NCERT Class 12 Psychology Psychological Disorders

PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

You must have come across people who are unhappy, troubled and dissatisfied. Their minds and hearts are filled with sorrow, unrest and tension and they feel that they are unable to move ahead in their lives; they feel life is a painful, uphill struggle, sometimes not worth living. Famous analytical psychologist Carl Jung has quite remarkably said, “How can I be substantial without casting a shadow? I must have a dark side, too, if I am to be whole and by becoming conscious of my shadow.

I remember once more that I am a human being like any other”. At times, some of you may have felt nervous before an important examination, tense and concerned about your future career or anxious when someone close to you was unwell. All of us face major problems at some point of our lives. However, some people have an extreme reaction to the problems and stresses of life. In this chapter, we will try to understand what goes wrong when people develop psychological problems, what are the causes and factors which lead to abnormal behaviour, and what are the various signs and symptoms associated with different types of psychological disorders? The study of psychological disorders has intrigued and mystified all cultures for more than 2,500 years.

Psychological disorders or mental disorders (as they are commonly referred to), like anything unusual may make us uncomfortable and even a little frightened. Unhappiness, discomfort, anxiety, and unrealised potential are seen all over the world.  These failures in living are due mainly to failures in adaptation to life challenges. As you must have studied in the previous chapters, adaptation refers to the person’s ability to modify her/his behaviour in response to changing environmental requirements. When the behaviour cannot be modified according to the needs of the situation, it is said to be maladaptive. Abnormal Psychology is the area within psychology that is focused on maladaptive behaviour – its causes, consequences, and treatment.

CONCEPTS OF ABNORMALITY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

Although many definitions of abnormality have been used over the years, none has won universal acceptance. Still, most definitions have certain common features, often called the ‘four Ds’: deviance, distress, dysfunction and danger. That is, psychological disorders are deviant (different, extreme, unusual, even bizarre), distressing (unpleasant and upsetting to the person and to others), dysfunctional (interfering with the person’s ability to carry out daily activities in a constructive way), and possibly dangerous (to the person or to others).

This definition is a useful starting point from which we can explore psychological abnormality. Since the word ‘abnormal’ literally means “away from the normal”, it implies deviation from some clearly defined norms or standards. In psychology, we have no ‘ideal model’ or even ‘normal model’ of human behaviour to use as a base for comparison. Various approaches have been used in distinguishing between normal and abnormal behaviours. From these approaches, there emerge two basic and conflicting views.

Review Questions

1. Identify the symptoms associated with depression and mania.

2. Describe the characteristics of hyperactive children.

3. What do you understand by substance abuse and dependence?

4. Can a distorted body image lead to eating disorders? Classify the various forms of it.

5. “Physicians make diagnosis looking at a person’s physical symptoms”. How are psychological disorders diagnosed?

6. Distinguish between obsessions and compulsions.

7. Can a long-standing pattern of deviant behaviour be considered abnormal? Elaborate.

8. While speaking in public the patient changes topics frequently, is this a positive or a negative symptom of schizophrenia? Describe the other symptoms and sub-types of schizophrenia.

9. What do you understand by the term ‘dissociation’? Discuss its various forms.

10. What are phobias? If someone had an intense fear of snakes, could this simple phobia be a result of faulty learning? Analyse how this phobia could have developed.

11. Anxiety has been called the “butterflies in the stomach feeling”. At what stage does anxiety become a disorder? Discuss its types.

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 12 Psychology Psychological Disorders