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Strengths and limitations of the psychiatric classification system
Strengths and limitations of the psychiatric classification system
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Psychological disorders can be defined as patterns of behavioral symptoms that influence various areas in people's lifestyle and create distress on the ones affected (Laurie 142). Examples of psychological disorders include schizophrenia, phobias, anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsion, depression and post-trauma stress disorder. This paper focuses on schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia also known as split personality disorder is a chronic and severe mental illness involving auditory hallucinations, very disturbed moods or social problems, thoughts and behaviors (Laurie 143). The problem of thoughts associated with schizophrenia is described as psychosis. A person suffering from schizophrenia has the kind of thinking that is completely out of touch with the reality. A person may for instance could be hearing nonexistent voices or seeing images that are not there. For instance in the film, "A Beautiful Mind", the star character John Nash, experiences both visual and
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Older generation antipsychotics such as Perphenazine (Trilafon) may cause muscle stiffness and tremors. These side effects can be so serious as to interfere with patient's daily activities. For instance, in the film "A Beautiful Mind", some of the side effects Nash experiences include impaired emotional function which strains his marriage and decreased intellectual capacity which frustrates his work. To counter the side effects of antipsychotics, are other drugs such as
Another classification of medication is Mood-stabilizer for example Lithium, Carbamazepine (Tegretol) and Lamotriqine. They treat mood changes but may take a longer time to work compared to antipsychotics. According to National Institute of Health (2009), they require close monitoring of blood levels and may cause birth defects when administered to pregnant
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.
According to (Barlow, 2001), Schizophrenia is a psychological or mental disorder that makes the patient recognize real things and to have abnormal social behavior. Schizophrenia is characterized by symptoms such as confused thinking, hallucinations, false beliefs, demotivation, reduced social interaction and emotional expressions (Linkov, 2008). Diagnosis of this disorder is done through observation of patient’s behavior, and previously reported experiences (Mothersill, 2007). In this paper, therefore, my primary goal is to discuss Schizophrenia and how this condition is diagnosed and treated.
Second, the court must conclude that involuntary medication will significantly further those concomitant state interests. Third, the court must conclude that involuntary medication is necessary to further those interests. The court must find that any alternative, less intrusive treatments are unlikely to achieve substantially the same results. Fourth, as we have said, the court must conclude that administration of the drugs is medically appropriate, i.e., in the patient's best medical interest in light of his medical condition. The specific kinds of drugs at issue may matter here as elsewhere. Different kinds of antipsychotic drugs may produce different side effects and enjoy differen...
Schizophrenia, also known as the splitting of the mind, is a mental disorder characterized by disintegration of thought process and of emotional responsiveness. It manifests as auditory hallucinations, paranoid and bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it are accompanied by significant social and or occupational dysfunction. It is a group of psychotic disorders usually characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions and hallucinations, and accompanied by other emotional behavioral or intellectual disturbances. There are three main factors that are involved in the diagnosis of schizophrenia: 1-Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, which is a manifestation of formal thought disorder, grossly disorganized behavior or catatonic behavior, negative symptoms, blunted affect, alogia or avolition; 2-Social or occupational dysfunction; 3- Significant duration: continuous signs of the disturbance persist for at least six months; according to the DSM IV. Delusions are a false belief based on faulty judgment about one’s environment. Hallucinations are experiencing something from any of the five senses that is not occurring in reality. Positive and negative (deficit) symptoms are important in diagnosing schizophrenia. Positive symptoms (PS) are not experienced, but are present. Delusions, disordered thoughts and speech, tactile, auditory, visual, olfactory, and gustatory hallucinations or manifestations of psychosis are all positive symptoms. Negative symptoms (NS) are deficits of normal emotional responses and thought processes that normally do not respond to medications. The patient experience a flat or blunted affect and emotion, poverty of speech (alogia), inability to expe...
According the fourth edition diagnostic manual of mental disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), the category psychotic disorders (Psychosis) include Schizophrenia, paranoid (Delusional), disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, residual type. Other clinical types include Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Affective Disorder/Manic depression, mania, Psychotic depression, delusional (paranoid) disorders. These are mental disorders in which the thoughts, affective response or ability to recognize reality, and ability to communicate and relate to others are sufficiently impaired to interfere grossly with the capacity to deal with reality; the classical and general characteristics of psychosis are impaired reality testing, hallucinations, delusions, and illusions. Mostly, these are used as defining features of psychosis even if there are other psychotic symptoms that characterise these disorders (L. Bortolotti, 2009).
Some of the most abused prescription medications are those for mental issues such as, antidepressants, anxiety and sleep disorder. In Britain mixed anxiety & depression is the most common mental disorder, with almost 9% of the people meeting the criteria for the dia...
BIBLIOGRAPHY Arasse, Daniel. Complete Guide to Mental Health. Allen Lane Press,New York, 1989. Gingerich, Susan. Coping With Schizophrenia. New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Oakland, 1994. Kass, Stephen. Schizophrenia: The Facts. Oxford University Press. New York, 1997. Muesen, Kim. “Schizophrenia”. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. Microsoft Corporation, 1998. Young, Patrick. The Encyclopedia od Health, Psychological Disorders and Their Treatment. Herrington Publications. New York, 1991.
The movie A Beautiful Mind, directed by Ron Howard, tells the story of Nobel Prize winner, and mathematician, John Nash’s struggle with schizophrenia. The audience is taken through Nash’s life from the moment his hallucinations started to the moment they became out of control. He was forced to learn to live with his illness and learn to control it with the help of Alicia. Throughout the movie the audience learns Nash’s roommate Charles is just a hallucination, and then we learn that most of what the audience has seen from Nash’s perspective is just a hallucination. Nash had a way of working with numbers and he never let his disease get in the way of him doing math. Throughout the movie the audience is shown how impactful and inspirational John Nash was on many people even though he had a huge obstacle to overcome.
“A Beautiful Mind” is a remarkable movie that sheds light on a complicated and debilitating disorder, in which the person seems to have no control over. It is enlightening and heart warming, I would highly recommend this movie. I must admit, the first time I watch the movie, I went into it not knowing anything about schizophrenia and when it was over, I still felt like I didn’t fully understand the disorder; however, the second time I watched with the knowledge of what schizophrenia is and all of the various symptoms and I find it astonishing that Nash was able to overcome the disorder by sheer willpower over his own mind, as he chose to ignore the voices in his head.
Schizophrenia is a group of psychotic disorders with major impairments in thought, emotion, and behavior; there is a constant prevalence rate of one percent with the occurrence being slightly higher in men. Though different psychologists have various theories on whether the disorder is linked to genetics or social economic status, schizophrenia in all
New drugs are being made in order to address the issue of undesirable and intolerable side effects of conventional antipsychotic drugs. Works Cited Comer, R. J. & Co., Inc. (2011). Fundamentals of abnormal psychology. New York, NY. Worth Publishers Nasar, S. (2001).A beautiful mind: the life of mathematical genius and Nobel laureate John Nash.
The movie "A Beautiful Mind" tells the story of Nobel Prize winner John Nash's struggle with schizophrenia. It follows his journey from the point where he is not even aware he has schizophrenia, to the point where Nash and his wife find a way to manage his condition. The movie provides a lot of information and insight into the psychological condition of schizophrenia, including information on the symptoms, the treatment and cures, the life for the individual and for the individual's family. The movie is effective at demonstrating various concepts related to schizophrenia, and provides an insight into the disease of schizophrenia.
As portrayed in A Beautiful Mind, John Nash is clearly suffering from Paranoid Schizophrenia, although a case could possibly be made for a secondary diagnosis of OCD. His condition is clearly displayed through a pattern of behavior and symptoms including: distorted perceptions of reality, social withdrawal, paranoia, hallucinations, self-inflicted harm and general irrational behavior. He imagines 3 specific individuals throughout the movie, who accompany him throughout the remainder of his life. He avoids social situations, and when faced with them, has a difficult time relating to others, such as approaching a woman in a bar and forwardly asking to skip the usual pleasantries and go straight to sex. Unsurprisingly, this approach fails to achieve his goal. Paranoia is also on display on several occasions, seeing people watching him, believing himself to be spied upon, seeing shadowy figures outside his home. He also believed that an object had been implanted into his arm, prompting him to tear his skin apart in order to remove the object, which was never there to begin with.
In the film “ A Beautiful Mind” John Nash experiences a few different positive symptoms. The first of these positive symptoms are seen through the hallucinations John has of having a room -mate while at Princeton. This room- mate continues to stay “in contact” with John through out his adult life and later this room- mate’s niece enters Johns mind as another coinciding hallucination. Nash’s other hallucination is Ed Harris, who plays a government agent that seeks out Nash’s intelligence in the field of code- breaking.
Furthermore, there are many different conditions that are recognized as a mental disorder (WebMD, 2012). The 10 most diagnosed mental disorders are bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, panic disorder, anxiety disorders, phobias, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, eating disorder, personality disorder and mood disorders. People with anxiety disorders respond to certain objects or situations with fear. In certain situations if a person’s response is not appropriate and if it interferes with their normal functioning than the ...