On June 20, 1942 in California, Brian Wilson was born. Despite being deaf in the right ear, Brian continued to pursue a musical career that eventually led to the success of the band The Beach Boys. With a long string of hits, drug and mental issues had caused a hiatus in his musical career. As a main contributor to the musical group The Beach Boys, Brian had resorted to drug abuse to cope with frustration and exhaustion. Serving as the primary composer, Brian had composed many hit singles but after several projects his a heavy abuse of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and LSD had resulted in psychological disorders. Along with being diagnosed with mild maniac-depressive disorder, Brian Wilson was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.
As a serious mental illness, Brian Wilson was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. Schizoaffective disorder is a lifelong illness that features two different conditions: schizophrenia and an affective (mood) disorder. An affective disorder could be diagnosed as either major depression or bipolar disorder. In Brian Wilson’s life he had also been affected by mild manic disorder, which is a type of bipolar disorder. Some symptoms Brian Wilson had encountered were auditory hallucinations, weight gain, self-destructive behavior, and suicidal thoughts. Due to the experimentation of psychedelic drugs, Brian had experienced and suffers from auditory hallucinations. These hallucinations were heard as disembodied voices. With an aberrant increase of weight, Brian had experienced a lifestyle of a small amount exercise and excessive intake of drugs and food. Prior to being admitted in mental institutions Brian had displayed self-destructive behaviors such as splurging. He had allowed t...
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...ique. Once seeking help from a corrupt psychiatrist, Eugene Landy, his influence had greatly affected the relationship between his family and friends. To restore Brian’s health, Eugene had isolated Brian from his family and friends to enforce a rigorous diet and new healthy lifestyle. In addition to the social isolation, Landy’s therapeutic approach constructed a dominance over Brian’s life. This dominance had also influenced Brian’s musical direction in the mid 1980’s. The mental impact Eugene had caused was due to the administration of excessive dosages of psychoactive drugs. With these drugs, it had altered Brian’s perceptions and moods leading to more damage of his mental state. Also with mild manic-depression, alcoholism and drug dependence are related. A stimulant that Brian had depended on was cocaine, which induced a rush of euphoria, confidence, and energy.
In this particular case, Mr. Jock’s symptoms have met criteria for an episode of mania, which is characterized by a period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and abnormally and persistently increased goal-directed activity or energy, lasting for at least 1 week and present most of the day, nearly every day (DSM-5, Criterion A of Manic Episode). During this period, the patient should be significantly experiencing at least three or more symptoms of inflated self-esteem or grandiosity, decreased need for sleep, more talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking, flight of ideas or subjective experience that thoughts are racing, distractibility, increased in goal-directed activity or psychomotor agitation, and/or excessive involvement in activities that have a high potential for painful consequences (DSM-5, Criterion B of Manic Episode).
Sonny’s Blues is first-person narration by the elder brother of the musician struggling with heroin addiction and issues with law. However, on closer inspection it appears that Sonny’s unnamed brother is also very troubled. His difficulties cannot easily be perceived and recognized especially by the character himself. The story gives accounts of the problems Sonny’s brother has with taking responsibility, understanding and respecting his younger brother’s lifestyle.
Sonny has troubles in his life, but music keeps him sane as he tries to communicate his troubles through the piano, and his art invokes emotion to those who hear it. Sonny has had to deal with many troubles in life, and he turns to drugs for release, but this is just another one of his problems. Sonny is not very old when his
The mother cannot comprehend the diagnosis and believes the etiology of the psychosis is from drug use only. Charles is in denial as well but accepts the medication and when feeling better he stops and resumes his substance abuse. Charles cycles between the adult cr...
Chris Lilley’s successful application of the satirical device, parody, undoubtedly emphasises the effect drug abuse had on a particular student’s life. The musical, “Mr. G: The Musical”, is very loosely based around a student at Summer Heights High who abused drugs, in particular ecstasy, and incorporates the apparent role Mr. G played i...
When first reading “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, it may initially seem that the relationship between musicians and drugs is synonymous. Public opinion suggests that musicians and drugs go hand and hand. The possibility lies that Sonny’s passion for jazz music is the underlying reason for his drug use, or even the world of jazz music itself brought drugs into Sonny’s life. The last statement is what the narrator believes to be true. However, by delving deeper and examining the theme of music in the story, it is nothing but beneficial for Sonny and the other figures involved. Sonny’s drug use and his music are completely free of one another. Sonny views his jazz playing as a ray of light to lead him away from the dim and dismal future that Harlem has to offer.
Delusion and hallucination in their different forms are the major symptom of psychotic disorders. There is a growing evidence however that these symptoms are not exclusively pathological in nature. The evidences show that both delusion and hallucination occur in a variety of forms in the general population. This paper presents and analyzes the relationship between the above major psychotic symptoms with normal anomalous experiences that resembles these symptoms in the normal population.
At first glance, "Sonny's Blues" seems ambiguous about the relationship between music and drugs. After all, the worlds of jazz and drug addiction are historically intertwined; it could be possible that Sonny's passion for jazz is merely an excuse for his lifestyle and addiction, as the narrator believes for a time. Or perhaps the world that Sonny has entered by becoming involved in jazz is the danger- if he had not encountered jazz he wouldn't have encountered drugs either. But the clues given by the portrayals of music and what it does for other figures in the story demonstrate music's beneficial nature; music and drugs are not interdependent for Sonny. By studying the moments of music interwoven throughout the story, it can be determined that the author portrays music as a good thing, the preserver and sustainer of hope and life, and Sonny's only way out of the "deep and funky hole" of his life in Harlem, with its attendant peril of drugs (414).
The criteria of schizoaffective disorder fit David Helfgott very well. Disorganized speech is also an important negative symptom of Schizoaffective Disorder. David’s speech becomes impaired after he has the nervous break down. David has issues where he cannot stop speaking, repetitive words, fast speech, over-wording, and taking extra time to make a point of what he is trying to say. This factor is also important. David did not do drugs. However, he received electric shock therapy after his hospitalization.
Bipolar disorder involves going from a state of extreme happiness or concentration to a major depressive state and back to “normal.” Depending on the individual in question, the three states may come in various orders and lengths. For example, the upward swing or the elated feeling of bipolar disorder can last from a week to a few years. The same can be said about the major depressive part of bipolar disorder. The exact length of each state of mind varies amongst each individual. For those who have manic episodes, this can involve intense feelings of being on top of the world or they may indulge in spending recklessly with a lack of consideration of friends and family. Therefore, the bipolar person’s friends and family may feel the need to pay off his or her debts. Unlike manic episodes, people with hypomanic episodes experience extreme concentration and have personal insight. Hypomanic people have the capability to listen to their friends and family. For example, people in a hypomanic state may have the energy to write a book in a single night. Over the last five years, bipolar disorder has been on the rise in the media. More and more stories about bipolar are being published in the newspaper, films, television, and online videos, and passed on through word of mouth. More often than not, these stories involve people who are exhibiting bipolar traits. Although bipolar disorder does have some negative parts to it, the stories portrayed in the media often involved only the most severe bipolar cases. Therefore, messages in the media often involve myths. Certain sources do not involve myths but have the potential to cause misinformation. Media messages can become biased. There are many bipolar disorder myths that come from word of mou...
Drug abuse is one of the singular commonalities between the majority of jazz musicians. Those who did not participate or who overcame their addiction were honored throughout the jazz community. It was too easy to become entrapped in the temptation of escape that heroin offered. Ignoring the consequences of such a drug, ignoring the toll it took on their lives. Although many jazz musicians still struggled with obtaining fame and fortune and simply surviving in the times they lived in heroin was able to provide a temporary but fulfilling escape. Being highly addictive many lost their lives to heroin abuse or HIV/AIDS because of sharing hypodermic needles. “Many talented jazz musicians either had their careers sidetracked or prematurely ended due to their addiction ...” yet the use of narcotic did not dissipate. Death being one of the side effects of heroin provoked the question of why anyone would take it. Not being able to understand sacrificing their body to “free” their souls. Not all addicts were suicidal but their addictions caused the misconception that they were. Throughout the majority of the story, Sonny’s unnamed brother attempts to comprehend why anyone, especially his brother, would partake in drug abuse if they did not have a death wish, “... why does he want to die? He must want to die, he’s killing himself, why does he want to die?”. A friend
Schizophrenia is a serious, chronic mental disorder characterized by loss of contact with reality and disturbances of thought, mood, and perception. Schizophrenia is the most common and the most potentially sever and disabling of the psychosis, a term encompassing several severe mental disorders that result in the loss of contact with reality along with major personality derangements. Schizophrenia patients experience delusions, hallucinations and often lose thought process. Schizophrenia affects an estimated one percent of the population in every country of the world. Victims share a range of symptoms that can be devastating to themselves as well as to families and friends. They may have trouble dealing with the most minor everyday stresses and insignificant changes in their surroundings. They may avoid social contact, ignore personal hygiene and behave oddly (Kass, 194). Many people outside the mental health profession believe that schizophrenia refers to a “split personality”. The word “schizophrenia” comes from the Greek schizo, meaning split and phrenia refers to the diaphragm once thought to be the location of a person’s mind and soul. When the word “schizophrenia” was established by European psychiatrists, they meant to describe a shattering, or breakdown, of basic psychological functions. Eugene Bleuler is one of the most influential psychiatrists of his time. He is best known today for his introduction of the term “schizophrenia” to describe the disorder previously known as dementia praecox and for his studies of schizophrenics. The illness can best be described as a collection of particular symptoms that usually fall into four basic categories: formal thought disorder, perception disorder, feeling/emotional disturbance, and behavior disorders (Young, 23). People with schizophrenia describe strange of unrealistic thoughts. Their speech is sometimes hard to follow because of disordered thinking. Phrases seem disconnected, and ideas move from topic to topic with no logical pattern in what is being said. In some cases, individuals with schizophrenia say that they have no idea at all or that their heads seem “empty”. Many schizophrenic patients think they possess extraordinary powers such as x-ray vision or super strength. They may believe that their thoughts are being controlled by others or that everyone knows what they are thinking. These beliefs ar...
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which brain functioning is disrupted. People suffering from Schizophrenia are often unable to decipher what they are experiencing from reality. Although the person suffering from this particular illness could be highly educated and well spoken, their symptoms can make it near impossible to understand what is happening in the world around them. Some people suffer from intense audio and visual hallucinations, while others may experience slight delusions and are able to recognize the onset. Signs that usually indicate the onset of schizophrenia are not only audio and visual hallucinations, but also include delusions, thought disorder, and an inability to convey ideas and thoughts clearly to family and friends (Spearing, Melissa). The following is a look into the mindset and delusions of Susan K. Weiner, a woman who has suffered the affects of schizophrenia.
The story starts with the initial, utopic discovery of Ecstasy and its boundary-lowering qualities, and ends, with varying degrees of speed, with the descent into polydrug abuse and depression.
Madness is a disease. It’s a disease that can exponentially consume the host and make them lose their minds overnight. Allen Ginsberg, a famous beat poet, was a victim to madness. Under his circumstances, it was a disease that was incurable. Ginsberg, along with the other famous beat poets of his time in the 1950s’, had a remedy to his madness which was what he did best, create poems. In his famous poem, Howl, he vividly and emotionally paints a picture of a horrifying time in his life in which he was consumed and destroyed by madness. In HOWL, it is clear that the three parts of Ginsberg’s poem echoes the theme of madness with the use of form, tone, and language which in turn shows us of how our society really is