What is a PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDER: characteristics and types

Mental health problems are increasingly visible. When we are not the ones who suffer from it, it is not strange to find someone around us who has psychological problems. This situation becomes more evident with the health crisis that we are currently experiencing.

But do all these people suffer from a psychological disorder? What are the characteristics of psychological disorders? What types of disorders are there? Could new disorders appear and some of those that exist today disappear? In this Psychology-Online article, we tell you what is a psychological disorder: characteristics and types.

Index

1. What is a psychological disorder?
2. Characteristics of psychological disorders
3. Types of psychological disorders
4. Future of psychological treatments

Throughout the history of the human being, this has always tried to label and classify reality. He has had the need to know the phenomena that occur around him, their characteristics, their operation, name them and thus organize them. This has been the way of acquiring knowledge about the world that surrounds us and constitutes a key element when it comes to communicating and transmitting information.

So what are psychological disorders? Is about diagnostic labels that group a series of signs and symptoms that tend to appear together and form a pathological picture. Precisely, they constitute a form of organize psychopathological reality. All disorders are included in diagnostic classification manuals such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM^[1] and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)^[2] of the World Health Organization.

A psychological disorder has an extensive body of scientific research whose results make up a theoretical framework that includes, in addition to the signs and symptoms that make them up, explanatory theories about their origin (what is known as etiology), data on the impact they have on the population (prevalence) and the evolution that they could have in the future based on various variables (forecast).

Next, we are going to look in depth at the characteristics of psychological disorders.

• The effectiveness of psychological treatments it is studied based on specific problemsIn other words, a good definition and identification of psychological disorders is necessary to conclude which treatments work for certain disorders. For example, we know that exposure techniques work and offer good results in anxiety disorders.
• The psychological disorders make it possible to combine criteria. This facilitates communication between the professional and the patient. For example, we all understand, broadly speaking, what a depression is.
• The diagnosis of a disorder is even made necessary in certain cases for legal reasons, as in the case of disability or granting of pensions.
• Suffering from a psychological disorder and being diagnosed could stigmatize the sufferer, causing negative consequences such as judgment and social rejection.
• We live in a changing reality and, therefore, there are disorders collected in the classifications that can become obsolete due to such changes or advances in the investigation. This is, for example, the case of homosexuality, unfortunately listed as a psychological disorder in the first versions of the classifications. This also occurs with disorders that arise with changes, such as those related to addiction to new technologies such as video games.
• In the same vein as the previous point, we are currently hearing the term “pandemic fatigue”, and it would not be strange that new disorders appeared related to the health crisis that we are experiencing caused by the COVID-19.

How many types of psychological disorders are there? We can find differences in the ICD classifications compared to the latest version of the DSM when classifying psychological disorders. Even so, in both classifications we can find certain groups of disorders. Next, we will see what are the types of disorders that include these classifications:

Anxiety disorders

One of the main psychological disorders is anxiety disorders. These produce a high physiological, motor and cognitive activation. The person who suffers from some of them may present symptoms such as palpitations, sweating, repetitive movements, catastrophic thoughts, etc. The main types of anxiety disorders are:

• Specific phobia. Discover the 15 most common phobias and their definition.
• Social phobia. In this article, you will find tips to overcome social phobia.
• Generalized anxiety disorder.
• Panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia.

In this category we also found, in previous versions, the obsessive compulsive disorder and the post traumatic stress disorder, although in the latest versions they are presented as independent categories. In the case of post-traumatic stress, it has been grouped, in recent versions, together with adaptive disorders.

Mood disorders

Mood disorders are also one of the most common psychological disorders. Let's see what is the classification of mood disorders:

• Major Depressive Disorder or dysthymia: they are characterized by a low mood.
• Bipolar disorders: they present alternating episodes of low mood with abnormally high moods. Know the types of bipolar disorder and their symptoms.

Psychotic disorders

Other types of disorders are psychotic. Specifically, the types of psychotic disorders are the following:

• Schizophrenia.
• Delusional disorder: among its symptoms appear hallucinations, delusions or disorganized language.

Disorders associated with biological needs

Within the primary motivations and biological needs we also find possible dysfunctions. Find out which are the disorders associated with biological needs:

• Sleep disorders: narcolepsy or insomnia.
• Eating disorder: anorexia nervosa or the Binge eating disorder.
• Sexual dysfunctions: anorgasmia or erectile dysfunction.
• Elimination disorders: enuresis or encopresis. Discover the difference between enuresis and encopresis.

Addictive disorders

Addictive disorders are also a group of well-known disorders among the population. Here are the most common addictive disorders:

• Smoking In this article, we tell you what the effects of tobacco on the brain.
• Alcoholism. In this article, you will find information about the types of alcoholism.
• Pathological gambling.

Neurodevelopmental and neurocognitive disorders

Of a more neuropsychological nature, we find neurodevelopmental disorders and neurocognitive disorders. Let's see what are the types of neurodevelopmental disorders:

• Attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity (ADHD).
• Autism spectrum disorder or autism.
• Learning problems.
• Dementias.

Personality disorders

Other categories that we find in the classifications are personality disorders. We tell you what are the personality disorders:

• Borderline personality disorder.
• Schizoid disorder.

Conduct and impulse control disorders

We can also find other typologies such as conduct and impulse control disorders. The types of conduct disorder include the following:

• Oppositional defiant disorder.
• Kleptomania
• Antisocial personality disorder.

Finally, it is also worth mentioning that there are dissociative disorders, somatic, paraphilic and gender dysphoria.

The grouping of psychopathological reality into categories called disorders must be in constant study and evolution to try to alleviate their own limitations. It is possible that the disorders that today represent the problems that appear in consultation will be different from the problems that appear in the future.

It is possible that this definition system is obsolete and that, in the future, it will be necessary to look for other models of defining psychopathological reality. Regarding this, the transdiagnosis approach, a promising perspective focused on dimensions rather than categories, with a focus on symptoms rather than disorders. In this way, it is intended to describe, analyze and intervene on a more reliable reality than that presented by the traditional model.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to What is a psychological disorder: characteristics and types, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

1. "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM) of the "American Psychiatric Association" (APA) which is in its fifth edition, the DSM-5
2. “International Classification of Diseases” (ICD) of the “World Health Organization” (WHO) which is in its eleventh edition ICD-11.

• American Psychiatric Association (2014). DSM-5. Reference guide to the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-5-Breviary. Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana.
• World Health Organization (WHO) (1992). ICD-10. Mental and behavioral disorders. Madrid: Meditor.
• World Health Organization (WHO) (2018) International Classification of Diseases, 11th revision. Recovered from https://icd.who.int/es