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Psychological Illness Definition

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There are a number of psychological illnesses that would acquire an aspiring psychologist’s attention. Naturally, those with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) will undoubtedly take precedence above all others. However, before one can identify a mental illness, it would be prudent to first gain an understanding of what is construed as a psychological disorder. According to Eric Maisel, DSM-V defines a mental disorder as “a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological or developmental process underlying mental functioning” (Maisel, E. R., Ph.D. 2013, July 23. The New Definition of a Mental Disorder). In other words, psychological disorder is one that comprises of one’s beliefs, actions, and reactions that may produce harm to self or others and would ultimately deem the patient incapable of functioning properly. This could mean the person may potentially be a danger to him / herself and/or others. One illness that would fall under the aforementioned definition is Munchausen’s Disorder. Most people usually dread becoming sick; some would go to extremes to avoid getting even the slightest cold by consuming the necessary vitamins and incorporating a proper diet and exercise into his / her daily …show more content…

First, there is Munchausen’s Syndrome where the patient inflicts self-injuries in order to receive medical treatment. The other is Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy where the patient causes injury to a loved one, so that that person receives medical attention. The latter, can be considered the more dangerous of the two as it involves someone else and is also the most common. With Munchausen by Proxy, a mother would inflict injuries upon her child fabricating symptoms of illness, causing unnecessary and harmful medical examination, admission and treatments (Meadow, R. (1982). Munchausen syndrome by

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