Disorders
Chose Your Disorder or addiction here.
Inattention:
Failing to pay close attention to details or making careless mistakes when doing schoolwork or other activities
Trouble keeping attention focused during play or tasks
Appearing not to listen when spoken to
Failing to follow instructions or finish tasks
Avoiding tasks that require a high amount of mental effort and organization, such as school projects
Frequently losing items required to facilitate tasks or activities, such as school supplies
Excessive distractibility
Forgetfulness
Procrastination, inability to begin an activity
Difficulties with household activities (cleaning, paying bills, etc.)
Hyperactivity-impulsive behavior:
Fidgeting with hands or feet or squirming in seat
Leaving seat often, even when inappropriate
Running or climbing at inappropriate times
Difficulty in quiet play
Frequently feeling restless
Excessive speech
Answering a question before the speaker has finished
Failing to await one's turn
Interrupting the activities of others at inappropriate times
Impulsive spending, leading to financial difficulties
Drug Addiction
Alcoholism
Sex Addiction
Eating Disorder (bulimia, anorexia or compulsive eating)
Self-Injury (cutting)
Extreme Violence
Paranoid Personality
* suspects, without sufficient basis, that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving him or her
* Is preoccupied with unjustified doubts about the loyalty or trustworthiness of friends or associates
* Is reluctant to confide in others because of unwarranted fear that the information will be used maliciously against him or her
reads hidden demeaning or threatening meanings into benign remarks or events
* persistently bears grudges, i.e., is unforgiving of insults, injuries, or slights
* perceives attacks on his or her character or reputation that are not apparent to others and is quick to react angrily or to counterattack
* has recurrent suspicions, without justification, regarding fidelity of spouse or sexual partner.
Schizoid Personality
*neither desires nor enjoys close relationships, including being part of a family
*almost always chooses solitary activities
*has little, if any, interest in having sexual experiences with another person
*takes pleasure in few, if any, activities
*lacks close friends or confidants
*appears indifferent to the praise or criticism of others
*shows emotional coldness, detachment, or flattened affectively
Antisocial Personality
*failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest
*deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure
*impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
*irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults
*reckless disregard for safety of self or others
*consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain steady work or honor financial obligations
*lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another
Histrionic Personality
*is uncomfortable in situations in which he or she is not the center of attention
*interaction with others is often characterized by inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behavior
*displays rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotions
*consistently uses physical appearance to draw attention to self
*has a style of speech that is excessively impressionistic and lacking in detail
*shows self-dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated expression of emotion
*is suggestible, i.e., easily influenced by others or circumstances
*considers relationships to be more intimate than they actually are.
Narcissistic Personality
*has a grandiose sense of self-importance
*is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
*believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by other special people
*requires excessive admiration
*strong sense of entitlement
*takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
*lacks empathy
*is often envious or believes others are envious of him or her
*arrogant affect.
Dependent Personality
*Has difficulty making everyday decisions without an excessive amount of advice and reassurance from others
*Needs others to assume responsibility for most major areas of his or her life
*Has difficulty expressing disagreement with others because of fear of loss of support or approval (this does not include realistic fears of retribution)
*Has difficulty initiating projects or doing things on his or her own (because of a lack of self-confidence in judgment or abilities rather than a lack of motivation or energy)
*Goes to excessive lengths to obtain nurturance and support from others, to the point of volunteering to do things that are unpleasant
*Feels uncomfortable or helpless when alone because of exaggerated fears of being unable to care for himself or herself
*Urgently seeks another relationship as a source of care and support when a close relationship ends
*Is unrealistically preoccupied with fears of being left to take care of himself or herself
Obsessive-compulsive personality
*Preoccupation with details, rules, lists, order, organization, bodily functions, or schedules to the extent that the major point of the activity is lost
*Showing perfectionism that interferes with task completion (e.g., is unable to complete a project because his or her own overly strict standards are not met)
*Excessive devotion to work and productivity to the exclusion of leisure activities and friendships (not accounted for by obvious economic necessity)
*Being overconscientious, scrupulous, and inflexible about matters of morality, ethics, or values (not accounted for by cultural or religious identification)
*Inability to discard worn-out or worthless objects even when they have no sentimental value
*Reluctance to delegate tasks or to work with others unless they submit to exactly his or her way of doing things
*Adopting a miserly spending style toward both self and others; money is viewed as something to be hoarded for future catastrophes
*Showing rigidity and stubbornness
To be diagnosed as having schizophrenia, a person must display:
A) Characteristic symptoms: Two or more of the following, each present for a significant portion of time during a one-month period (or less, if successfully treated)
delusions (thinking you are someone else: god, the devil, hitler, etc)
hallucinations (one or all five senses)
disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or incoherence; speaking in abstracts).
grossly disorganized behavior (e.g. dressing inappropriately, crying frequently) or catatonic behavior (loss of movement for a period of time)
Treatment
Currently schizophrenia has not been cured although many psychiatrists and psychologists believe that it can be managed. it can be controlled by medication and Electroshock Therapy
Bipolar disorder (previously known as manic depression) this has a high suicide risk
In the depressive phase, signs and symptoms include: persistent feelings of sadness, anxiety, guilt, anger, isolation and/or hopelessness, disturbances in sleep and appetite, fatigue and loss of interest in daily activities, problems concentrating, irritability, chronic pain without a known cause, recurring thoughts of suicide.
I a state of Mania, the person can experience psychosis. These symptoms include hallucinations (hearing, seeing,or otherwise sensing the presence of stimuli that are not there) and delusions (false personal beliefs that are not subject to reason or contradictory evidence and are not explained by a person's cultural concepts). They may also suffer from paranoid thoughts of being persecuted or monitored by some powerful entity such as the government or a hostile force, or become paranoid that they'll be abandoned and left by those close to them. Intense and unusual religious beliefs may also be present, such as patients' strong insistence that they have a God-given role to play in the world, a great and historic mission to accomplish, or even that they possess supernatural powers. Delusions in a depression may be far more distressing, sometimes taking the form of intense guilt for supposed wrongs that the patient believes he or she has inflicted on others.
Anxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of abnormal, pathological anxiety, fears, phobias and nervous conditions that may come on suddenly or gradually over a period of several years, and may impair or prevent the pursuing of normal daily routines.
Types
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
As the name implies, generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by long-lasting anxiety that is not focused on any particular object or situation. In other words it is unspecific or free-floating. People with this disorder feel afraid of something but are unable to articulate the specific fear. They fret constantly and have a hard time controlling their worries. Because of persistent muscle tension and autonomic fear reactions, they may develop headaches, heart palpitations, dizziness, and insomnia. These physical complaints, combined with the intense, long-term anxiety, make it difficult to cope with normal daily activities.
Panic Disorder
In panic disorder, a person suffers brief attacks of intense terror and apprehension that cause trembling and shaking, dizziness, and difficulty breathing. One who is often plagued by sudden bouts of intense anxiety might be said to be afflicted by this disorder. Normal changes in heartbeat, such as when climbing a flight of stairs will be noticed by a panic sufferer and lead them to think something is wrong with their heart or they are about to have another panic attack. Some begin to worry excessively and even quit jobs or refuse to leave home to avoid future attacks. Panic disorder can be diagnosed when several apparently spontaneous attacks lead to a persistent concern about future attacks.
Phobias
This category involves a strong, irrational fear and avoidance of an object or situation. The person knows the fear is irrational, yet the anxiety remains. Phobic disorders differ from generalized anxiety disorders and panic disorders because there is a specific stimulus or situation that elicits a strong fear response. A person suffering from a phobia of spiders might feel so frightened by a spider that he or she would try to jump out of a speeding car to get away from one.
People with phobias have especially powerful imaginations, so they vividly anticipate terrifying consequences from encountering such feared objects as knives, bridges, blood, enclosed places, certain animals or situations. These individuals generally recognize that their fears are excessive and unreasonable but are generally unable to control their anxiety.
Social anxiety disorder
Social anxiety disorder is also known as social phobia. Individuals with this disorder experience intense fear of being negatively evaluated by others or of being publicly embarrassed because of impulsive acts. Almost everyone experiences "stage fright" when speaking or performing in front of a group. But people with social phobias become so anxious that performance is out of the question. In fact, their fear of public scrutiny and potential humiliaton becomes so pervasive that normal life can become impossible. Another social phobia is love-shyness, which most adversely affects certain men. Those afflicted find themselves unable to initiate intimate adult relationships
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive compulsive disorder is a type of anxiety disorder primarily characterized by obsessions and/or compulsions. Obsessions are distressing, repetitive, intrusive thoughts or images that the individual often realizes are senseless. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors that the person feels forced or compelled into doing, in order to relieve anxiety. The OCD thought pattern may be likened to superstitions: if X is done, Y won't happen--in spite of how unlikely it may be that doing X will actually prevent Y, if Y is even a real threat to begin with. A common example of this behavior would be obsessing that one's door is unlocked, which may lead to compulsive constant checking and rechecking of doors. Often the process seems much less logical. For example, the compulsion of walking in a certain pattern may be employed to alleviate the obsession that something bad is about to happen.
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder which results from a traumatic experience, such as being involved in battle or being a victim of rape or violence. The sufferer may experience flashbacks and other symptoms.
Treatment
Medication and therapy
Pyromania
Pyromaniacs are known to have feelings of sadness and loneliness, followed by rage, which leads to the setting of fires as an outlet.[4]For a positive diagnosis, there must be purposeful setting of fire on at least two occasions. There is tension or arousal prior to the act, and gratification or relief when it is over. It is done for its own sake, and not for any other motivation.[5] It is all about the pleasure of seeing what other people have to do to extinguish the fire, and the pyromaniac may enjoy reading of the effects of what they have done. [4] Although much of the information stated here is irrefutable, many arsonists just like to set fires for the sake of fires and the blaze of dancing flames.
Intermittent explosive disorder (IED)
is an uncommon disorder of the brain characterized by explosive outbursts of behavior (throwing, breaking things, inflicting physical harm on others) that is disproportional to the provocation.
Kleptomania
is an inability to resist impulses of stealing. A person with this disorder is compelled to steal things, generally things of little or no value, such as pens, paper clips, or small toys. They are often unaware of performing the theft until some time later
Compulsive Gambling
Problem gambling is an urge or addiction to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop. The term is preferred to Compulsive Gambling among many professionals, as few people described by the term experience true compulsions in the clinical sense of the word. Problem gambling often is defined by whether harm is experienced by the gambler or others, rather than by the gambler's behavior. Severe problem gambling may be diagnosed as clinical pathological gambling if the gambler meets certain criteria.
Trichotillomania (TTM)
or "trich" is an impulse control disorder characterized by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, beard hair, nose hair, pubic hair, eyebrows or other body hair. It may be distantly related to obsessive-compulsive disorder, with which it shares some similarities.
Pseudologia phantastica
habitual or compulsive lying. The patient can't stop him or herself from lying and actually believes his own lies
Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD)
Multiple personality disorder, or MPD, is a mental disturbance classified as one of the dissociative disorders in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). It has been renamed dissociative identity disorder (DID). MPD or DID is defined as a condition in which "two or more distinct identities or personality states" alternate in controlling the patient's consciousness and behavior. Note: "Split personality" is not an accurate term for DID and should not be used as a synonym for schizophrenia.
The precise nature of DID (MPD) as well as its relationship to other mental disorders is still a subject of debate. Some researchers think that DID may be a relatively recent development in western society. It may be a culture-specific syndrome found in western society, caused primarily by both childhood abuse and unspecified long-term societal changes. Unlike depression or anxiety disorders, which have been recognized, in some form, for centuries, the earliest cases of persons reporting DID symptoms were not recorded until the 1790s. Most were considered medical oddities or curiosities until the late 1970s, when increasing numbers of cases were reported in the United States. Psychiatrists are still debating whether DID was previously misdiagnosed and underreported, or whether it is currently over-diagnosed. Because childhood trauma is a factor in the development of DID, some doctors think it may be a variation of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). DID and PTSD are conditions where dissociation is a prominent mechanism. The female to male ratio for DID is about 9:1, but the reasons for the gender imbalance are unclear. Some have attributed the imbalance in reported cases to higher rates of abuse of female children; and some to the possibility that males with DID are underreported because they might be in prison for violent crimes.
The most distinctive feature of DID is the formation and emergence of alternate personality states, or "alters." Patients with DID experience their alters as distinctive individuals possessing different names, histories, and personality traits. It is not unusual for DID patients to have alters of different genders, sexual orientations, ages, or nationalities. Some patients have been reported with alters that are not even human; alters have been animals, or even aliens from outer space. The average DID patient has between two and 10 alters, but some have been reported with over one hundred.
Causes and symptoms
The severe dissociation that characterizes patients with DID is currently understood to result from a set of causes:
* An innate ability to dissociate easily
* Repeated episodes of severe physical or sexual abuse in childhood
* The lack of a supportive or comforting person to counteract abusive relative(s)
* The influence of other relatives with dissociative symptoms or disorders
The relationship of dissociative disorders to childhood abuse has led to intense controversy and lawsuits concerning the accuracy of childhood memories. The brain's storage, retrieval, and interpretation of childhood memories are still not fully understood.
The major dissociative symptoms experienced by DID patients are amnesia, depersonalization, derealization, and identity disturbances.
Amnesia
Amnesia in DID is marked by gaps in the patient's memory for long periods of their past, in some cases, their entire childhood. Most DID patients have amnesia, or "lose time," for periods when another personality is "out." They may report finding items in their house that they can't remember having purchased, finding notes written in different handwriting, or other evidence of unexplained activity.
Depersonalization
Depersonalization is a dissociative symptom in which the patient feels that his or her body is unreal, is changing, or is dissolving. Some DID patients experience depersonalization as feeling to be outside of their body, or as watching a movie of themselves.
Derealization
Derealization is a dissociative symptom in which the patient perceives the external environment as unreal. Patients may see walls, buildings, or other objects as changing in shape, size, or color. DID patients may fail to recognize relatives or close friends.
Identity disturbances
Identity disturbances in DID result from the patient's having split off entire personality traits or characteristics as well as memories. When a stressful or traumatic experience triggers the reemergence of these dissociated parts, the patient switches-usually within seconds-into an alternate personality. Some patients have histories of erratic performance in school or in their jobs caused by the emergence of alternate personalities during examinations or other stressful situations. Patients vary with regard to their alters' awareness of one another.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of DID is complex and some physicians believe it is often missed, while others feel it is over-diagnosed. Patients have been known to have been treated under a variety of other psychiatric diagnoses for a long time before being re-diagnosed with DID. The average DID patient is in the mental health care system for six to seven years before being diagnosed as a person with DID. Many DID patients are misdiagnosed as depressed because the primary or "core" personality is subdued and withdrawn, particularly in female patients. However, some core personalities, or alters, may genuinely be depressed, and may benefit from antidepressant medications. One reason misdiagnoses are common is because DID patients may truly meet the criteria for panic disorder or somatization disorder.
Misdiagnoses include schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and, as noted, somatization disorder and panic disorder. DID patients are often frightened by their dissociative experiences, which can include losing awareness of hours or even days of time, meeting people who claim to know them by another name, or feeling "out of body." Persons with the disorder may go to emergency rooms or clinics because they fear they are going insane.
When a doctor is evaluating a patient for DID, he or she will first rule out physical conditions that sometimes produce amnesia, depersonalization, or derealization. These conditions include head injuries; brain disease, especially seizure disorders; side effects from medications; substance abuse or intoxication; AIDSdementia complex; or recent periods of extreme physical stress and sleeplessness. In some cases, the doctor may give the patient an electroencephalograph (EEG) to exclude epilepsy or other seizure disorders. The physician also must consider whether the patient is malingering and/or offering fictitious complaints.
If the patient appears to be physically normal, the doctor will next rule out psychotic disturbances, including schizophrenia. Many patients with DID are misdiagnosed as schizophrenic because they may "hear" their alters "talking" inside their heads. If the doctor suspects DID, he or she can use a screening test called the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). If the patient has a high score on this test, he or she can be evaluated further with the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule (DDIS) or the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D). The doctor may also use the Hypnotic Induction Profile (HIP) or a similar test of the patient's hypnotizability.
Treatment
Treatment of DID may last for five to seven years in adults and usually requires several different treatment methods.
Psychotherapy
Ideally, patients with DID should be treated by a therapist with specialized training in dissociation. This specialized training is important because the patient's personality switches can be confusing or startling. In addition, many patients with DID have hostile or suicidal alter personalities. Most therapists who treat DID patients have rules or contracts for treatment that include such issues as the patient's responsibility for his or her safety. Psychotherapy for DID patients typically has several stages: an initial phase for uncovering and "mapping" the patient's alters; a phase of treating the traumatic memories and "fusing" the alters; and a phase of consolidating the patient's newly integrated personality.
Most therapists who treat multiples, or DID patients, recommend further treatment after personality integration, on the grounds that the patient has not learned the social skills that most people acquire in adolescence and early adult life. In addition, family therapy is often recommended to help the patient's family understand DID and the changes that occur during personality reintegration.
Many DID patients are helped by group as well as individual treatment, provided that the group is limited to people with dissociative disorders. DID patients sometimes have setbacks in mixed therapy groups because other patients are bothered or frightened by their personality switches.
Medications
Some doctors will prescribe tranquilizers or antidepressants for DID patients because their alter personalities may have anxiety or mood disorders. However, other therapists who treat DID patients prefer to keep medications to a minimum because these patients can easily become psychologically dependent on drugs. In addition, many DID patients have at least one alter who abuses drugs or alcohol, substances which are dangerous in combination with most tranquilizers.
Hypnosis
While not always necessary, hypnosis is a standard method of treatment for DID patients. Hypnosis may help patients recover repressed ideas and memories. Further, hypnosis can also be used to control problematic behaviors that many DID patients exhibit, such as self-mutilation, or eating disorders like bulimia nervosa. In the later stages of treatment, the therapist may use hypnosis to "fuse" the alters as part of the patient's personality integration process.
Alternative treatment
Alternative treatments that help to relax the body are often recommended for DID patients as an adjunct to psychotherapy and/or medication. These treatments include hydrotherapy, botanical medicine (primarily herbs that help the nervous system), therapeutic massage, and yoga. Homeopathic treatment can also be effective for some people. Art therapy and the keeping of journals are often recommended as ways that patients can integrate their past into their present life. Meditation is usually discouraged until the patient's personality has been reintegrated.
Prognosis
Some therapists believe that the prognosis for recovery is excellent for children and good for most adults. Although treatment takes several years, it is often ultimately effective. As a general rule, the earlier the patient is diagnosed and properly treated, the better the prognosis.
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