Personality Disorder and Depression - Essay Example

PERSONALITY DISORDER AND DEPRESSION INTRODUCTION TO ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY Abnormal psychology is a branch of academic discipline dealing with the studyof people suffering from psychological disorders and abnormal behaviors. These disorders and abnormal behaviors vary and come in different manifestations such as maladaptive or harmful behavior towards people, disturbing or threatening behavior, atypical or uncommon behavior and lastly, irrational or unjustifiable behavior (Dunder, n.d.). This social and pathological branch of psychology is important because it helps in foreseeing, explaining and describing why there are such illnesses and phenomena. Moreover, in the clinical perspective, abnormal psychology plays a significant role in determining the course of treatment which should be undergone by people suffering from these conditions. Abnormal psychologists and psychopathologists incorporate and believe the fact that these abnormal behaviors can be brought about by several factors, which can function individually or correlate with each other: heredity, physique, cognitive abilities and socialization. THEORIES OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR AND BEHAVIOR PATTERNS For a more systematic and fact-based study on abnormal behavior, there are several theories which abnormal psychologists conform to in explaining the occurrence of such behaviors. Some theories flourished from well-renowned psychologists of all time while some aroused from years of study and observation. These theories, often referred to as perspectives, help in attempting to explain the causal factors of these abnormal behaviors. Furthermore, these theories not only help in identifying and explaining why such disorders happen but also assist in determining the method and treatment which should be done upon the patient. There are primarily five perspectives related to abnormal behavior but there are several sources which sites in more theories- all of which will be explained individually in the course of this research paper. PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY. Psychodynamic theory, in terms of abnormal psychology, is often interrelated with psychoanalytic theory because psychodynamic theory burgeoned from the Freudian ideologies. And when we speak of psychoanalysis, the name and image of Sigmund Freud never escapes or minds- a great psychologist who made great contributions during the Victorian era. The unconscious is the prime mover of the psychodynamic theory which contends that these disorders ascend from the unresolved conflicts inside a person's mind. Because of these inconsistencies, anxiety occurs within a person, which in turn leads to unconscious conflicts. In this certain perspective, the treatment method focuses on identifying that certain conflict inside a person's mind through counseling or therapy sessions. After it has been identified, the next focus would be on solving that certain conflict which entails pretty much effort from both the counselor and the client. BEHAVIORAL THEORY. In behavioral theory, the behaviorism school of thought in psychology is taken into consideration. Abnormal psychologists who embrace the behavioral perspective stand by the idea that psychological disorders and abnormal behaviors arise from wrong conditioning earlier in the foundation age of an individual. The person suffering from abnormal behaviors is believed to have learned the same abnormal behavior during his childhood or in cases when that certain behavior has been falsely introduced to his mind. Aside from faulty conditioning, futile learning and comprehension may also be considered on the part of the person suffering. The course of treatment as to this theory is through redesigning the abnormal behavior of a person. He or she can recover from these disordered behaviors through counseling and learning procedures which could help him or her eliminate those unwanted behaviors and learn new and more appropriate actions in exchange. One example of therapy would be what we usually call the behavior therapy which is done by non-reinforcing negative behavior and ideas and changing them with better and more positive behaviors by reinforcements. COGNITIVE THEORY. When we speak of cognitive perspective, we speak of the mental ability of a person involving its complex processes of understanding, analyzing, deciphering a problem (CCEE, 1998). In the context of cognitive theory, it is believed that disordered and abnormal behaviors are mere products of ineffective and inaccurate way of thinking. It is also equally contended that false assumptions which are implanted on the person's thoughts and behavior contributes, as well. The mental processes of perception, retrieval, rationalization, decision and problem solving, therefore, are the main components which may be affected and in turn could lead to manifestations of abnormal behaviors (Garvey, 1999). Treatment in this type of perspective focuses on introducing a new set of values and ideas to a certain person so as to try to eradicate the negative values. Therapies, for one, are good methods of treating a disturbed person based on cognitivism. BIOMEDICAL THEORY. In the biomedical theory, the physiologic and medical aspects of a person is been taken into consideration. This theory holds that psychological disorders and abnormalities are diseases (Costello, 1992), which should be treated with through hospitalization, medications and similar treatment. They treat these abnormalities similar to mental illnesses. There are four main causes of these diseases, and they are the following: genetics, neuroanatomy, chemical imbalance, and infection (Atkinson, 1993). It also follows the basic steps in identifying a certain disease such as assessment, diagnosis, treatment and evaluation. More than that, the kind of does not incorporate psychological treatments rather they use drugs and more material or treatments such as antidepressants and antipsychotics. SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY. This social-cultural theory is slightly similar to that of behavior perspective only that, sociocultural theory is the larger counterpart, and studies a much larger perspective. This theory includes the family, community and the culture itself. It is the belief of the psychologists who value this theory that the cause of the psychological problems and abnormal behaviors are the effect and influence of the larger community. For example, a person may suffer from a disease called anorexia just so he or she could conform to the community which values thin and skinny persons and discriminates large persons. The treatment in the sociocultural theory would be identifying the certain stressor and helping the patient deal with it and overcome the problems associated with that certain stressing agent. Comparing these theories altogether, we can see several strengths and weaknesses which all theories carry. There is no such thing as the most applicable theory since every occurrence of abnormal behavior is a case to case basis. It really depends on the situation which calls for it. There are also some theories which work well with certain abnormal behaviors such as schizotypal and medical perspective, harmful and threatening behavior on abuse and behaviorism, and the like. In simpler terms, each of these theories are being used not according to the frequency of its being used by other abnormal psychologists but based on the case of the patient at hand. There are also theories which are good to use when being combined and interrelated. By interrelating certain theories, we may come up with a complete explanation regarding the said disorder or abnormal behavior. More than that, the mode of treatment would not only be focused in one perspective but also in other areas which are also of great significance. PERSONALITY DISORDERS There are a number of psychological disorders and abnormal behavior with each action varying from another in terms of cause, degree and mode of treatment. As defined by the DSM-IV, personality disorders are "enduring pattern/s of inner experience and behavior". There are three clusters of personality disorder based on the similarity of their signs and symptoms. The first cluster refers to behaviors which are uncommon and eccentric to other persons. Second cluster disorders are those which make patients look overly dramatic, emotional and unstable while the third refers to the patients who appear tensed and anxious for always. There are another three components of cluster A- paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal. Paranoia- the state of being paranoid occurs when a person thinks suspiciously about other persons and thinks that people are there to cast sufferings upon him or her. It is a graver degree of being a pessimist. Schizoids refer to people who are more of a loner. They tend to be less interactive to other people and find themselves aloof as they prefer themselves to be. Schizotypals are those more complicated than schizoids because they are not only socially isolated; there are peculiar characteristics in them such as odd clothing and appearance, belief in supernatural and other weird things such as magic and aliens. For cluster B, there are four specific types of disorders. Antisocial refers to those people who are usually called sociopaths or psychopaths. They are persons with extreme inconsideration of other persons' rights and freedom. They are also scheming, often lie and are sexually promiscuous, most commonly. Borderline refers to those who are emotionally weak, unstable, with a very common tendency of mood swings. These are those persons who often harm themselves by cutting, burning and the like. They have a very grave confusion on their identity and interests and their attitude often lead them to committing suicide. Histrionic disorder pertains to the attitude of a person who is extremely emotional and shallow. They are also flirtatious and have a deep hunger for attention. Last is narcissism which refers to extreme admiration of a person to oneself and a great dislike of being overcome by others. Like histrionics, they also have a craving for self importance and attention. For the last cluster, there are another set of three disorders. Avoidant disorder points out to those who are fond of "avoiding" things to happen because of fear of rejection or discovery of their weaknesses and inadequacies. They are timid persons and commonly reject every opportunity because of their shyness and fear of being marginalized. Another is the Dependent disorder which pertains to persons who are really dependent and doe not have the initiative to do things by his or her way due to fear of making people feel bad about him or her. Dependent persons are very compliant to whatever is needed and asked of them and never questions authority. The last type is the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder which refers to the extreme want to attain perfection, control and manageability of all things including himself and other people. An OC chooses to do things by the book even though things are being run over to. They are workaholics and never stop until they attain something. DEPRESSION ASSOCIATED WITH ABNORMAL AND MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR Depression is a common term for many persons but there is a great misconception regarding depression as it used by people who are actually not having depression disorder at all. What most people experience every time they are down is not actually depression- it is only called a depressed mood. Depression is a disorder, though less grave than personality disorders in that it affects not the whole person as he or she is, also, his or her neighbors is not affected by this disorder. However, it qualifies as a mood disorder because the persons suffering from it is maladaptive and becomes panicky or affected once an uncontrollable or unexpected situation happens. Depression is a state of mind which can be considered an abnormal and maladaptive behavior because it leads the person suffering from it to have some changes in her day to day activities and common routines. Consequences such as loss of appetite, weight loss, suicidal ideations, disturbances and other similar effects may happen. Although this thing called depression is not as serious as personality disorders which really needs supervisory, it also needs to be treated immediately because it can be complicated and may lead to serious problems. Psychological counseling and therapy is recommended. CONCLUSION Abnormal behaviors and disorders are a great threat to the society affecting the not only the persons suffering from it but even the persons who are in a way connected to the one suffering. This type of societal detriment needs to be addressed because it is a primary destruction for manpower and the social aspect of a certain community. More than that, there would be a threat on peace and order in a certain place if more and more persons turn out to be affected by these kinds of disorder. The best way to remedy this is to know for ourselves what these problems are and have ourselves tested or if not a simple reflection or realization of our attitudes just so we could see if we have something which is in need of immediate counseling. By preventing these things from happening to us, we can reduce the possibilities of suffering from these diseases' complications. REFERENCES: Cognitive Psychology. 1998. The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 30 December 2007 from http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/02902.html Dunder, Jonathan. (n. d.) Abnormal Psychology. Retrieved 30 December 2007 from http://www.freeinfosociety.com/site.phppostnum=322 Garvey, John. (1999). Cognitive Perspectives. Retrieved 31 December 2007 from http://www.purgatory.net/merits/cognitive.htm Costello, Timothy W., and Joseph Costello. (1992). Abnormal Psychology. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. Atkinson, Rita L. et al. (1993). Introduction to Psychology. 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