A Discussion of Some Psychological Disorders and Symptoms

There are several different types of psychological disorders that affect millions of people everyday. A disorder can affect anyone and can be brought on by any number of things that can happen in one’s life. The type of disorder is normally determined by the root cause and also the symptoms that a person is experiencing along with any family medical history of psychological disorders. In this article you will read about some, but not all of the types of psychological disorders along with the common symptoms.

An anxiety disorder is one type of disorder that is associated with unpleasant and overwhelming mental tension or worries that has no apparent cause. These worries can cause a panic attack in some people that suffer from anxiety disorders. People that have an anxiety disorder have symptoms that can include worrying excessively, concerns about a situation that leads to unrealistic fears and a fear of future panic attacks. People with this type of psychological disorder have trouble sleeping and can suddenly lose or gain weight as their eating habits change. When a panic attack occurs, you can experience shakiness, dizziness and the feeling that you might faint. Also numbness and tingling along with a fast heart rate, sweating and cold clammy hands are symptoms of an anxiety attack.

Probably one of the most common disorders is depression. At some point, everyone feels sad or depressed, but a person that can not come out of their depressed state within a couple of weeks may be suffering from depression. Some symptoms of depression can be a noticeable change in eating habits, loss of pleasure from things that you normally enjoy and a loss of energy. With this type of psychological disorder, one can feel a feeling of hopelessness and worthlessness. Indecisiveness and the inability to concentrate can be symptoms of depression.

Other types of disorders are Childhood Disorders, Bipolar Disorders, Eating Disorders and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). All of these psychological disorders have different symptoms to look for, but some of the symptoms are similar to those associated with depression. There are several other types of disorders, besides the ones that are mentioned in this article. If you experience or know anyone that has experienced any symptoms of a psychological disorder, consulting a doctor is very important. Any change in behavior, eating habits, sleeping patterns, work performance or social patterns can be warning signs that needs to be addressed. The earlier a disorder is detected and treated, the easier it will be to resume a normal lifestyle.

Determining if someone indeed has a psychological disorder can be difficult and it at times can be overlooked. Because depression symptoms are similar to the symptoms of several other psychological disorders, many people think that it is just a phase or feeling that will go away on its own. Interestingly, physicians will sometimes miss diagnose a psychological disorder as either a physical problem or a medical illness because of the symptom similarities. That is why it is very important to consult with your doctor and be completely honest with answering the doctors questions.

Top Psychology Graduate Schools – Harvard University

Have you ever dreamed of attending Harvard University for your Ph.D. in Psychology? If you have, then read on, as this article will give you some information about the types of programs offered in the Psychology field, the academic requirements for admission, and quality education you can expect to experience from the university itself.

Harvard University is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has a whopping student body of nearly twenty thousand. Considered the oldest university in the United States, Harvard ranks at number three in the nation for universities to obtain your Ph.D. in the field of Psychology. Harvard offers doctoral study in psychology in the following areas:

* Cognition, brain, and behavior
* Developmental Psychology
* Clinical Science
* Social Psychology
* Organizational Behavior

Each of these areas in psychology represent prominent faculty members who jointly administer graduate admissions and provide training in some subfield of psychology. As with other graduate programs, it is not uncommon for individual faculty to have research interests that span more than one area, and thus, provide a breadth of necessary graduate training in research.

If Harvard University is your dream school to obtain your Ph.D., you have to be the best of the best to even have a shot at getting in. Harvard expects its applicants to have stellar GPA and academic resumes. Additionally, graduate admissions committees want you to demonstrate strong leadership skills through your extracurricular activities. Consider those extras on top of writing the perfect graduate personal statement and turning in glowing letters of recommendation that speak to your prior research experience.

In terms of prerequisites, current information on the Harvard University website indicates that you do not have to be a psychology major to gain acceptance to their doctoral programs. However, ALL entering students share a commonality of an undergraduate degree with an academic record of distinction. As is the case with most research-oriented Ph.D. programs in psychology, undergraduate work in statistics is strongly advised.

If paying for graduate education is one of your primary concerns, please be aware that Harvard University (like many Ph.D. programs) provides fellowships to support graduate students. Currently, admitted students receive five years of tuition support, along with a stipend and research fellowship for the first two years of doctoral study. During the third and fourth years, students are guaranteed teaching fellowships, and the final year includes a stipend that includes funds for living expenses during the final year, which you will be expected to produce a dissertation.

Much like other doctoral programs in psychology, it is not easy to get into Harvard University. However, you probably knew that before you read this article, so let this be your motivation, rather than discouragement. Do your best to create a winning graduate school application package and study hard for your GRE exam (which great news – the GRE Psychology Subject Test isn’t a requirement for admission), and you’ve already light years ahead of most of your competition to get into grad school in psychology.