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"...more

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...more

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..more

Anxiety Disorders

Everyone feels a little nervous sometimes. However, people with anxiety disorders feel an abnormal amount from common things.

There are four major types of anxiety disorders: General Anxiety/Panic Disorders, Phobias, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder...more

General Anxiety/Panic Disorders

A person with a general anxiety disorder lives in a state of constant nervousness. People with this disorder usually overreact to any type of stress. Typically, individuals have trouble making decisions and when they actually do this it usually only causes additional worries. Sufferers of general anxiety tend to have panic attacks. Some theorists think that this disorder is caused by a learned anxiety...more

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.

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...more

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder is caused by a traumatic event that overwhelms a person and ruins their ability to cope with a situation. It can cause flashbacks, nightmares, insomnia, and/or guilt. It is usually extremely long lasting...more

Depression

A person suffering from major depressive disorder is in a depressed mood for most of the day, nearly every day or has lost interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities, for a period of at least two weeks. It is not necessary for the person to report feeling depressed to be diagnosed with major depression- the presence of depressed mood can be implied from observing the person's behavior...more

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...more

Antisocial Personality Disorder

This disorder is characterized by the careless disregard for the rights of others. It can be recognized by several symptoms. Someone with an antisocial personality is usually dishonest and is remorseless. Other symptoms include the reckless disregard for safety, both for himself/herself and others; excessive irritability and aggressiveness coupled with impulsiveness. Most antisocial personalities also fail to conform to social norms...more

Avoidant Personality Disorder

Individuals with this disorder feel inadequate, have great sensitivity to what others think and say about them, and are socially impotent. This disorder is characterized by someone who is terribly reluctant to take personal risks or try new things because they may be embarrassed. Avoidant personalities don't like to get involved in intimate relationships, constantly think about being criticized or rejected, and see themselves as socially inept and inferior...more

Borderline Personality Disorder

Sufferers of this disorder have highly unstable interpersonal relationships. The cause of this instability is closely related to the person's self image and also their early social interactions. Symptoms include an unstable self image, rapid mood changes and a need to avoid feelings of abandonment, whether real or imagined. The person also may have difficulty controlling their anger and have recurring feelings of emptiness. Suicide attempts and self-mutilation are also among the recognized symptoms...more

Dependent Personality Disorder

This disorder is characterized by a need to be taken care of and a fear of being abandoned. Sufferers of it are very clingy and usually have the following symptoms: helpless when alone because of exaggerated sense of not being able to care for themselves, when one close relationship ends the person immediately tries to find another, problems initiating projects or ideas because of a lack of self-esteem, difficulty disagreeing with others, needs other to take responsibility for him/her, and cannot make decisions without advice from others...more

Histrionic Personality Disorder

People with this disorder excessively seek emotion and attention for themselves. This disorder can be recognized by these symptoms: the person is uncomfortable when he/she is not the center of attention, easily suggestible, uses physical appearance to draw attention, emotions are rapidly changing and shallow, speech very impressionistic and lacks detail, thinks that relationships are more intimate than they really are, exaggerated expression of emotion, and interaction with others is usually characterized by inappropriate sexual behavior...more

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Individuals who are excessively grandiose, have a need for admiration, and lack empathy are usually considered to be a narcissistic personality. They can only truly be shown to have the disorder if the person has five of the following symptoms: extreme arrogance and self-importance, envious of others or believes that they are envious of him, doesn't recognize the feelings of others, exploits other persons for his/her own aims, requires admiration, has fantasies of success and power, has a sense of entitlement and believes that he/she is special...more

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...more

Schizoid Personality Disorder

A person who has a detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of emotional expression in interpersonal situations is considered a schizoid personality. This can be verified by four out of seven symptoms. These symptoms are: a loner always chooses solitary activities; doesn't want or enjoy any close relationships, including family; has very little interest in having sexual experiences with another person; has no close friends except for immediate family; demonstrates emotional coldness and detachment; takes enjoyment in very few activities; and appears indifferent to what others think of him/her....more

Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Schizotypal personality disorder is characterized by discomfort with and a reduced capacity for close relationships, cognitive or perceptual distortions, and eccentricities of behavior. Only five symptoms are needed to confirm that someone is schizotypal...more

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.

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

Delusional Disorder

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...more

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...more

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

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...more

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)....more

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...more

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...more

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

OCD stands for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. A very simple description of OCD is that it is a condition in which an individual experiences recurrent obsessions and/or compulsions. Obsessions are defined as repetitive thoughts, ideas, or impulses that an individual experiences as inappropriate, intrusive, and unwanted. Compulsions are defined as repetitive behaviors that an individual feels driven to perform in an effort to avoid or decrease the anxiety created by obsessions...more

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...more

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, Preferences for Situations Causing Suffering and Preference for Nonconsenting Partners...more

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...more