scholarly journals Exploring the Lived-Experience of Limerence: A Journey toward Authenticity

Author(s):  
Lynn Willmott ◽  
Evie Bentley

Limerence is an acute onset, unexpected, obsessive attachment to one person, the Limerent Object, which is rarely reported in scientific literature. Presented here is an interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore the livedexperience of six international Limerent respondents. The condition's unique and common journey is conceptualised in a Limerence Trajectory, which is characterized by generally sequential yet overlapping super-ordinate themes. The themes primarily regard experiences of ruminative thinking, free floating anxiety and depression temporarily fixated and the disintegration of the self. These themes are further linked to an inclination to reintegrate unresolved past life(s) experiences and to progress to a state of greater authenticity (i.e., being truer to one's inner self). A paradigm shift is identified in the realization that both a real and idealized Limerent Object are involved which may relate to attachment anxieties. Symptomology relating to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, addiction, separation anxiety and depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, disassociated states and maladaptive fantasy are discussed. The study authors and respondents collective aim is to promote awareness, research and resources for Limerent Experiencers and those who seek to support them.

Author(s):  
Sherva Cooray ◽  
Avinash Hiremath

This chapter provides an overview of anxiety and related disorders including, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, specific phobia, social anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, hypochondriasis, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It covers the diagnosis, clinical features, epidemiology, aetiology, pathophysiology, risk factors, treatment, and prognosis. Due to the cognitive limitations and needs profile of people with intellectual disabilities (ID), the diagnosis of these conditions is particularly challenging, due to which they are under-recognized and poorly treated. The approaches to management are largely modelled on treatment models used in the mainstream populations without ID, although these models have to be adapted appropriately to the needs of the individual’s psychological, biological, and social circumstances.


Author(s):  
Daisy Fancourt

Psychiatry is a branch of medicine dealing with mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression; disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, personality disorders, eating disorders, sleep disorders and bipolar disorder; phobias; paranoia; schizophrenia; and addictions such as drug and alcohol misuse. Diagnosis can involve case assessments, physical examinations, psychological tests, neuroimaging, and neurophysiological tests. Treatments encompass psychiatric medication and psychotherapy alongside other professional support from both health and social work professionals....


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272110167
Author(s):  
Tara Rava Zolnikov ◽  
Tanya Clark ◽  
Tessa Zolnikov

Anxiety and fear felt by people around the world regarding the coronavirus pandemic is real and can be overwhelming, resulting in strong emotional reactions in adults and children. With depressive and anxiety disorders already highly prevalent in the general population (300 million worldwide), depression and/or anxiety specifically because of the pandemic response is likely. Moreover, the current state of panic in the face of uncertainty is apt to produce significant amounts of stress. While this situation has the potential to cause psychological disorders in previously unaffected populations, perhaps more impactful is the exacerbation of symptoms of many existing disorders including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and hoarding disorder.


Author(s):  
Monnica T. Williams

Abstract: This chapter discusses the research regarding microaggressions and negative mental health outcomes. Microaggressions are associated with increased stress, increased physical ailments such as hypertension and impaired immune responses, increased depression and depressive symptoms, lower self-esteem and self-efficacy, increased alcohol abuse and binge drinking, substance use disorders, increased post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, higher levels of suicidal ideation, increased anxiety, increased somatic symptoms and negative affect, and increased obsessive–compulsive disorder symptoms. Overall, those who experience everyday discrimination have higher odds of any lifetime mental health issue. This is illustrated using a case example of a student who developed depression and anxiety from experiencing microaggressions in school, leading to a negative impact on mental health. The chapter presents an example interaction between a client and a therapist illustrating that microaggressions can be harmful to White people as well in indirect ways. Furthermore, to address mental health disparities and treatment barriers as a result of various pathways including microaggressions, clinicians need to address their own possible implicit biases that can lead to perpetuating these problems.


Author(s):  
Walter Sinnott-Armstrong ◽  
Jesse S. Summers

Biopsychosocial theories of mental illness claim that biological, psychological, and social factors are all central to every mental illness. This general approach cannot be assessed or employed properly without specifying the precise relation between mental illnesses and these three levels of understanding. This chapter distinguishes disjunctive, causal, explanatory, therapeutic (or treatment), and constitutive (or definitional) versions of biopsychosocial theories. However, all of these claims are uncontroversial and not distinctive of the biopsychosocial approach, except the constitutive claim. That constitutive claim is inaccurate, because almost all mental illnesses are and should be defined by their psychological symptoms instead of their biological or social causes. These lessons are applied to case studies of post-traumatic stress disorder, disinhibited social engagement disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and scrupulosity.


2020 ◽  
pp. ebmental-2020-300216
Author(s):  
Chelsea Dyan Gober ◽  
Amit Lazarov ◽  
Yair Bar-Haim

Cognitive bias modification (CBM) is a class of mechanised psychological interventions designed to target specific aberrant cognitive processes considered key in the aetiology and/or maintenance of specific psychiatric disorders. In this review, we outline a multistage translational process that allows tracking progress in CBM research. This process involves four steps: (1) the identification of reliable cognitive targets and establishing their association with specific disorders; (2) clinical translations designed to rectify the identified cognitive targets; (3) verification of effective target engagement and (4) testing of clinical utility in randomised controlled trials. Through the prism of this multistage process, we review progress in clinical CBM research in two cognitive domains: attention and interpretation; in six psychiatric conditions: anxiety disorders, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, addictive disorders, eating disorders and obsessive–compulsive disorder. The review highlights achievement as well as shortcomings of the CBM approach en route to becoming a recognised evidence-supported therapy for these disorders.


2010 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 309-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gavin Andrews ◽  
Matthew Sunderland ◽  
Alice Kemp

Objective: DSM-IV diagnostic criteria define thresholds on a continuum of symptoms above which the diagnosis is said to be established. Data from the 1997 Australian Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing were used for six internalizing disorders, and the levels of distress and disability associated with each diagnosis were investigated. Method: Mean distress (measured by the K-10) and disability (measured by the SF12-MCS) scores were identified for people in the Survey who reported no physical or mental disorders. The distribution of distress and disability showed by people who met criteria for major depressive disorder, dysthymia, generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive–compulsive disorder was plotted against the mean for well people, expecting that ≥90% of people with these mental disorders would score as more distressed or disabled than this mean. Results: More than 90% of people with dysthymia, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder or with post-traumatic stress disorder scored as more distressed or disabled than the mean for well people. A majority were severely distressed or disabled (>2SD above the mean). This remained the case when the clinical significance criteria were removed. In social phobia and in obsessive–compulsive disorders between 9% and 26% scored below the means for well people, that is, as neither distressed nor disabled, a figure that rose to 16–40% when the clinical significance criteria were removed. In neither case did a majority of cases score in the severe range. Conclusions: The diagnostic thresholds for social phobia and for obsessive–compulsive disorder are less stringent than that for the other disorders and require revision in DSM-V.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document