Chapter 14: Mental disorders Medicine students syndrome: as many symptoms of mental disorders resemble life’s little problems, people studying illnesses often think that have these illnesses. There is no clear demarcation between normal and abnormal behaviors, as they are on continuous dimensions.    The diagnostic manual used by clinicians is based on discussions between experts in the field => it is NOT free of biases.       Guiding principles to decide whether a behavior is abnormal:           Not acceptable by the standards of society           Causes distress and suffering to the person in question and others           Impairs daily functioning Mental disorders are diseases; mentally ill people should not be rejected but taken care of. Phobias: irrational fear of things or events. Schizophrenia: complex disorder characterized by major problems adjusting to reality    => hallucinations, and disorganized thought, speech, affect, and behavior.     Probably caused by many things: genes, brain and chemical dysfunction, disease during pregnancy.