Abnormal Behaviors

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1. Your uncle consumes a quart of whiskey per day; he has trouble remembering the names of those around him. Drinking alcohol in some limit may be considered as normal behavior. However, since drinking quarter of whiskey clearly effects brain and bodily functions, we can say this behavior is abnormal. Possible diagnoses would be substance use disorders. One can be drunk after he or she got divorced, however this is not a sign of mental disorder. However, it is clear that my uncle suffers from every day drinking habit. Additionally, if my uncle has trouble remembering the names around him, this indicates that there is an abnormality in brain functions related to memory. We may need to know if he remembers the names in normal times and if he has other memory impairments. If so, this may be a sign for some disorder, can be Alzheimer’s disease. We need to know his age. In one of National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's publication Tyas (2008) indicates that heavy alcohol use effects on brain are similar to Alzheimer disease (AD) and alcohol use may be risk factor for AD. However, Tyas (2008) also add that there is no strong evidence about this connection. In cultural perspective, for instance for Irish people drinking beer until being drunk may be normal however if we see a priest in same behavior it can be considered as abnormal. Environment, occupation, culture and reasons of the behavior, change our definitions of abnormality. 2. Your grandmother believes that part of her body is missing and cries out about this missing part all day long. You show her the part that is missing but she refuses to acknowledge this contradictory information. This is a certainly abnormal behavior. She has bizarre delusions and accor... ... middle of paper ... ...n. Since her husband died three months ago, even if her behavior considered to be abnormal we may approach this case as such behavior can be happened to anyone for a short-time period. However, we need to consider it has been 3 months already. In some cultures, women does not marry in other men after their husband dies. However, talking herself and doesn't dress in clean clothes wouldn’t be normal in any cultures. Works Cited Barlow, H. D., Durand, V. M. (2012). Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach. Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. (2000). American Psychiatric Association. Tyas, S. L. (2008). Alcohol Use and the Risk of Developing Alzheimer's Disease. National Istitute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Retrieved from: http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh25-4/299-306.htm

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