1.Introduction
Good Afternoon, my name is Karla Watson and I would like to thank you for this opportunity you have given me to work for your company. I have heard many good things about this facility and it would be an honor to work here. I have come today with my resume and my degree from the UOP. I have a lot of success with drug abuse and anxiety. Having gone through all these things myself I feel that I can better help those who are seeking treatment and truly want to change. I have included in my folder a copy of the assignments that you gave to me to complete. I did much reading and research and the two topics I have chosen are drug abuse and anxiety. I hope you enjoy my work and thank you greatly for all of your time.
2.Part A: My understanding of the causes and treatments of schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a severe brain disorder that interferes with the normal brain functions. This disorder usually affects people in their late adolescence or early adulthood, even though this disorder could hit someone at anytime. Schizophrenia can trigger many different symptoms in a person. Some of these symptoms would include paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, and the lack of motivation.
The Essay on Sleep Disorders 4
... disorders include Delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS); Rapid eye movement behavior disorder (RBD), Shift work ... Medical or Psychiatric Conditions that may produce sleep disorders include Psychoses such as Schizophrenia, Mood disorders , Depression , Anxiety , Panic and Alcoholism Other Sleep ...
A.Areas of the brain affected by schizophrenia
The first area of the brain that is affected by Schizophrenia would have to be the temporal lobe. From what I got from our textbook (Pinel, 2009) a person who has this disorder has smaller temporal lobe structures. Studies that have been done on temporal lobes have found out that a persons hippocampus and amygdala are reduced in size. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that controls our short and long term memory, and the amygdale is responsible for arousal and emotions in a person. Another part of the brain that is also affected is the prefrontal cortex, this is where the dopamine is created in ones brain and this part also controls the levels of dopamine in a person. An imbalance of these levels will cause a person to have some type of cognitive problems and will also cause problems in the brain that affect long term memory. The last part of the brain that will be affected is the limbic system. This system helps to control a persons mood and emotion, this is why a person with this disorder could be angry one minute and crying about something the next and then five minutes later they can be happy again.
B. Causal Factors of Schizophrenia
The causal theories and neural basis that surround the development of Schizophrenia is that there is evidence that the disorder may result from genetic predisposition resulting from the Schizophrenia diagnosis in a close, first degree relative (Pinel, 2009.) Another theory would be the fact that people who suffer from Schizophrenia have higher levels of dopamine in their bodies, and as I said before this is from the fact that the prefrontal cortex of a person has been damaged. The reason why this theory is so highly recognized is from the research that has been done on Parkinsons disease. With Parkinsons disease they use a drug called chlorpromazine, that is a know receptor blocker, and it helps to bind the D2 receptors, which has to do with hyperactivity. This drug helps to calm the person down when they are having a bout of Schizophrenia.
B.Associated Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Additional consideration revolving Schizophrenia etiology results from brain imaging studies which commonly evidence extensive abnormalities of the brain including small cerebral cortex and enlarged cerebral ventricles (Pinel, 2009).
The results of these brain image studies lends further merit to the idea of early neural development issues as bearing connection to the development of Schizophrenia.
The Essay on Mental Illness Schizophrenia People Brain
Mental Illness is a term used for a group of disorders causing severe disturbances in thinking, feeling and relating. They result in substantially diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life. (Mental Illness Defined) There are some different perspectives on the causes of mental illness. The perspectives include the biological, psychodynamic, humanistic and existential, ...
C.The neural basis of Schizophrenia
While psychotherapy and group or family therapy may aid in the success of treating the Schizophrenic patient these treatment options must be used in combination with effective drug therapy to address the complex symptoms related to the disorder.
E. Appropriate Drug therapies for Schizophrenia
Drug therapy also may require a combination of antipsychotic, antidepressant and anti anxiety medications to fully manage and address the patients range of symptoms. Chlorpromazine is used and helps control the dopamine levels in a person. There are also some other drugs that help control this disorder such as benzodiazepines (Xanax) and with the help of family and friends, people who have this disorder can leave normal and healthy lives. If a person stops taking their medications then the symptoms will start to come back and the person will have to start on the medication all over again, but this time it may take longer for the medication to kick in than it did before because they have already grown a tolerance to it. Also a person will more than likely stop using the drugs if the side effects are too severe for that person to handle or even if the drug has no real effect on his or her symptoms. This is the main reason why a person who has this disorder should be monitored at all times to make sure that the drug therapy that they are on is appropriate for them (Grohol, 2008.)
3.Major Case #1 Drug Abuse
While many people try alcohol or drugs, using these substances is neither safe nor is it healthy. Some people experiment with drugs or alcohol only a few times, but experimentation can lead to substance abuse and also lead to serious problems. Some of these problems can range from poor school performance, loss of friends and family, problems at home, and even lasting legal consequences.
A.The problem in this case from the perspective of a biopsychologist.
Teenagers tend to be risk-takers, and they may take drugs or drink because it seems exciting or cool at the time so they can fit in with the crowd they are hanging out with. Teens that are at the biggest risk for developing serious alcohol or drug problems are those with family members who have problems with alcohol or other drug abuse.
The Essay on Denver Drug Problem
Since the end of World War II, almost every president has declared a war on illegal drug use. The efforts against drugs that are currently used, got their start from a series of laws passed during the Nixon administrations War on Drugs. Many programs have been established including Nancy Regans Just Say No campaign which was started in 1983. George Bush, later provided the DEA with its largest ...
B.The problem in this case in relation to the nature-nurture issue.
There is a big difference between nature and nurture with drug abuse. If a parent thinks that it is ok for a child to use drugs and provides it for them or does it with them does not make it ok. This is only enabling the child to want to do it and most likely they will explore new things. Many drug addicts have family that is drug addicts. I myself grew up in a home where my parents smoke Marijuana and did Cocaine. As I got older I tried these drugs and became addicted to OxyContin and was using at least 400mg of this drug on a daily basis. One will never seek help unless they truly want to get help. One cannot help some with their drug problem if they do not want the help.
C.Helpful drug interventions or solutions.
One of the many treatments for drug abuse is Suboxone and Methadone. These two drugs work by blocking the pain receptors in ones brain therefore blocking the craving to use other drugs. I myself have been on Suboxone and Methadone. I can honestly say from a lot of research that I have done that Suboxone is very effective if taken properly and one is wend down properly and is also in treatment at the same time. Opiate treatment is successful when the two go hand in hand drug counseling while being on the opiate blocker.
D.Positive or negative aspects of these drug interventions or solutions.
One of the positive aspects of this is that it truly does work if one takes their medication as prescribed and they do not over medicate. Suboxone is very effective in treating drug abuse but the negative part is that it is 30 times more potent than Morphine, and if one chooses to stop taking it they will have sever withdrawals from this medication. Some people are better off being in a live in facility, instead of out-patient care. As I stated before one will not stop abusing drugs unless they themselves really truly wants to
change.
4.Major Case #2 Anxiety
The Essay on Lorazepam Drug Used for Anxiety Disorders
LorazepamLorazepam is in the class of drugs called benzpdiazepines. Lorazepam is a sedative anxiolytic medication. It is noted for the management of anxiety disorders and for the short-term relief of the symptoms of anxiety or anxiety associated with depressive symptoms.Like most other benzodiazepines, patients using lorazepam can develop a tolerance to it. In other words, patients will have to ...
The second case study has to do with Tom and his anxiety disorder. He is an engineer, happily married, and is the father of three children and by all accounts Toms life is stable and satisfying. The problem is that Tom worries about his perceived health, money, and job responsibilities, and all of this has been going on for over six months now. With this in mind, we realize that Tom exhibits all of the things that the American Psychiatric Association has set up to diagnosis this is disorder. They are that he is excessively worrying about his health, even though he is 100% healthy, worries about his finances, and also about his job responsibilities and that he has been doing all this worrying for over a six months (American Psychiatric Association, 2000.) The symptoms for this disorder are normally muscle tension, headaches, hot flashes, nausea, fatigue, worrying, chest pains and a constant feeling that something bad is going to happen when there is nothing wrong.
A.The problem in this case from the perspective of a biopsychologist.
The problem is that many people who have these problems seek help for anxiety but in many cases it is not only anxiety that the person is suffering from. Many people have other underlying issues that cause them to feel the way they do. This is why it is important to seek help from a professional and continue to stay in treatment until all the underlying problems have come out to surface and one can deal with it head on without having to take any medication.
B.The problem in this case in relation to the nature-nurture issue.
When looking at the nature vs. nurture issue, we see that genetics do play a large role in this disorder because Tom could have received his constant worry about certain things from his parents. Children tend to grow up and do as they see more than they do what they are told. It is also been found that fear and anxiety are guided by different brain mechanisms. Nurture has a role in anxiety because the reason people do worry about things is because of their family and social environment and the people they surround themselves with on a daily basis.
C.Helpful drug interventions or solutions.
The best treatment for this disorder is usually in the form of the drugs benzodiazepines or as some of you know them as Xanax, Kolonipn and Valium. In some cases even serotonin is used. These drugs help to reduce the level of anxiety in a person. Even though these drugs do work, they are also very highly addictive so the patient must be monitored by a doctor.
The Essay on A Problem Case with Confidentiality
Confidentiality has always been a pledge that is likely to be asked by anyone when disclosing sensitive information to an authority, specialist, or even a friend. More often than not, the party to whom any information is to be disclosed would promise that none of it would ever be relayed to anyone else. Yet, this pledge of confidentiality is not, and cannot be made absolute especially if the ...
D.Positive or negative aspects of these drug interventions or solutions.
Some known side effects of these drugs are dizziness, nausea, and motor activity disruption. I have been on benzodiazapines for about 3 years now and it works really well for me. Xanax cause memory loss and can also cause drowsiness, grogginess, and cause ones motor skills to be slow. If taken properly as prescribed they do work well. Just like any other drug they all have their good and bad side effects. I believe if one takes their medication as prescribed they will do well with it.
5.Conclusion
In conclusion, we see that each and every psychiatric disorder is characterized by its own set of unique symptoms. They can range in severity from being very mild to being extreme. Some known causes for these disorders can and most often include genetics, brain damage, and environmental problems. People who have these disorders suffer a great deal of personal issues and the treatments for these disorders can vary from person to person. This is why I have said more than once in this essay that it is highly recommended that all patients who have these disorders are closely monitored so that the best result can be produced.
References
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.).
Washington, DC: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers Ltd Grohol, J.M. (2008).
Schizophrenia treatment. Psych Central. Retrieved from http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx31t.htmAmerican Psychiatric Association, (2000).
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/anxiety/article_em.htm (Medical Author: Roxanne Dryden- Edwards, MD) http://www.suboxone.com/
