The Environmental Causes of Schizotypal Personality Disorder
Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD), is considered by many as part of the schizophrenic spectrum. It is characterized by discomfort with other people, peculiar patterns of thinking and behavior, and eccentricity. These may take the form of cognitive or perceptual disturbances. Yet, unlike schizophrenia, these psychotic symptoms are not as fully developed as delusions or hallucinations but instead can be characterized as perceptual illusions. A person suffering from SPD might become extremely anxious in social situations, especially those involving strangers. Schizotypal patients also tend to be overly suspicious of others and are not prone to trust others or to relax in their presence.
Another characteristic of the disorder is that schizotypes are often odd and eccentric. They often harbor absurd superstitions such as a belief in ESP and many other psychic or paranormal phenomenons that are outside the boundaries of accepted thought. In some cases Schizotypes believe that they possess magical powers, such as the ability to control other people with their thoughts. (Buss 2002)
As a result of these symptoms, people diagnosed with SPD have great difficulty with social relationships, and are often alienated from mainstream society. This paper aims to investigate the suspected causes of this strange disorder, focusing on environmental and hereditary factors.
Some recent studies have found a correlation between the use of street drugs and instances of SPD. Researchers in New Zealand found that people who commonly used
cannabis were more than three times as likely to develop schizophrenia and or schizotypal disorder later in life. There have been 30 published research experiments linking cannabis to these disorders. The increase in this evidence during the past decade has been attributed to increases in the potency of marijuana. (Allebeck 1993)
Some street drugs are credited with not only increasing the risk of developing SPD, but actually in some cases have triggered the onset of the disorder. SPD and schizophrenia can some times be brought on by heavy use of hallucinogenic drugs, especially LSD; but it appears that a person has to have a predisposition towards developing SPD for this to occur. There is also some evidence suggesting that a person suffering from SPD but undergoing treatment can have a relapse episode by taking LSD. Methamphetamine and PCP are also known to mimic the symptoms of SBD, and can therefore bring about symptoms of the disorder without a previous diagnosis. (Allebeck)
Some other research has found that enriched educational, nutritional and social environments substantially lower the risk of developing SPD.
At these boarding schools, Native American children were able to leave their Indian reservations to attend schools that were often run by wealthy white males. These individuals often did not create these schools with the purest of intentions for they often believed that land occupied by Native American Tribes should be taken from them and put to use; it is this belief that brought about the purpose of the boarding schools which was to attempt to bring the Native American community into mainstream society (Bloom, 1996). These boarding schools are described to have been similar to a military institution or a private religious school. The students were to wear uniforms and obey strict rules that included not speaking one’s native tongue but rather only speaking English. Punishments for not obeying such rules often included doing laborious chores or being physically reprimanded (Bloom, 1996). Even with hars...
According to the DSM-IV, schizophrenia is classified under the section of “Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders”. Schizophrenia is one of the most serious major chronic brain disorders in the field of mental health; it is a neurological disorder that affects the cognitive functions of the human brain. People living with this incapacitating illness can experience multiple symptoms that will cause extreme strain in their own and their families and friends life. The individual can lose reality, unable to work, have delusions and hallucinations, may have disorganized speech and thought processes, will withdraw from people and activities, they may become suspicious and paranoid, may behave inappropriately in every day social situations. They may neglect personal hygiene and dress improperly, use excessive make-up; every day life is becoming chaotic for everyone involved.
This school was significant because it changed the way they lived for the rest of their lives. The boarding school’s mission was to help Native Americans adjust to American culture by influencing upon their children white lifestyles, or what was close to it. However, this did not seem to help Native Americans. Many of the children weren’t welcomed back home because some of them could no longer remember the life they used to lead and were therefore thought of as a shame to all Native Americans and their heritage. Many came back not knowing how to speak their native tongue, or even not knowing their tribes’ rituals. In some ways, the Americans did accomplish what they set out to do, they did change many Native Americans, but there were cases in which they didn’t. Some students disobeyed the rules and continued to speak their native tongue and practice rituals in secret in school. This was resistance inside the school, and resistance also happened outside of the school. However, if children were caught disobeying the rules they were punished. Some parents were angry that they weren’t allowed to see their kids when they wanted, so few would resist allowing their children to go back after breaks. Others would run away with their children and families, though this was a tough choice to
This is due in part to its regular broadcast on network TV beginning in the 1950s. The movie 's social significance is based on the embedded moral values which determined good and evil. Throughout the movie Dorothy exhibited generosity and compassion to those in need. There was also a clear distinction between good and evil. The Witches morale compass in the movie was easily identified by their title wicked, or good. In addition the social impact of the Wizard of Oz was gender significance. The primary characters of power and intellect were women. The movie was produced during the Great Depression where men were thought to be at blame for this disaster. It seemed to suggest, that had women been in power during this economic turmoil that it might not have
Responsibilities of nurses in patient education are helping patients learn health-related behaviors to achieve the goal of optimal health and independence in self-care. It is also the responsibility of the nurse to assess the patients’ learning needs, readiness to learn, and learning styles. Needs and problems of individual patient and family are very important (Wingard, 2005). Some patients need information to understand more about their health condition and how to overcome or prevent the complication of disease. The others may interest in improving quality of life with current diseases. Patients’ problems include patients’ culture, race, ethnicicy, religious orientation, socioeconomic status, age, gender, educational background, literacy level, and emotional state (Wingard, 2005). Next, nurs...
[1]Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe brain disorder, though most people may call it an illness. With this disorder the person is more likely to experience “Imaginary friends”,[2] Hearing voices that are not there, and being very paranoid. The people who have schizophrenia are often withdrawn and can be agitated easily. [3]The main thought to the symptoms are known to be paranoia, although the symptoms can vary depending on the person and what type of schizophrenia that he or she may have. [6][7]There are five types of schizophrenia, which include, paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, and residual schizophrenia.
This student recognizes that there are two sides to every story, and this argument will probably remain for an extended period of time. However, after gathering all the data from multiple credible sources she does believe that the Indian boarding schools had no place among Native American nations and were destructive to them, because of abuse, the loss of their own culture and language, and forced separation from families and tribes. Many former students admit that the boarding schools effectively taught Native people to view themselves as a sub-class within white American society. What was done to the American Indian nation could be considered as one of the forms of genocide, as explained in the international human rights arena, is "forcibly removing groups of people away from their families and homes.” (Pember 27)
In an effort to make drug testing for employees of the federal government more accurate, to deter false positives and false negatives it has been suggested to use alternative methods of testing. The Associated Press reported a movement by the federal government to "overhaul its employee drug testing program". (TAP, pg 1) Currently, the government tests its employees during the pre-employment selection and when accidents
...drugs (Degracia, 1993). One would think that the side-effects, such as dehydration and extreme panic, would entice people to find alternative activities, but it seems that the effects, like enhanced sensations and sensory mixing, outweigh the side-effects. If this is true, one must wonder what the how the atmosphere of the will change in World in a few years, and how much of an influence will drugs have several decades from now.
Our spirits Don’t Speak English: Indian Boarding school is an 80 minute documentary that details the mental and physical abuse that the Native Americans endured during the Indian Boarding school experience from the mid 19th to the mid 20th century. In the beginning going to school for Indian children meant listening to stories told by tribal elders, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and storytellers. These tales past down from generation to generation were metaphors for the life experience and their relationships to plants and animals. Native children from birth were also taught that their appearance is a representation of pure thoughts and spiritual status of an individual.
Cannabis and Schizophrenia are completely different yet both have a wide variety of effects on the body and mind. Both not entirely understood, they have been the subjects of individual studies in order to gain more knowledge of their separate physical and mental effects. However, new studies have come to light that have highlighted the correlation between the two. Now scientists have realized the susceptibility to one might result in the susceptibility of the other, caused by deficiencies in the brain affected by both the substances. Many studies have confirmed marijuana use has increased the risk for mental illness within users. Underlying neurobiology within schizophrenia has been shown to increase the risk of people with the disease to use marijuana. Many studies have been conducted and will continue to be conducted in order to show the strength between cannabis and schizophrenia. People who use cannabis are extremely more likely to show symptoms of psychosis while people with the disease are more likely to abuse marijuana.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a well-known book about an eccentric candy maker living in his own mystical world that has been made into two popular movies. Wonka is a character that is two things at once; unflappable and socially anxious, overly friendly but also untrustworthy and isolated, altruistic and sadistic, hopeful and cynical, grandiose and fragile (Pincus, 2006). While Willy Wonka may be a fictional character, he does display the very real disorder Schizotypal Personality Disorder or SPD. Schizotypal Personality Disorder is a personality disorder that affects approximately 3.9% of the American population and is similar to Schizophrenia but without delusions or hallucinations (Pulay et al., 2009). While little is known about the causes of Schizotypal Personality Disorder, it is becoming a significant personality disorder that warrants an understanding of what is currently known about the disorder and treatments available to individuals living with SPD.
Job skills and training can even be investigated by the employer. The employee is to perform services and these services must be done in a certain manner. Someone who is incoherent because of drug abuse cannot be a pilot for example. This is why employers can test to see if characteristics or tendencies would affect performance. An employee may not want to give a urine or blood sample. The employee may not want to include all of their references but this is besides the fact that an employer is entitled to them. More and more employers are starting to feel this way. "A 1996 survey by the American Management Association found 81 percent of major U.S. companies had drug-testing programs at that time compared with 78 percent in 1995 and just 22 percent in 1987." (May 2) The employer has a right to only certain information and the line must also be drawn in the procedure to obtain the information.
The film The Wizard of Oz fulfills the fantasy genre (1939). The theme of this film is about a young girl named Dorothy, unappreciative of what she has at home. The film begins with young girl named Dorothy in Kansas. She was wiped up in a terrible tornado, and it took her to a magical place. Dorothy spends her time throughout the film trying to go home(1939).
One of the ways drug testing helps financially over time is by lowering the amount of worker’s compensation claims. Cholakis and Bruce’s research on a highway contractor states the following statistics: