In a country based around free will, the United States contains a vast variety of personalities and behaviors. Plenty of people, probably more than we know, exert abnormal behavior. Abnormal behavior is patterns of emotion, thought, and action that are considered pathological. Historically, people blame witchcraft for this eccentric type of behavior and tended to perform exorcisms in hopes of abolishing such actions. Anxiety disorders and personality disorders, two forms of abnormal behavior, can alter a person’s personality as a result of life experiences. Anxiety disorder is a type of abnormal behavior characterized by unrealistic, irrational fear. These types of disorders are diagnosed two as often in women as in men. Although these disorders can be very chronic and serious, they are easily treatable. Generalized anxiety disorder is when people experience fear and worry that is not focused on one specific aspect; nevertheless, they suffer greatly with headaches, dizziness, heart palpitations, and insomnia. Obsessive-compulsive disorder, better known as OCD, involves persistent, unwanted, obsessions and irresistible urges to perform compulsions in order to relieve anxiety. Unlike other anxiety disorders, OCD consists more of anxiety and worry rather than fear itself. Many people who experience OCD are aware that there is no motive behind their actions, however their anxiety is heightened when they try to ignore the compulsions. People with such anxiety disorders often experience sensitivity to other people’s views as well as worry over their surroundings. Personality disorders are inflexible maladaptive personality traits that cause significant impairment of social and occupational functioning. Personality disorders can affec... ... middle of paper ... ...t like that. I was instantly overwhelmed with anxiety, and that anxiety only worsened every time I looked in my drawer. I lasted for two days before I needed to fix the unfolded undergarment. Personally, I think it is extremely ridiculous that something so small could bother me so much; nevertheless, I cannot stop my foolish actions. Abnormal behavior that people experience help to mold a person into whom they are and they follow them everywhere they go. Anxiety disorders, such as phobias or OCD, may be easily overcome with practice; however, personality disorders are not so easy to rid yourself of. It is rather difficult to get rid of personality disorders due to the depth of the dismal emotions you experience, as well as your childhood history. Anxiety disorders are the less of all evils, however, they still maintain the capability of controlling somebody’s life.
Personality disorders are separated into several clusters as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Cluster A includes disorders of the personality that are odd or egocentric. These include paranoid personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, and schizotypal personality disorder (National Institute for Mental Health, 2009). Cluster B includes the dramatic, emotional, or erratic personality disorders. This cluster includes antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder (NIMH, 2009). The final cluster, Cluster C, includes avoidant personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (NIMH, 2009). These personality disorders are categorized as anxious and fearful disorders.
Personality disorders and mental illnesses are viewed by the general public as similar attributes that are equally harmful. However, when one delves into the diagnostics and patterns of the individual disorders and illnesses, it can be seen that there are major differences between each one. There are many levels of severity of the effects each disorder or illness has on society as a whole. They range from affecting only the individual on a solely personal basis to affecting a large amount of people on a highly violent level. Generally, it is found that mental illnesses have an influence on an individual level while personality disorders have an influence on a widespread level. As in every medical topic, there are outliers, or cases that are far outside the expected outcome, but for the most part, illnesses have less far reaching effects than disorders. On the spectrum of the societal effects of personality disorders and mental illnesses, the obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is actually a mental illness, is on the lowest level in terms of widespread consequences; just above this illness is schizophrenia which has the ability to affect more than the individual unless treated; the narcissistic disorder has farther reaching effects in society, such as in bureaucratic situations, than the two previously mentioned illnesses, placing it higher on the spectrum, and last, but not least, the schizoid personality disorder has proven to have the most wide spread consequences in the form of both emotional trauma and violence allocating it the highest level.
Some symptoms of Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are fear of germs, perfectionism, and rituals. When someone has OCD they are afraid of germs and might constantly be washing their hands or cleaning their room. Someone who suffers from OCD needs everything to be perfect and they might organize their closet by color size. Their rituals calm their anxiety. Certain rituals are things such as checking the stove a certain number of times to make sure it is off or tap their finger a number of times just because it makes them feel better. Obsessive compulsive disorder can be associated with other mental disorders that cause stress and anxiety, but it can be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy and medication.
From the moment a person is born, his or her personality begins to take shape. As they grow and develop, they may become extroverted, introverted, kind, strict, or take on any number of traits that will define who they are. However when certain traits, such as lack of empathy, recklessness, and anxiety, seem to cause strange patterns of behavior that interfere with their daily lives and relationships with other people, it is easy to assume that some form of mental disorder may be the culprit. What many people fail to realize is that instead of it being a mental issue, it may be something in their personality. Although mental disorders and personality disorders are associated with one another, clinicians often pay more attention to mental disorders and disregard the fact that a personality disorder may have been the catalyst for the development of a certain mental disorder, such as depression and schizophrenia. If signs of a personality disorder can be identified in early childhood or adolescence, which is when they are most ignored, this will not only make the disorder more manageable for the person and everyone close to them, but it will also prevent the disorder from spiraling out of control and affecting their adult life.
Personality disorder. Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. 2014. Web. 08 Feb 2014
In conclusion, Anti-Social Personality disorder has immense effects on people concerning empathy, violence, and even learning. It is also a very resistant disorder to treat. However, much needs to be learned about this disorder in order to help patients live normal lives, and can even be useful in establishing a treatment context for addressing conditions such as substance abuse, impulsive aggression, and schizophrenia ( Pajerla, 2007).
One kind of anxiety disorder is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This disease can ruin a person's life because it causes them to have repetitive thoughts and behaviors towards certain things. Life can become very difficult because this way of thinking and acting is very difficult to overcome, especially since the obsessions have no point and are stressful for the person. It begins to interfere with the person's school, work, and/or home.
Abnormal psychology in the area within psychology that is focused on maladaptive behavior-its causes, consequences, and treatment. Abnormal psychology deals with how it feels to be different, the meanings the get attached to being different, and how society deals with people whom it considers to be different. The spectrum of differences is wide, ranging from reality defying delusions and severe debilitations to worries and behavioral quirks that we would be better off not having but do not significantly interfere with our daily lives. An example of the milder end of the spectrum is a man who was an eminently successful district attorney, was elected governor of New York on three occasions, and was almost elected president of the United States in 1948. This man, Thomas E. Dewy, reached the pinnacle of success, displaying such quality as rectitude, efficiency, precision, and nearly limitless capacity for hard work. Yet it was this combination of traits that made dewy seem too good to be true. For example, he was never late or absent in his first twelve years of schooling. He lacked a sense of humor and seemed to enjoy life only when he was achieving goals. He also had personal rigidities that restricted him from spontaneity that public figures need so much One of his small quirks was he had a big problem with germs. When he toured prisons, he would not touch a doorknob with out first wiping it off with a folded handkerchief. He also drank three quarts of water a day because of the presumed health effects. Dewey achieved much, but had he been less ridged and more open-minded he might have achieved more, and he might have been a happier person. (R.N. Smith, 1982) Governor Dewey's psychological problems was qu...
Personality Disorders Personality disorders indicate the presence of chronic rigid and maladjusted personality traits, through which the person's interpersonal or professional functioning is negatively affected, or which lead to personal unhappiness and problems (Louw, 1990). Discuss this statement from a biopsychosocial frame of reference and refer to one personality disorder in any cluster to illustrate your answer. The Biopsychosocial model: = ==
Culture has a huge influence on how people view and deal with psychological disorders. Being able to successfully treat someone for a mental illness has largely to do with what they view as normal in their own culture. In Western cultures we think that going to a counselor to talk about our emotions or our individual problems and/or getting some type of drug to help with our mental illness is the best way to overcome and treat it, but in other cultures that may not be the case. In particular Western and Asian cultures vary in the way they deal with psychological disorders. In this paper I am going to discuss how Asian cultures and Western cultures are similar and different in the way they view psychological disorders, the treatments and likelihood of getting treatment, culture bound disorders, and how to overcome the differences in the cultures for optimal treatments.
There are multiple criteria that come into play when determining a psychological disorder. One reason is because, it is hard to know for sure if an action is abnormal or not. Something could be abnormal in our country, but a custom in another.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder explained by Cockerham as having both biological and psychological causes playing a role (2011). The disorder is often accompanied by two main features, the AllPsych website states:
Every person that has different characteristics that influence how they think, act, and build relationships. While some people are introverted, others are extroverted. Some people are strict and do not take risks, while others are carefree and free spirited. However, there are times where a person’s behavior becomes destructive, problematic, and maladaptive (Widger, 2003). The key to examining a person for a possible personality disorder is not if they have quirks, but if they display severe behavioral, emotional, and social issues. A diagnosis of having a personality disorders involves identifying if their extreme behaviors, emotions, and thoughts that are different than cultural expectations interfere with the ...
The last article that I examined by Mroczkowski et al (2011), it examined when someone had the personality disorder of OCD added with a disorder such as anxiety, the symptoms can be more severe. OCD symptoms may include compulsions and repetitive behaviors. Adding an anxiety disorder to the equation can make the OCD more intense and
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. Every person experiences some form of anxiety in his or her lifetime. Anxiety helps us deal with tense situations like using our flight or fight reaction, study harder for an exam, or keep focus on important deadlines. Anxiety can be useful until it gets to the point of interfering with everyday life. Some people explain it as not being able to shut the anxiety off. When anxiety becomes an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations, it becomes a disabling disorder (National Institute of Mental Health, 2009). Each year, anxiety disorders affect about 40 million American adults age 18 years and older (National Institute of Mental Health, 2009). There are five major Anxiety Disorders they include Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Phobias.