LEC 5 - OCD and PTSD

Question 1

PTSD

Answer 1

PAST: To be diagnosed, a person (or loved one) must have been exposed to a traumatic event, involving actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violation.
NOW: Scope of PTSD has widened
Symptoms: re-experiencing, avoidance, arousal, and cognitive/mood changes

Question 2

PTSD (Re-experiencing)

Answer 2

Person experiences feeling that event is reoccurring.
- E.g. Reliving experience, experiencing hallucinations
- Can cause individual to feel detached or unreal

Question 3

PTSD (Avoidance and Arousal)

Answer 3

Avoidance of stimuli associated w/ event (e.g. memories, people, objects, thoughts, etc.).
* Increased arousal & anxiety.
* Recklessness, self-destructiveness.

Question 4

PTSD (Cognitive and Mood Changes)

Answer 4

• Inability to recall specifics related to event.
• Estrangement.
• Anhedonia.
• Feeling that life is pointless or insignificant.

Question 5

Inconvenient Diagnosis? (PTSD)

Answer 5

PTSD serves as a reminder that what counts as illness, how we define it, and who legitimizes it are all socially-dependent.

Question 6

OCD

Answer 6

Obsessions and Compulsions (Need either to be diagnosed)
Recognition thoughts are unreasonable

Question 7

Obsessions

Answer 7

thoughts that are recurring in nature
- Being difficult to control or to resist
- Lose control of thought process
- Rooted in thoughts that are socially ‘inappropriate’
- Related to dirt, filth, sexuality, violence

Question 8

Compulsions

Answer 8

behaviours trying to control ones anxiety
- Obsessive thoughts are anxiety inducing so they try to find ease in the thoughts
- Ex. If I don’t touch this tile, the building will collapse

Question 9

Hoarding Disorder

Answer 9

Persistent difficulty discarding possessions due to perceived need
- People see these objects to hold some sort of value

Question 10

Rachel Cooper Argument

Answer 10

What is considered junk is subjective
May not be a medical problem
- If they won the lottery and got a bigger house, would it still be an issue?
- Should it be called a medical problem if it can be resolved by giving someone more space?
Is there a diagnosis necessary when there are laws in place to deal with this behaviour

Question 11

Somatic Symptom Disorder

Answer 11

Having a long-term physical complaint
- Spending a lot of time trying to fix it
- A Headache, elbow pain, etc.
- Feeling prompts obsessive concern
- Not feeling better after getting medical attention

Question 12

Illness Anxiety Disorder

Answer 12

Obsessive fear over becoming sick
- Spends excessive time researching illnesses
- Not easily reassured by physicians
- Over-sensitive to bodily sensations (Hunger, cold, etc.)

Question 13

Problematizing SSD and IAD

Answer 13

Why should be assume people always feel better after accessing healthcare
- Thought to believe you are mentally ill if you don’t feel better
- Are we conditioned to obsess and worry over the body

Question 14

Anxiety as a multidimensional phenomenon

Answer 14

PTSD and OCD come from the world of anxiety
- Anxiety is central to these experiences
- All of these things share avoidance

Question 15

Case for Distinctness (OCD, PTSD, Anxiety)

Answer 15

• These illnesses do share anxiety, but they had symptoms that differentiate them from eachother
• Core symptoms are unique
• Yes, there is symptom overlap, but so do a lot of other mental health disorders

Question 16

Does Categorization Matter

Answer 16

Might determine who gets diagnosed
Affects how the disorder is understood
- What are the best responses to the disorder?
Shapes how people view their identity
- Asperger’s and autism

Question 17

Arguedas: Diagnosis as Subculture (5)

Answer 17

• Instagram serves as a key platform for the orthorexia community, enabling users to navigate meanings of health and their relationship to it through shared identity, language, and practices
• Despite not being officially recognized in the DSM, orthorexia nervosa has garnered significant attention from scholars, clinicians, and the media
• Discovering the orthorexia diagnosis online provides individuals with a sense of validation and relief, as it offers an explanation for their struggles with health-oriented behaviors
• Participants in the recovery community on Instagram adopt a recovery identity, distancing themselves from illness while striving for healing and self-improvement
• Validation within the community reinforces the importance of seeking help and making positive changes, but access to support is contingent on one’s visibility and popularity on Instagram, leading to unequal distribution of resources