Abnormal Psychology
Introduction
Abnormal psychology is a branch of psychology that is involved with unusual patterns of behavior, thoughts, and emotions. These unusual patterns can or cannot be understood as a presumed mental disorder but cause a significant impact on the normal functioning of a person. Abnormal psychology is associated with a person’s unusual patterns in a clinical context. Abnormal psychology studies the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of the mental and emotional disorders which affect and interfere with the ability of a person to function normally as they should in their daily lives.
Diagnostic Features/Differential Diagnosis
I agree with the diagnostic given to Disco Di because according to Chechko, Kellermann, Augustin, Zvyagintsev, Schneider & Habel (2016), borderline personality disorders and major depressive disorders are both associated to abnormalities with how a person regulates their emotions. The diagnostic features of borderline personality disorder include the inability to regulate emotions, cognitive disorders which include dissociation, instinctive, personal, and social disruptions. Other features that co-occur with borderline personality disorder include depression, anxiety, and substance abuse among other personality disorders.
Disco Di may be experiencing a bipolar disorder Chechko (2016). Diagnostic features of this disorder include impulsiveness, depression, substance abuse, mood change, and behavior. She could also be experiencing a psychotic disorder. The diagnostic features are depression, substance abuse, and disordered thinking. Borderline personality disorder occurs with symptoms of depression which overlap significantly with the other disorders making it difficult to make an accurate diagnosis of major depressive disorders. The overlapping features of the disorders include anxiety, depression, mood shifts, substance abuse, and lack of concentration.
Cultural and Gender Factors
Culture and social norms are significant factors that help to differentiate normal and abnormal behavior patterns in these personality disorders. Social norms help in shaping our interpersonal behaviors and the way we behave is mostly determined by our culture. Culture helps in understanding the development, prevalence, and symptoms of disorders in the context of the normal personality functioning of a person. Culture helps to shape the diagnosis of personality disorders by demonstrating a way in which people are supposed or perceived to behave, and interact. This helps to know and observe a person whose characters and behavior are different from what is expected of their culture. Culture develops a structure for individuals forming particular patterns of thinking, behaving, and feeling (Choudhary & Gupta 2020). Other than beliefs, culture includes rules, standards, and activities that help to shape the way people acceptably express themselves. The cultural information includes the understanding of a person’s situation when it is related to the diagnostic process of personality disorders. In other cultures, the situation may be regarded as normal but if it is not, different features have to be assessed. These features may include the severity of the symptoms, the dependence, the persistence, and the things that are contributing to the symptoms. Therefore the cultural features increase the viability and the usefulness of the diagnosis. Culture influences the diagnosis and treatment of personality disorders.
Gender differences in patients help to guide clinicians in diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of the disorders. Research has shown that borderline personality disorder is higher in women than men. Despite that, recent research shows that there may be no differences in gender due to the different types of behaviors that lead to self-harm. These are behaviors like people cutting themselves or trying to commit suicide. Concerning personal traits, there has been a difference in gender were men with borderline personality disorder tend to show a violent character. Men also have been observed to have high levels of seeking novelty compared to women. In terms of comorbidity, men are more reported to have substance use disorders whereas women have eating, mood and anxiety, and posttraumatic disorders. Men also tend to develop antisocial personal disorders compared to women. For diagnosis, most of the time men associated with abusing substances. The women on the other hand are associated with emotional problems and depression.
According to Choudhary & Gupta (2020) the social environment, which is also the social context is where environmental specificities of the world develop. The specificities include perceptions that show the systems for interpreting how people interact and their experiences. The social environment shapes the diagnosis of personality disorders with the social structures that allow and limit the possibilities of activity and how accessible resources are. The diagnostic features are also shaped by the social environment by the local physical environment which enables people to interact and with the availability of natural resources and technology.
Paradigm/Treatment Methods
The psychological paradigm will help to examine Disco Di’s behavior. It will help to unveil the factors that contribute to the beginning, prevention, and intervention of these abnormal behaviors. Psychology is the study of how people think, feel, and behave. This will help examine Disco Di’s behavior with a behavioral, cognitive, and humanistic approach. In the behavioral approach, psychologists believe that the external environment influences one's behavior and that one can be trained to act in a particular manner (Cloninger & Svrakic 2008). The behavioral approach works towards connecting the mind and the behavioral responses. It is about human behavior that can be observed and measured. In the cognitive approach, psychologists believe that a person’s behavior is influenced by what they expect and their emotions. It is also believed that a person’s thoughts influence the way they behave. In the humanistic approach, psychologists believe that a person is good and that they are motivated to get to know what they are capable of. They believe that whether a person is right or wrong, the bigger picture is that they are motivated to be the best version of themselves.
Disco Di’s disorder should be treated using psychotherapy Locher, Meier & Gaab (2019). This is a treatment approach which is also called talk therapy which aims at the current ability for a person to function. Psychotherapy helps one to learn how to manage emotions that are uncomfortable for them. It helps to minimize impulsiveness because it assists in learning how to observe one's feelings rather than act on them. This mode of treatment works towards improving a person’s relationships by becoming more aware of their feelings and those of other people. It also helps one to learn more about the disorder they have and the impact it has on them and in the future. Different types of psychotherapies could help Disco Di in her treatment. Some of the therapies are performed as an individual or as a group and will enable her to establish the things that have caused the negative patterns in her life. This will enable her to focus on ensuring that her needs are satisfied in a healthy way promoting positive life patterns. Another therapy is one that will help her establish the way she thinks and feels all the time and develop a different perspective on the situation. Psychotherapy helps a person to get in touch with their emotions and their relationships by developing their relationship with the therapists. In the case of co-occurring issues such as aggression and anxiety that Disco Di has, medications such as antidepressants or drugs that stabilize the mood should be administered.
Conclusion
Abnormal psychology helps to understand the unusual patterns of emotion, behavior, and thoughts. It helps us know more about the causes, preventions, diagnosis, and treatments of these disorders that are caused by these unusual behavioral patterns. The two major disorders that affect the normal functioning of people are borderline personality disorder and the major depressive disorders that have a major impact on the people think, feel about themselves, and others affecting their everyday functioning. The cultural factors that shape the diagnosis of these disorders include the beliefs, values that help to differentiate between normal and abnormal behavioral patterns among people that share the same culture. The gender factors that shape the diagnosis of disorders include the different behavior that is associated with different genders. For example men with substance abuse and women with depression. The psychological paradigm will help to examine the behavioral patterns and helps to come up with solutions. Psychotherapy and medications such as antidepressants are good treatment modes for people with these disorders. Psychotherapy helps a person to manage their emotions, minimize impulsiveness, and get to understand and be in control of their emotions more.
References
Chechko, N., Kellermann, T., Augustin, M., Zvyagintsev, M., Schneider, F., & Habel, U. (2016).
Disorder-specific characteristics of borderline personality disorder with co-occurring
depression and its comparison with major depression: an fMRI study with emotional interference task. NeuroImage: Clinical, 12, 517-525.
Choudhary, S., & Gupta, R. (2020). Culture and Borderline Personality Disorder in India.
Frontiers in psychology, 11, 714. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00714
Cloninger C.R., Svrakic D.M. (2008) Personality Disorders. In: Fatemi S.H., Clayton P.J. (eds)
The Medical Basis of Psychiatry. Humana Press
Locher, C., Meier, S., & Gaab, J. (2019). Psychotherapy: A World of Meanings. Frontiers in
psychology, 10, 460. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00460
Sansone, Randy & Sansone, Lori. (2011). Gender Patterns in Borderline Personality Disorder.
Innovations in clinical neuroscience. 8. 16-20.
