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Psychopathology
By Criss
27 Years Old
The human beings inhabited this planet as a product of millions of years of evolution. Over a huge proportion of those actually, until relatively recently, adaptational challenges were confined to simple necessities like the provision of adequate food, shelter, clothing and safety, and means of transmitting the primitive wisdom and skills of earlier generation to later ones. The rate of progress in technology and in the comprehension of nature over all of this vast period was insufficient to outstrip to any significant degree the necessarily slow organismic changes brought by evolutionary processes.
Abnormal psychology is a psychological dysfunction within an individual that is associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected.
Psychological dysfunction is a breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning. A cognitive dysfunction is present, if an individual displays psychotic behavior that is hallucination and total separation from reality as in schizophrenia and some severe disorders.
In conclusions, though it is difficult to define "normal" and "abnormal" and the debate continues ( Lynnfield & Mariono; 1995; Colette & Hout, 1996) we can say safely say that behavioral, emotional or cognitive dysfunction that is unexpected in cultural context and associated with personal distress or substantial impainnents in functioning, are abnormal.
Personal Adjustment (Adaptation)
Another norm, which is often suggested, is personal adjustment. Life is a continuous process of adjusting in which we strive to meet our own needs and maintain harmonious relations with our environment. When an individual deals with his problems effectively, he is said to be all adjusted - to be adapting successfully to both their inner and outer demands being made upon him. Conversely, when his problem proves too much for him- as shown by anxiety inefficiency, unhappiness or more serious symptoms, he is referred to as maladjusted.
This norm is very popular and has the added advantage of being applicable to biological as well as psychological levels of adjustments.
Posted by Criss : June 8, 2005
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