Psychological Disorders and Health
What to know
Disorders are classified in the DSM, which emphasizes criteria and duration. Know major categories: anxiety disorders (generalized anxiety, panic disorder, phobias, OCD, PTSD), mood disorders (major depression, bipolar disorder), schizophrenia (positive symptoms like hallucinations/delusions; negative symptoms like flat affect; subtypes no longer emphasized), personality disorders (e.g., antisocial, borderline), and dissociative disorders.
Key concepts
The diathesis-stress model says disorders arise from predisposition plus stress. The biopsychosocial model integrates biological, psychological, and social factors. Comorbidity means co-occurring disorders. Depression involves cognitive distortions (Beck) and learned helplessness (Seligman). Schizophrenia is linked to dopamine and ventricular differences; genetics matter but environment contributes.
Health psychology
Stress (Selye's general adaptation syndrome: alarm, resistance, exhaustion) affects health. Coping can be problem-focused or emotion-focused. Type A behavior and hostility relate to heart disease. Social support buffers stress.
Traps
Questions confuse obsessions (intrusive thoughts) with compulsions (repetitive behaviors). Bipolar disorder includes manic episodes-not just depression. Panic attacks are intense but time-limited; generalized anxiety is chronic worry. Schizophrenia is not split personality.
Rule of thumb
For diagnosis-style questions, check duration, impairment, and whether symptoms fit a recognized cluster. Obsession = thought; compulsion = action.
Worked example
A student worries constantly for months about many topics, feels restless, and cannot concentrate-chronic, diffuse worry fits generalized anxiety disorder, not a panic attack (sudden, intense).