what is normal behavior and what is not?
September 4th 2007 21:47
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
Psychopathology is the study of mental disorders.
It may also include biochemistry, neurology, psychiatry, experimental psychology and other related subjects.
It is also more commonly called today mental illness or mental disease as its causes could be associated to organic conditions and be psychogenic.
How do we know if someone is dysfunctional?
What is normal behavior and what is not?
How to be sure not to label an eccentric person with mental disorder like psychopathy or schizophrenia?
We do all have problems, or personal situations that can have an impact on our behavior, and change it to a less rational one, but when can someone be diagnosed mentally ill?
One has to be very careful with labeling anyone with a mental illness, and it takes several criteria, long observation of behavior, and tests to come to some conclusion.
Today such diagnoses are considered very serious as it involves legal reasons, research purposes and economic resourcing reasons.
There are three major criteria.
First is the deviance, which is measuring how much a person deviant from the average population.
Then, the maladaptive behavior which indicates when an individual is not able to cop with its social and professional life, is having irrational beliefs and unrealistic thinking.
At last and very important is the personal distress.
Here are some numbers.
Of the estimated 6,446,131,400 human beings on this planet an approximate 1% of the world population suffers from schizophrenia…
One in three people in the world, today, in some stage of its life can be diagnosed with a mental illness.
25 millions of Americans are diagnosed with anxiety disorders. It regroups among other symptoms phobia, agoraphobia, of which an average of 3 to 6 million people suffer, and mostly women.
There are three different approaches to mental disorders.
The biology approach searches for genetic predispositions, hormonal imbalance and brain deficiency.
Also other biological factors can be linked to any sort of accidents, viruses and drugs like LSD.
The psychological approach is how genes get triggered by the environment and how a traumatic early childhood can be a big part of the development of mental disorders.
Cultural factors can also be observed, for example the Native Americans as several studies have identified depression and alienation resulting from the assaults on their culture.
It is interesting to notice that homosexuality was listed in the list of abnormal behavior for mental disorders until 1973… not so long ago hey!
Certain stereotypes have to be point out. Except some severe cases of schizophrenia, it is not true that mental illness is incurable.
People suffering any listed mental diseases are not obnoxious; it is not a personal weakness!
Despite the obstinacy of the media to make us believe general violence and aggression behavior, there are only a small number of cases with dangerous behaviors.
We come a long way from the Middle Ages when mental illness was diagnosed as witchcraft and when people, mostly women, were subsequently tortured and eventually killed!
It is only since the turn of the 19th century that mental disorders have been recognized and treated humanely.
Psychopathology is the study of mental disorders.
It may also include biochemistry, neurology, psychiatry, experimental psychology and other related subjects.
It is also more commonly called today mental illness or mental disease as its causes could be associated to organic conditions and be psychogenic.
How do we know if someone is dysfunctional?
What is normal behavior and what is not?
How to be sure not to label an eccentric person with mental disorder like psychopathy or schizophrenia?
We do all have problems, or personal situations that can have an impact on our behavior, and change it to a less rational one, but when can someone be diagnosed mentally ill?
Today such diagnoses are considered very serious as it involves legal reasons, research purposes and economic resourcing reasons.
There are three major criteria.
First is the deviance, which is measuring how much a person deviant from the average population.
Then, the maladaptive behavior which indicates when an individual is not able to cop with its social and professional life, is having irrational beliefs and unrealistic thinking.
At last and very important is the personal distress.
Here are some numbers.
Of the estimated 6,446,131,400 human beings on this planet an approximate 1% of the world population suffers from schizophrenia…
One in three people in the world, today, in some stage of its life can be diagnosed with a mental illness.
25 millions of Americans are diagnosed with anxiety disorders. It regroups among other symptoms phobia, agoraphobia, of which an average of 3 to 6 million people suffer, and mostly women.
The biology approach searches for genetic predispositions, hormonal imbalance and brain deficiency.
Also other biological factors can be linked to any sort of accidents, viruses and drugs like LSD.
The psychological approach is how genes get triggered by the environment and how a traumatic early childhood can be a big part of the development of mental disorders.
Cultural factors can also be observed, for example the Native Americans as several studies have identified depression and alienation resulting from the assaults on their culture.
It is interesting to notice that homosexuality was listed in the list of abnormal behavior for mental disorders until 1973… not so long ago hey!
Certain stereotypes have to be point out. Except some severe cases of schizophrenia, it is not true that mental illness is incurable.
People suffering any listed mental diseases are not obnoxious; it is not a personal weakness!
Despite the obstinacy of the media to make us believe general violence and aggression behavior, there are only a small number of cases with dangerous behaviors.
We come a long way from the Middle Ages when mental illness was diagnosed as witchcraft and when people, mostly women, were subsequently tortured and eventually killed!
It is only since the turn of the 19th century that mental disorders have been recognized and treated humanely.
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