Cultural Factors: Risk And Protective Factor

Manic depression disorder, more commonly known today as bipolar disorder, is a mental illness that can affect any age, race, or gender. It is not prejudiced, and has a grim prognosis if the symptoms are not treated or controlled in some fashion. Bipolar disorder is, by Boris Birmaher as the presence of recurrent episodes of mania or hypomania with and without episodes of depression (Birmaher, 2013). As explained by Hockenbury and Hockenbury, a manic episode can be sudden and escalates the emotional state of the individual causing them to have extreme euphoria, as well as more excitement, physical energy, and a more rapid thought and speech process. A depressive episode can also come on suddenly and leaves the individual in a lost state, where they are tired, and no longer find enjoyment from activities that they once loved and could lead to suicidal thoughts or actions (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2014). A person does not mentally mature fully until about the age of 25. Meaning that a 25 year old has different brain processes than a 10 year old. Because of this, there have been many studies conducted on the controversy between whether or not bipolar disorder should be diagnosed in children and adolescents.

Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that usually shows up in adolescence or young adulthood but can be seen in children as young as eight years old. It is a long term mental disorder characterized by a faulty perception of reality, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation. It typically involves the breakdown of a person’s relationship between thought, emotion, and behavior. Currently, there are five subtypes of schizophrenia included in the DSM-5; paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, and residual. Each subtype is characterized by their most prominent symptom. For instance, paranoid schizophrenia is a subtype in which a person experiences

They can be sensory, as if they think they are burning, tingling or stinging, when in reality they are not. They can feel robotic and apart from their own body or visually see something that is not there. The delusions are when they are holding strong beliefs that are not real, and they also have “loose associations” which they jump from topic to topic. Anhedonia is when a person no longer enjoys or takes pleasure in activities that usually have fun doing. Avolition is the lack of motivation to accomplish goals. A person must be suffering from these disturbances for an extended period of time to be diagnosed as a schizophrenic, because there are other psychotic disorders that have like symptoms. There are different ages people can actually develop this suffering. There is the adolescent onset of ages 10-17 years old, the early adult onset of ages 18-30 years old, the middle age onset of 30-45 years old, and the late onset of 45+ years old. No matter the age group, they all may be in what some refer to as a “land of fantasy”. Schizophrenia has been found in all cultures worldwide. The perception of the illness within the culture can affect the diagnosis, treatment, and the support for the individual who is being examined. Schizophrenic clues that can help determine if one is suffering is when one hears voices or has urges to harm themselves or others, has feelings of being

There are many mental illnesses that are diagnosed and common amongst adults and children today. The two most common mental illnesses are schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These illnesses are considered the two most functional psychotic disorders. Schizophrenia is a chronic condition with an increase in severity of its symptoms but always has some background to its symptoms. Bipolar disorder is generally a condition with expectation of a full recovery between episodes. Even though both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have somewhat the same symptoms I believe they are different and schizophrenia is more severe in treatment

The reason why I mention this is due to a case I had with a patient last night. Although, she did not have schizophrenia, she was diagnosed with bipolar II with psychotic features. I realized

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).

Schizophrenia Video Questions Initially, John was diagnosed with depression with psychotic features. Diagnosis of this disorder requires a marked decrease in pleasure and/or persistent low mood, as well as at least 2 of significant weight or appetite disturbance, sleep disturbance, psychomotor agitation or retardation, loss of energy or fatigue, feelings of worthlessness, diminished ability to think, concentrate and make decisions or recurrent thoughts of death, dying or suicide. The presence of delusions or hallucinations with the underlying mood disorder yields the diagnosis with psychotic features. Next was schizoaffective disorder then after experiencing mania and persistent paranoia he was officially diagnosed with schizophrenia. His

For an episode to be categorized as manic, the patients’ mood has been irritable or abnormally elevated for at least 1 week. A person must also exhibit at least 3 of the following symptoms (4 if the mood is only irritable): extreme feelings of personal greatness; a decreased need for sleep, marked talkativeness; distractibility; extreme focus on a goal-directed activity; reports of ‘racing’ thoughts or a flight of ideas; or excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences (i.e. sexual indiscretions or unintelligent business investments). As in the criteria for a depressed episode, the DSM-IV specifies that these symptoms should not be better explained as being a side effect of a drug or illness to qualify as a manic episode. These symptoms must interfere with the person’s normal functioning and must not meet the criteria for a mixed episode. As with adults, childhood-onset bipolar disorder has many faces. Children with Bipolar I Disorder have episodes of mania and episodes of depression, sometimes there are long periods of normal moods between episodes. Adults usually tend to have more depressed episodes than manic episodes. However, some children will have chronic mania (symptoms of mania lasting for long periods of time or marked by frequent recurrence) and seldom experience a depressed episode.

Much of how an individual turns out to be is not only dependant on the genes in which their parents have passed down to them, but also due to the family structure in which they were raised by.

Schizophrenia usually strikes in late adolescence or in early adulthood. In some cases it can affect a person in middle age or even later and in rare cases it affects children. In general, the earlier this disease onsets, the more severe it gets as time goes by. Usually, the onset of this illness is gradual with subtle warning signs, but sometimes symptoms can appear all of a sudden and without warning. In initial phases people suffering from schizophrenia seem disconnected and isolated, emotionless, eccentric and reclusive. They begin to show an indifference to life and they stop caring about the way they appear. They stop doing things they once liked doing and the quality of work at school or work starts to

Many have confused schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with dissociative identity disorder. Bipolar disorder also known as manic-depression is a fairly common disorder when compared to schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder. It is also well-understood and treated by a combination of medications and psychotherapy.It is characterized by alternating moods of mania and depression. These usually last weeks or even months depending on the person. People who are manic have a high energy level and often irrational beliefs. After a manic mood, the person will often “crash” into a depressive mood characterized by sadness and lethargy. It is found in both men and women equally and cause significant sleeping problems in both the manic mood and depressive mood. This disorder can pose a great challenge to treat due to the medications that are prescribed causing the patient to feel “zombie like”or “emotionless”. They tend to wean off of their medication and are able to cope well with their mood swings in society. Bipolar disorder can be diagnosed throughout the person 's life. Schizophrenia is less common than bipolar disorder but more common than dissociative identity disorder. Men are more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia than women and is diagnosed mostly in the person’s late teens to early 20s. Schizophrenia is categorized by having both hallucinations and delusions. Hallucinations are defined by an experience involving the apparent perception perception of something

Schizophrenia is an illness that affects the brain chemistry and structure in such a way that they experience changes in how they think, manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others. An individual with schizophrenia may experience psychotic symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, disorganized sleep, flat affect, loss of interest in life and activities, trouble organizing thoughts and remembering things, etc. Current treatment options may include medication, therapy, and psychosocial rehabilitation. (NAMI, 2015)

This is done with careful evaluation of the client history and recurring symptoms of extreme emotions. According to Varcarolis and Halter (2010), "Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and devastating brain disorder that affects a person's thinking, emotions, language, social actions, and ability to recognize reality accurately". On the other spectrum Larson, Walker and Compton (2010), states that "Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders are among the most debilitating mental illnesses because multiple facets of functioning are impaired". Patients with schizoaffective disorder typically are withdrawn, isolated and suspicious of others. These characteristics will greatly impact their quality of life. In addition, bipolar is a mood disorder with repeated event of depression and

There are three ways that symptoms of schizophrenia are categorized by; positive, negative, and cognitive. Positive symptoms are psychotic behaviors not generally seen in healthy people. These symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, thought disorders, and movement disorders (NIMH). Negative symptoms are associated with disruptions to to normal emotions and behaviors. These symptoms include “flat affect” (reduced expression of emotions via facial expression or voice tone), lack of pleasure in everyday life, lack of ability to begin and sustain planned activities, and reduced speaking. Cognitive symptoms consist of loss of the capacity for very basic human functioning. Symptoms include inability to focus attention, impaired “working memory”, and lack of fundamental individual initiative to do anything (Psychology Today). “It (schizophrenia) has definitely made everything a lot more stressful. It makes it a lot harder for me to be devoted and have the motivation to do basically anything” (Dickey, Madeline).

An attitude are the long lasting beliefs, feelings, and behavioral responses towards social objects such as other people or issues (Attitudes and Behavior, n.d.). Attitudes can either be positive or negative.