Ch 4Psychological Disorders — Class 12 Psychology, concept-first.

Carl Jung, the famous analytical psychologist, once said, “How can I be substantial without casting a shadow? I must have a dark side, too, if I am to be whole and by becoming conscious of my shadow,…

No single definition of abnormality has ever won universal acceptance, but most definitions share common features known as the four Ds: deviance, distress, dysfunction, and danger.

Before we can study psychological disorders, we need a way to organise them. A classification system is simply a list of categories — each category groups together specific disorders that share certai…

Abnormal behaviour is far too complex to be explained by any single cause. Psychologists therefore use multiple approaches, each focusing on a different aspect of human functioning.

Anxiety is a normal part of life. You feel it before an exam, a visit to the dentist, or a solo performance. That kind of anxiety is expected and even helpful — it motivates you to do your best.

Anxiety is a normal part of life. You feel it before an exam, a visit to the dentist, or a solo performance. This kind of anxiety is expected and can even motivate you to do your task well.

Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders are marked by an inability to control certain thoughts or actions, to the point where normal daily life is disrupted.

People who have lived through a natural disaster like a tsunami, survived a terrorist bomb blast, been in a serious accident, or faced war-related situations often develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disord…

These disorders sit at the boundary between the mind and the body. The core idea is that psychological distress shows up as physical symptoms — or as intense worry about having a physical illness — ev…

Dissociative disorders involve a disruption in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity, or perception of the environment.

Depression is one of the most widely prevalent and recognised mental disorders. It covers a variety of negative moods and behavioural changes.

Bipolar disorders are fundamentally mood disorders, but unlike depressive disorders, they involve swings in both directions — from the lows of depression to the highs of mania.

Schizophrenia is not a single disorder but a spectrum of psychotic conditions. The core problem is a break with reality — the person loses touch with what is real and what is not.

A child's brain develops rapidly in the early years. When this development is disrupted, it can lead to a group of conditions called neurodevelopmental disorders.

This category brings together disorders that involve problems in self-control of emotions and behaviour.

These disorders are of particular relevance to young people, as they often emerge during adolescence and early adulthood.

Addictive behaviour — whether it involves the excessive intake of high-calorie food leading to extreme obesity, or the abuse of substances like alcohol or cocaine — is one of the most severe problems…

- Psychological disorder: A clinically significant disturbance in cognition, emotion regulation, or behaviour that reflects dysfunction in psychological, biological, or developmental processes.

- Concept of abnormality: Defined by deviation from statistical norms, social norms, maladaptiveness, personal distress, and dysfunction. No single criterion is sufficient; context matters.