body. For example, the same person might complain of back pain, headaches, chest discomfort, and gastrointestinal or urinary distress. Sexual complaints are common, such as irregular menstruation in women or erectile dysfunction (impotence) in men.

The person may:
-Describe symptoms in dramatic and emotional terms
-Seek care from more than one physician at the same time
-Describe symptoms in vague terms
-Lack specific signs of medical illness
-Have complaints that medical tests fail to support

Some people who have a medical illness describe their problems in dramatic terms, so drama itself does not necessarily mean the person has somatization disorder.
People with somatization disorder get sick, too, so sometimes they have symptoms that can be explained by a medical illness.

A person with this disorder also may have symptoms of anxiety and depression. The person may begin to feel hopeless and attempt suicide, or may develop a personality disorder because of difficulty adapting to the stresses of life. The person also may start abusing alcohol or drugs, and may request prescription medications, such as painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs.
Spouses and other family members may become distressed because the person's symptoms continue for long periods of time with no explanation.

The types of symptoms a person with this disorder develops vary among cultures. Cultural factors also affect the proportions of men and women with the disorder. For example, somatization disorder rarely is seen in men in the United States, but is more common in Greek men.

Female relatives of people with somatization disorder are more likely to develop the disorder. Male relatives are more likely to develop alcoholism and personality disorder.

Symptoms

Symptoms usually occur over many years. The person may be distressed and function poorly at work and at home. Either medical evaluation does not explain the symptoms, or the symptoms exceed what would be expected in any medical illness that is found.

Symptoms include:
-Pain — Including headache, back ache, stomach ache, joint pain and chest pain.
-Gastrointestinal symptoms — Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
-Sexual symptoms — Erectile dysfunction, problems with menstruation.
-Neurological symptoms — For example, problems with coordination or balance, paralysis, numbness, weakness, vision problems or seizures.

Diagnosis

There are no specific laboratory tests to determine whether a person has somatization disorder. The doctor may suspect somatization when a person has multiple somatic complaints over a period of years, with little evidence of medical illness. If a doctor believes a person has somatization disorder, he or she should screen the person for depression and anxiety.

Somatization disorder is a chronic (long-lasting) problem. The disorder usually starts before the age of 25 or 30, although it can begin in adolescence. It can last for many years.
There is no way to prevent this disorder. But a correct diagnosis of somatization can help the person avoid excessive medical testing. This is a challenge for the person with the disorder and the doctor, because new symptoms could be caused by a medical problem, rather than somatization disorder.

Treatment

When possible the doctor will try to provide some relief of the physical symptoms that stem from somatization disorder. But in most cases, treatment is aimed at coping with secondary problems, such as problems with work and social functioning and any accompanying anxiety or depression. A combination of supportive psychotherapy and medication, such as an antidepressant, can help.

At first, it may be difficult for a person with somatization disorder to accept a referral to a mental health professional. It can be very difficult for a person with this disorder to accept that medical evaluation and treatment cannot relieve the symptoms. Doctors sometimes don't realize how frustrating the syndrome can be for the patient. Ideally, a primary care physician and mental health professional will work together, so that the person's physical symptoms can be evaluated while he or she also gets help managing the frustration of not having a clear diagnosis or treatment plan. The focus should be on areas in which help is possible: treating possible anxiety and depression, managing conflict at home, and finding ways to help the person to function better.

The person with somatization disorder probably will have contacted primary care physicians and various medical specialists. However, treatment by a mental health professional is recommended to help the person deal with the consequences of the disorder — exposure to unnecessary medical tests and treatment, poor functioning and stormy relationships. People with this disorder should be encouraged to seek psychotherapy for their life problems and to consider taking medications for depression or anxiety.

Medications may provide some relief. Psychotherapy tends to proceed slowly, because the person usually has been living with the disorder for a long time prior to starting treatment. It is difficult to give up long-standing patterns of behavior, but with persistence and support, progress is possible.

Delusional Disorder

Symptoms
A well supported delusion (in that it is skillfully defended) is the ruler and often times the only symptom of disease. Other characteristics appropriate to the delusion can also be present, such as resentment or aggression.

Types
The delusion may manifest itself as any of the following types:

Persecutory type
The individual believes he or she is being threatened or mistreated my others.

Grandiose type
Victims of the disorder believe that they are extraordinarily important people or are possessed of extraordinary power, knowledge or ability.

Jealous type
In this type, delusion centers on the suspected unfaithfulness of a spouse or sexual partner. This delusion is more common than others.

Eroticmatic type
Individuals convince themselves some person of eminence, often a movie star or well-known political figure (often whom they have never met but to whom they have written frequently) is in love with them.

Somatic type
The false belief focuses on a delusional physical abnormality or disorder.

One extremely rare instance of this disease is called folie à deux. It results from a close relationship with someone else who already has a delusional disorder, often under a closed environment. Both persons then share the delusion.

It is important to note the distinguishing factor between this disorder and paranoid schizophrenia is that in this disorder the symptoms of hallucination, incoherence, and loosened association are not present. This disorder occurs in middle-aged to older persons. However it is free from further deterioration or any type of remission. Typical is the person's unwillingness to participate in treatment or associate casually. It is generally believed that this delusional disorder stems not from genetic or physical means, but rather from pathological early life experiences.

Sexual Disorders - Gender Identity Disorder

A gender identity disorder exists when a person, male or female, experiences confusion, vagueness or conflict in their feelings about their own sexual identity. There is a struggle between the individual's anatomical sex gender and subjective feelings about choosing a masculine or feminine style of life.

Children can distinguish the difference between males and females by the age of two and by their fourth birthday can recognize the different roles that each sex plays in society. By the age of fifteen or so a person can relate to what arouses sexual feelings in themselves. Those with a gender identity disorder may have a problem with one or all of these aspects of identity.

Sexual Disorders - Paraphilia

Paraphilias are sexual behaviors in which unusual objects or scenarios are necessary to achieve sexual excitement. Eight paraphilias are recognized which are grouped into 3 broad categories.

Preferences for Nonhuman Objects
There are two types of preferences for nonhuman objects: fetishism and transvestism.

Fetishism
A fetish exists when a person is sexually aroused by a nonliving object. It can manifest in two ways, one more extreme than the other. One form associates coitus with some object (most frequently women's panties or other undergarments ). It is relatively harmless if the action is taken playfully and is acceptable to the person's partner. Focus on certain parts of the body (feet, hair, ears, etc) aside from those part of the pleasurable foreplay, can become fetishistic in its hold on the individual.
The more extreme form of fetishism is when a nonliving object completely substitutes for a human partner, such as underwear, boots, and shoes or such textured objects as velvet or silk. Here, orgasm is achieved when the person is alone, fondling the object.

Transvestism
This paraphilia exists when the person achieves sexual excitement by cross-dressing. This is very rarely found in females so the male side of this paraphilia will be used as the example.
Two different purposes seem to be associated with this act in different individuals. In one aspect the person seeks to intensify sexual excitement in intercourse with a partner by only partially dressing as a woman. In the other form, the male moves about in full female regalia, which suggests some type of gender identity problem but not necessarily homosexuality.

Preferences for Situations Causing Suffering
Sadism and Masochism
"Sadist" is applied to those who derive sexual excitement from the pain of others. "Masochist" is applied to those who derive sexual excitement through their own pain. Hence, sadists and masochists go hand in hand, one depending on the need of the other. The danger of these needs is that each may need successively more brutal treatment to satisfy their sexual needs.

Preference for Nonconsenting Partners
The three types of this category of paraphilia are exhibitionism, voyeurism, and pedophilia. All three are considered crimes and are almost entirely male crimes.

Exhibitionism
Exhibitionism is the exposure of one's genitals in a public place. From the psychological point of view, there are three characteristic features of the exhibition. First, it is always performed for unknown women; second, it always takes place where sexual intercourse is impossible, for example in a crowded shopping mall; and third, it must be shocking for the unknown woman or it seems to lose its power to produce sexual arousal in the individual. Exhibitionists are not assaultive and are considered more of a nuisance than an actual danger.

Voyeurism
Looking at sexually arousing pictures or situations is a relatively common, apparently normal activity. The difference between this and voyeurism is that in normal watching, the viewing is a prelude to normal sexual activity. In the voyeur or "Peeping Tom" the experience replaces normal sexual activity. Nevertheless, voyeurism may exist in a person who also engages in normal heterosexual activity.

Pedophilia
Pedophilia is the act of deriving sexual excitement through the physical contact of children. This paraphilia is radically different from exhibitionism and voyeurism in its severely damaging impact on the nonconsenting partner, a child. Ordinarily, the pedophiliac is someone who has ready access to the child.

Sexual Disorders - Sexual Dysfunctions

Sexual dysfunctions prevent or reduce an individual's enjoyment of normal sex and prevent or reduce the normal physiological changes brought on normally by sexual arousal. These dysfunctions can be classified by the phase of the sexual cycle in which they occur. It is important to keep in mind that the diagnosis of sexual dysfunction is made only when the disability persists. Any of them could occur occasionally or be caused by a temporary factor such as fatigue, sickness, alcohol, or drugs.

The Desire Phase
There are two types of dysfunctions that can occur during the desire phase. One is hypoactive desire, which is basically a disinterest in sexual activity. It results in a complete or almost complete lack of desire to have any type of sexual relation. This can often result in the participation in intercourse as a simple marital duty.

The second type is an aversion to sex. This is different from simple hypoactive sexual desire in that sexual activity actually repulses the person or makes them unusually apprehensive. This is most often the result of a traumatic sexual experience, such as molestation as a child or rape.

The Arousal Phase
Erectile dysfunction is the inability of males to attain or sustain erection long enough for coitus. The inability of females to become sexually aroused is sexual arousal disorder.

The Orgasm Phase
When males are unable to control ejaculation so that it occurs before satisfying sexual relations can take place with the partner, it is known as premature ejaculation.
Ejaculatory incompetence is the lack or delay of reaching orgasm in males. The female version of this is inhibited female orgasm, the lack or delay of reaching orgasm in females.

Sexual Pain Disorders
There are two sexual pain disorders. Dyspareunia is when pain occurs during intercourse. This is predominantly a female complaint, but it does occur in males occasionally. Vaginismus is a female disorder in which involuntary spasmodic muscle contractions occur at the entrance to the vagina when an attempt is made to insert the penis. If intercourse is attempted despite these contractions, a painful sexual experience is a result.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a group of disorders characterized by loss of contact with reality, marked disturbances of thought and perception, and bizarre behavior. At some phase delusions or hallucinations almost always occur.

Types
There are two types of schizophrenia Type I (Reactive or Acute Schizophrenia) and Type II (Process Schizophrenia):

Reactive or Acute Schizophrenia
Reactive schizophrenia is usually sudden and seems to be a reaction to some life crisis. Reactive schizophrenia is a more treatable form of the illness than process or chronic schizophrenia.

Process Schizophrenia
This type is characterized by lengthy periods of its development with a gradual deterioration and exclusively negative symptoms. It doesn't seem to be related to any major life change or negative event. Usually this type of schizophrenia is associated with "loners" who are rejected by society, tend not to develop social skills and don't excel out of high school.

Symptoms
The symptoms are things like bizarre behavior, hallucinations, or delusions, absence of any adjustive behavior in the important areas of life, a chronic maladaptiveness, flatness of affect, and absence of developed interpersonal relationships (social skills).

Content of thought
The principal disturbance in the schizophrenic's thought processes is multiple delusions. This is divided into two sub-categories, persecutory delusions (in which the schizophrenic believes that he/she is being talked about, spied upon, or their death being planned) and delusions of reference (which is when the schizophrenic gives personal importance to completely unrelated incidents, objects, or people.) Other common delusions include thought broadcasting (they believe their thoughts are visible to the outside world) and thought insertion, which is what most people perceive schizophrenia as consisting of (their thoughts are not their own and are in truth being inserted into their minds by some outside force). Other delusions, such as believing one to be Jesus, may appear in extreme cases.

Form of thought
Either schizophrenic express their thoughts in a loose manner, where ideas shift from one subject to another with seemingly no purpose, or "poverty of content," where communication is so vague, abstract, or repetitive, that it is meaningless to the listener. Made up words or illogically stringed together phrases may appear in writing or speech as well.

Perception
As we well know, the perception of the world is distorted in the experience of a schizophrenic. This may occur with any of the senses, but most often appear as auditory, with voices in the patients head or commands from high authorities which are obeyed at high risk to others or the patient themselves. Visual hallucinations happen less often.

Affect
This symptom is easiest described as an excessive lack of correlations between what an individual is saying and what emotion they are expressing.

Sense of self
Schizophrenics generally are not aware of their individuality to an extent that they maintain a perplexity about who they are.

Relationship to the external world
Although obvious, most schizophrenics are so preoccupied with the effects of their illness that they tend to be unavailable to others, which is referred to as autism. They don't notice the world that is happening before them.

Classes of Schizophrenia
Paranoid Schizophrenia - Patient displays the psychotic symptoms.

Undifferentiated Schizophrenia - Used when the patient's symptoms clearly point to schizophrenia but are so clouded that classification into the different types of schizophrenia is very difficult.

Residual Schizophrenia - Advised when an individual has been through at least one episode of schizophrenia (6 months) but then "recover."

Schizophreniform Disorder - Best understood as a schizophrenic disorder that has lasted for more than two weeks but less than six months. A less serious diagnosis, as it has a likelihood for the patient to return as normal member of society.

Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Many believe that schizotypal personality disorder represents mild schizophrenia. The disorder is characterized by odd forms of thinking and perceiving, and individuals with this disorder often seek isolation from others. They sometimes believe to have extra sensory ability or that unrelated events relate to them in some important way. They generally engage in eccentric behavior and have difficulty concentrating for long periods of time. Their speech is often over elaborate and difficult to follow.

Symptoms of Schizotypal Personality Disorder:

1. Indifferent / detachment from social relationships, cognitive or perceptual distortions, and eccentric behavior. As indicated by at least five of the following:

-Ideas of reference.
-Magical thinking or odd beliefs, that not consistent with the cultures norms and influences behavior.
-Odd perceptual experiences.
-Odd thinking or speech.
-Suspiciousness or paranoid.
-Narrowed or inappropiated affect.
-Eccentric, odd, or peculiar behavior / appearance.
-Few or no close friends or confidants. Not including first-degree relatives.
-Excessive social anxiety.

2. Symptoms not due to another disorder

Schizoid Personality Disorder

Schizoid personality disorder is primarily characterized by a very limited range of emotion, both in expression of and experiencing. Persons with this disorder are indifferent to social relationships and display flattened affect.

Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-IV™)

1. Indifferent / detachment from social relationships and a very limited range of emotion in an interpersonal setting, as indicated by at least four of the following:

-Wishes not to have or to enjoy close relationships, family included.

-Prefers solitary activities and life.

-Has little or no interest in sex, with other people.

-Has little or no pleasure when doing activities.

-Few if any close friends, other than first-degree relatives.

-Indifferent to criticism or praise.

-Displays flattened affect, emotional coldness, or detachment.

2. Symptoms not due to another disorder.

Paranoid Personality Disorder

Paranoid personality disorder sufferers are distrustful and suspicious of others. Only four of the following are needed to indicate paranoid personality disorder: individual suspects, with no cause, that others are out to get him; is reluctant to confide in others; is suspicious, without cause, that significant other is being unfaithful; doesn't forgive grudges; has doubts about the loyalty of friends and relations; reads hidden threatening messages into benign statements or situations.

Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-IV™)

1. Marked distrust of others, as indicated by at least four of the following:

-Believes without reason that others are exploiting, harming, or trying to deceive her / him.
-Unjustified doubts about a friends / associates loyalty or trustworthiness.
-Believes with out reason that if she / he confides in others, this information somehow be used against her / him.
-Finds hidden demeaning or threatening meanings in harmless remarks or events.
-Unforgiving and bears grudges.
-Believes with out reason that people are out to attack his / her character or reputation and is quick to react with anger.
-Believes with out reason in the fidelity of their sexual partner.

2. Symptoms not due to another mental disorder.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Narcissistic personality is characterized by behavior or a fantasy of grandiosity, a lack of empathy and a need to be admired by others. Narcissistic personality has a pathological unrealistic or inflated sense of self-importance, has an inability to see the viewpoints of others, and is hypersensitive to the opinions of others.

Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-IV™)

Behavior or a fantasy of grandiosity, a lack of empathy and a need to be admired by others. As indicated by at least five of the following:

-Grandiose sense of self-importance.

-Fantasies of and preoccupied with beauty, brilliance, ideal love, power, or unlimited success.

-A belief of being special and unique and can only be understood or a need to associate with people of high status.

-A need for excessive admiration.

-An unreasonable expectation of being treated with favor or excepting an automatic compliance to her / his wishes.

-Will use others to achieve her / his goals.

-Lacks empathy.

-Believes others are envious of her / him or is envious of others.

-Contemptuous or arrogant attitudes / behaviors.

Histrionic Personality Disorder

Histrionic personality disorder is primarily characterized by exaggerated displays of emotional reactions, approaching theatricality, in everyday behavior. Emotions are expressed with extreme and often inappropriate exaggeration. Persons with this disorder are prone to sudden and rapidly shifting emotion expressions.

Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-IV™)

Pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking, as indicated by at least five of the following:

-Uncomfortable if not the center of attention.

-Interaction with others in a inappropriate provocative or seductive manner.

-Shallow and rapid changing of emotion.

-Uses appearance to draw attention.

-Speech that lacks in detail and excessively impressionistic.

-Theatrical, self dramatization, or out of proportion expression of emotion.

-Easily influenced, suggestible.

-Feels even a sociable relationship is intimate.

Dependent Personality Disorder

Dependent personality disorder is primarily characterized with a extreme need of other people, to a point where the person is unable to make any decisions or take an independent stand on their own. There is a fear of separation, cling, and submissive behavior. They have a marked lack of decisiveness, self-confidence, and self-denigration.

Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-IV™)

Excessive need to be taken care of, as indicated by at least five of the following:

-Has a hard time in making everyday decisions with out getting reassurance and advice from others.

-Has other assume the responsibility for the major areas of their life.

-Can not show disagreement with others in fear of being rejected.

-Difficulty in doing things on their own.

-Will do almost anything to get the support of others.

-When along, a feeling of uncomforted or helpless in being unable to care for themselves.

-When one caring or support relationship ends they are compelled to seek another.

-A preoccupation and unrealistic fear of being left alone to care for themselves.

Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline Personality Disorder is characterized by a lack of ones own identity, with rapid changes in mood, intense unstable interpersonal relationships, marked impulsively, instability in affect, and instability in self image.

Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-IV™)

1. Rapid changes in mood, intense unstable interpersonal relationships, marked impulsively, instability in affect, and instability in self image.

2. As indicated by at least five of the following:

-Going to about any lengths to avoid real or imagined abandonment.

-Intense unstable interpersonal relationships characterized by changing between idealization and devaluation the relationship.

-Lack of ones own identity. A Marked instability of self image or the sense of self.

-Impulsively in two or more areas that are self damaging. These may included abuse, sex, spending, eating, driving reckless, or etc.

-Recurrent gestures, self mutilation, suicidal behavior, or threats.

-Instability in affect.

-Marked feelings of emptiness.

-Frequent displays of anger due to a difficulty in control.

-Dissociative or paranoid.

Avoidant Personality Disorder

Avoidant Personality Disorder is characterized by marked social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and extremely sensitive to criticism. Individuals wish to but are fearful of any involvement with others. They are terrified by the thought of being embarrassed in front of others. They avoid situations that give them social discomfort, this in many cases leads to social withdrawal.

Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-IV™)

Marked social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and extremely sensitive to criticism. As indicated by at least four of the following:

-Avoid activities that involve interpersonal contact.
-Avoids get involved due to a fear of not being liked by others.
-Restraint in intimate relationships due to a fear of shame or ridicule.
-Marked preoccupation of being rejected or criticized by others.
-Stay away from new interpersonal situations due to feelings of inadequacies.
-Views oneself as inferior, socially inept, or personally unappealing.
-Takes few if any personal risks in the engagement of new activities, for a fear of being embarrassed.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by a lack of regard for the moral or legal standards in the local culture. There is a marked inability to get along with others or abide by societal rules. Individuals with this disorder are sometimes called psychopaths or sociopaths.

Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-IV™)

1. Since the age of fifteen there has been a disregard for and violation of the right's of others, those rights considered normal by the local culture, as indicated by at least three of the following:

A. Repeated acts that could lead to arrest.
B. Conning for pleasure or profit repeated lying, or the use of aliases.
C. Failure to plan ahead or being impulsive.
D. Repeated assaults on others.
E. Reckless when it comes to their or others safety.
F. Poor work behavior or failure to honor financial obligations.
G. Rationalizing the pain they inflict on others.

2. At least eighteen years in age.

3. Evidence of a Conduct Disorder, with its onset before the age of fifteen.

4. Symptoms not due to another mental disorder.

Personality Disorders

Personality disorders are long standing patterns of maladaptive behavior. The personality disorders are when a person uses improper and immature ways to deal with problems or situations. People with this type of disorder do not feel like they are doing anything wrong and therefore do not want to change their behavior, like people with anxiety disorders

There are 11 major personality disorders. These include:

Antisocial Personality Disorder
Avoidant Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder
Dependent Personality Disorder
Histrionic Personality Disorder
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder
Paranoid Personality Disorder
Schizoid Personality Disorder and
Schizotypal Personality Disorder.

Depression

Depression is mental illness in which a person experiences deep, unshakable sadness and diminished interest in nearly all activities. The term depression is also used to describe the temporary sadness, loneliness, or blues that everyone feels from time to time. In contrast to normal sadness, severe depression, also called major depression, can dramatically impair a person’s ability to function in social situations and at work. People with major depression often have feelings of despair, hopelessness, and worthlessness, as well as thoughts of committing suicide.

Anyone, regardless of age, gender, race, or socioeconomic status, can suffer from depression. Depression is not a weakness or a character flaw; it is a true medical illness. The good news is that with proper treatment, 4 out of 5 patients will improve in time.People who have depression are not just moody or having "the blues" for a few days. They have long periods of feeling very sad and lose interest in social and daily activities. Depression changes the way a person feels, thinks, and behaves.

The causes of depression are not always clear. It may be caused by an event or for no apparent reason at all. Genes may also play a role by not providing your brain with enough serotonin. The symptoms of depression may differ from person to person. Some symptoms may include a persistent sad mood, lack of pleasure in activities, change in sleep or eating habits, or a feeling of worthlessness.

Depression can take several other forms. In bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness) a person’s mood swings back and forth between depression and mania. People with seasonal affective disorder typically suffer from depression only during autumn and winter, when there are fewer hours of daylight. In dysthymia people feel depressed, have low self-esteem, and concentrate poorly most of the time—often for a period of years—but their symptoms are milder than in major depression. Some people with dysthymia experience occasional episodes of major depression.

If left untreated, an episode of major depression typically lasts eight or nine months. About 85 percent of people who experience one bout of depression will experience future episodes.

Depression usually alters a person’s appetite, sometimes increasing it, but usually reducing it. Sleep habits often change as well. People with depression may oversleep or, more commonly, sleep for fewer hours. A depressed person might go to sleep at midnight, sleep restlessly, then wake up at 5 am feeling tired and blue. For many depressed people, early morning is the saddest time of the day.

Depression also changes one’s energy level. Some depressed people may be restless and agitated, engaging in fidgety movements and pacing. Others may feel sluggish and inactive, experiencing great fatigue, lack of energy, and a feeling of being worn out or carrying a heavy burden. Depressed people may also have difficulty thinking, poor concentration, and problems with memory.People with depression often experience feelings of worthlessness, helplessness, guilt, and self-blame. They may interpret a minor failing on their part as a sign of incompetence or interpret minor criticism as condemnation. Some depressed people complain of being spiritually or morally dead. Their mirror seems to reflect someone ugly and repulsive. Even a competent and decent person may feel deficient, cruel, stupid, phony, or guilty of having deceived others. People with major depression may experience such extreme emotional pain that they consider or attempt suicide.

At least 15 percent of seriously depressed people commit suicide, and many more attempt it.In some cases, people with depression may experience psychotic symptoms, such as delusions (false beliefs) and hallucinations (false sensory perceptions). Psychotic symptoms indicate an especially severe illness. Compared to other depressed people, those with psychotic symptoms have longer hospital stays, and after leaving, they are more likely to be moody and unhappy. They are also more likely to commit suicide.

Treatment

Commonly used antidepressant drugs fall into three major classes: tricyclics, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO inhibitors), and selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

Studies have shown that short-term psychotherapy can relieve mild to moderate depression as effectively as antidepressant drugs. Unlike medication, psychotherapy produces no physiological side effects. In addition, depressed people treated with psychotherapy appear less likely to experience a relapse than those treated only with antidepressant medication. However, psychotherapy usually takes longer to produce benefits.There are many kinds of psychotherapy. Cognitive-behavioral therapy assumes that depression stems from negative, often irrational thinking about oneself and one’s future. In this type of therapy, a person learns to understand and eventually eliminate those habits of negative thinking. In interpersonal therapy, the therapist helps a person resolve problems in relationships with others that may have caused the depression. The subsequent improvement in social relationships and support helps alleviate the depression. Psychodynamics therapy views depression as the result of internal, unconscious conflicts. Psychodynamics therapists focus on a person’s past experiences and the resolution of childhood conflicts. Psychoanalysis is an example of this type of therapy. Critics of long-term psychodynamics therapy argue that its effectiveness is scientifically unproven.

Electro convulsive therapy (ECT) can often relieve severe depression in people who fail to respond to antidepressant medication and psychotherapy.

For milder cases of depression, regular aerobic exercise may improve mood as effectively as psychotherapy or medication. In addition, some research indicates that dietary modifications can influence one’s mood by changing the level of serotonin in the brain.

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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that develops after a severe traumatic event or experience. Several distressing symptoms are common in the person with PTSD, including Psychic numbing, emotion anesthesia, increased arousal, or unwanted re-experiencing of the trauma. These symptoms can affect any sex or age group. Anxiety, irritability, and depression are also common in people who have PTSD. People with PTSD have a diminished ability to experience emotion, including tenderness or intimacy. There may be problems falling or staying asleep. A person with PTSD will avoid any reminders of the trauma but re-experiencing the event in dreams, nightmares, or painful memories are common. Some people will turn to drugs or alcohol to escape the pain of PTSD while others may become suicidal or self-defeating.

Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-IV™)

ALL THE FOLLOWING MUST BE AFTER TRAUMA.NOT DUE TO A SUBSTANCE, GENERAL MEDICAL CONDITION, OR OTHER DISORDER.

Must have been exposed to a traumatic event or experience involving intense fear, horror, or helplessness. The event or experience must involve a threat of death, serious injury, or physical integrity. The event or experience may be to yourself or to others around you.

A. The event or experience must be re-experienced in at least one of the following:

1. Distressing recollections of the event or experience that is both intrusive and reoccurring.
2. Dreams that are reoccurring and distressful.
3. Reliving the event or experience in the form of flashbacks, hallucinations, or illusions.
4. If exposed to any aspect of the event or experience an intense psychological distress followed.
5. Reacting in a physiological manner to any aspect of the event or experience

NOTE: 4 and 5 may be from internal or external cues.

B. Avoiding any thing associated with the trauma and a numbing of responsiveness. Indicated be at least three of the following:

1. Avoiding any thoughts or feelings about the trauma, including not wishing to engage in any conversation about the event or experience.
2. Avoidance of places, persons, or things that set off feelings about the trauma.
3. Can not recall import face about the event or experience.
4. A marked disinterest in significant activities.
5. Feelings of being detached or alienation from others.
6. Changes in range of affect. (E.g., loss of loving feelings)
7. Feelings of no real future.

C. Persistent indicators of increased arousal, at least two of the following:

1. Problems with falling or staying asleep.
2. Irritability or outbursts of anger, sometimes unexpected and for no apparent reason.
3. Having problems concentrating.
4. Hyper vigilant.
5. Response to being startled is overstated.

A, B, and C must be for more then one month.

Must be impairment in important areas of functioning. (E.g., work, social life ...)

ACUTE: Symptoms less then three months long.
CHRONIC: Symptoms longer then three months.
WITH DELAYED ONSET: Onset of symptoms starts six months after event or experience.

Phobias

A phobia is a fear of a specific stimulus or situation. The sufferer of a phobia usually knows that the fear is irrational but cannot do anything about it. Phobia has three sub-classes: simple phobia, social phobia, and agoraphobia.

Simple phobias
A simple phobia is a fear of a specific thing or situation. A person may have one phobia but be normal in all other aspects. However, in serious cases, a person may have multiple phobias that interfere with their everyday life.

Social phobias
Individuals with this class of phobia have an extreme fear of social situations and of embarrassing themselves. The most common types of this phobia are public speaking and eating in public.

Agoraphobia
This is the most common phobia that people seeking professional help have. It is also the most difficult to cure. This type of phobia creates an irrational fear of unfamiliar situations. People with agoraphobia avoid open spaces, crowds, traveling, and in extreme cases do not even leave their home.

General Anxiety/Panic Disorders

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by free-floating (not associated with a particular object, event, or situation) anxiety that seems to be a constant feature of daily existence. GAD can range from mild nervousness to a continuous feeling of dread. There may be somatic symptoms, muscle tension, muscle aches, or shaky feelings. GAD is frequently related to another disorder (E.g., Dysthymic, Major Depression, Panic Disorder, Social Phobia, Specific Phobia, or Substance Abuse). Irritable Bowel Syndrome and headaches may accompany GAD.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a real illness that requires attention from a qualified healthcare professional.

Given the stresses of modern life, it is normal to experience occasional anxiety. However, people with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or GAD, suffer from persistent worry and tension that is much worse than the anxiety most people experience from time to time. The high level or chronic state of anxiety associated with GAD can make ordinary activities difficult or even impossible.The main symptom of GAD is an exaggerated or unfounded state of worry and anxiety, often about such matters as health, money, family, or work. Although people with GAD may realize that their anxiety is excessive or unwarranted, they are unable to simply "snap out of it"—for them, the mere thought of getting through the day can provoke anxiety.

The persistent worry characteristic of GAD is hard to control, and interferes with daily life. Many GAD sufferers seem unable to relax, and may startle easily. In addition, GAD is often accompanied by physical symptoms, such as fatigue, headaches, and muscle tension.
GAD does not appear suddenly; it develops over time.

Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-IV™)

-NOT DUE TO A SUBSTANCE, GENERAL MEDICAL CONDITION, OR OTHER DISORDER.
-For at least six months the person had more days full of anxiety and apprehension then not.
-There is difficult dealing with the anxiety and apprehension.
-Have three or more of the following associated with the anxiety and apprehension:

1. Restlessness or feeling on edge.
2. Get tired easily.
3. Concentration problems and mind going blank.
4. Irritability.
5. Muscle tension.
6. Problems falling or staying asleep.

Anxiety and apprehension not associated with another disorder. (E.g., drug abuse, general medical condition, medication, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Separation Anxiety Disorder, Social Phobia, Specific Phobia).

Panic Disorder

The main feature of Panic Disorder is unexpected and recurrent Panic Attacks. The frequency and severity of these unexpected and recurrent attacks vary widely from individual to individual. Sometimes attack occurs ever day, then sometime once ever few months. Some attacks may be long and some may be short you never know. These attacks come when they feel like it, giving the person great apprehension about the next attack.

Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-IV™)

-NOT DUE TO A SUBSTANCE, GENERAL MEDICAL CONDITION, OR OTHER DISORDER.

-Must have had unexpected and recurrent Panic Attacks along with at least one of the following:

1. Persistent concerns of having more Panic Attacks.

2. Concerns about the meaning or consequences of the Panic Attacks. (E.g., lose of control, feelings of going "crazy", or of having a heart attack)

3. Significant behavioral changes related from the Panic Attacks.

Panic Attacks can not be due to drug abuse, general medical condition, medication, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Separation Anxiety Disorder, Social Phobia, or Specific Phobia.

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety is a group of disorders ( Anxiety Disorders Types ) characterized by a number of both mental and physical symptoms, with no apparent explanation. Apprehension, fear of losing control, fear of going "crazy", fear of pending death or impending danger, and general uneasiness are among the most common mental symptoms. Common physical symptoms include dizziness, lightheadedness, chest / abdominal pain, nausea, increased heart rate, and diarrhea. Because there are so many physical symptoms, anxiety disorders may not be recognized and the symptoms only treated as physical disorders. Doctors and researchers believe that with both psychotherapy and medication over 80% of persons with anxiety disorders can be helped. Anxiety can also be one of the common symptoms of psychiatric disorders.

Anxiety disorders appear to have become more common in recent years, though this may be due to better diagnostics. And although women are treated for these disorders more often, psychologists believe that this is simply because men are less likely to seek treatment.

An anxiety disorder should not be confused with everyday stress and worry which, due to circumstances, can affect everyone at one time or another. Anxiety disorders, however, are persistent conditions, and should be diagnosed carefully by a licensed mental health professional after a full evaluation. While self care-options can benefit ordinary stress or anxiety, prescription treatments should only be used in clear cases of chronic and ongoing anxiety.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 19 million adults in the US suffer from one form of anxiety or another. Sleep disorders or early awakening, depression, tension, muscle aches, and fatigue can all accompany chronic anxiety.

Anxiety disorders, like many other conditions, are an example of normal responses that appear at inappropriate times. Our fight-or-flight response, characterized most strongly by increased adrenaline or norepinephrine production, allows us to react promptly to dangerous situations. When lives are in danger we react quickly and get to safety or defend ourselves. But when we experience these reactions frequently during daily life, they can be very disruptive.

Chemical imbalances, allergies, nutritional deficiencies and other health problems, environmental influences, and stressful life events may worsen or trigger some of these conditions. Anxiety disorders may co-exist, or occur alongside other conditions, like depression, bipolar disorder, ADD / ADHD, an eating disorder, or a major life-threatening illness. If an anxiety disorder is severe enough to require prescription treatment, other conditions should be ruled out or treatment geared to avoid interfering with pre-existing health issues.

Anxiety Disorders Types

-Acute Stress Disorder

-Agoraphobia

-Agoraphobia Without History of Panic Disorder

-Anxiety Disorder Due to a General Medical Condition

-Anxiety Disorder Not Otherwise Specified ( Anxiety Disorder NOS )

-Generalized Anxiety Disorder ( GAD )

-Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder ( OCD )

-Panic Attack

-Panic Disorder With Agoraphobia

-Panic Disorder without Agoraphobia

-Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

-Social Phobia

-Specific Phobia

-Substance-Induced Anxiety Disorder.

Types of Disorders

The following disorder definitions are taken from Atkinson, Rita Introduction to Psychology.

Anxiety Disorders
Includes disorders in which anxiety is the main symptom (generalized anxiety or panic disorders) or anxiety is experienced unless the individual avoids feared situations (phobic disorders) or tries to resist performing certain rituals or thinking persistent thoughts (obsessive-compulsive disorders). Also includes post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mood Disorders
Disturbances of normal mood; the person may be extremely depressed, abnormally elated, or may alternate between periods of elation and depression.

Personality Disorders
Long-standing patterns of maladaptive behaviour that constitutes immature and inappropriate ways of coping with stress or solving problems. Antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder are two examples.

Schizophrenia
A group of disorders characterized by loss of contact with reality, marked disturbances of thought and perception, and bizarre behaviour. At some phase delusions or hallucinations almost always occur.

Delusional (paranoid) Disorders
Disorders characterized by excessive suspicions and hostility, accompanied by feelings of being persecuted; reality contact in other areas satisfactory.

Sexual Disorders
Includes problems of sexual identity, sexual performance, and sexual aim.

Psychoactive Substance Abuse Disorders
Includes excessive use of alcohol, barbiturates, amphetamines, cocaine, and other drugs that alter behaviour. Marijuana and tobacco are also included in this category, which is controversial.

Somatoform Disorders
The symptoms are physical, but no organic basis can be found and psychological factors appear to play the major role. Included are conversion disorders (for example, a woman who resents having to care for her invalid mother suddenly develops a paralyzed arm) and hypochondria (excessive preoccupation with health and fear of disease when there is no basis for concern). Does not include psychosomatic disorders that have an organic basis.

Dissociative Disorders
Temporary alterations in the functions of consciousness, memory, or identity due to emotional problems. Included are amnesia (the individual cannot recall anything about his or her history following a traumatic experience) and multiple personality (two or more independent personality systems existing within the same individual).

Maladaptive Behaviour

There are certain categories of behavior that suggest the presence of psychological disorders which are maladaptive in that they threaten the well-being of the individual. These categories include long periods of discomfort, impaired functioning, bizarre behavior, and disruptive behavior.

Long Periods of Discomfort
Everyone experiences some kind of psychological discomfort during their life. This could be anything as simple as worrying about an exam to grieving the death of a loved one. This distress, however, is related to real, related, or threatened events and passes away with time. When such distressing feelings, however, persist for an extended period of time and seem to be unrelated to events surrounding the person, they would be considered abnormal and could suggest a psychological disorder.

Impaired Functioning
Here, again, there must be made a distinction between simply a passing period of inefficiency and prolonged inefficiency which seems unexplainable.

Bizarre Behavior
There are many things people do that others would find strange. Bizarre behavior that has no rational basis, however, seems to indicate that the individual is confused. The psychoses frequently bring on hallucinations (baseless sensory perceptions) or delusions (beliefs which are patently false yet held as truth by the individual).

Disruptive Behavior
Disruptive behavior means impulsive, apparently uncontrollable behavior that disrupts the lives of others or deprives them of their human rights on a regular basis. This type of behavior is characteristic of a severe psychological disorder.

All of these types of behavior are maladaptive because they directly affect the well-being of the individual and those around them, and block the growth and fulfillment of the individual's potential.

What is "Abnormal"?

The definition of the word abnormal is simple enough: deviating from the norm. However, applying this to psychology poses a complex problem: what is normal? Whose norm? For what age? For what culture? Some would simply classify what is "good" as normal and what is "bad" as abnormal, but this is a vague and narrow definition and brings up many of the same questions for the definition of "good" as does the definition for "normal".

A very simple idea that can be used to classify abnormal behaviour is personal distress. Basically, if a person is content with their life, then they are of no concern to the mental health field. However, if a person's thoughts or behaviours are causing them personal discomfort or unhappiness, then they will be considered abnormal.

The most common criterion for defining abnormality, however, is maladaptiveness. There are two aspects of maladaptive behaviour:

1. Maladaptive to one's self - inability to reach goals, to adapt to the demands of life and
2. Maladaptive to society - interferes, disrupts social group functioning.