2011年ESL之就医和人际交往 02 Psychological Disorders（打印版）

2011年ESL之就医和人际交往 02 Psychological Disorders（在线收听）

02 Psychological Disorders

GLOSSARY

psychology – the study of how the human brain affects thoughts and behavior

* Janet is studying psychology because she’s interested in why people behave inthe way they do.

nervous – uncomfortable, worried, and anxious, not wanting to do something

* Do you get nervous when you have to speak in public?

anxiety disorder – a mental health condition where one often feelsuncontrollably nervous, anxious, and worried, sometimes for no reason

* Hal has an anxiety disorder that makes him sweat and want to leave wheneverhe’s in a noisy environment.

phobia – a strong fear of something

* Doctors have given special names to many phobias. For example, if you havea fear of spiders, you have arachnophobia.

mood swing – a rapid, unexpected change in one’s emotions and feelings

* Karl has mood swings and he sometimes goes from laughter to tears within afew seconds.

to make a diagnosis – for a doctor to determine what is medically orpsychologically wrong with someone

* The doctor said she couldn’t make a diagnosis over the phone, so I’ll have toschedule an appointment with her.

bipolar disorder – a mental health condition where one moves between extremedepression and extreme happiness

* It’s very hard to speak to people with bipolar disorder because you never knowhow they’re going to react to things.

obsessive-compulsive disorder – a mental health condition where one alwaysworries about something or always needs to complete a particular task manytimes

* Mona is obsessive-compulsive and washes her hands at least five times beforetouching food.

eating disorder – a mental health condition that affects the types and quantity offood eaten, often not eating enough or eating far too much

* Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder where people stop eating because theythink they are overweight.

pyromania – a mental health condition where one is fascinated by fires andoften starts fires because they make one feel good and in control

* The police suspect that whoever started those fires suffers from pyromania.

to feel compelled to – with a strong sensation that one must or should dosomething

* Willamina spends too much money, because she feels compelled to buy thingseven when she doesn’t need them.

kleptomania – a mental health condition where one always wants to steal things

* I can’t believe you stole that candy from the store! Do you have kleptomania?

therapist – a person who provides treatment and care for someone with amental health or medical condition, often a psychologist or psychiatrist

* When the Bains began having problems in their marriage, they started seeing atherapist twice a week.

a real fear of – a strong fear of something; strong feelings of anxiety or worryrelated to something

* Ulysses has a real fear of heights, so his office and apartment are on theground floor.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Which of these people would be expected to have mood swings?

a) Someone with a bipolar disorder.

b) Someone who has pyromania.

c) Someone who has kleptomania.

2. Which of these people has a phobia?

a) Someone who often cries for no reason.

b) Someone who eats too much food.

c) Someone who is very scared of something.

______________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

disorder

The word “disorder,” in this podcast, means a medical condition or a mentalhealth condition: “Mingsang has a vision disorder that makes it very difficult tofocus on distant objects.” Or, “His stomach disorder becomes much worsewhenever he eats spicy food.” “Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder” or“ADHD” is a medical condition where children are unable to pay attention andhold still for very long: “How many of the students in your classroom are takingmedicine for ADHD?” “Post-traumatic stress disorder,” or “PTSD,” is a mentalhealth condition that affects people who have had a very difficult and/ordangerous experience: “What percentage of soldiers returning from the war arecomplaining about symptoms of PTSD?” Or, “Is it possible to have PTSD afterbeing in a car accident?”

swing

In this podcast, a “mood swing” is a rapid, unexpected change in one’s emotionsand feelings: “Many kids start to have a lot of mood swings when they enterpuberty.” At a park, a “swing” is a small seat that hangs from a metal or woodenstructure by chains or ropes, so that children can sit on it and move back andforth: “Could you please push me on the swing?” The phrase “to get into theswing of things” means to become very involved in some activity or project: “Theproject started slowly, but once we got into the swing of things, it became mucheasier.” Finally, the phrase “to be in full swing” means to be fully operational, orto be at the maximum level of activity: “The hospital renovations are almostfinished, so we should be in full swing by the middle of next month.”

CULTURE NOTE

Many therapy “sessions” (meetings) are “one-on-one” (between only two people)sessions with a psychologist or a “psychiatrist” (a medical doctor trained inmedical illness, who can prescribe medicine). These types of sessions are alsoknown as “psychoanalytic therapy,” where the “patient” (the person receivingtreatment) talks about his or her life and the therapist looks for “patterns” (thingsthat happen in the same way over and over again) and then provides advice.

However, there are also many other popular types of therapy that change this“dynamic” (way of doing or structuring something). For example, in “grouptherapy” there is usually one psychologist or psychiatrist working with severalpeople who are “struggling” (having problems) with the same type of problem.

Group therapy is common among people who are “grieving” (feeling sad aboutthe death of a relative or close friend) or people who have eating disorders. Ingroup therapy, people “benefit” (receive advantages) from hearing about eachother’s experience.

“Hypnotherapy” is another popular type of therapy. It relies on “hypnosis,” whichis a mental state where one almost appears to be asleep, but one’s thoughts andactions can be influenced by what another person says. Hypnotherapy worksbest for “behavioral therapy,” which focuses on changing people’s actions. Forexample, someone who wants to quit smoking might “undergo” (experience)hypnosis where the “hypnotist” (the person who performs the hypnosis) helpshim or her change or “cease” (end) the smoking behaviors.

Therapists specialize in different types of therapy, so it is important to speak withmore than one therapist before choosing a doctor.

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Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – c

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 651: PsychologicalDisorders.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 651. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is eslpod.com. Go there today and do what you need to do.

This episode is called “Psychological Disorders.” It’s something I’m very familiarwith! It’s a dialogue between Brett and Dr. Mollie using a lot of vocabulary thatyou would find in a psychology class – or right here at the Center for EducationalDevelopment! Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Brett: Hi, Dr. Mollie. Could I speak to you for a few minutes?

Dr. Mollie: Certainly. Have a seat.

Brett: I’m really enjoying your psychology class and I was wondering if I couldask you a few questions.

Dr. Mollie: Sure, go ahead.

Brett: Well, I have a friend who is nervous all the time, especially around otherpeople. Could he have a serious problem?

Dr. Mollie: It’s hard to say without knowing your friend, but he may have ananxiety disorder or some type of phobia.

Brett: I was afraid of that. Well, I have another friend who has mood swings allthe time and washes his hands 50 times a day.

Dr. Mollie: Again, I don’t know your friend so it’s hard to make a diagnosis, buthe may have a bipolar disorder and may also be obsessive-compulsive.

Brett: That sounds really serious. Well, I have another friend who doesn’t eatand sits around all day playing with fire. That’s bad, isn’t it?

Dr. Mollie: It could be. Your friend may have an eating disorder and his interestin fire may indicate that he has pyromania, but it’s very hard to say.

Brett: Did I mention that he likes to steal things, too?

Dr. Mollie: People who feel compelled to steal may have kleptomania. Who areall of these friends you’re talking about? Do I know them?

Brett: No, definitely not.

Dr. Mollie: Hmm, would your “friends” like to make an appointment with atherapist? It sounds like it may be a good idea.

Brett: No, no. My “friends” wouldn’t like that. He has a real fear of doctors.

[end of dialogue]

The title of this episode is “Psychological Disorders.” These are basicallyillnesses or diseases of the mind. Brett begins by saying, “Hi, Dr. Mollie. Could Ispeak to you for a few minutes?” Dr. Mollie says, “Certainly. Have a seat(please sit down).” Dr. Mollie is a professor of psychology. Brett says, “I’m reallyenjoying your psychology class.” “Psychology” studies the way the human brainaffects our thoughts, our behaviors; it’s a study of emotions and so forth.

Brett says he’s really enjoying Dr. Mollie’s psychology class and he waswondering if he could ask her a few questions; he wants to ask her a fewquestions. Dr. Mollie says, “Sure, go ahead,” meaning begin. Brett says, “Well, Ihave a friend who is nervous all the time, especially around other people. Couldhe have a serious problem?” “To be nervous” means to be worried, overlyconcerned about something, anxious. Dr. Mollie says, “It’s hard to say withoutknowing your friend (meaning it’s difficult for me to determine that), but he mayhave an anxiety disorder or some kind of phobia.” “Anxiety” is the noun foranxious; it’s similar to nervous, worried. A “disorder” is a general term referringto some illness or sickness. Here, we’re talking about a mental, not physical,health condition: an anxiety disorder. A “phobia” (phobia) is a very strong fear ofsomething. If you have “arachnophobia” you are afraid of spiders. If you have“agoraphobia” you are afraid of open spaces, big public spaces. “Agora” is theold Greek word for the marketplace, where people would come and buy and sellthings in the middle of town.

Anyway, Dr. Mollie thinks perhaps that Brett’s friend has an anxiety disorder orsome kind of phobia. Brett says, “I was afraid of that (that’s what I feared). Well, I have another friend who has mood swings all the time and washes his hands 50times a day.” A “mood” is the way you are feeling; you can have a good mood,you can be in a bad mood. “Swing” (swing) here means something that changesquickly, that goes up or down very quickly. So, “mood swings” are rapid,unexpected changes in someone’s emotions and feelings; one minute they’relaughing, the next minute they’re crying; one minute you are very happy, andthen the next minute you are very sad. It sounds like what you would go throughif you were watching the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team last year! Anyway,mood swings, then, are something that seemed to be affecting another one ofBrett’s friends. By the way, the word “swing” has a couple of different meaningsin English, as does the word “disorder.” Take a look at our Learning Guide forsome additional explanations of both of those terms.

Brett’s friend also washes his hands 50 times a day. So, he has mood swingsand is always washing his hands. Dr. Mollie says, “Again, I don’t know yourfriend so it’s hard to make a diagnosis.” “To make a diagnosis” (diagnosis) iswhen a doctor determines what is wrong with the patient – with the person whohe or she is examining. “To diagnose” as a verb means to determine whatmedical problem you have, although we use the word more generally to mean tofigure out what’s wrong, what isn’t working. Your mechanic, the person who fixesyour car, may diagnose a problem in your motor – in your engine. Doctorsdiagnose illnesses. Dr. Mollie says that it’s hard to make a diagnosis, “but yourfriend may have a bipolar disorder and may also be obsessive-compulsive.” “Bi”

(bi) usually means two when it’s at the front of a word in English. “Bipolar” issomeone who is extremely happy and suddenly extremely depressed. A“disorder,” remember, is an illness or disease. So, this friend of Brett’s may havebipolar disorder. He also may be a graduate student; those two things oftenmean the same thing! Dr. Mollie says his friend also may have obsessivecompulsivetendencies. He may be someone who is “obsessive,” that’ssomeone who is always worrying about one particular thing, who can’t stopworrying about it. Someone who’s “compulsive” is always repeating the sameactivity, someone who has to do something 20 times or 30 times. If you saw themovie with Jack Nicholson and…what was her name? The actress…um…youknow…Helen Hunt, that’s it! The movie was called As Good as It Gets, from1997. Wonderful movie; it is about someone who is obsessive-compulsive, hasan obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Brett says, “That sounds really serious. Well, I have another friend who doesn’teat and sits around all day playing with fire. That’s bad, isn’t it?” Dr. Mollie says,“It could be. Your friend may have an eating disorder.” An “eating disorder” iswhen people either eat too much or they don’t eat enough. She continues, “hisinterest in fire may indicate that he has pyromania.” “Pyromania” (pyromania) comes from “pyro” meaning fire and “mania” meaning madness or crazinessabout something. In this case, it is someone who is fascinated by fires and oftenstarts fires, things that can be very dangerous. Dr. Mollie says, “it’s hard to say,”

it’s difficult to know what this person’s problem is. Brett said, “Did I mention thathe likes to steal things, too (that he likes to rob or steal things from otherpeople)?” Dr. Mollie says, “People who feel compelled to steal may havekleptomania.” “To feel compelled to” means that you have a strong urge orstrong desire to do something, that you have to do something or that you shoulddo something. “Kleptomania” is a condition where someone likes to steal thingsall time, but it’s a mental health condition, it isn’t just a normal criminal.

Mollie finally says, “Who are all of these friends you’re talking about? Do I knowthem?” Brett says, “No, definitely not.” Mollie says, “Hmm, would your ‘friends’

like to make an appointment with a therapist? It sounds like it may be a goodidea.” A “therapist” is a person who provides treatment and care for someonewho has a mental illness or a mental disorder, or simply someone who is havingpsychological difficulties. Actually, the term “therapist” is also used moregenerally to mean someone who helps someone recover from an illness. Wehave physical therapists, who help people who have had injuries to their arms orlegs for example, to learn how to use them properly again.

Of course, we think that Brett’s “friends” are really descriptions of Brett himself.

People often say, “I have a friend,” when they really mean themselves. Brettsays, “No, no. My ‘friends’ wouldn’t like that (they would not like to see atherapist). They have a real fear of doctors.” “A real fear of” is a strong fear of,similar to a phobia.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.