Chapter 12 Reflection

Alyssa Brandt

Psych 220 Winter 2011

Chapter 12 Reflection

February 28, 2011

Schizophrenia is another one of those misunderstood disorders. The media portrays it as if it has one level- the level where people have voices in their heads telling them to kill other people or people that are somehow involved with government conspiracies. Although these are both possible outcomes of schizophrenia, the more common cases are less harmful and more tame, including people who hear Jesus talking to them to do his work (like with Ben’s case study), or other equally unharmful things. What really stuck out to me in this chapter was the hypotheses that a virus or other teratogenic source causes schizophrenia. There is still a lot of things in this world we’re only just figuring out, and I do think that we could potentially get rid of schizophrenia (or at least quall a lot of it) if we, in the nearish future, developed a vaccine to prevent it. This, of course, raises many, many more questions, like why families with schizophrenic prevalence are more likely to be schizophrenic – it could be genetic, or perhaps (if it’s possible) a genetic virus (is this like a mutation?). So many questions!

Another question that kept bothering me was what it is like to experience hallucinations and not realize that they are, in fact, not real. I don’t understand the irrational anymore, and I almost wish I could trade places with a schizophrenic individual so I could communicate with them and see what it’s like to have no control over your own reality and how it relates to the “real” reality, our world. Reality is a funny thing to play with.

One last thought about schizophrenia is the socioeconomic facet of it. Half the homeless people around here are most likely to be schizophrenic, and the public health system and other organizations aren’t doing a lot to help these people. It’s always more difficult than it sounds, but helping the mentally ill could be a potential prevention measure in homeless prevalence.

Chapter 8 Reflection

Alyssa Brandt

Abnormal Psychology Winter 2011

February 7, 2011

Chapter 8 Reflection

The word “depression” brings many experiences to me. Even though I’ve never been depressed, I’ve known people who have been and have had medication and therapy for it... it’s a complicated process to get through sometimes, with the form-filling and political sides of it. Can people have motivational deficiency disorders without any of the other symptoms of depression? Or is lack of motivation just a symptom of depressive-type disorders?

I also know a girl who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She is one of the coolest people I know, and I’ve talked to her about it.. it’s true that when bipolar people are in their manic episodes, they can stay awake for days, are continuously happy, and can feel like that can do anything. Later, she also ran away for a week or so because of the pressure and depressive episode (and was put into a 72-hour psychiatric hold), a lot of drama unfolded around the school she was at and had to live with a faculty member because she was deemed “psychologically unstable”. She had a history of self-mutilation, but that had happened almost 10 years prior to it and she hadn’t in a long time. She’s doing much better now, and I can say that people with disorders can still be incredibly fun to be around and interesting, and pretty much normal. They’re not to be ostracized or labeled as “non-humans” or anything remotely alluding to their abnormality.

I’ve been thinking more about whether or not I want to be a psychology major, and I still think I want to art, but I can’t help but be drawn to the people who aren’t getting what they need to be happy and successful members in society. A large portion of the homeless around here have mental disorders, and it could be fixed with effort. I also can’t help but assimilate the information I’m learning in the Human Sexuality class with this one- especially with the homosexuals and suicide rates. I did a speech on bullying and the recent suicides, and it all comes back to the fact that homosexuals are under a lot of pressure to be straight and to “fit in” with society, but they’re not built like that. They should have the right to love and be with anyone they choose. It’s basic human rights-to live, love, and be happy.

One other thing that I kept thinking about during the chapter was a song by Rammstein, a German industrial band of whom I am incredibly fond of. The name of it is “Sprung”, the German word for “jump”. It tells the story of a man who was standing on a bridge, enjoying the view, when people started telling him to jump- that he was being weak for not going through with his intent to commit suicide. At the end of the song, he does jump- because this mob of people convinced him to. It makes me realize how much of an effect people have on other people’s decisions to take or not take their own lives. Bullying, continuous condemnation, and not supporting and accepting people can drive them to take their own lives- without a real reason to.

Chapter 7 Reflection

Alyssa Brandt

Abnormal Psychology Winter 2011

February 7, 2011

Chapter 7 Reflection

Somatoform disorders can be really tricky, can’t they? I’m sure that people in the medical field run into these quite often, as far as psychological disorders go. I used to watch Scrubs all the time and there was a recurring hypochondriac-labeled character- he was one of the extremely obnoxious types, too, but I also think he wasn’t one of those people who truly thinks they’re sick- he was just fishing for attention. How do you really know when it’s a disorder? Just go down the checklist again? I’ve also been reminded that even if someone doesn’t fulfill all of the requirements for a diagnosable disorder, they can still be treated for the present symptoms. Therapy, as long as one has the money, time, and possibly the right insurance, can be incredibly benefitting even if one doesn’t have a real disorder.

I skimmed over “A New Way to be Mad” and I must say, there are some of the strangest things out there that people will do. A paraphilia or obsession with amputees doesn’t compute for normal people, but for some people it’s really the salt to their taffy. I’ve often thought I had some kind of eating disorder, but after reading how extreme things have to be in order to be a disorder, I’ve relinquished the idea and decided I am absolutely normal and healthy, and just pay attention to what I eat more than a lot of people.

Body dysmorphic disorders are probably more common than we think. I know many people who really are obsessed with something that they don’t like about themselves and think about nothing else. One particular individual is actually getting surgery to fix it, but I’m not sure what good that will do. Do they often seek surgery to fix their problem? Anorexic people seem to have problems with control, too- not just bad body image, but it probably goes hand in hand.

On a different note, DID probably is a false disorder. I think that people can separate parts of themselves out, but it’s not like they’re developing 2 different people that “fight” over the body. It’s more of an escape from one reality to another. A tool, not a disorder, and it’s probably not as extreme as the movie industry has made it. I suppose in theory it could get out of control, but the likelihood of a real DID existing is pretty slim.

On Being Sane in Insane Places

Alyssa Brandt

January 24, 2010

On Being Sane in Insane Places

Vocabulary

psuedopatient – a researcher who poses as a patient

aloofness - indifference by personal withdrawal; "emotional distance"

Questions/Comments

It was really interesting and slightly horrifying to witness what the hospital attendants and nurses would do to the patients- not that they did horrible things to them, but that they didn’t do much. The average amount of time spent with the patients was extraordinarily low, and when doctors did interract with the patients, it was brief and hardly personal at all. It seems to me that the patients are dehumanized and viewed as patients, not as people with mental disorders.

Another thing that really stood out was the fact that the bathrooms had no doors… these people are self-aware, despite having a mental problem. They can still feel embarrassed, but thanks to labelling, (as stated in the essay) “Eventually the patient himself accepts the diagnosis, with all of its surplus meanings and expectations, and behaves accordingly.” It’s a cyclical pattern of diagnosis and behavior.

The very last paragraph before the summary really got me to think about what makes people insane… the environment contributes a lot, and so the people admitted into a mental hospital who know their diagnosis will continue to learn to be those helpess “crazy” people.

Shades of Abnormality

Psych 220 Shades of Abnormality

Bob

Rating: 2

The spells of nausea and fatigue could be a somatoform disorder of the stress caused by his and his parents’ belief system clashing. Psychotherapy may fix the symptoms.

Jim

Rating: 3/4

Signs of schizophrenia are apparent and should be checked out. The degradation of his social life, hearing voices, and locking himself in his room, plus the Nazi invasion, are all signs that something is severely wrong with him mentally. Psychotherapy is recommended.

Mary

Rating: 2

It’s natural for her to be disturbed about dating again, but since it is interfering with her personal life and often worries her, psychotherapy may not be a bad idea.

Larry

Rating: 1

He seems to be functioning correctly, and the slight societal pressure on him at his job as well as the work load could be remedied through decreasing his work hours, etc. He seems to have a healthy social life and love life. Psychotherapy is not necessary.

Chapter 3 Reflection

Alyssa Brandt

January 17, 2010

Chapter Three Reflection

The ambiguity between various mental disorders is just as ambiguous as the line between abnormal and normal behavior. Since the names and classification of these disorders are man made, we can make them as specific or hazy as we want. If the patient is experiencing this but not this, it becomes a different disorder, and that sort of thing. The only problem is that thinking at a somewhat unconscious level can occur- the therapist may be asking questions that make the patient think they do have it, or suggest something that could have happened, sometimes even causing the patient to believe they have had that experience, even if it didn’t happen. I just keep going back to the original idea that the lines between what is right/wrong, a disorder/normal mental patterns, and other such pairs can be incredibly blurry.

Applying this idea specifically to the chapter, even a well-designed classification system can be vague, especially if the therapist doesn’t have a complete sample of behavior to work with. In the MMPI-2, the various scales are divided clearly, but the criteria within the scales can bleed into others. In addition to some of the more concrete classification systems, one must also consider all the types of tests that are used in determining abnormal behavior. Rorschach’s inkblot test is the first that comes to my mind (partially because I am a Watchmen fan, and partially because it is a well-known test), but I’d say it’s not necessarily a good choice for determining abnormal thought processes. “Projection” and those kind of pseudo-science terms don’t lend much validity to the tests. Personally, the survey tests that are spoken by the therapist (in order to watch the reaction time/reaction/etc of the patient) and answered by the patient seem the most rational and reliable.

Chapter 2 Reflection

Alyssa Brandt

January 17, 2010

Chapter Two Reflection

The brain is incredibly complex and fascinating. Just knowing that a little piece of fleshy, squishy stuff controls what I do, think, eat, sleep, react to, and generally pay attention to. Knowing that the RAS is like a little watchdog for me, and that the cerebellum is responsible for whether or not I fall over can be kind of strange to think about, if it’s stripped down to what it is. A group of cells is controlling what your body does. Knowing how much of an influence neurotransmitters have on our behavior also makes me think that the best suited method of explaining abnormal behavior is the biopsychosocial, because it combines all of the influencers on behavior into one theory. Being able to put oneself into another person’s brain can be pretty interesting, too, like in the activity where we had to determine what each of the models would say about the unusual behavior.

After studying what each perspective interprets abnormal behavior as and applying it to situations, I can successfully conclude that the psychoanalytic theory does not have adequate support for the reliability and validity of the treatments within the theory. It mostly seems as if someone chose names for behavior that may or may not be present in most individuals at a certain age group, and then came up with reasons as to why it happened. Other than that theory and some things about the humanistic approach, I can find validity in the other psychology perspectives. When it comes down to it, one can’t accept everything he or she reads and must decide whether or not something is valid enough to apply to his or her own life.