ATTENTION GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY CLASS - THIS IS THE PAGE FOR THE FALL 2010 CLASS. IF YOU ARE IN THE SPRING CLASS - PLEASE POST YOUR WIKI ON THE PAGE FURTHER DOWN BELOW.
- History of Psychology
- The Brain
- Development
- Consciousness
- Learning
- Anxiety Disorders
- Dissociative and Personality Disorders
- Mood Disorders
- Schizophrenia
- Other Psychological Disorders
Danielle Herman
Humanistic Perspective: Focuses on how people strive for potential and self determination in a positive and healthy manner. Emphasizes worth in an individual. Instead of performing laboratory experiments they asked people to report their experiences and the feelings that came from them.
Abraham Maslow created a hierarchy of needs pyramid that is based off humans motivations for their needs. The theory is people meet their needs from the bottom of the pyramid to the top.raham Maslow was born April 1, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York. His parents pushed him to exceed academically. He studied law at CCNY.
Maslow and his wife moved to Wisconsin, where he attended college and got interested in psychology and humans motivations.
He received his Bachelor’s in 1930, his master’s in 1931 and his PhD in 1934.
When generating the ideas that became his theory he would study warm, happy and healthy people. By studying these people he created the definition of what self actualization is. Someone who has reached self actualization is someone who has lived a full and happy life with experiences that they have learned from.
- Psychological Needs- oxygen, water, air and vitamins and minerals.
- Safety Needs- security, stability, and structure.
- Belonging Needs- belonging to a family, or community, friendship and an affectionate relationship.
- Esteem Needs- (two different versions a higher and a lower) The lower – respect, attention from others. The higher- self respect, confidence and independence.
- Self Actualization- reaching our full potential. Feeling like we used all our effort to accomplish our goal.
A very small percent of the world is actually self actualizing. According to his theory, you must meet your lower level needs to be self actualized. Such as, if you are hungry you will eat, if you are lonely you will find someone to be with, and if you feel unsafe you will be more cautious.
Some of our world leaders have met those terms, including Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein and Eleanor Roosevelt. Maslow formed his theory from studying these people. They met his criteria because they where able to differentiate lies from truth, deal with problems and find solutions, and had a different view of life. They could take people as they are, they were independent but also enjoyed long meaningful relationships. Maslow believed their values were natural.
Peoples views differ from others and their values perfectly fit each individuals personality.
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html
http://imet.csus.edu/imet3/drbonnie/personalitywebq/humanistic.html
Brandon Standage
Early Psychology
Psychology is a very important part of the world today. Most people don’t stop to think about how psychology affects the world. Where would we be without it? There wouldn’t be many of the medicines we have now. Also there would be a lot more people who would have mental conditions and they wouldn’t be able to get help with them. This could result in a lot higher suicide rates.
So where did psychology come from? Wilhelm Wundt was the first person to start studying psychology. Wundt was born on August 16, 1832. Wundt had many amazing accomplishments in his life. Perhaps his most successful accomplishment was opening up the first psychology lab in eighteen seventy nine, in Germany. He is credited for being the founder of psychology. Wundt died in nineteen twenty shortly after writing an autobiography.
Sigmund Freud also did a lot for psychology. Freud was born in 1856 in the Austria-Hungarian Empire. In 1900 Freud tried interpreting why we had dreams. He wrote twenty four books on interpreting dreams. He covered unconscious thoughts and used sexuality as the driving force for his experiments. Although, around the time of the holocaust the Nazis took over Austria and took all of Freud’s books and burned them. So there are no longer any original copies existing. Today there are many people that believe Freud’s work was very successful and useful. On the other side there are critics that believe that Freud was just a pervert and his studies were pointless.
Ivan Pavlov won the 1904 Nobel peace prize award for his interesting work with dogs. He learned that dogs would start salivating before they were even going to get food. Pavlov discovered this interesting fact by watching the dogs when his assistant entered the room. His assistant always feed the dogs and after a while when the assistant entered the room the dogs would start salivating without the assistant even bringing in food.
After Pavlov witnessed how the dogs reacted to just seeing his assistant he got to wondering what else they would salivate too. He started to play a metronome when he would feed the dogs. Sure enough after a couple weeks of playing the metronome before they feed the dogs they would start salivating just to the sound of the metronome.
Pavlov findings were arguably the most interesting and useful of all the experiments. His findings helped show us how a person should go about training an animal. Not only that it helped to prevent animals from eating other animals. For example, they injected sheep with something that made the meat taste bad. Then they fed the meat to a pack of coyotes. The injected meat made the coyotes sick. After the coyotes had tried the meat and got sick they left all the other sheep alone.
Wundt Freud and Pavlov were the greats of their time. They made studies and experiments that still affect some people’s everyday lives. So now when you stop to think about psychology it’s easier to see how it affects the world and it’s hard to imagine how the world would be without it.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/bhfreu.html
http://psychology.about.com/od/classicalconditioning/a/pavlovs-dogs.htm
Jeremy Funk
Electroshock Therapy:
Ugo Cerletti, an Italian psychiatrist, came up with this type of therapy in the 1930's. Pigs that were about to be slaughtered were shocked into unconsciousness so it would be easier for the workers to cut their throats. Ugo, upon seeing this, thought it was a good idea to use electricity on mentally unstable people. He started doing experiments on lab animals to see how they would react to it. During his experiments Ugo killed many animals while conducting research. They were killed by putting electrodes on either side of the head. His theory is that if you induce an epileptic seizure on someone who has schizophrenia, it may alter the brain chemistry to offer relief for the patient. Electroshock therapy is used on patients who suffer from disorders such as depression and schizophrenia. Ugo Cerletti later published his findings in a book that was translated in English. Also, it gained popularity during World War II for medical officials to use on patients. If the patient took antidepressants and it had no effect, they were treated with electroshock therapy.
The procedure for this would last about 10 minutes. The patient would have his heart monitered and an IV in his arm. Doctors would place a rubber block in their mouth so they couldn't bite their tongue. An oxygen mask is used on the patient so the brain continually gets oxygen. Electrodes are then placed on the patients' temples and a current of electricity runs through the brain, on average; patients were sometimes treated more than 100 times. Instead of using anesthetics or a muscle relaxant, doctors would shackle the patient to the bed. Many side effects come from having electricity pass through your brain. Side effects include: memory loss, nausea, headaches, and confusion. Doctors think electroshock therapy works because the electricity acts like an antidepressant by changing how brain receptors receive dopamine and norepinephrine. On the other hand, it can damage the brain in many patients. Another theory is that the shock teaches the brain to resist seizures. It inhibits seizures and helps stabilize the patient's mood.
To this day, electroshock therapy is still being used on people. Doctors use anesthetics and relaxants and monitor the patient more closely than they did 50 years ago. There is little damage to the patient nowadays because they monitor how much electricity is passing through the brain. Another technique doctors use is using a quick jolt of electricity instead of using a steady stream. It helps with the patient not losing their memory later in life. There is also another way of administering electricity. Electrodes can either be used on one side of the head or on both sides of the head. If electrodes are used on the right side, it protects the left part of the brain that deals with language and auditory memory. Even though electroshock therapy is a last resort for treating patients, the popularity of it has declined. Even with its decline, many states and countries have tried to ban its use on patients.
Behrman, Andy. "Electroshock Therapy." Fighting Depression and Bipolar Disorder. 2005. 21 Nov. 2010. http://www.electroboy.com/electroshocktherapy.htm.
"Electroshock Therapy Introduced." A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries. 1998. 21 Nov. 2010. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dh38el.html.
Jonathan Funk
Lobotomy:
Improving mental health by means of brain surgery started around 1890, when German researcher Friederich Golz cut out parts of his dog's temporal lobes. The once aggressive dogs were now calmer after the surgery was performed. Anything from bad behavior, headaches, schizophrenia, and mental illness was an excuse to be lobotomized. The idea of making patients calmer was followed by a Swiss physician who was the head of a mental institution, tried out the procedure on six patients that happened to be schizophrenic. The results were mixed, undeniably some of them were calmer, but two patients died. A Portuguese neurosurgeon by the name of Egas Moniz, devised a system called the prefrontal leucotomy, which is known as a lobotomy, in 1935 in Lisbon. Moniz then went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.
To carry out a lobotomy surgery, the doctor would sever the nerves that run from the frontal cortex to the thalamus would "cure" the problem. First, it would require drilling two holes on either side of the patient's forehead. Then a surgical knife was put in and the prefrontal cortex would separate from the brain. Another extreme way to cure psychotic patients was a procedure called a transorbital lobotomy. A sharp ice-pick like object would be driven through the eye socket in between the eye and lid. The doctor would proceed to hit the object with a hammer, only hoping to hit the right spot. The transorbital surgery did not always make the patient better, because the surgeon could not tell for certain if the nerves were severed. When the lobotomy did not work out, many patients would be permanently disabled. During surgery, people would suffer from seizures, disorientation, and instruments breaking off in the patients brains. When lobotomies did not work, patients who were disabled were sent to live in institutions or with family. More often then not, the families who took care of them were unable to manage their extremely disabled loved one. This new idea of performing brain surgery to improve mental disorders came with controversy.
In 1935, University of Yale professor Carlye Jacobsen carried out the same procedure, except the test subjects were chimps. The results were the same as with the dogs, the chimps were calmer with the prefrontal and frontal lobotomies. In 1936, American physician Walter Freeman and assistant James Watts executed their first lobotomy. Thousands and thousands more of these operations were performed by Freeman and Watts. Rosemary Kennedy, sister of John, Edward, and Ted Kennedy, was given a lobotomy at age 23 because she was mildly retarded. The operation was a failure and she lived out the rest of her life institutionalized in Wisconsin, until her death in 2005 at the age of 86. 18,000 lobotomies were performed in the U.S. alone from 1939 to 1951, just in the matter of twelve years, and only one third of the patients got better, stayed the same as they were before, or got worse. Throughout the 1950's, people began protesting this controversial procedure.
Boeree, George. "A Brief History of the Lobotomy." Webspace. 2001. 21 Nov 2010. <Webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/lobotomy.html>.
"About Lobotomy." Psychosurgery.org. 2009. 21 Nov 2010. <psychosurgery.org/about-lobotomy/>.
Marijuana Inspirations Gasoline
Garrett Baldwin
Imagine this, three people sitting in a room smoking. One guy starts laughing at nothing, and says that he thinks he sounds like a stupid monkey. About two minutes of silence go by and the guy says: He’d be running up the tree sideways and the other monkeys are up in the tree would be throwing bananas at him saying…Turn around you dumbass. Hysteric laughter follows. The person who came up with this story had to be really creative and inspired by his surroundings. But that inspiration needed some help to produce such a story, that help was marijuana, hence the name of this project. Marijuana: Inspirations gasoline.
Many people over the ages have used marijuana for various purposes. Some have used it as a medicine, some have used it as a recreational substance to get high and have a good time. Others have used it for more serious reasons. The Rastafarian Religion uses cannabis as a sacrament to God. Also, some people have used cannabis to stimulate creativity and inspiration.
When you are under the influence marijuana, your sense of time is altered, your mouth becomes dry, eyes red and droopy and reaction time is slightly lowered. The creative portion of your brain is stimulated and you are able to think deeper and clearer than before. Some of the most popular music, art and poems have been created by people using cannabis. The level of creativity that can be achieved in the brain while you are using cannabis is unobtainable by anything else. However, everyone’s cannabis experience is different, for most people this is the norm. But some peoples “high” is different, it can cause lethargy and depression. So in light of this, to make an assumption about the affects of cannabis on the human brain, you must try it for yourself to see how it affects you personally.
In my experience, cannabis has a positive effect. It opens my mind into a completely different level of thinking. I am able to concentrate harder and think in a more abstract way. The problems I am faced with at that time seem to disappear and I am able to solve them in a more mature and logical way because I can think about it with a clearer mind. However, marijuana’s effect on the human brain is not all roses. It has been known to kill brain cells and it definitely inhibits your short term memory. But this is not the only substance that causes this affect, alcohol kills brain cells at a faster rate than pot dose. So if alcohol is worse for your body and mind than marijuana, why isn’t it outlawed? If abused over a long period of time, cannabis can have serious consequences. It can cause severe paranoia and schizophrenia. It can also cause depression in some people. However this is only in extreme cases of long term abuse. If you only use it recreationally the odds of these side effects are close to zero.
So, is weed a completely harmless substance? No, but the good attributes of it surly outweigh the side effects. It allows people to meditate on issues, create beautiful art, and simply relax and see the world from a different more peaceful perspective. Abuse can have negative affects but, abuse of almost anything will. So, next time you are thinking about how weed makes people stupid and slow. Think about what you have learned today and maybe it will change your mind.
Dustin Brown
So many different types and experiments in the field of neurology but out of all of these very interesting and very odd forms of the discoveries in brain research, in my opinion there is one that sticks out far more than the rest and has a very different effect on so many things. That being the behavior of a split-brain human patient. You may ask why this is its simple to answered because you can learn so much about the brain and how everything works what’s on what side what parts of the brain do what. From such tests we can discover the amazing effects of disconnection that in its self is quite interesting there have been hundreds of tests on just that result of split-brain. So basically what all these test prove and show is the thoughts and perception of one hemisphere go entirely off in its own way than the other side of the hemisphere even going as far to say when seeing the same thing they both will have a different reaction and perception of it.
The left side of the brain is what separates us from all other things living, this is where we do are thinking and solving. While the right side of the brain dose things like face recognition, but when you think how can I have to separate working sides to my brain and still function well the simple fact is that neither side of the brain recognizes what the other dose but each side knows the roles it takes on by its self.
Now in a normal human being both sides of the brain work together to form a unity and properly work to gather making everything you do normally a form of sec nature take for example that the normal human brain when the two hemispheres are coordinating with each other you will have normal motor functions and be able to read words such as split-brain and not see just split. Also the left hemisphere controlled our ability to express ourselves in language, 95 percent or right handed people the left hemisphere is much more dominate with speech, now for left handed people about 70 percent the left side is better at recognizing the order of words and letters than the right side of the brain. The left side of the brain also is uncontrolled of are logic, reasoning, some details and thought process. But it has trouble seeing what you might call the whole picture.
Now the right side of the brain is where space, shapes, elements, and forms are more should I say specialized on this side? Also the right unlike the left side can see the whole picture so for example without this you would not be able to solve a puzzle because you couldn’t see the objective you are trying to put totter as a hole .it is also where you get your creative thinking and side so it would be your more obstruct ideas and not so straight forward. Also it plays a very important role in your emotions and emotion abilities of how you feel and how you act on them, it is also how you read others emotions better than the left side of your brain allows you to. For example if you were going to take picture with a split-brain patient you would find that the right will distinguish facial expression much better.
http://nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/split-brain/
http://www.singsurf.org/brain/rightbrain.php
Autism
Sam Orpin
Autism affects about one in every five hundred people. Although it is agreed that Autism is a genetic disorder, many argue that it is merely a mutation. Some may even believe that the use of vaccines or the preservatives in childhood vaccinations are to blame, but all the initial tests that showed that as a possibility have been found void after further investigation. Whatever the arguments about the cause are, we do know that Autism is a developmental issue that can cause problems with interacting socially. Symptoms show themselves clearly by the age of three and are usually detected earlier. Symptoms of autism also include repetitive acts and behavior. Many Autistic people have a routine that must be precisely followed, or will repeat words while in conversation. Other symptoms may be the inability or unwillingness to make eye contact. People with Autism may not be able to understand what it is like to be in another’s shoes. Autism is only one of three disorders under the umbrella of The Autism Spectrum Disorders. The others are Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (or atypical autism). The three are fairly close in relation.
Studies that were started in the 40s have shown that autistic brains, especially in toddlers, are greater in size than the average brain. This increase in size seems to come from the application of white matter. White matter is a fatty material that insulates nerves. The largest amount of white matter has been found to be in the front of the brain which is associated with “higher thinking.” A theory of how the white matter affects the brain is that it will slow down communication throughout the brain and force the brain to tackle an issue locally as opposed to utilizing the whole brain for the job.
Treatment of autism is difficult. The FDA has approved no drug specifically for autism. Some drugs, however, do seem to calm the symptoms. The application of inhibitors of serotonin reuptake is one of the most commonly used drugs while some anti-psychotic and anti-anxiety drugs also seem to help. No drug has been found that can alleviate all symptoms. Other treatments consist of Behavior Management therapy which is based from Applied Behavior Analysis. This treatment focuses on the reinforcement of good behavior. Speech/language therapy can also be utilized. These therapies focus on improving the social issues of autism such as verbal communication and social interaction. Other therapeutic ideas aim towards getting autistic people into a job opportunity that allows them freedom while fitting their needs. Some therapy even is focused on stature and improvement of fine motor skills. A treatment that may not be well known but one that I like is the application of therapeutic animal, specifically horses. Riding horses has been shown to have a great deal of effect on people with all kinds of disorders but especially social disorders. One therapy location claims that at least 24 severely autistic children have been moved to mild and one has made its way to non-autistic in only six months of equine therapy.
[[http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://media.nj.com/star-ledger/photo/8060652-standard.jpg&imgrefurl=http://photos.nj.com/star-ledger/2009/10/matheny_horse_therapy_4.html&usg=__dwMoV8JC_WCPr0uOVQr4IE_0Nz0=&h=770&w=665&sz=463&hl=en&start=15&sig2=t4m46D2rcE2yS4SettwjEw&zoom=1&tbnid=PEo8Hy9KsRWfCM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=137&ei=XPgBTYn5MMPDnAecjqnHCQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhorse%2Btherapy%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D547%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C345&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=239&vpy=185&dur=259&hovh=238&hovw=205&tx=84&ty=91&oei=UvgBTeK3BsGdnAfFvJToDQ&esq=3&page=2&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:15&biw=1366&bih=547]]
Jensen Foss
Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning is a learning method that uses either reinforcers or punishments to strengthen a behavior. While classical conditioning uses a respondent behavior (an automatic response to a stimulus), operant rewards good actions and punishes bad actions.
B.F. Skinner came up with the phrase operant conditioning. Skinner was a Harvard psycologist, he used doves and rats to experiment with operant conditioning. He was born on March 2, 1904, and died in 1990. He recieved a B.A. in English literature in 1926 from Hamilton College, Once he found the writtings of Watson and Pavlov he entered th psychology graduate program at Haravrd. Through his studies he came up with what he calls "operant behavior" which is what happens after the response.
In the video skinner showed that he could condition a pigeon to turn left. He would give it found when it slightly turned left, then gave it food when it turned more and more until it finally turned all the way around. This is an example shaping which is defined in David G Myers book Psychology in everyday life as, “an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforces guide actions closer and closer toward a desired behavior.”
Another way to do operant conditioning is Thorndyke's "puzzle boxes". These were mazes with no exit; they would have to perform a certain action. And once they were placed back in the box they would do the same action to escape, this is an example of trial and error.
Both Skinner and Thorndyke believed that people’s “behavior was shaped entirely as a result of environmental stimuli.” This means that they thought that everything we do was because we were conditioned to do so.
There are four different types of Operant conditioning, Positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment, and extinction.
Positive- this is where a good behavior is rewarded with something good. For example, “A hungry rat presses a bar in its cage and receives food. The food is a positive condition for the hungry rat. The rat presses the bar again, and again receives food. The rat's behavior of pressing the bar is strengthened by the consequence of receiving food.”
Negative-This is where a bad behavior is stopped by giving in to stop the bad behavior. For example, a kid whining about not getting as toy from the store until his mom buys him one, because now he will just whine next time he wants a toy.
Punishment-Where a behavior is weakened by getting punished for a negative condition. An example of this would be, “A rat presses a bar in its cage and receives a mild electrical shock on its feet. The shock is a negative condition for the rat. The rat presses the bar again and again receives a shock. The rat's behavior of pressing the bar is weakened by the consequence of receiving a shock.”
Extinction- this is where there is nothing that happens after a behavior. For an example, “A rat presses a bar in its cage and nothing happens. Neither a positive or a negative condition exists for the rat. The rat presses the bar again and again nothing happens. The rat's behavior of pressing the bar is weakened by the consequence of not experiencing anything positive or stopping anything negative.
In conclusion Operant conditioning is all around us weather its training a dog, or raising a child. There are many different views of it but one main one was B.F. Skinners that everything we do was because of the response we get.
Sources
[http://http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/bio_skinner.htm][http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSv992Ts6as]
[http://http://s3.hubimg.com/u/1477330_f520.jpg]
[http://http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/750339/bf_skinner_and_operant_conditioning_pg2.html?cat=25]
[http://http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/proj/nru/opcond.html]
Elizabeth Oliver
Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety disorder is a disorder where people are very scared of social situation. Social anxiety can be caused by the thought of people watching their every move or also the feeling of being judged. Social anxiety is also more likely in women then in men. There is also about 15 million adults who have this, and most of the time this disorder can occur mostly in adolescence or adulthood. But also it could also start in childhood. Usually the person who has social anxiety is afraid of making a fool out of themselves in front of everyone, and most of the time they know that these fears are very unreasonable but can’t help but feel this way. Sometimes thirty-six percent of people wait ten years before reporting their anxiety. These types of people always worry about things before they come. For example if the person had to do a report in front of everyone and he/she knew this 2 moths before the actual date he/she was suppose to present, they would worry throughout those two months constantly and everyday. If people have this it usually interferes with their lives.
They can’t really live their lives as much as normal people could because the worry of always being judged or watched. It really can affect the way they live, how they do in school or even the relationship that they have with their significant other. There are all kinds of different types of social anxiety sometimes its an eating disorder like when they can’t eat in front of people. It can also be because of working with others, being center of attention, talking on telephones, using public toilets, asking questions or doing reports with other people or pretty much anything that has to do with anything that has to deal with interaction. With children usually when you notice that they have social anxiety they cry a lot, are clingy to their mother/father, and throw temper tantrums all the time. What doctors usually notice is that symptoms from social anxiety usually are the same as some other mental illnesses like; panic disorder, depression, and also obsessive compulsive disorder. If people have this anxiety disorder they act a little bit strange when put in social situations. They can also feel sick to their stomach, have diarrhea, confusion, sweating a lot, blushing, shaking, heart pounding, confusion and muscle tension.
There’s not really a reason why this disorder is made but most researcher think that the reason why people have the social disorder is because of the environment they live in, or it could be biological or psychological. There’s also not really a treatment for this either but what the more effective treatment is, is cognitive behavior treatment and sometimes drugs may be used. Cognitive therapy is when the therapist looks more into the thoughts of the patient and asks them why they do this, how they feel about it, what makes them feel so bad. And also drugs can used to treat anxiety and shaking. If people really want to get rid of this anxiety it is possible with treatment.
http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/mental-health-social-anxiety-disorder
http://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/social-anxiety-disorder
Kyle Matusoff
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
OCD is a severe anxiety disorder that causes those who have it to engage in repetitive behaviors as a means of reducing their stress. As the fourth most common psychological disorder in the United States, there are many people living among us with it, approximately one in every fifty adults has obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Symptoms
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is broken down in to two distinct parts. The obsession and the compulsion. Each person with OCD has some sort of obsession which causes them anxiety. This obsession can be anything from germs and cleanliness, death, or even a sexual fetish. The unique thing with OCD is that those who have it realize that their obsessions are unfounded and do not hold any merit. Despite their recognition of this fact, they are still incapable of stopping their compulsions. Most compulsions are meant to alleviate the anxiety felt by being constantly worried about whatever their obsession may be. Sometimes, however, compulsions are preformed without any explanation and are completely impulsive. Examples of these actions, or rituals, are counting, throat clearing, putting objects in order, or touching things.
Biology
A person with OCD has several abnormalities in their brains that are not know to be either a cause or an effect of the disorder. Many victims have been found to have a lack of the neurotransmitter serotonin, a chemical that is believed to reduce stress. This lack of serotonin reuptake may be caused by a genetic mutation. Researchers have found the same genetic mutation in separate families with OCD which leads them to believe that this mutation on the gene for serotonin is in some way causing anxiety and OCD.
Patients with OCD also exhibit a unique grey matter distribution in their brains. A distribution that contradicts the typical alignment of grey matter in people with anxiety disorders. It is not known if this change in the brain is a cause of OCD or is a result of the brain adapting to the constant anxiety and compulsion.
Diagnosis
A diagnosis of OCD requires the patient to be afflicted with obsessions, compulsions, or both that are deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders states that OCD is marked by “recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as intrusive and that cause marked anxiety or distress.” It goes on to say that these impulses and images must be outside the normal human range of distress and the patient will realize that they are being irrational. The compulsions become significant when the patient feels obligated to preform them based upon rigid self-regulation. These obsessions and compulsions must take up at least an hour a day and cause a significant problem to social functioning.
Treatment
When treating obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychologists will take a biopsychosocial approach in trying to reduce the influence the disorder holds over the patient. The will attack the biological aspect of OCD by giving them selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to increase the levels of serotonin in the brain. This is in response the notably low levels of the neurotransmitter in the brains of OCD patients and in many it can significantly reduce the anxiety brought upon by their obsessions. On the psychological side of things, behavioral therapists will use a technique known as “exposure and ritual prevention.” This involves very slowly making the patient face their fear.
Kayla Fahrenbruch, Christy Shinogle, Brianna Hazelton
OCD
About OCD
An Obsessive Compulsion Disorder (OCD) is a type of an anxiety disorder where a person has very unreasonable thoughts and fears that lead to repetitive behaviors, or compulsions. They feel compelled to do compulsive acts to try as a way to relive their anxiety. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 2.2 million Americans have this disorder. While it was once thought to rare, it is in fact the fourth most common mental disorder. Typically early childhood is when OCD starts occurring, usually around the age of 10. Although in adults its starts to develop around 21 years of age. Being a perfectionist however is different than having obsessive compulsion disorder. There’s nothing wrong with being a neat freak who attempts to keep their house extremely clean. A person affected with an OCD concerning cleanness though will perhaps spend hours cleaning just their kitchen floor. Most of the time a compulsion is centered on a certain theme, such as the continuous washing of hands over and over out of fear of germs. Every person with an OCD is affected a little differently. This person may only have obsessive thoughts while this one may have compulsive disorders. Various obsessive thoughts may include fear of germs, obsessive thoughts with body cleanliness, sexual obsessions of intrusive thoughts, fear of doing something embarrassing, overly fretful about neatness and being extremely symmetrical, or always thinking doubtful thoughts. Similarly, a compulsive behavior causes a person to continuously worry that they can’t accomplish something quite enough times to relive their stress, therefore they have to do a certain action over and over again. Some of these behaviors include constant hand washing, meticulous straightening of objects on a shelf, extensive hoarding, having an even number of items, repetitively checking on things, the constant urge to touch an item. Often times these compulsions can become very controlling in a person’s life. Sadly, people can create their obsessions. However they do not feel the need to tell others because they may see it as unfitting to share about their obsessions. Other times it could be family related. If a person has family members with OCD it increases their risks of having it. As of now though researchers are unable if there are any genes that would cause OCD. Perhaps someone could develop an OCD from spending a lot of time with family members who have it, and it just starts to rub off. Another factor that can be the origin of an obsessive compulsive disorder is stress. The higher the stress rate the greater the risk of an OCD. Stress can lead to invasive thoughts, rituals, and emotional distress. All of these are distinguishing traits that can lead to an OCD. Fortunately there are treatments available for people who have an OCD. Although some cases can be harder to handle than others will be.
Types of OCD
OCD can actually have a variety of forms. Each different form has its own signs and symptoms. Symptoms can vary from person to person but usually a person with OCD falls under one of these categories: checkers, washers and cleaners, orderers, obsessionals, hoarders, and postpartum-onset OCD.
One known type of OCD is a category names Checkers. And no the people who fall under the category of Checkers do not have an obsession of playing the board game checkers. These people always feel that they need to check objects around the house. For example if they shut off a house hold appliance or locked their doors. People that are checkers always seem to live with a constant fear that something will go wrong if they forgot to check, double check, or sometimes triple check things. Sometimes the checking gets so out of control that it interferes with just going through a day to day life.
Another group of OCD are knows as Washers and Cleaners. As the name suggests, people with this type of OCD have a feeling that they constantly need to clean. Sometimes they can live in complete fear of contamination. Most often they will go out of their way to avoid something they believe is contaminated. Sometimes if the OCD is simple enough as only feeling like they need to wash their hands, but if it’s severe enough they may wash their clothes and hands numerous times a day. People who fall under the category of washers and cleaners never feel like their house or they are ever really clean.
Orderers are another type of OCD. People who fall in this category feel like they need to have everything put in a certain place. Often they have to place everything in their “perfect” order and usually can’t go on with their day until everything’s right. Unlike a normal person, when their stuff gets moved, touched, or placed in a different way it causes the person to become extremely stressed out.
One type of OCD that I am glad that I don’t have is called Obsessionals. These people often get horrible thoughts and images of causing the people around them harm. These thoughts and images are very intrusive to the person suffering with this type of OCD. Often the person will have a certain prayer, counting, or repeating a certain phase in order to block or contradict these awful thoughts in their mind.
The last type of an OCD type is Hoarders. They have trouble throwing away anything and keep everything. Usually these items are insignificant and tend to almost loose themselves in their house. Stuff gathers everywhere yet they still don’t consider themselves to be hoarders. One of the worst hoarders I believe is animal hoarders. Normally they just keep collecting animals, no matter how little of room they have they just keep getting or breeding animals.
Although there are different types, there is usually two distinct periods that people might start to have OCD. One type is known ask early onset OCD. As the name sounds, this OCD appears before puberty. The other type that can happen later in life is known as late-onset OCD. The effective type of treatment for OCD may sometimes depend on when the symptoms start.
Treatment
There are many different types of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Therefore there are various treatments for each and every one of the disorders. Such as medical, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tranquilizers, psychosurgery, psychotherapy, cognitive therapy, family therapy, group therapy, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation and herbal treatments. Now to go more in-depth on some of the treatments!
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are antidepressants that help with depressive disorders, personality disorders, and anxiety disorders. SSRIs prevent the reuptake of serotonin in particular never cells in the brain. With the serotonin that is left in the brain that was not reabsorbed, it transmits nerve impulses that enhance your attitude and you are not depressed as much about your condition. The reason it is called selective is because it only influences serotonin and nothing else.
Cognitive therapy helps you to reflect about yourself, and other people. Also it gets you to thinking about your actions and how they influence your outlook on life. It brings all your thoughts to the present and does not center everything on your pain or symptoms that have happened before. It also looks for a method to build up your state of mind at the present time. It helps with many different disorders including anxiety, depression, and stress, which all are symptoms of OCD.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a process where a short amount of electric stimulus is generated to cause an isolated seizure. There is no known reason to how or why an ECT effective. This treatment has been found to be more effective than some other treatments.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a machine that transmits magnetic pulses to the frontal left side of the brain. These magnetic pulses trigger neurotransmitters that deal with serotonin, nor epinephrine, and dopamine. They have done a clinical trial where the patients have been using antidepressants and not been successful in decreasing their symptoms. Fifty-four percent of the patients underwent major progress in their disorder.
Deep brain stimulation is a procedure where accurate motivation of certain divisions of the brain through the implantation of removable electrodes. This stimulation is very low risk of have long term effects on the brain. The intensity of this treatment can be modified to the amount of stimulation you need. This permits for precision of the treatment.
Psychosurgery is the last alternative to treating OCD. It is a surgical process where tiny parts of the brain tissue in certain parts of the brain are taken out. There are particular reasons to get this surgery. One, you have had the disease for more than five years. Two, the illness has to be tremendously bad and has made the individual incapable of caring for themselves. Three, every other treatment option has be exhausted. Four, the individual has to be within the age of twenty and sixty-five. This is an irreversible sugary so it is not to be entered into lightly.
There are many different treatments for OCD. These are just a few of them and they all have a close ending result. Some of them sound very painful and dangerous.
Sources
http://ocd.about.com/od/typesofocd/a/ocd_subtypes_hub.htm
http://www.thehealthcenter.info/adult-ocd/types-of-obsessions-and-compulsions.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ssris/MH00066
http://ocd.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=ocd&cdn=health&tm=48&gps=188_295_1064_437&f=20&tt=14&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinformation/therapies/cognitivebehaviouraltherapy.aspx
http://www.nmha.org/go/information/get-info/treatment/electroconvulsive-therapy-ect
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/mentalhealth/treatment/058.html
http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Helpline1/Transcranial_Magnetic_Stimulation_(rTMS).htm
http://ocd.about.com/od/treatment/a/DBS_OCD.htm
http://www.synaesthete.net/ocd/psychosurgery.htm
Kayla Cozza
Borderline Personality Disorder
Have you ever known a person who can be mad at any second or they think they aren’t important to this world? Have you ever wondered what is wrong with them or how to handle it? Well I do. This disorder is called Borderline personality disorder. I am going to tell you what it is and how you can help them out.
By definition, borderline personality disorder is an emotional disorder that causes emotional instability, leading to stress and other problems. You image of yourself is distorted making you feel worthless and flawed. Your anger may push others away. This disorder is serious and often life threating. It is characterized by severe emotional pain and difficulties managing emotions. The problems and symptoms may include:
-suicidal thoughts
-self harm
-severe negative emotions like anger or shame
-chaotic relationships
-extreme fear of abandonment
-risky behavior (risky driving, unsafe sex, gambling, or illegal drug use.)
-intense but short episodes of anxiety or depression
If you or a family member notices any of these symptoms you need to see a doctor and get treatment right away.
The things that cause this disorder can be genetics, environmental factors, and/or brain abnormalities. It can be a combination of all three or just one.
The risk factors include hereditary predisposition, abuse, and neglect.
BPD occurs more often in women than in men.
There are many complications with BPD. They are: intimate relationships, loss of jobs, school, social activities, and their self –image is negatively affected. The most common ones are job losses and broken marriages. Self- injury and suicide rates are higher.
People with BDP may also have other medical disorders. They include: depression, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, eating disordered, and bipolar disorder.
They are also more vulnerable to unplanned pregnancies, STD’s, car accidents, and physical fights. They also have abusive relationships, either they are the abuser or are the ones being abused.
There aren’t that many treatments for BDP. Therapy seems to be the one that works the best. There are two different types of therapy. One is dialectical behavioral therapy which is counseling in groups, individually, or over the phone. The other one is transference focused psychotherapy which is the relationship between you and your therapist.
There is also medicine that can help you control your symptoms and hospitalization when they have serious injuries.
Borderline personality disorder cannot be cured yet. It is a horrible disorder to have. Your life is constantly at risk of changing at any second. Whether your relationship disappears or you lose your job, it is not a fun thing to live with. If you know someone who has this disorder you need to understand what they are going through and be supportive. That is the best thing you can do for them.
Sources
https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/borderline-personality-disorder/
https://www.borderlinepersonalitydisorder.com/
Jessi Geist
Multiple Personality Disorder
Multiple personality disorder (MPD) is a disorder characterized by having at least one "alter" personality that controls behavior. The person has a severe feeling of dissociation, a mental process, which produces a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity. The "alters" are said to occur spontaneously and involuntarily, and function more or less independently of each other. The unity of consciousness, by which we identify our selves, is said to be absent in MPD.
The patient has many “alters” ranging from two to several thousands and specialists are uncertain to what may be the direct cause is but they do know that it is thought to stem from trauma experienced by the person with the disorder. The dissociative aspect is thought to be a coping mechanism — the person literally dissociates himself from a situation or experience that's too violent, traumatic, or painful to assimilate with his conscious self.
A person with Mulitple Personality Disorder may do things that they would never normally do, like be violent towards ones self or to others, reckless driving, stealing from a friend. The person is all of a sudden really down on them selves are more prone to self-sabotage or self-persecution. They do not remember very personal specific things that cannot be explained or rationalized.
The “Alter’s” identity maybe a different race, age, or even sex, each has his or her own postures, gestures, and distinct way of talking. Sometimes the “alters” are people; sometimes they can even be animals. As each personality reveals itself and controls the individuals' behavior and thoughts, it's called "switching." Switching can take from seconds to minutes to days. When under hypnosis, the person's different "alters" may be very responsive to the therapist's requests.
Patients with MPD may have the following symptoms:
* Depression
* Mood swings
* Suicidal tendencies
* Sleep disorders (insomnia, night terrors, and sleep walking)
* Anxiety, panic attacks, and phobias (flashbacks, reactions to
stimuli or "triggers")
* Alcohol and drug abuse
* Compulsions and rituals
* Psychotic-like symptoms (including auditory and visual
hallucinations)
* Eating disorders
*Headache
* Amnesia
* Time loss
* "Out of body experiences."
* Depression
* Confusion
The primary treatment for multiple personality disorder is therapy, which may be play therapy, hypnosis, art therapy, and talk therapy. Medication is usually not preferred because of the likelihood of overdose, and because the disorder is not chemically induced. The goal is to get “alters” in communication with each other, so that the person does not continue to dissociate from reality. A secondary goal is to be sure the person is removed from any on going traumatic situations, such as removing a child from an abusive home.
Sources
http://www.skepdic.com/mpd.html
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder?
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_N-yfJ-5x7pU/TJNJv5BBzbI/AAAAAAAAARU/9PkJFFkVVZ0/s400/Spli-Personality.jpg
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-multiple-personality-disorder.htm
Bipolar
Jon Korf
The mental disability I selected to do research on is Bipolar disorder. People with Bipolar disorder have periods of excitability alternating with periods of depression. The "mood swings" between mania and depression can be very abrupt. Bipolar disorder affects men and women equally. It usually appears between the ages 15 - 25. The exact cause is unknown, but it occurs more often in relatives of people with bipolar disorder, but we do know that Bipolar disorder results from disturbances in the areas of the brain that regulate mood.
There are two primary types of bipolar disorder. People with bipolar disorder have had at least one fully manic episode with periods of major depression. People with bipolar disorder II seldom experience full-fledged mania. Instead they experience periods of hypomania or in simpler English it is elevated levels of energy and impulsiveness that are not as extreme as the symptoms of those with the first bipolar disorder.
The manic phase may last from days to months and can include the following symptoms: agitation, irritation, hyper, increased energy, lack of self-control, racing thoughts, inflated self-esteem, little need for sleep, over-involvement in activities, they can also have delusions and believe that they can do more than they can. The opposing sides of this disorder are poor temper control, reckless behavior, binge eating, drinking, and/or drug use, impaired judgment, sexual promiscuity, spending sprees, tendency to be easily distracted, sleepiness, low self a steam, start to isolate them self and the worst part of all is thoughts and actions toward suicide. As a reminder Bipolar disorder II which was discussed earlier can have all these tendency’s but usually not as extreme.
Diagnosis of bipolar disorder depends on what kinds of test are run on the patient. The testing could include observing the patients behavior and mood, discussing the patient’s behavior and mood with family and friends, and an examination to identify out physical causes for the symptoms. Doctors may ask questions about family history, seeing if anyone has had bipolar disorder. They may also ask about any recent mood swings and how long they normally last. They will also check recent drugs the patient takes or any illegal drugs which can cause symptoms of the bipolar disorder.
Treatments for this disorder can vary depending on which of the two sides the patient is experiencing. The manic side of the disorder use mood stabilizers, antipsychotic medications, and lithium. The depression side of bipolar disorder uses more of the antidepressants. This could be used with or without the manic phase treatment. There is never a time limit on any of these medications. They have been observed on patients for two years and the medications that were most successful were the lithium and some of the antipsychotics medications.
Most medications for bipolar disorder will help the patient, but they also need the motivation and support of taking the medication correctly and regularly. Also having any attacks of mania or depression, should be treated as early as you can catch them. Some patients will start feeling better and think they don’t have to take their medications because they want to have the feeling of mania. Stopping the medication could have negative conquences.
Works Cited
Moore DP, Jefferson JW. Bipolar disorder. In: Moore DP, Jefferson JW, eds. Handbook of Medical Psychiatry. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier;2004:chap 80.
Schiffer RB. Psychiatric disorders in medical practice. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa:Saunders Elsevier;2007:chap 420.
Benazzi F. Bipolar disorder — focus on bipolar II disorder and mixed depression. Lancet. 2007;369:935-945.
Morriss RK, Faizal MA, Jones AP, Williamson PR, Bolton C, McCarthy JP. Interventions for helping people recognise early signs of recurrence in bipolar disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007;24;(1):CD004854.
Sachs GS, Nierenberg AA, Calabrese JR, et al. Effectiveness of adjunctive antidepressant treatment for bipolar depression. N Engl J Med. 2007;356:1711-1722.
Depression
Scott Jones, David Bauer
Depression
Depression is a state of mind where, a person feels deep sadness or low self esteem, due to traumatic events that had occurred in a persons life. There are Different types of Depression, such as, Atypical depression, Melancholic depression, Catatonic depression.
Symptoms
- Loss of pleasure and Enjoyment of normal activities that they would normally enjoy
- thoughts of being worthless
- guilt or regret
- helplessness
- hopelessness or self hatred
- loss of memory or trouble of remembering.
Some people will develop Insomnia where the person is unable to fall asleep or wake up repeatedly during the night. Studies shown to prove that 80% of people with depression will develop Insomnia.
Although some people will lose sleep some with gain sleep this is a disorder called Hypersomnia where the person will oversleep only 15% of people will develop this will in depression.
Causes
Many biological and psychological factors may occur to cause depression to occur. The type of life you live will affect your psychological stability, if you are on a low income job working long hours, will cause a stressful situation trying to pay all your bills on time not being able to buy things for yourself. Stress is a big factor in Depression many people that have situation will develop depression, lonely because of the stress. Depression can be triggered by big events that happen in your life, a death in the family or a friend, the loss of the love of your life either in death or break up.
Treatments
Psychotherapy is used along with medication. Psychotherapy is "talking work" where the client meets with a therapist to talk about his or hers problems and events that are happening in their life. The point of this is to allow the client to express their feelings and thoughts on something to relieve stress and change attitudes towards something, and looking at it in a different point of view.
There are different types of these sessions there is short term where the Doctor meets with the client for a 16 week period of structured conversation talking about what is currently happening. The psychologist takes control on guiding the conversation bringing up topics and helping the client see around the event in different ways.
The other type of session would is long term these sessions can last up to over a year. In these sessions the client is talking more freely about anything he so chooses. They will talk about the client's childhood and how it may be related to or affecting the clients relationships in the present.
Psychoeducation is another type of treatment where the client learns about the affects of depression, the causes, the treatments. Knowing the information of the disorder, can sometimes help the person to conquer the problem. This also allows them to talk about related issues that they are having.
Family Interventions is where the members of the family meet with the person who is having trouble and they talk to him about what the problem is that he is having and what they are going through and how it is affecting them.
Medications in the 1950's the first drug they used to help people with depression was called Iproniazid, which was used to treat tuberculosis, when they discovered that it elevated patents moods.
Earlier medications were called MAOI's which blocked the breakdown of monoamine oxidase, an enzyme that breaks down some neurotransmitters in the brain.
Modern Medications are now called SSRI's (Specific Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) usually the first choice for a doctor to prescribe. The side affects of this drug is nausea, stomach upset and headaches.
Atypical depression
Atypical depression is where the person had the ability to feel the extremes of different moods, such as if the person experiences he or she will be really happy, but if the situation is sad or stressful the person will become very sad or depressed in the situation.
Melancholic depression
This depression is where the person can not find any pleasure in happy situations and will suffer extreme weight loss or retardation. The person with the disorder can also experience insomnia. Treatment for this is usually anti-depresants.
Catatonic depression
This depression type is where the person experiences bi-polar attributes, and can be caused by post traumatic stress.
Shelton Harvey and J'Nae Raynor
Bipolar
Shelton Harvey I think Bipolar is a terrible disease that can change a person in seconds. The person can be relaxed as a peaches then a rampage comes out. When someone is in bipolar mode they can hurt their love ones by physical or verbal abuse. Also bipolar can put a person into a deep depression. I will be covering what is bipolar, what are the symptoms, how bipolar is treated, and how is it diagnosed. I believe bipolar doesn’t have to be difficult to live with and the love from others and the right medicine.
First, Bipolar disorder is also called manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out everyday activities. They are different from normal people’s bad days and moods. Bipolar can affect a person’s relationships, career, school work, and even suicide. Bipolar disorder comes around in a person’s late teen or early adult life. The first signs occur in childhood but it is hard to detect. Some people suffer from this disorder for years before being diagnosed and treated by doctors. Bipolar disorder is a long-term illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person's life.
Second, one symptom is intense emotional states that occur in periods called mood episodes. Another one is an overly joyful or overexcited state is called a manic episode, and an extremely sad or hopeless state is a called depressive episode. Sometimes both symptoms occur at the same time and that is called mixed state. People’s energy, activity, sleep, and behavior are changes in the mood of a bipolar person. An episode can last for day, every day of week, or weeks and sometimes symptoms are so severe that the person cannot function in everyday activities. Symptoms are very important for people to detect and help the people that have bipolar because it can make life easier.
Third, bipolar disorder is treatable, but people have a hard time seeing the signs and the people with the disorder suffer. Today there is no cure for this disorder, but with the right treatment the person can have a successful life. Treatments for bipolar is a lifelong illness deal. A treatment plan includes medication and psychotherapy for preventing relapse and reducing symptoms. There are several medications they are Mood Stabilizing, Atypical Antipsychotic, and Antidepressant. Also there are other treatments Electroconvulsive Therapy and Sleep medications. People with bipolar should tell their doctor about all their prescription drugs because the wrong treatment can make things a lot worst.
The first step of getting a diagnosis is to talk to a doctor and he or she will conduct a physical examination, an interview, and lab tests. Also a doctor should discuss a family history of bipolar disorder or mental illness to get a complete understanding of the problem. People that have bipolar are more likely to seek help when they are depressed than feeling mania episode. Family is important to maintain their love one disorder with support, understanding, and patience.
I learned bipolar disorder is a lifetime disorder and it’s not always anger involved. Depression has a big part with bipolar and that leads to suicide. Bipolar is a disorder that is tough for the person and the people involved and love is best defense against biopolar.
Sources:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder/complete-index.shtml#pub13
J'Nae Raynor
The goal of all living organisms is to reproduce. This is also the same for humans. We look for the best characteristics in a mate to try and create offspring that will hopefully be successful and “carry on the family name”. There are many traits that people can pass on to their children. The ones we look forward to seeing in our children are eye color, hair color, height, and the hope of the same interests. Unfortunately, there are problems that can be passed on such as heart disease, breast cancer, and obesity. In this case, the bad things are mental disabilities and disorders.
Bipolar disorder can be passed down to children but just because one parent or both are bipolar, it doesn’t meant that the child will be. It only means that the child will be at a higher risk. In children the rate of bipolar disorder is between 4% and 15% with one bipolar parent. Children with no bipolar parents has a chance of 0% to 2%. If both parents are bipolar the chances for the child to develop the condition go up about 3.5 times.
Many people would wonder what the people with this condition would think if the knew that they would be passing on this disorder. Many people may regret having children because as they grow up bipolar traits will show up. This may be one of the hardest things to deal with because the parent knows that they caused it. Maybe some would just hope that their child turns out not to be bipolar. Though the chances of having a child without bipolar disorder is fairly high, there is still the chance of them being perfectly fine.
When kids are younger it’s hard to figure out if they carry the bipolar trait or not. Most children are typically energetic and throw tantrums because they don’t their way. There are ways to determine whether they are bipolar or just a regular, moody kid. The process of being diagnosed with being bipolar is to be examined by a therapist that will ask detailed questions about what symptoms the patient may have and how long they lasted. To be diagnosed, the patient must have had a manic episode lasting at least a week. To prevent from mixing up causes for symptoms, a urine test is done to rule out other problems.
Some symptoms that are easier to detect when people are older are mood swings. These mood swings are called manic episodes. During these episodes the person will typically experience highs such as being very energetic, feeling like they need very little sleep, and feeling high self-confidence. On the other hand they will have lows. They will be depressed, hopelessness, and may have extreme thought of killing themselves. These are easier to notice when a person’s personality has developed and matured more.
Bipolar disorder is hereditary. Children with bipolar parents have a more likely chance of being bipolar. There are ways to diagnose being bipolar and it’s easier to do when the person is older.
Source: http://www.health.com/health/condition-article/0,,20275258,00.html
Bipolar in Teens
Anna Zillinger, Callie Reed, and Nichelle Erskine
Bipolar is defined as a medical condition in which people have mood swings out of proportion, or seemingly unrelated, to things going on in their lives. These swings affect thoughts, feelings, physical health, behavior, and function in people’s lives. Life as a teenager is filled with insecurities, social awkwardness, and the rights of passage into adulthood. Add a bipolar disorder in the mix and the instability at this age increases exponentially. Teenagers who have bipolar disorder face many challenges. They often need individual education plans or other specialized arrangements to help them deal with aspects of a bipolar disorder in the classroom and social situations.
Children with bipolar disorder are at risk for school failure, substance abuse, and suicide. The lifetime morality rate of bipolar from suicide is higher than that for some childhood cancers.
Bipolar disorder is difficult to recognize because:
*Bipolar disorder in children and teens comes with different symptoms than those of an adult. The symptoms can resemble or co-occur with those of other common childhood onset mental disorders.
*Bipolar disorder may be mistaken for normal emotions and behaviors of children and teens.
*Bipolar disorder may be mistaken for the symptoms of trauma or abuse.
*Bipolar disorder may be mistaken for symptoms of drug use.
*There is no objective medical test for bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder goes by many names: manic depression, manic-depressive disorder, manic-depressive illness, bipolar mood disorder, and bipolar affective disorder. Doctors and scientists don’t know the exact cause of bipolar disorder but they think that biochemical genetic and environmental factors may be involved. It’s believed this condition is caused by imbalances in certain brain chemicals called neural transmitters. If the neural transmitters aren’t in balance, the brains mood regulator system won’t work the way it should. Genes also play a role, if a close relative has bipolar disorder a person’s risk of developing the condition is higher. Even in studies involving identical twins raised in the same home, one twin sometimes had bipolar disorder whereas the other did not. Researchers are now working on identifying the gene or genes involved in bipolar disorder.
The two most important types of medication used to control the symptoms of bipolar disorder and mood stabilizers and anti-depressants. Physicians may also prescribe other medications to help with insomnia, restlessness, or psychotic symptoms. Mood stabilizers are used to improve symptoms during manic episodes; they may also sometimes remove symptoms of depression. Three mood stabilizers are widely used in the United States:
*Lithium
*Valproate
*Carbamazepine
Different types of medication can help. Children respond to medications in different ways, so the type of medication depends on the child. Some children may need more than one type of medication because their symptoms are so complex. Occasionally they need to try different medicine to see what works best for them.
Different kinds of psychotherapy, or “talk” therapy can help children with bipolar disorder. Therapy can help children change their behavior and manage their routines. It can also help young people get along better with family and friends. Sometimes therapy includes family members.
Environmental factors may play a role in bipolar disorder. For some teens, stresses such as death in the family, parents getting divorced, or other traumatic events could trigger a first episode of mania or depression. Sometime going through the changes of puberty can set off an episode. In girls, symptoms can be tied to their monthly minstrel cycle.
Teens normally face ups and downs with school, family, work and friends. Dealing with bipolar disorder at the same time is a very difficult challenge. One 16 year old who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 14 explains his experience:
"I had mood swings that were the worst anyone could have ever seen. My poor parents thought I hated them, but really I was sick and didn't even realize it. But now I am on medications for my disorder and I live a pretty normal life. My family and friends support me, and they, along with my therapist, have helped me get to the point where I am today. I just want other teens to know that even though it is hard at times to be bipolar, things will get better."
Q: How can I tell whether someone has bipolar or just dealing with stress?
A: Doctors look for the following symptoms.
Symptoms of mania may include:
Elevated mood—silliness or extreme happiness that is inappropriate
Grandiosity—inflated sense of importance
Racing speech and thoughts
Talking more than usual
Irritability or hostility
Excessive distractibility
Decreased need for sleep
Reckless behavior or poor judgment (daredevil acts, hyper sexuality)
Hallucinations and psychosis
Symptoms of depression may include:
Lack of pleasure in life
Withdrawal from favorite activities
Agitation and irritability
Persistent feelings of sadness and/or crying spells
Sleeping too much or inability to sleep
Drop in grades or inability to concentrate
Thoughts of death and suicide
Fatigue or loss of energy
Significant weight loss, weight gain or change in appetite.
Here are some myths and facts about Depression and Bipolar Disorder:
Myth: Depression and bipolar disorder are just states of mind. A person just needs to “think positive” and they will go away.
Fact: Depression and bipolar disorder are real, treatable illnesses that affect the brain. They can’t be overcome by “snapping out of it.” Asking someone to “think positive” is like asking some with diabetes to change his or her blood sugar level by thinking about it. People with mood disorders can feel better with the right treatment.
Myth: Medications that treat mood disorders are habit-forming. They can change a person’s personality. A person can’t be “clean or sober” while taking medication.
Fact: When properly prescribed and used, medications are not addictive and do not change a person’s true personality. Medications help a person’s mood become more stable and even. They are not “happy pills” and should not be compared to street drugs. They do not cloud a person’s judgment or give a false sense of courage.
Myth: People with mood disorders can’t get better.
Fact: When correctly diagnosed and treated, a person with depression or bipolar disorder can live a stable and healthy life. Millions of people already do.
Myth: People with bipolar disorder or depression are dangerous.
Fact: Research shows that people with a mental illness do not commit significantly more violent acts than people in the general population. However, people with a mental illness are twice as likely to be victims of violence.
Myth: People with depression or bipolar disorder should not have children.
Fact: People who have been treated for mood disorders can parent as well as anyone else. They are also more likely to recognize symptoms, treat their children early, and understand their children’s struggles if their children have mood disorders.
Sources:
http://blogs.neuronring.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/symptoms-of-bipolar-disorder-300x300.jpg
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/bipolar.html
http://www.focusas.com/BipolarDisorder.html
http://www.cerescanimaging.com/files/Images/Normal_VS_Bipolar.aspx
http://www.crystalgraphics.com/images/gallery/charts/bipolar_dual_y_1.jpg
Casey Dirkes
Michelle Glaze
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a (biological) disease (of the brain) that ebbs and flows. It is a chronic mental illness that affects approximately 0.5% to 1.5% of the world’s adult population. Some of the symptoms for schizophrenia characterized as positive or negative symptoms. Some positive symptoms of schizophrenia are delusions, hallucinations, grossly disorganized behavior, and disorganized speech. These are all the positive reactions to a schizophrenia. Some of the negatives to schizophrenia are affective flattening (lack of expressed emotion), alogia (lack of speech), avolition (lack of motivation). There are some people with schizophrenia often show social or occupational dysfunction. Schizophrenia affects more than 2.7 million people in America. Schizophrenia is a disease that slowly happensand gets stronger and progresses to a very severe mental illness, and is generally treated with antipsychotic medications.
What are the causes of schizophrenia?
*Hard times in life that really impacted a person (the loss of a parent, poverty, bullying, witnessing parental violence, emotional/ sexual abuse, physical/emotional neglect ect.)
*Schizophrenia runs in families. If there is a family member in the family that has it the person that they live with is most likely going to get diagnosed with it as well.
*There is no known single cause of schizophrenia.
*People with schizophrenia are very sensitive to brain chemical called dopamine, or produce too much of it. Dopamine is neurotransmitter, which are substances that allow nerve cells in the brain to send messages to each other.
*The body undergoes hormonal and physical changes
*The causes of schizophrenia is still unclear
What are the different types of schizophrenia?
*The different types of schizophrenia are based on the specific symptoms a person is experiencing. These are a few different types that are mostly seen in schizophrenia people.
*Residual schizophrenia: Positive symptoms of schizophrenia (delusions, paranoia, or heightened sensitivity) are absent; the sufferer only has negative symptoms (withdrawal, disinterest, and not speaking).
*Disorganized schizophrenia: Major symptoms are disorganized speech and behavior (saying things that don’t make sense to a normal person but makes sense to them), as well as flat or inappropriate emotions/ actions (zombie like with no feelings or laughing at a funeral)
*Paranoid schizophrenia: The individual is preoccupied with one or more delusions or many auditory hallucinations. (Bugs crawling everywhere or voices in head)
*Undifferentiated schizophrenia: This is characterized by episodes of two or more of the following symptoms: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech or behavior, catatonic behavior or negative symptoms.
*Catatonic schizophrenia: The person with this type of schizophrenia primarily has at least two of the following symptoms: difficulty moving, resistance to moving, excessive movement, abnormal movements, and/or repeating what others say or do.
*Schizophrenia is different in Males and Females. It has different reactions to the body
Schizophrenia Treatment:
*Treatment has advanced considerably in recent years for people that are diagnosed with Schizophrenia.
*Treatment and other service are often taken to the clinical phases of schizophrenia:
-Acute phase
-Stabilizing phase
-Stable (or maintenance) phase
-Recovery phase.
-Eliminating the symptoms of the disease
-Improving quality of life
-Restoring productive lives
*These are all phases that the patient can go through to get the treatment that they need.
*With medication, therapy, and supportive services, many people with schizophrenia are able to control their symptoms, gain greater independence, and lead fulfilling lives
*Medical history and exam the doctor will ask about your personal and family health history. He will also perform a complete physical examination to check for medical issues that could be causing or contributing to the problem
*There are laboratory tests and what they do is diagnose schizophrenia, simple blood and urine tests can rule out other medical causes of symptoms. The doctor may also order brain imaging studies, such as an MRI or a CT scan, in order to look for brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia.
*Effective treatment also makes the challenges of schizophrenia less stressful and frightening for the individual with the disorder and his or her family members.
*Successful treatment for schizophrenia aims to relieve current symptoms, prevent future psychotic episodes, and reintegrate the person into society. Treatment plans that combines medication with supportive services and therapy is the most effective approach.
What are the signs and symptoms?
*Strange body position
*Feeling indifferent to very important situations
*A change in personal hygiene and appearance
*A change in personality
*Inability to sleep or concentrate
*Extreme preoccupation
*Hallucinations: involve 5 senses but auditory and visual are the most common.
*Negative Symptoms: flat (lack of emotional expression/ blank stare), lack of interest, lack of self care, unaware of the environment, difficulties with speech (can’t carry a conversation).
*Delusions: people are out to get them, an object is sending them messages, believes they are famous or have powers (flying), believes their thoughts are being controlled by an outside source (planting thoughts in their head).
*Disorganized speech: have trouble maintaining a train of thought, say illogical things, shift rapidly from topic to topic with no connection between the topics, make up words, repeat certain words, and try to rhyme.
*Positive Symptoms: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and disorganized behavior.
Websites used:
[http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4b-_bNsajY&feature=related]
[http://http://www.medicinenet.com/schizophrenia/article.htm]
[http://http://helpguide.org/mental/schizophrenia_symptom.htm]
Schizophrenia
Moriah LeFlore
Schizophrenia is a psychological disorder that affects the mind and how people interact with each other. Schizophrenia is basically diagnosed by symptoms. The symptoms are divided into negative and positive.
Positive symptoms are shown by people that have hallucinations, may talk in a disorganized way, or have delusions. Hallucinations are seeing, hearing, touching, or smelling something that really isn’t there. Often times people with schizophrenia will have interactions with people who are not really there. These interactions can vary from “friends” whose company they enjoy, to (and more often) enemies who are out to get them. These “enemies” can convince them to do things they normally would not do. What may seem like random acts of violence from a schizophrenic could be merely an escape from someone they believe is trying to hurt them. To a schizophrenic these hallucinations are real.
Speaking in a disorganized way is called “word salads”. (http://www.schizophrenia.com/diag.php#common). Ongoing disjointed or rambling monologues- in which a person seems to be talking to himself/herself or imagined people or voices. This is an example of such a phase being said out loud to know one in particular: “This morning when I was at Hilldside, I was making a movie. I was surrounded by movie stars….I’m Mary Poppins. Is this room painted blue to get me upset? My grandmother died four weeks after my eighteenth birthday.” (David G. Myers, 2009, page 340).
A delusion is a false belief despite strong evidence against it. A person with delusions may believe that everyone is out to get them. Even TV and other media seem to speak to them directly. Sometime they even think they have special powers or abilities: delusions of grandeur.
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are the absence of emotions or actions that you would expect a person to have. They seem to have no interest in life. They can’t get themselves motivated. They may have a toneless voice, expressionless face, or even get to the point of sitting rigid and not talking for hours on end. This causes a lot of social problems such as having a hard time making or keeping friends. They even don’t seem to care to have friends around.
There is no cure for schizophrenia. However, there are many treatments available. The most common medical treatment for schizophrenia is the use of anti-psychotic medication. 70% of people using medication for schizophrenia improve. [http://www.epigee.org/mental_health/schizophrenia_treatment.html]
Non medical treatments include individual psychotherapy, group therapy, and cognitive rehabilitation. Psychotherapy is used adjunct to medication. It helps the person to stay on medications and establish and achieve a weekly goal. It also helps them to explore thoughts, feelings, and experiences connected to the disorder.
Group therapy is also used adjunct to medication and is more effective than medication alone. Patients tend to benefit from this type of treatment when the problems caused by the disorder can be discussed with others.
Cognitive rehabilitation focuses on improving the cognitive functions by retaining the ability to think, use judgment and make decisions. There is a lot of debate on effectiveness of this treatment.
We still have much to learn about this disorder. As science improves so does our knowledge.
Schizophrenia
Brandon Frank, Chaz Winger & Zach Wilson
Schizophrenia- is a mental disorder that affects the brain. Literally translated it means “split mind”. Although the brain is not actually split into different personalities it does possess a split in reality. Approximately one in every one hundred people will develop it. To understand schizophrenia you must first understand how it affects the brain, symptoms of the disease, and others who have suffered from it.
HISTORY
Just like any other mental illness schizophrenia has been around for thousands of years, but it was not called “schizophrenia” until 1911 by Swiss psychiatrist, Eugen Bleuler. This word comes from the Greek roots schizo (split) and phrene (mind).Schizophrenia is subdivided into five different categories, based on prominent symptoms and prognoses. The five categories are disorganized, catatonic, paranoid, residual, and undifferentiated. Emil Draeplin, a German physician, proposed the first three of these categories. Although these categories have come to peoples’ attention they have not been helpful to the prediction of the outcome of the disorder.
SCHIZOPHRENIA SYMPTOMS
No symptom can be defined for diagnosis; only the pattern of signs and symptoms can be defined, in union with other occupational or social functioning. There is no lab test that can diagnose schizophrenia. A psychiatrist will come to the diagnosis for clinical symptoms. Testing done by individuals can take out other conditions and seizure disorders, metabolic disorders, thyroid dysfunction, brain tumor, street drug use, they sometimes have similar symptoms. People diagnosed with schizophrenia usually experience a lot of positive, hallucinations, delusions, racing thoughts. Then there is negative, apathy, lack of emotion, poor or nonexistent social functioning, and cognitive disorganized thoughts. Another symptom is talking nonsense.
Talking nonsense- This generally occurs when a person is in the active phase of his illness. It can re-emerge sometimes when medications are too low or stress is too high. What the patient says becomes incomprehensible to those around him either because sentences are unconnected to each other, or else because there seems to be no point to the stories told, or else because topics seem to switch with great frequency. Words may take on special meanings in schizophrenia either because they trigger private associations or because attention is paid to individual sounds rather than whole words. For instance "psychiatry" may sound like "sigh Kaya tree" & the topic may switch suddenly from a discussion of psychiatry to a discussion about mystical trees. Certain words may be avoided because they sound harsh or evil. Sometimes intonations are changed for similar reasons. Sometimes language is used as an incantation to ward off threats. Difficulty making sense to others is a symptom of the acute phase of the illness. It is almost impossible to communicate with patients when they are in this phase & it is very frustrating to family. (http://www.schizophrenia.com/family/delusions.html)
I had a relative that was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He has a good story he told me. He first started hearing voices in his head; He did not know what was going on. Later he went to see a family doctor. The doctor did some tests and figured out he was starting to go through the stages of schizophrenia. At this point he did not know what to think. “Am I actually going to start killing people? I can’t be a murderer!” He said to himself. He started having hallucinations and racing thoughts. This started making him a little more scared. He has a bad case of lack of emotion. I used to be able to make him laugh, it is almost impossible to now. He used to be so outgoing and fun to be around. Now he just wants to sit down and never do anything. He has not yet had an actual thought of actually killing anyone. However he still hallucinates and still has racing thoughts. The worst part about it is he seems like he is always depressed.
Schizophrenia is characterized by profound disruption in cognition and emotion, affecting the most fundamental human attributes: language, thought, perception, affect, and sense of self. The array of symptoms, while wide ranging, frequently includes psychotic manifestations, such as hearing internal voices or experiencing other sensations not connected to an obvious source (hallucinations) and assigning unusual significance or meaning to normal events or holding fixed false personal beliefs (delusions). No single symptom is definitive for diagnosis; rather, the diagnosis encompasses a pattern of signs and symptoms, in conjunction with impaired occupational or social functioning
CAUSES
Experts in the field are not completely sure what causes schizophrenia. Some doctors believe the problem is that the brain may not be able to process information correctly. Genetic factors appear to play a role. People who have family members with schizophrenia seem to be more likely to get the disease themselves. Some researchers believe that events in a person's environment may also trigger schizophrenia. For example, problems during development in the mother's womb and at birth may increase the risk for developing schizophrenia later in life. Psychological and social factors may also affect its development. However, the level of social and family support appears to affect the course of illness and may protect against the condition returning.
Schizophrenia usually begins before the age of 45, symptoms last for 6 months or more, and people start to lose their ability to socialize and work. Schizophrenia is believed to affect about 1% of people worldwide. It appears to occur in equal rates among men and women, but in women it begins later. For this reason, males tend to account for more than half of patients in services with high numbers of young adults. Although schizophrenia usually begins in young adulthood, there are cases in which the disorder begins later in life such as people over 45 years of age. Childhood schizophrenia begins after the age of 5 and, for the most part, after normal development. Childhood schizophrenia is rare and can be difficult to tell apart from other developmental disorders of childhood, such as autism.
TREATMENT
Antipsychotic or neuroleptic medications change the balance of chemicals in the brain and can help control the symptoms of the illness. These medications are effective, but they can also have side effects just like any other drug. However, many of these side effects can be addressed, and should not prevent people from seeking treatment for this serious condition. Newer drugs known as atypical antipsychotics appear to have fewer side effects. They also appear to help people who have not improved with the older medications. Treatment with medications is usually needed to prevent symptoms from coming back. Supportive and problem-focused forms of therapy may be helpful for many people. Behavioral techniques, such as social skills training, can be used during therapy, or at home to improve function socially and at work. Family treatments that combine support and education about schizophrenia (psychoeducation) appear to help families cope and reduce the odds of symptoms returning. Programs that emphasize outreach and community support services can help people who lack family and social support.
PROGNOSIS
Most people with schizophrenia find that their symptoms improve with medication, and some can get good control of their symptoms over time. However, others have functional disability and are at risk for repeated episodes, especially during the early stages of the illness.
To live in the community, people with schizophrenia may need supported housing, work rehabilitation, and other community support programs. People with the most severe forms of this disorder may be too disabled to live alone, and may need group homes or other long-term, structured places to live.
There is also many different complications to taking drugs to help cure schizophrenia. People with schizophrenia have a high risk of developing a substance abuse problem. Use of alcohol or other drugs increases the risk of relapse. Physical illness is common among people with schizophrenia due to side effects from medication and living conditions. These may not be detected because of poor access to medical care and difficulties talking to health care providers. Not taking medication will often cause symptoms to return.
The best way to prevent symptoms from coming back is to take the medication your doctor prescribed. Because side effects are one of the most important reasons why people with schizophrenia stop taking their medication, it is very important to find the medication that controls your symptoms without causing side effects. Always talk to your doctor if you are thinking about changing or stopping your medications.
Schizophrenia is a very common severe mental disorder that can be found all over the world. Worldwide, millions of dollars are spent on research on schizophrenia. Despite this, there are wide gaps in understanding this disease. Although it is widely accepted as a disorder of the brain, the exact pathology is yet to be determined. However, in the last few decades we have witnessed the introduction of new drugs to treat this disorder. We also see many new intervention strategies being implemented, to help with this very serious disease.
. Sourced by (DSM-IV -available for purchase on Amazon.com Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR).
Cotard's Syndrome
Stefanie Eicher
Also known as the “Walking Corpse syndrome”, Cotard’s syndrome is a rare delusional disorder in which the suffer utterly and wholly believes he or she is dead, immortal, or does not exist.
Cotard’s Syndrome was defined 1882 by a French psychiatrist by the name of Jules Cotard. Cotard used it to describe a patient, a woman, who did not believe in the existence of “God, the devil, several parts of her body, or the need to eat.” The patient later stated that she was “eternally damned and could no longer die a normal death.” She eventually died of starvation. The syndrome, though rare, has not remained in the time of Cotard’s life, but has also occurred in modern times.
The symptoms associated with Cotard’s Syndrome includes severe depression, complete lack of appetite, the inability to feel pain, poor personal hygiene and complete self-social isolation. The sufferer believes that he or she is dead and perhaps entering decomposition. He or she may also think that all of his or her blood has been drain and/or he or she has been eviscerated. Because of this conception, the subject sees eating and personal hygiene as useless. Since he or she is “dead“, the suffer believes that he or she should not feel pain and even physically is unable to feel pain.
The cause of Cotard’s Syndrome is believed to be biological. It is supposed that someone suffering from Cotard’s Syndrome has a disconnection between the area of the brain that recognizes faces and that which is able to associate emotions with faces. The disconnection may cause the suffer to not be able recognize his or her own face, thus stirring the believe that he or she does not exist, and in turn, dead. The same biological cause is associated with Capgras’ Syndrome, which Cotard’s Syndrome is believed to be related for that reason. Capgras’s Syndrome is a disorder in which the sufferer believes someone in his or her life has been replaced with by an imposter.
Drugs and chemical therapy have shown little progress when used to combat Cotard‘s Syndrome. The most successful way to cure this syndrome is by electroconvulsive therapy. Electroconvulsive therapy is a type of therapy done by inducing convulsive seizures by electrical means. With varying lengths of seizures durations induced, the electroconvulsive therapy is applied until the stimuli becomes enough that the patient no longer holds the perception associated with the disorder and admits he or she is alive.
Cotard’s Syndrome is a rare, unusual psychological disorder that if not properly treated can result in death. Those who are suffering or know someone who is suffering from Cotard’s Syndrome should seek assistance promptly.
References
[http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/12/1/117]
[http://psychservices.psychiartyonline.org/cgi/content/full/55/11/1319]
[http://science.discovery.com/top-ten/2009/mental-disorders/mental-disorders-1.html]
“Convulsive Shock Therapy.” Encyclopedia of Psychology. 2nd. 1. New York: Wiley
Interscience, 1994. Print
Trichillomania
Rebecca Dicks
Who would have thought that the innocent act of a child twirling his or her hair and nibbling on it would led to a mental disorder? Trichillomania is just that: a person or child takes on the habit of chew and eating their own hair.
First they pull their hair out by globs, feeling as if they had mange. Some subjects also pull out their pubic hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. This is a psychological disorder which seems to affect the emotions of self-image and confidence. The pulling of hair seems to comfort the suffer. However, this is a compulsive disorder. Innocently starting by twirling their heads and twirling their hair, progressing to the full onset of hiding their habit until they have to eventually wear wigs. It seems that the subjects have an uncontrolled urge to pull the individual stands of their own hair. Many newscasts have been done about this, trying to publish trichillomania.
This illness affects half a million people in the U.K. alone and 1 in 50 in the U.S. leads to severe high panic and depression. The numbers seem to fluctuate and no accurate statistics are available.
In recent years, Dr. Allison Ashely-Koch of Duke Medical Center has done research with DNA and gene, trying to link this psychological disorder to a physical realm. She has proven that 5% of suffers have a mutated gene. The gene associated to trichillomania is called SlipRK1. Research has become slow due to the stigma about beauty and self-images. The U.S. alone spends 3 to 4 million on self-care products, so anyone suffering from trichillomania is shamed with isolation. It is not only women whom suffer from this, but women do more often hold the greater risk of suffering from this illness.
Had it not been for popular Hollywood stylist Mandy and Jeanie, a Miss America, coming out to the public, we might have never known about trichillmania. Researchers have also trichotillomania, the uncontrollable urge to pluck out a single strand of hair that the suffer feels is out of place or does not belong there. In very severe cases some suffers digest the hair to keep their dark secret.
There are two approaches to medical treatment. One is the use of ssri, the other being obsessive-compulsive psychotherapy. Scientists have reported more success with psychotherapy. My study revealed that there is hope to lessen the impulse to pull, but there is no permanent cure.
References
Mayoclinical.com/health/trichotollomania/ds000895
www.trich.OrgbackScientific
Marijuana Inspirations Gasoline
Garrett Baldwin
Imagine this, three people sitting in a room smoking. One guy starts laughing at nothing, and says that he thinks he sounds like a stupid monkey. About two minutes of silence go by and the guy says: He’d be running up the tree sideways and the other monkeys are up in the tree would be throwing bananas at him saying…Turn around you dumbass. Hysteric laughter follows. The person who came up with this story had to be really creative and inspired by his surroundings. But that inspiration needed some help to produce such a story, that help was marijuana, hence the name of this project. Marijuana: Inspirations gasoline.
Many people over the ages have used marijuana for various purposes. Some have used it as a medicine, some have used it as a recreational substance to get high and have a good time. Others have used it for more serious reasons. The Rastafarian Religion uses cannabis as a sacrament to God. Also, some people have used cannabis to stimulate creativity and inspiration.
When you are under the influence marijuana, your sense of time is altered, your mouth becomes dry, eyes red and droopy and reaction time is slightly lowered. The creative portion of your brain is stimulated and you are able to think deeper and clearer than before. Some of the most popular music, art and poems have been created by people using cannabis. The level of creativity that can be achieved in the brain while you are using cannabis is unobtainable by anything else. However, everyone’s cannabis experience is different, for most people this is the norm. But some peoples “high” is different, it can cause lethargy and depression. So in light of this, to make an assumption about the affects of cannabis on the human brain, you must try it for yourself to see how it affects you personally.
In my experience, cannabis has a positive effect. It opens my mind into a completely different level of thinking. I am able to concentrate harder and think in a more abstract way. The problems I am faced with at that time seem to disappear and I am able to solve them in a more mature and logical way because I can think about it with a clearer mind. However, marijuana’s effect on the human brain is not all roses. It has been known to kill brain cells and it definitely inhibits your short term memory. But this is not the only substance that causes this affect, alcohol kills brain cells at a faster rate than pot dose. So if alcohol is worse for your body and mind than marijuana, why isn’t it outlawed? If abused over a long period of time, cannabis can have serious consequences. It can cause severe paranoia and schizophrenia. It can also cause depression in some people. However this is only in extreme cases of long term abuse. If you only use it recreationally the odds of these side effects are close to zero.
So, is weed a completely harmless substance? No, but the good attributes of it surly outweigh the side effects. It allows people to meditate on issues, create beautiful art, and simply relax and see the world from a different more peaceful perspective. Abuse can have negative affects but, abuse of almost anything will. So, next time you are thinking about how weed makes people stupid and slow. Think about what you have learned today and maybe it will change your mind.
ADHD
Amanda Brown
http://health.discovery.com/videos/baby-week-shorts-adhd.html
Attention deficit hyperactive disorder or ADHD is a neurobehavioral developmental disorder. ADHD is the most common disorder diagnosed in children and the symptoms start to show at about seven years of age in the 3 to 5% of the children diagnosed, and 30 to 50% of those who are diagnosed with this disorder are still having symptoms as an adult. Children and adults tend to compensate some mechanisms to work with their impairments. Research shows 4.7% of the American adults live with ADHD and 8 million adults in the United States have been diagnosed with ADHD. There is no proven way to prevent ADHD. Some early identification and treatment can prevent many of the problems associated with ADHD.
What does this mean in a practical sense? It means that in any given classroom with between 25 and 30 children there is likely to be at least one child who has ADHD, even if they have been diagnosed with the disorder or not. It also means that a business with 50 employees will also have at less one ADHD sufferer. Sense ADHD was diagnosed in people there have been thousands of scientific, academic, and medical papers written with records about the disorder. The definition of ADHD is it can make it difficult for people to be able to control their behavior, as well as various other symptoms.
ADHD is diagnosed two to four more times in boys as in girls. Ways to manage ADHD is to take medications, change your lifestyle, and counseling. The exact cause ADHD is unknown but some doctors think that inherited genetic factors are likely responsible. Symptoms of ADHD mostly found in children include, troubles having attention on one thing at a time, hyperactivity, impulsivity, procrastination and forgetfulness. Numerous studies have showed that stimulant medication provides a huge benefit to between 70 and 80% of children with ADHD. The most commonly prescribed medication used to treat ADHD is Ritalin although other stimulant medications are also used including Adderall, Dexedrine, and Cylert. Evidence suggests that stimulants work by correcting a biochemical condition in the brain that interferes with attention and impulse control. The number one medication for ADHD is Concerta. Concerta is a proscription product approved for the treatment ADHD. ADHD is a long-term, chronic condition. About half of the children with ADHD will continue to have a troublesome adulthood. However, adults are often more capable of controlling behavior and masking difficulties because they have been dealing with it their whole lives. ADHD is not easy to diagnose especially when inattentiveness is the primary symptom.
ADHD can be linked to a diet. This includes food allergies and simply eliminating certain foods or adding others may reduce symptoms. Children with ADHD are especially vulnerable as they are ‘hyper' sensitive to sugar. Most people notice that their kid’s behavior changes very shortly after they consume a soft drink, sugary cereals or chocolate. Making healthy food choices is not difficult especially if it will make your children act better in the class room or in a public place. There is no down side of cutting out the sugar and trying to settle you kids down.
[http://www.adult-child-add-adhd.com/categories/general/definition_of_adhd.php]
[http://www.oneaddplace.com/adhd-diet.php]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder]
Psychology 9:05
Melissa Sheets, Mikaela Reiff
Narcolepsy
Sleep disorders affects many people throughout the world. Many people suffer from these disorders on a day to day bases before they ever diagnosed with it. Narcolepsy is only one of the many sleep disorders there are but only affect about 3 million people a year world-wide.
Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness. With narcolepsy people fall asleep at an given time. Narcoleptics usually have trouble sleeping at night and have abnormal daytime sleep pattern. Narcoleptics usually experience REM stage of sleep within the first 10 minutes. They also suffer cataplexy which is sudden muscle weakness brought on by strong emotions. The facial muscles drop the jaw or head, weakness at the knees or they just collapse. They also may have slurred speech and their vision may also impaired but the hearing and awareness remain the same. Vary rare conditions their whole body becomes paralyzed.
Signs of narcolepsy is excessive sleep during the daytime. Symptoms are cataplexy, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations , automatic behavior. These behaviors can be triggered by emotional reactions like laughter, anger, surprise, or fear. These can naps can last for a few seconds or a couple minutes. Automatic behavior is when a person continues to function during their sleep episodes but they will wake up and not have any memory of doing so. However only about 40% people experience automatic behavior during their sleep episodes. Although sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations can occur in people who do not have narcolepsy but have lack of sleep. In most cases of narcolepsy the first symptoms are excessive and overwhelming sleepiness. Other symptoms can begin months or years after the uncontrollable daytime naps.
The cause of narcolepsy was not discovered for many years. However they discovered a strong link between narcoleptic people and certain genetic conditions. There appears to be a correlation between narcoleptic individuals and certain variations in HLA genes although this is not always have to occur for narcolepsy disorder to occur. People with narcolepsy often have a reduced number of hyprocretin which controls the appetite and sleep pattern. People with narcolepsy have less of these proteins in the brain causing them to narcoleptic.
Diagnosing narcolepsy is easy when all the symptoms are present but if the sleep attacks are mild or absent the diagnosing is more difficult. Two tests that are commonly used in diagnosing narcolepsy are polysomnogram and the multiple sleep latency test. There is no known cure for narcolepsy medication, counseling, and change in behavior can be used to treat this disorder. By combing the medication treatment and behavior changes can improve alertness and can help you control the effects of the narcoleptic episodes.
Narcolepsy is only one of many sleep disorders this disorder can not only alter your everyday life but can also cause many problems. Narcoleptic people not only learn to live with this disorder but accept the fact that they can only control this disorder to a certain extent and have to be careful with their everyday lives.
http://helpguide.org/life/narcolepsy_symptom_causes_treatments.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcolepsy
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder in which the person has difficulty breathing while asleep. The difficulty consists of pauses in breathing or abnormally low breathing. These pauses in breathing can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes and can happen between 5 to 30 times an hour or more.
There are three forms of sleep apnea: central , obstructive , and complex or mixed sleep apnea constituting.
In CSA, breathing is interrupted by a lack of respiratory effort;
In OSA, breathing is interrupted by a physical block to airflow despite respiratory effort and snoring is common.
The people who are affected by sleep apnea aren’t even aware it’s happening. Other individuals inform the person with the problem. This can go on for years if not detected and the person with the disorder can become tired during the day because of sleep disturbance. Untreated, sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure and other cardiovascular disease, memory problems, weight gain, and headaches. Moreover, untreated sleep apnea may be responsible for job impairment and motor vehicle crashes. Fortunately, sleep apnea can be diagnosed and treated. Several treatment options exist, and research into additional options continues.
Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type. It occurs when the body relaxes during sleep and the walls of the throat constrict breathing. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs when the brain sends the signal to the muscles and the muscles make an effort to take a breath, but they are unsuccessful because the airway becomes obstructed and prevents an a good supply of flow of air. Complications can occur from this disorder such as a type of heart disorder. The elderly are more at risk for these complications than the young. Patients with diabetes are also at a higher risk, and those who smoke. Common symptoms of OSA include loud snoring, restless sleep, and sleepiness during the day. Treatments require changes to the person’s life. Alcohol and muscle relaxants need to be avoided and smoking should be stopped. Elevating your body can improve symptoms. Surgery can also help. In central sleep apnea, the airway is not blocked but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe. Mixed apnea, is a combination of the two apnea‘s. With each apnea, the brain briefly arouses people with sleep apnea in order for them to resume breathing, but consequently sleep is extremely fragmented and of poor quality.
Sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed. Doctors usually can't detect the condition during routine office visits. Also, there are no blood tests for the condition.
Most people who have sleep apnea don't know they have it because it only occurs during sleep. A family member may first notice the signs of sleep apnea. It’s very important to get treated for this because of the complications that occur.
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/hp.asp
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/SleepApnea/SleepApnea_WhatIs.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea