A Psychotic Depressive Cluster

PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS Psychotic disorders are a collection of disorders in which psychosis predominates the symptom complex. Psychosis is defined as a gross impairment in reality testing. Specific psychotic symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, ideas of reference, and disorders of thought Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV)

Psychotic disorders can be described as a mental health disability in which a person experiences changes in thinking, perception, mood and behaviour which can severely disrupt their lives. Some of the main psychotic disorders include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychotic depression, schizo affective disorder and drug induced pychosis. Some common symptoms when a psychotic disorder is developing include depression, anxiety, irritability, suspiciousness, blunted or flat or inappropriate emotion, changes in appetite, changes in thinking, difficulties in concentration or attention, a sense of alteration to ones self or the outside world, odd ideas and unusual perceptual experiences. Some behavioural symptoms can include sleep disturbance, social isolation or withdrawal and/or reduced ability to carry out work and social roles.

It is a cluster of disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions and inappropriate emotions and behaviors. The clusters of schizophrenia can present as positive or negative symptoms. The positive symptom patients experience hallucinations, talk in disorganized and deluded way and exhibit inappropriate tears or rage. Those with negative symptoms have toneless voices, expressionless faces, or mute and rigid bodies. Schizophrenia has subtypes within it: paranoia (preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations these often have themes of persecution or grandiosity), disorganization (disorganized speech or behavior, or flat/inappropriate behavior), catatonia (immobility, extreme negativity, or repeating another person’s speech or movement), undifferentiated (many and varied symptoms), and residual (withdrawal after hallucinations or delusions have disappeared). Studies have shown that people who suffer from schizophrenia have excess receptors of dopamine in the brain hinting that the symptoms might have biochemical roots. They also have abnormal brain activity in multiple brain

It is presented or characterised by loss of contact with reality through disruption or disturbance in perception (Mendiola, 2009). The observed changes in behaviour and deranged thinking result to impaired cognition and social well being in the varying interactions with the society during the person’s episode of illness (Mendiola, 2009). The three subtypes are categorized into negative symptoms, positive symptoms, and disorganized (Edward, Munro, Robins, 2014). Hallucinations and delusions are strongest in positive symptoms (Edward, Munro, Robins, 2014). Negative symptoms on the other hand affect the capacity of an individual to communicate effectively (Edward, Munro, Robins, 2014). Flat affect and the lack of pleasure or the capacity to experience it, are prevalent indications under the negative symptoms. Disorganised schizophrenia as the third subtype generally has a meagre prognosis portrayed by disorganised conduct and speech, as well as disruption in emotional interpretation (Edward, Munro, Robins,

Psychotic depression occurs when a depressive illness also includes hallucinations, delusions or the patient feeling removed from reality. Psychotic depression affects approximately one in four people admitted to the hospital for depression.

Schizophrenia consists of a broad spectrum of diagnostic criteria (both cognitive and emotional dysfunctions) that cause problems in every day functioning (Barlow et al., 2015). This criteria includes the presence of delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized/catatonic behaviour, and/or negative symptoms, such as diminished emotional expression (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The prevalence rate of this disorder is estimated to be in the range of 0.2% to 1.5% in the general population (Barlow et al., 2015).

This disorder is also a mental disorder, but it is slightly less common than bipolar disorder. It drastically affects the way a person thinks, feels, and behaves. They often have feelings of being out of touch with reality and even experience delusions and hallucinations. Hallucinations are seeing or hearing things or people that aren’t actually there, similar to delusions which is believing something that isn’t physically real or true. This disorder does have three main phases such as prodromal, active, and residual. The prodromal phase shows beginning symptoms, which are non-psychotic. The symptoms include isolation, loss of interest in activities, and the display of less emotions. The active phase, also called the acute phase contains semi-psychotic symptoms like hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking, and serious motor dysfunction. During the residual phase, the the delusions and hallucinations may have stopped, but low energy levels, social withdrawal, and lack of emotion remain. With this disorder over fifty-one billion people worldwide suffer from schizophrenia; 4.3 to 4.8 million in India, 6 to 12 million in China, and around 2 million people in the United States. According to schizophrenia.com, “about 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with schizophrenia this year, worldwide. About 100,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with

When an individual stops taking the drug, the individual goes through withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, frustration or anger, anxiety, dysphonic or depressed mood, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, decreased heart rate, and increased appetite. The short and long term effects of this drug have no difference because Gardner (2009) explains, "A youth who was able to keep withdrawal in check by smoking one cigarette every few days finds that, over time, he or she must smoke at more and more frequent intervals to keep withdrawal in check" (Gardner, 2009 ). So, the individual just needs to smoke enough nicotine and will gradually become addicted to the repeated exposure to nicotine. In fact, Gardner also mentioned "It can vary from many days in length in novice smokers, to just a few minutes in smokers with advanced dependence." (Gardner, 2009 ). Gardner brings in a very important point that with enough exposure to nicotine there isn't a difference between the short and long term effects of taking nicotine because just a certain amount can have an individual addicted to

When in a manic state, a person will typically show behaviors that include being very high energy, feeling very “up”, having increased activity levels, having trouble sleeping, talking really fast, thinking they can do a lot of things at one, feeling very reckless, doing risky things, and more (1). These symptoms are notably different compared to the typically behavior of the person and one can tell a distinct change in behavior. The depressive episode is characterized by symptoms that include feelings of depressed mood for most of the day, loss of interest in activities/things that normally would be pleasurable, significant weight loss or gain, changes in appetite, fatigue or lack of energy, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, and/or recurrent thoughts of death or suicide

Schizophrenia is a disorder of varying symptoms, in fact until the current edition of the DSM-V this disorder was broken into subtypes such as catatonic, disorganized, paranoid, undifferentiated, and residual. There many facets of schizophrenia such as auditory hallucinations, delusions, social isolation, as well as intense suspicion or agitation, each of which contributed to the previous subtypes of schizophrenia. Today, individuals with schizophrenia are assessed severity of symptoms rather than by classification.

There are many forms of depression that people suffer from today. The type of depression that will be discussed in this paper is called, ‘psychotic depression.’ Psychotic depression is a form of major depression with psychotic features in which a person has depression along with loss of reality. This illness affects up to 20% of patients with major depression. In past clinical studies, psychotic depression is a more severe form of depression where people experience a depressed mood, disturbances and guilt feelings. Psychotic depression is a serious mental illness that should be treated medically and therapeutically.

Once the nicotine leaves the body, the addiction begins and a craving for another cigarette begins. Without replenishing the nicotine in the body, the body endures unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. The more someone smokes, the more the brain gets used to the drug, so a higher nicotine intake would be needed to get the same effect on a person who has been smoking all their life. With an addiction so strong, the surgeon general's study shows that nicotine has the same addiction, possibly even more, and behavior characteristics than heroin.

Nicotine is a highly toxic alkaloid. Which is found it the most in tobacco which acts as a stimulant. It releases dopamine into the brain which gives the feeling of pleasure. It also raises heart rate and blood pressure and gives the smoker a surge of energy. Nicotine is not considered a carcinogen cells and enhances the growth of a tumor. The nicotine quickly absorbs into your bloodstream and within 7 Seconds reaches your brain. It then sends out adrenaline which makes you feel pleasure or energy. After this, the feeling Fades and your brain becomes accustom to the fluid of "pressure" which makes you want more and this is how addiction occurs. Then when someone makes an effort to quit they go through a serious series of withdrawals and symptoms. They also might often need another person's help to quit through addiction. These withdrawals can start just as soon as two hours after the last time that the nicotine was consumed. Nicotine withdrawals have such an

CBT for schizophrenia also stresses skill-oriented treatments. Patients learn skills to cope with life's challenges. The therapist teaches social, daily functioning, and problem-solving skills. This can help patients with schizophrenia minimalize the types of stress that can lead to outbursts and

While being in a good mood may seem like a positive effect of smoking, it actually leads to something worse: addiction. If one is addicted to nicotine, then the effects of discontinuing nicotine use become that much more severe. The disuse of nicotine lowers the amount of dopamine in the brain. This lowering of dopamine causes the person to crave nicotine. If this craving is not fulfilled, the body goes into a withdrawal. The individual’s mood changes rapidly, and he or she is often more irritable (Severson, 2017).