Psychological dysfunction definition

Making a Diagnosis (The 3 D’s) – Culture and Psychology

While the concept of mental or psychological disorders is difficult to define, and no definition will ever be perfect, it is recognized as an extremely important concept and therefore psychological disorders (aka mental disorders) have been defined as a psychological dysfunction which causes distress or impaired functioning and deviates from typical or expected behavior according to societal or cultural standards. This definition includes three components (3 Ds)

Dysfunction
Distress
Deviance

Dysfunction includes disturbances in a person’s thinking, emotional regulation, or behavior that reflects significant dysfunction in psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning. In other words, dysfunction refers to a breakdown in cognition, emotion, and/or behavior. For instance, an individual experiencing the delusion that he is an omnipotent deity has a breakdown in cognition because his thought processes are not consistent with reality. An individual who is unable to experience pleasure has a breakdown in emotion. Finally, an individual who is unable to leave her home and attend work due to fear of having a panic attack is exhibiting a breakdown in behavior.

Distress can take the form of psychological or physical pain, or both at the same time. Simply put, distress refers to suffering. Alone though, distress is not sufficient enough to describe behavior as abnormal. Think about it – the loss of a loved one causes even the most “normally” functioning individual pain and suffering. An athlete who experiences a career ending injury would display distress as well. Suffering is part of life and cannot be avoided. Impairment refers to when the person experiences a disabling condition that limits the ability to engage in activities of daily living (e.g., can no longer maintain minimum standards of hygiene, pay bills) or participate in social events (e.g., attending social events), work or school. Impairment can also interfere with the ability to perform important life roles (e.g., student, caregiver or parent).

A closer examination of the word abnormal shows that it indicates a move away from what is normal, typical, or average. Deviance refers to behavior that violates social norms or cultural expectations because culture determines what is normal. When a person is said to be deviant when he or she fails to follow the stated and unstated rules of society, called social norms. As you might expect there is a lot of cultural variation in acceptable behavior.

Earlier we learned about cultural relativism and what is considered normal by a culture can change over time due to shifts in accepted values and expectations. For instance, just a few decades ago homosexuality was considered taboo in the United States and it was included as a mental disorder in the first edition of the DSM; but today, it is generally accepted. Likewise, public displays of affection do not cause a second look by most people unlike the past when these outward expressions of love were restricted to the privacy of one’s own house or bedroom. In the United States, crying is generally seen as a weakness for males but if the behavior occurs in the context of a tragedy then it is appropriate and understandable. Finally, consider that statistically deviant behavior is not necessarily negative. Cognitive genius is an example of behavior that is not the norm. Abnormality alone is not an indication of a disorder or problem.

Though not part of the DSM -5 conceptualization of what abnormal behavior is, many clinicians add a fourth D – dangerousness to this list. Dangerousness refers to when behavior represents a threat to the safety of the person or the safety of others. Individuals expressing suicidal intent, those experiencing acute paranoid ideation combined with aggressive impulses (e.g., wanting to harm people who are perceived as being out to get them), and many individuals with antisocial personality disorder may be considered dangerous. Mental health professionals (and many other professionals including researchers) have a duty to report to law enforcement when an individual expresses an intent to harm themselves or others. Individuals with depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder are typically no more a threat to others than individuals without these disorders. It is very important to remember that having a mental disorder does not automatically mean that a person is dangerous and most dangerous individuals are not mentally ill.

What is a Psychological Disorder?

By Amy Broadway, researcher at the Brogaard Lab for Multisensory Research

Source: Public Domain

When it comes to navigating personal relationships, it’s to our advantage to be sensitive to mental health issues. Our mental health as well as the mental health of those we love are crucial to successful interaction. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, around one in four adults in the United States is diagnosable for one or more psychological disorders in a given year.

It’s not easy to determine what is a psychological disorder. The DSM-IV explains, “…the concept of mental disorder (like many other concepts in medicine and science) lacks a consistent operational definition that covers all situations.”

Psychologists define a psychological disorder broadly as psychological dysfunction in an individual that is associated with distress or impairment and a reaction that is not culturally expected. When considering if something is a symptom of a disorder, consider the three Ds: Is it psychologically dysfunctional? Is it distressing or handicapping to the individual or others? Is it associated with a response that is atypical or deviant?

Psychological dysfunction refers to the cessation of purposeful functioning of cognition, emotions or behavior. The comedian Maria Bamford has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which is expressed in cognitive dysfunction. Any disorder may be expressed in a myriad of ways depending on the person. Bamford has obsessive thoughts about hacking people up and having sex with their body parts. She doesn’t want to have these thoughts. They are involuntary, intrusive and not based in reality. These thoughts distress Bamford.

In some disorders, distress may result directly from emotional dysfunction as in generalized anxiety disorder. Many disorders—eating disorders, personality disorders, mood disorders—entail emotional suffering with their symptoms. However, some people expressing a disorder may not be distressed about it. People with bipolar disorder often enjoy manic episodes, even if these episodes hurt their lives and cause distress for those around them. The distress from a mental illness can come as a byproduct of other problems caused by the mental illness. In this Frontline documentary, you can see how people’s whole lives are wrecked, because they do not have the means to manage mental illnesses.

The last criteria is particularly hard to discern, since what is "normal" is hard to define. Many people have idiosyncrasies or eccentricities that may not be harmful. We shouldn’t assume that because someone acts oddly that their behavior should be harmful. One way to think about whether or not behavior is abnormal is whether or not it is something normal done to the extreme. Bibliomaniacs collect books, which is a normal behavior, but they do it to the point of sabotaging other areas of their lives.

It’s important to note that each one of these conditions is not on its own sufficient to be a disorder. A drunk person can experience psychological dysfunction without having a psychological disorder. Most healthy people have distress over the death of a loved one or even a breakup. Bjork may wear strange outfits and possess a healthy mind.

References

Barlow and Durand (2011). Abnormal Psychology: An Integrated Approach, 6thedition. Belmont, CA;Wadsworth.

Psychogenic erectile dysfunction. Symptoms and treatment

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Psychogenic erectile dysfunction

Psychogenic erectile dysfunction

A common subspecies of erectile dysfunction, which is provoked erectile dysfunction. With such a violation, all the physical parameters of the patient are within the normal range, but the transmission of impulses from the centers of excitation is impaired. Treatment of psychogenic erectile dysfunction is complex, including psychotherapy, the use of drugs and physiotherapy.

Psychogenic or organic erectile dysfunction

Research by psychotherapists proves that one of the common root causes of erectile dysfunction is psychogenic disorders. The age factor plays a huge role in the statistics of male sexual disorders. For example, in young men under the age of forty, psychogenic disorders are diagnosed more often than organic disorders. But at the age of 40 to 45 years, the percentage of psychogenic and organic disorders is approximately the same. As the body ages, the proportion of organic disorders increases rapidly, so in men over 65 years of age, sexual dysfunction is mainly caused by pathologies of an organic nature.

Sexual dysfunction associated with psychogenic factors

Psychological erectile dysfunction is considered to be a functional sexual disorder provoked by psychological factors and expressed as sexual disorders that are not related to somatic pathologies. Sexual dysfunction is diagnosed by a doctor, taking into account the influence of a negative factor on one of the components of sexual intercourse:

libido;
excitement;
erection;
orgasm;
ejaculation.

The term "sexual dysfunction" psychotherapists mean a disorder of one or more functions of the reproductive system.

Causes of psychogenic sexual disorders

Common psychological causes of erectile dysfunction:

depression;
stress, nervous overload;
frequent change of sexual partners;
wrong upbringing, in which the boy was instilled with the idea that sex is evil;
self-doubt, low self-esteem;
inappropriate behavior of a partner, which in one way or another hurts the dignity of a man;
sexual incompatibility;
irregular sexual life;
fear of contracting an STD.

Symptoms of psychogenic erectile dysfunction

Characteristic signs of psychogenic sexual disorders:

decreased excitability;
tightness, lack of pleasure from sexual intimacy;
erection retardation;
lack of orgasm and ejaculation.

Treatment of psychogenic erectile dysfunction

Before starting to treat psychological erectile dysfunction, the doctor will try to find out the causes of its occurrence. The main components of complex therapy:

psychotherapy;
medicines;
physiotherapy.

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Psychological erectile dysfunction: causes and treatment

Currently, there are many different diseases and conditions that can lead to erectile dysfunction in men. Most often, erectile dysfunction (ED) is caused precisely by the peculiarities of the psychological state of a man. Erectile dysfunction statistics show that in 10-20% of cases, the development of erectile dysfunction is based on the psychological factor and often turns out to be a secondary reaction to the underlying physical cause. Erectile dysfunction in 80% of cases is organic in nature and occurs as a complication of various somatic diseases. Nevertheless, in most cases, it is not difficult to distinguish the psychological form of erectile dysfunction from the organic one.

Studies confirm that most often the psychological causes of erectile dysfunction are found in young men who have relatively recently begun to have sex. In many ways, erectile dysfunction at a young age is associated with the psychological trauma of childhood and adolescence, when parents often inspired the child that sexual relations are shameful. In this case, the first sexual intercourse of a man deserves special attention, in which often the excitement is so great that by the time the intimacy begins, the excitement and lack of experience lead to the fact that the erection disappears. But for many young people, failure during the first sexual intercourse, especially if the behavior of the partner was not entirely correct, becomes a big psychological blow and can subsequently cause great difficulties and problems in this area of life. But relationships with a partner can also play a positive role: emotional support from her side can serve as a method of treating the psychological form of erectile dysfunction. However, if an adult man who has sufficient experience of sexual relations, as a rule, is able to cope with such erectile dysfunction himself, then at a young age, specialist advice is required.

Erectile dysfunction often manifests itself as a result of psychogenic disorders. One of the most common forms is the failure expectation syndrome. Random sexual failure - a decrease or disappearance of an erection - leads to doubts about one's own male power. Fear increases in anticipation of sexual intercourse, which leads to a complete loss of erection. Thus, the principle of self-hypnosis works here: the stronger such fears, the greater the likelihood of their implementation. Over time, there are real problems with achieving and maintaining an erection, which results in psychogenic impotence. Subsequently, this can provoke a loss of interest in sexual intercourse as such. Numerous attempts to overcome insecurity turn sexual intercourse into something that, as a result, partners can not focus on anything other than observing and evaluating the reaction to their actions. This further suppresses the possibility of an erection and exacerbates psychogenic erectile dysfunction.

The psychological form of erectile dysfunction also occurs in older men. They are more often characterized by selective erectile dysfunction, i.e. , the impossibility of sexual intercourse with one partner with constant success with others. For example, they often complain about the lack or poor quality of an erection during intercourse with their wife, while there are no erection problems with mistresses.

Another variant of erectile dysfunction caused by the characteristics of the psyche of a man is the so-called first meeting syndrome. In this case, problems with erection appear only at the first intimacy, and subsequently, as a rule, there are no problems. However, with an overly emotional male psyche, a situation is possible when one accidental failure during sexual intercourse causes very strong excitement during the next intimacy with a partner, which leads to erectile dysfunction this time. In the future, such cases, accumulating from time to time, lead a man to the conviction of his own inferiority. All this, as a result, can make him an absolute impotent even in his youth. In addition, a similar condition may appear after a disease that has affected erection, but the organic cause of erectile dysfunction has been eliminated, and erection problems have remained the same.