A PowerPoint presentation (no narration) containing much
of this information is available at the below web page.
Viewers who have PowerPoint software installed on their
computers can view the actual PowerPoint presentation (look
for the "emotion_health.ppt" file), or those without
PowerPoint can view the information as a webpage, but only
with MS Explorer 4.0 or above (look for
"emotion_health.mht" file).
http://facweb.northseattle.edu/troot/HEA150/slides/
Emotional
Health
To determine the extent of a person's
psychological disorders, professionals in the
past relied upon the classification of the two
terms "neurosis" and
"psychosis." Although actual
mental/emotional disorders are not diagnosed as
"neurotic" or "psychotic," it
can be helpful to understand the difference
between the two terms.
Neurosis
Neuroses are emotional disorders caused by
unresolved conflicts that lead to anxiety. A
person who is neurotic does not distort reality,
but may have irrational thoughts and also may
behave in ways that do not make sense. Furthermore, because a neurotic individual
recognizes reality, he/she is aware of irrational
thoughts and behaviors, but may have problems
fixing them. A stereotypical "neurotic"
person may be characterized as anxious, worried,
or frustrated. There have been many successful television shows
with story plots structured around
neurotic
TV characters. (O)
Psychosis
Psychoses are a number of severe mental disorders
caused by physical or emotional disturbances, or
both. A psychotic person generally fails at
functioning in all areas of life. He or she is
often unable to recognize reality, experiencing
hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that are
not real) and delusions (irrational beliefs that
do not reflect reality). Characteristics of the
psychotic also include disorganized thinking and
personality changes.
Although the above two terms are used quite
frequently to describe an individual's thought
patterns or behaviors, true mental disorders are
diagnosed using specific criteria from the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders IV-TR
(DSM IV, fourth edition, text
revision). Some of these mental
disorders are included in the following categories:
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are characterized by
feelings of apprehension, worry, fear, alarm, or
even terror. The emotional and physical symptoms,
as well as the situations in which these symptoms
are experienced, depend upon the disorder. As a general rule,
the anxiety disorder sufferer feels extreme discomfort and
experiences an interruption of day-to-day functioning, a
feature not typically experienced by an individual in the
general population.
Several examples include generalized anxiety
disorder, phobia, panic disorder with and without
agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and
post-traumatic stress disorder.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is
characterized by feelings of worry and dread, experienced across a number of environmental
situations. The person with GAD may sense something
unidentifiable is wrong, and subsequently feel distressed. The feelings
of dread or worry can also be accompanied by irritability, sleeplessness,
concentration difficulties, muscle tension and
fatigue. For more general information on GAD,
travel to the
National Institute for Mental Health (O). In order to be diagnosed with
GAD, the affected individual is to have
experienced symptoms for at least six month.
It is important to note that in some cases anxiety may not
be the primary issue but instead be a symptom of another
health condition.
Hyperthyroidism
(O--Medicine.net), for example, can cause many symptoms,
including anxiety. (O)
Travel to Youtube.com to view a clip,
"What
is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?" (R)
Phobia
A phobia is an intense fear of an object or
particular situation. Examples include the fear
of flying, a fear of snakes, a fear of heights, a
fear of being in public places, etc. Although a
phobic person may recognize that his fear is
irrational, his difficulties in overcoming the
fear may disrupt daily living. To be diagnosed
with a phobia, the phobic symptoms must be in
place for at least six months.
Videojug.com houses a short
video identifying the top ten phobias (O).
Panic Disorder With Agoraphobia
The diagnosis of "Panic Disorder With
Agoraphobia" includes both panic attacks and
agoraphobia. In a panic attack, the affected
person experiences repeated occurrences of
severe, disabling anxiety, most often without warning. Symptoms include our
or more of the following:
Furthermore, chemical substances must be ruled
out as the cause of the panic attacks.
In agoraphobia, the affected person has anxiety over
situations or places where escape is difficult or
embarrassing. Those situations or places are
usually outside the home, and they are avoided or
endured with extreme discomfort. Agoraphobia may not occur with
panic disorder upon onset, but may develop over time. For
example, a person who experiences a panic attack while crossing
a bridge may avoid bridges. Bridge avoidance may develop into
car travel avoidance and perhaps eventually develop into
avoidance of all situations outside the home.
For more information, visit the National
Institutes of Health's
consensus
statement regarding Panic Disorder (O).
Panic Disorder Without Agoraphobia
In "Panic Disorder Without
Agoraphobia," panic attacks occur, but
agoraphobia is absent.
Similar to generalized anxiety, panic disorder may be a
symptom of another health condition rather than the primary
problem.
Videojug.com provides a
video
regarding panic attacks and panic disorder (O).
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
A person with OCD suffers from irrational
thoughts or perceptions that recur, are
all-consuming, cause anxiety, and that affect productivity. These
thoughts or perceptions are
called obsessions. A person diagnosed with OCD
may also exhibit behavior--a
compulsion--reflecting the obsession. A
stereotypical example is the person who is
obsessed about cleanliness so much that she
washes her hands many times throughout the day,
avoids public restrooms, wears a protective mask
etc.
Common obsessions include extreme concern
with germs, dirt, cleanliness; fears of saying something
obscene or profane, persistent thoughts of numbers, order,
senseless sounds or words; and fears of harming one’s self
or of hurting others. Common compulsions include repeated or
ritualized hand washing, bathing or cleaning; repeated checking
for damage or harm to an object or person; persistent counting
of objects, words, movements; and other repeating behaviors.
The OCD patient recognizes his thoughts,
impulses or images are irrational and attempts to
ignore or suppress them. A
checklist of OCD symptoms is available at brainphysics.com, adapted from Jeffrey Schwartz's
work,
Brain
Lock (O). To read examples i.e. personal
OCD
stories, you can find several at healthyplace.com (O).
Tony Shalhoub plays a detective on the USA Network. The
detective, known as "Monk," suffers from
obsessive-compulsive disorder. If you have Real Player and
are interested in watching a clip from the show illustrating an
example of OCD, travel to
P.B.
Poorman's website on the Learning Technology Center's
Faculty Showcase (O). There is also a link on the site
connecting you to a free download of Real Player.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is
characterized by the reliving or re-experiencing
of a threatening, disturbing event through
nightmares, frightful recollections, cues or
symbols relating to he event, or through other
unpleasant means. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is common among victims of violent crime,
natural disasters, combat, and automobile
accidents. The person suffering from PTSD is
irritable, experiences concentration and sleep
disturbances, and has an exaggerated startle
response. PTSD is diagnosed after the affected
individual has experienced its symptoms for
longer than a month. For more information on
PTSD
symptoms (R), visit the Mental Health Net.
Educational
Enrichment
American
Psychiatric Association
American
Psychological Association
Last Revised: 4-13-10
