A World of Obsession - My uncle suffers from a somewhat serious form of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Terence Fitzpatrick Effective Writing Dr. Daniel McGuiness A World of Obsession My uncle suffers from a somewhat serious form of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), an anxiety disorder where a person has recurrent and unwanted ideas or impulses (known as obsessions) as well as an urge or compulsion to do something to relieve the discomfort caused by the obsession. For years, he has been in and out of various hospitals and clinics, attempting to treat his condition. Although the disorder does not control his life, it affects his judgment and actions to the point where he has difficulty interacting with people. His patterns range from constantly organizing items within his apartment, to asking questions that he knows he has asked already, and even superstitious beliefs like lucky numbers and walking in certain paths. He suffers from one unique symptom in which he times himself for random tasks, and refuses to complete the task if he violates a set time limit. In order to attempt to understand these compulsions, I wanted to research OCD and discover what causes this strange disorder The neurotic thoughts may range from the idea of losing control, to themes surrounding religion or keeping things or parts of one's body clean at all times. Compulsions are behaviors that help reduce the anxiety surrounding the obsessions. Ninety percent of people who have OCD display
A study into the causes of Dyslexia
A study into the causes of Dyslexia Any discussion of the causes of dyslexia must, as we shall see, be a complex and controversial undertaking; even the title may raise controversy: what is 'dyslexia'? Is it the same as 'specific learning difficulties'? Can it be defined as a single problem? Is there a continuum of dyslexic-type difficulties? Should we be using a label at all? The questions are many, and with very few satisfactory answers. For this reason, it is necessary to begin with a working definition of dyslexia, before discussing what may cause it. Once this has been established, it will be seen that the cited causes may be usefully grouped into several categories ( genetic, perceptual, neurological and linguistic). Each of these areas will be examined in some depth, and the evidence evaluated. It will be found that, as yet, no single cause can be definitively established, but that studies into information and language processing in the brain seem to offer the most promising possibilities for the future. Due to the complex nature of the problem, and the many different ways in which it manifests itself, it is impossible to find a definition upon which everyone may agree. Nevertheless, several definitions exist which may serve as a starting point. An early definition by Critchley is that dyslexia is "a disorder of children who, despite conventional classroom experience,
Psychological Transitiond
Transition Exercise 1B: 19th October 2009 Transition is an inescapable part of being human and the process of change is central to personal development and self-awareness. Transition can be defined as a gradual psychological process that occurs in response to significant life changes. During the transition process, we let go of old and familiar behaviours and attitudes, which often leaves us with a sense of fragility and vulnerability. However, whilst change can often be unsettling, it can make way for personal transformation and self-reflection, resulting in renewed strength and equilibrium. The successful completion of such 'rites of passage' (Bridges, 1980, p.103) as birth, death, puberty and marriage and other less inevitable transitions as divorce and redundancy are characterised by three distinct stages according to Dr William Bridges: Endings, The Neutral Zone and New Beginnings. Bridges posits that every transition begins with an ending, which may leave the individual at a loss as to how to define themselves and the world around them. He notes that most people struggle to handle endings sufficiently and thus try to avoid them or speed up the process because it is daunting and characterised by uncertainty (ibid., p107). Even if the present situation is causing immense distress, the individual may fear change, remaining unaware that more anguish will result from
TO WHAT EXTENT IS BLOOD-INJURY PHOBIA DISTINCT FROM THE OTHER SPECIFIC PHOBIAS AND HOW DOES THIS INFLUENCE THE CLINICAL MANAGEMENT OF THE DISORDER?
STUDENT ESSAY No: 30 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY TERM 2 25 FEBRUARY 2008 TO WHAT EXTENT IS BLOOD-INJURY PHOBIA DISTINCT FROM THE OTHER SPECIFIC PHOBIAS AND HOW DOES THIS INFLUENCE THE CLINICAL MANAGEMENT OF THE DISORDER? WORK COUNT: 2191 TO WHAT EXTENT IS BLOOD-INJURY PHOBIA DISTINCT FROM THE OTHER SPECIFIC PHOBIAS AND HOW DOES THIS INFLUENCE THE CLINICAL MANAGEMENT OF THE DISORDER? Specific phobia is defined as an excessive or irrational fear of a place, object or situation, which is avoided at all cost or endured with intense distress and interferes significantly with a person's normal daily routine (APA, 1994). The DSM-IV recognises four subtypes in specific phobias: situational type (e.g. flying by aeroplane), natural environment type (e.g. storms, height), animal type (e.g. spiders), blood-injury (BI) type (e.g. blood test, injury) and 'other' type (e.g. loud sounds). The category of BI phobia is characterised by a persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable, this is triggered by direct or indirect exposure to blood, injuries and similar stimuli. The BI-related stimuli are either avoided or endured only with intense anxiety (APA, 1994). In addition, BI phobics are liable to faint in the presence of blood or injury (Page, 1994). Factor analysis of specific phobia subtypes found evidence to suggest that situational and natural environment phobia types can be
Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD).
Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) Written by: redman54321 Introduction: Multiple personalities is a dissociative condition in which an individual's personality is apparently split into two or more distinct sub-personalities, each of which may become dominant at different times. People with multiple personality disorder suffer from internal chaos, roller-coaster emotions and terrible memories. They also present confusing confusing and contradictory images to their family and friends. But in spite of all this, MPD is a treatable disorder. In theory, the developmental process behind MPD is a result of resorting to a mental escape from a traumatic situation. This is essentially achieved when neither fleeing nor fighting can be used as a defense option, which leads the individual to distance themselves from the incident to retain control. This distancing mechanism is characterized by detachment from the self or surroundings, excluding unwanted or unneeded feelings from awareness, and partial or total amnesia from the emotions associated with the traumatic event. In essence, this process allows the individual to separate the traumatic memories from ordinary consciousness to preserve some areas of healthy functioning. This entire process is referred to as dissociation. Dissociation serves as an adaptive function, as it allows the individual to escape from the traumatic event
Over the years there has always been lots of debate over peoples figures and inevitably the eating disorders that follow from people trying to change their bodies into something more 'preferable', or at least different to what they are at the moment.
Over the years there has always been lots of debate over peoples figures and inevitably the eating disorders that follow from people trying to change their bodies into something more 'preferable', or at least different to what they are at the moment. The biological model explains how onset and/or development of eating disorders are due to genetic factors or to some biological abnormality or malfunction, which may be genetically based. There are four parts to this model - Neuroanatomy First off is Neuroanatomy; this theory is based on the belief that there is an error in the hypothalamus, which stops it from working properly. The function of the hypothalamus (a part of the brain) is to keep all the bodies functions in equilibrium, if it isn't working right an eating disorder can be the result. * Cnattingius et al researched this by studying hospital records of about 4000 female babies born in Sweden between 1973 and 1984. From this he found that 781 of them were later hospitalised due to anorexia. 5 of these females that became anorexic had experienced trauma as a baby therefore showing a connection where brain damage caused by this trauma, could increase the risk of anorexia. * Lambe et al found that people with anorexia whose weight returned to normal had reduced grey matter in their brain. This could suggest that anorexia could be caused by brain damage, or the
Outline the Main Features of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Describe a Typical Psychological Interve
Outline the Main Features of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Describe a Typical Psychological Interve Gentlewoman (aside to doctor): "It is an accustom'd action with her, to seem thus washing her hands. I have known her continue in this a quarter of an hour." Lady Macbeth: "What, will these hands ne'er be clean?... Here's the smell of blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand." - Macbeth (Act V. Scene 1), by William Shakespeare, 1623. As the above illustrates, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is not a new phenomenon. John Bunyan and Charles Darwin were also sufferers of the crippling illness. The term was created by Morel (1866), although it was Janet (1903) who provided the first extensive, diagnostic description. OCD is an anxiety disorder in which the mind is flooded with recurrent and persistent thoughts, images and impulses. These obsessions are perceived as involuntary, senseless, repugnant and difficult to dismiss. Obsessions are usually concerned with contamination, harming of oneself or others, excessive doubt or breaking social rules, such as swearing or making inappropriate sexual advances in public. Such obsessional thoughts are widespread with 90% of people reporting their occurrence (Rachman & de Silva, 1978; Salkovskis & Harrison, 1984) yet few develop such exaggerated behaviour that a single aspect of life becomes one's
Autism can be defined as a severe disorder of communication and behavior which can develop anywhere from birth to about thirty months.
AUTISM Autism can be defined as a severe disorder of communication and behavior which can develop anywhere from birth to about thirty months. Autism is a severely incapacitating, bio-neurologically caused, life-long developmental disability that has been found throughout the world in families of all racial, ethnic, and social backgrounds. This disorder impairs the way sensory input is assimilated, causing problems in communication, social behavior and irregularity in learning. There is a varied list of general and specific symptoms and behaviors that have been observed in autistic individuals. However, not every autistic person evidences every symptom, nor is the severity of frequency exhibited the same. Some of the major affected areas are: delay in social, physical and cognitive skills, immature patterns of speech, lack of speech or echolalia, limited understanding of ideas, use of words without the attachment of their usual meaning, abnormal responses to sensations and abnormal ways of relating to people, objects and events. Some specific abnormalities are: difficulty in social interaction, resists learning, shows lack of fear of real dangers, resists change in routine, unreceptive to physical attention, hyperactivity, lack of eye contact, over attachment to objects, spinning objects, hand flapping, self-abusiveness, rocking, etc. Although autism was identified
Eating Disorders
Key Skills Communication Synthesis Eating Disorders Article 1 'Reflections of my former self' by Katharine Wealthall is written in the first person because she tells the reader about going through anorexia nervosa. In her first paragraph she explores the stereotypical view that most people assume about the disorder, and mentions how the media influences it. The second paragraph is small but tells us how anorexia nervosa takes over your life and how recovering from the disease is just as hard as the disorder itself. The style of this article is very personal and written so that other readers who have anorexia nervosa can identify with the reader and inspire them to beat the disease. Article 2 'Anorexic, bulimic and online' by Beverly Kemp looks at how eating disorders are posted on the internet and offer ideas to 'pro-ana/mia' people instead of supporting those recovering. In the first paragraph she identifies the most common victims of the disease are women from their early teens to late 30's. She also adds that the people on these websites see having an eating disorder or wanting an eating disorder to be acceptable and even a desirable lifestyle however it is a life-threatening disease which further on in the article points out the number of deaths as a result of eating disorders. The figures show that eating disorders and the physiological effects of it such as pneumonia
Discussion on Autism.
AUTISM During the first half of twentieth century, there were variety of descriptions for autistic-like syndromes. The terminology was primarily used to reflect the general assumption that autism was the very early onset of adult-type psychoses. The syndrome identified in 1943 by a psychiatrist, Leo Kanner, who distinguished the characteristics and symptoms of autism so that it could be differentiated from mental retardation or childhood schizophrenia. The most fundamental symptom of autism as he described it was "extreme autistic aloneness" and he spent further emphasis on the emotional coldness and obsessive qualities that he saw in the parents. In his research, Kanner's description of the syndrome of infantile autism was an exception to preceding misconceptions. He set his diagnostic criteria based on specific child behaviors as he observed them rather than in terms of modifications of adult-psychosis criteria. Furthermore, it is often hard to differentiate between autism and mental retardation because most of autistic children score below 70 on IQ tests. Patients of Autism were characterized by an inability to relate themselves to other people, a delay in the acquisition of speech together with abnormalities of language, an excellent rote memory, and an obsessive desire for the maintenance of sameness. Kanner also suggested that although patients had some inborn unitary