Grandfather - Like there are two sides of a coin, there are two sides of life, sadness and happiness.
Like there are two sides of a coin, there are two sides of life, sadness and happiness. Happiness cherishes your life whilst sadness brings terrible storms without any calamity. Sometimes when our lives are full of joy we forget that grief is also a major share in life. Keeping a balance of happiness and sadness is important to realise what is right and wrong. A catastrophic storm also took place in my life and covered it completely for a long period of time. On the 24th of August, 2003, death snatched a very important person from me, my beloved grandfather. He was an immense inspiration in my life and watching him die in front of my own eyes was very painful. My grandfather was a great man who had worked really hard all his prestigious life. He had always lived with his head up high and was loved by everyone. My grandfather had cancer, enemy of life, for the past two years but he did not know that death was crawling on him like a sly fox. Three years ago my grandfather came with the hope that life will win over death, from Pakistan, to get treated for his illness. My grandfather, who was unaware of the fact that he had cancer, was living happily until one day he had terrible pain in his bladder. My dad rushed him to hospital and the doctors declared that it was just a minor infection and sent him home with antibiotics. Later on that month his pain increased rather than
Major depression is the most common chronic condition facing the primary care physician today.
PSYCHOLOGY ASSIGNMENT. Depression. Introduction. Major depression is the most common chronic condition facing the primary care physician today. Of all patients visiting their doctor, 5-9% suffer from this disorder. The prevalence of major depression has increased since the 1950s in all age groups and psychiatrists have for many years debated whether this condition is caused by biological or behavioural factors. The debate has been between the use of drugs or therapies to combat this disorder. This debate has been misguided in so far as many diseases have both a biological and behavioural cause, including major depression. Paul A Kettl, MD Major depression, the forgotten illness. The characteristic features of depression are feeling low, lethargy, and negative thought processes; sleep disorders and loss of appetite. Depression is more intense and sustained than ordinary sadness and involves feelings of 'worthlessness, guilt and pessimism. 'Unipolar depression' can occur at any age and may appear gradually or suddenly. In Britain around fifty percent of adults between eighteen and seventy-four will experience serious depression. The number of people seeking help from their GPs for depression was nine million in 1998, (Bps 1999). Bipolar disorder (Mania), generally appears in the early twenties, unlike depression (which is more common in women), Cochrane (1995), bipolar
Evolutionary Adaptation is the sole reason for sleep
Evolutionary Adaptation is the sole reason for sleep The evolutionary theory claims that there is survival of the fittest, which means that whatever characteristics we have are there because they are or were once useful. Meddis (1979 suggested that we have evolved out sleep patterns. This means that we sleep because it enhances our chances of survival. There is other research that backs up this idea of our sleep patterns being evolved for our benefit. For example, it has been shown that those animals that were in danger from predators did not sleep much. This was to ensure they remained aware; hence, remained alive. An example would be cattle, which have many natural predators and shrews which have high metabolic rates. These animals sleep very little. Also, cows napped (and still do) for 2 hours at a time. On the other hand, animals that can sleep safely hidden away are more likely to sleep for 14 hours. An example would be squirrels, which have safe burrows to hide in. Another example is lions which have few predators and meet their food needs in short bursts; hence, are able to sleep longer hours. These examples, suggest that sleep patterns evolve to suit the situation, and lead to the most likely chance of survival for each species. An advantage of the evolutionary theory is that saying sleep is useful seems to be a sensible explanation. This idea fits with
Whether forces or weights applied to a bridge cause a depression to the surface of the bridge.
Investigation I want to find out whether forces or weights applied to a bridge cause a depression to the surface of the bridge. As well as the weight applied to the bridge there are other variables that can affect the depression of the bridge. These variables are: . Distance of the bridge from the pivotal point of the bridge of the bridge (50cm mark) and each other 2. The width of the bridge. 3. The length of the bridge. 4. The material the bridge is made from. For the purposes of a Fair Test all of the variables except the weight being applied, which is the independent variable, must be kept constant as dependant variables so that they cannot affect the results in the changing of the depression. The weights cause the depression on the bridge because they add extra downwards forces. The supports however add an upward force to the bridge and the closer to each other or the middle of the bridge the greater upward force they can exert on the bridge. The diagram below shows the same force exerts greater depression on the bridge without the supports than it does to the one with supports. A Knowledge of Compression and Tension Forces in the bridge also has to be had so that you can explain why there is no depression in some sorts of bridges. The top of the bar is under compression because it is being pushed together while the bottom of the bar is under tension because
Evolutionary Explanations of Anxiety Disorders
Practice Essay Question Discuss evolutionary explanations of anxiety disorders. According to evolutionary psychology, all human behaviour including anxiety disorders evolved in the Pleistocene period between 2 million and 10,000 years ago in the Environment of Evolutionary Adaptation (EEA), the open Savannah of Central/East Africa where early humans lived in small, competitive hunter-gatherer communities. This behaviour has been included in the human genome as part of our phylogenetic development because it serves, or did previously serve an adaptive function, helping us to survive or to reproduce. If it did not serve such a function it would have been removed by the selective pressures of natural and sexual selection, such as environmental threats, competition and reduced reproductive success. This essay will now discuss the following behaviours: obsessive-compulsive disorders, prepotency and preparedness, in the light of evolutionary theory, to discuss the extent to which they can be viewed as adaptive. The ritual behaviours which are associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) could be considered to be an extension of the mechanisms that drive more adaptive behaviour. Marks and Nesse (1994) proposed examples of this such as a concern for others, hoarding and grooming behaviour; if the needs of other members of a group are ignored, the likelihood of ostracism
the function of sleep
Many sleep theories have been proposed over the years. However, most of them belong to two broad classes of theory. The first theory that will be discussed is the recovery or restoration theory. All animals' sleep, which suggests that sleep, has some important function. Also the fact that the part of the brain which governs sleep is the oldest, so therefore marks sleep out as a fundamental requirement of all animals. Different species have different sleep requirements. They either sleep little and often or for long periods of time; or they sleep during the day or the night. This suggests sleep is an evolutionary adaptation to environmental conditions. An important function of sleep is probably to save energy and for the restoration of tissue. These theories focus on the benefit of sleep for the physiological system. Sleep may serve to restore psychological functions. If physiological restoration is the function of sleep, we would expect: sleep deprivation would have serious effects, animals that use more energy are more likely to sleep more, and more sleep would be required after physical exertion. The evidence from sleep deprivation studies suggests some negative effects. Oswald identified SWS as being important in the recovery process, especially because it has been linked with the release of a growth hormone and protein synthesis. Stern and Morganne (1974) propose
Discuss the possible effects of stress on the immune system.
Psychology-Mrs Scarlett Discuss the possible effects of stress on the immune system (18 marks) Seyle (1956) was the first person to propose a relation between stress and the immune system and he called this connection the General Adaptation Syndrome (Gas). The exhaustion stage is the last part of the GAS and this is when stress is at its maximum. In this stage all of the body's resources are diminished due to failure of the resistance stage. This causes the person to become irritable, unable to concentrate and the immune system collapses; therefore stress-related diseases become more likely which may conclude in death. This last stage proposes a major link between stress and the effects it has on the immune system. The GAS theory is fairly reliable as this has furthered our understanding of stress and it has become very useful in predicting physiological responses to stress. The GAS also provides a useful model of the cause of physical injuries and illness when stress is prolonged. However the GAS had its limitations. Most of Seyles work was based on rats so the research is very restricted, and it may not apply to other animals including humans. There is overemphasis on the physiological responses to stress and the model does not take into consideration that there are other human cognitive factors such as personality, which suggest that person's capability to stress. The
Outline and evaluate biological therapies to treat mental disorders.
Outline three different biological (somatic) therapies (15 marks) The biological model of abnormality assumes that all mental disorders are caused by physical factors, for example some mental disorders are caused by the dysfunction of neurotransmission, such as too much dopamine in the brain causing schizophrenia, and so the treatments provided by the biological model all aim to address physical problems in the brain that have resulted in abnormal behaviour. The most widely used form of treatment available under biological therapies is chemotherapy (drugs) with almost 25% of NHS prescriptions being for drugs to treat mental disorders. There are three main types of drugs available to treat mental disorders, the first of these being neuroleptics. Neuroleptics are also referred to as anti-psychotics and are used to treat severe disorders such as schizophrenia. Most neuroleptics block dopamine receptors in the brain, as schizophrenics are found to have more dopamine in the brain than those without schizophrenia. Other neuroleptics simply inhibit the functioning of the hypothalamus which dampens the effect of the dopamine. Another form of drug available is anti-anxiety drugs, which act as depressants which suppress the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Anti-anxiety drugs help reduce symptoms of general anxiety and are usually used in conjunction with other therapies. They also
Biological Explanations of Addiction
The biological model of addiction's basic premise is that addiction: is an illness; that it is irreversible; that you are either addicted or not (there are no slightly addicted individuals) and that treatment must be medical. There are many models of biological addiction mainly because current psychological research suggests that different areas of the brain are involved in different addictions (quashing the idea of an addictive personality per say). In this essay two biochemical theories will be discussed, plus the genetic model. The latter theory should not be seen as distinct from the biochemical theories as biologists would propose that any biochemical abnormalities that may predispose an individual to addiction are probably inherited. Thus studies looking at concordance rates of addictions in families, twins and adopted children would support all three of the models being discussed. One of the most popular theories of addiction is to do with the neurotransmitter Dopamine. Dopamine is involved with our pleasure/reward system. Anything we do of our volition that is pleasurable increases Dopamine. It is the release of dopamine that makes us feel Euphoria/pleasure. Drugs such as Cocaine, Alcohol and Heroin make Dopamine receptors release enormous amounts of Dopamine, so the user may feel intense pleasure. This however, does not explain addiction as many people drink or
Psychological Explanations for Schizophrenia
Psychological explanations Biological factors alone cannot account for the origin and maintenance of schizophrenia and therefore psychological explanations look at other important contributory factors shown through psychodynamic views, family models and cognitive models. According to one psychodynamic view, schizophrenia arises from the inability to test reality for instance, draw up logical conclusions and to be able to distinguish between the internal and external world. It is also said that childhood experiences can then lead to the unconscious conflict within the ego, id and super-ego which can contribute to schizophrenia. Although this approach provides us with an alternative explanation to schizophrenia, it is very weak. This is a retrospective approach to studying schizophrenia which means overtime memory fades and therefore reports back to childhood cannot be completely reliable. Also by being a retrospective approach it overemphasises childhood. Childhood may have a large impact on schizophrenia but what it fails to consider is recent events. For instance, the Diathesis-Stress Model suggests that schizophrenia can occur due to stressful life events that could trigger psychotic symptoms. Perhaps recent events that cause stress are a more important factor rather than childhood. Lastly, the approach focuses on the unconscious which is difficult to falsify
