Psychological disorders refer to conditions characterized by distressing, impairing feelings and behaviors. These conditions are dysfunctional, hindering one from performing daily tasks. Models and approaches such as psychoanalytic and cognitive-behavioral influence one’s understanding of psychological disorders. The medical model proposes that biological factors, social factors, and individuals’ experiences result in mental disorders due to their joint effects on psychological processes. Psychiatrists generally use the medical model to treat psychological disorders as physical illnesses using medication. Secondly, the biopsychosocial approach sees mental illness as a result of many forces taking place at different levels and having cumulative effects on individuals. For example, it encourages health care providers to understand depression by looking at effective biological, psychological and social factors that might be the cause of the growth of the disorder.
Clinicians classify psychological disorders using mental disorders’ diagnostic and statistical manual to determine if existing symptoms meet the criteria for mental disorder. However, it is criticized by some psychologists to be harmful since a label can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. People with psychological disorders can harm themselves or others through suicidal thoughts (Myers & DeWall, 2020). Factors that increase suicide rates include, drug abuse, depression, social isolation, and access to firms. Individuals with psychological disorders may directly and intentionally inflict damage to their bodies by cutting or burning themselves. However, having a mental disorder does not mean that one is likely to harm themselves or others; rather, one’s history and other contextual factors may be associated with future violence. Many people are affected by mental and addictive disorders. Statistics show that in 2016 1 billion people were affected by psychological disorders globally. The risks associated with mental disorders include academic failure, poor working habits, and birth complications.
Reference
Myers, D. G., & DeWall, N. C. (2020). Psychology. In Psychology. Worth Publishers.13ed. Web.