Should we Consider Pyschological Disorders as Diseases?

            The problem with the perception of psychological disorder is that it is seen as a disease than a dysfunction. Disease has the connotation of limitation and restriction, meaning that a person labeled as having a disease is then seen as damaged. This not only affects the person greatly, but also the type of health care they receive. In an attempt to remedy this perception the field of psychology is changing its perspective on those with psychological disorders, in which the textbook defines as “a psychological dysfunction within an individual associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected” (Abnormal Psychology, pp.2). Instead of perceiving someone as having a psychological disorder the goal is now to observe how certain behaviors are inhibiting “cognitive, emotional or behavioral functioning”(Abnormal Psychology, pp.2). If someone was exhibiting behaviors that could be classified as a disorder, but in their day to day lives these behaviors did not impede their ability to live, work or interact socially, intervention is not necessary. There is nothing wrong with their functionality as long as the person is not experiencing more than the daily distress we all face or that they are impaired. But there is another element to this discussion which can be quite variant, cultural expectations. The DSM-IV-TR has a more complete description in light of the added element, “behavioral, psychological, or biological dysfunctions that are unexpected in their cultural context and associated with present distress and impairment in functioning, or increased risk of suffering, death, pain, or impairment”(Abnormal Psychology, pp.3). So there is some variation, what may seem like a disorder in one culture may not be in another, what the bottom line is, does it inhibit the person’s functionality?

Reference

Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach (David H. Barlow & V. Mark Durand)