Discussions - Mandatory Discussion questions for grades every week. PDF

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Mandatory Discussion questions for grades every week. ...

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1. Class Introduction: a. Hi everyone! My name is Mona Patel. I live in Douglas, Ga. My major is Nursing and I plan to pursue a career in Nurse Anesthesia. I have been accepted into Mercer University Nursing Program -- Atlanta Campus, and will be starting nursing school this fall. My hobbies include: painting, watching Grey's Anatomy, and running. I also have a strong interest in the fields of sociology and psychology. My expectation from the course is to learn more in depth about mental disorders and how they are associated with behaviors and emotions. Overall, I think this will be a very interesting class and I am definitely excited for it! With all of this being said, I hope everyone has a great time learning this semester! I look forward to interacting with all of you through discussions! 2. After reading and reviewing all of the resources provided in Module 1 - Unit 1, please answer the following items in the Unit 1 Discussion: (1) What in the Unit 1 reading did you find most interesting? Why was it interesting? How does it relate to abnormal psychology? (2) Describe the three historical explanations (supernatural, somatogenic, and psychogenic) for abnormal behavior. (3) After reading Unit 1 of the text, what (if any) misconceptions do you now realize that you had about abnormal psychology and/or the history of mental illness? a. (1) While reading the open text for Unit 1, what I found most interesting was that back in days dating back to 1900 BCE was people thinking that mental illness happened (in women) was because of the “wandering uterus.” When I read that, I was so shocked to see how people’s mind worked to have a explanation for someone with mental illness. I mean how can you even think about a uterus becoming dislodged and traveling to a different part of your body? It’s mind blowing really. It relates to abnormal psychology because this was one of the reasons why people believed someone could have had or developed any kind of mental illness. In a way, it’s like a justification. Just like back in 500 BC, people thought you had a mental illness that was caused by some type of demon that took over one’s body. b. (2) The historical explanation for supernatural is that the brain developing things that are unable to make sense beyond the universe’s laws of nature. The historical explanation for somatogenic is psychological functioning has physical causes. The historical explanation for psychogenic is the chief cause of abnormal functioning are physiological. c. (3) I always thought that mental illness is something that comes and you can never cure it. After reading the text of Unit 1, I realized I was wrong. I learned that there is something called “Traitement Moral”, which is basically like a regimen consisted of healthy diet, being physically healthy, and overall having a good living condition that can keep it tamed or in other words, be able to manage it. This is why nowadays, people with mental illness seem so normal to us and we don't even know who has a mental illness and who doesn't. 3. Pick one form of psychotherapy and one form of biomedical therapy discussed in the module. Share with the class what you discovered about both specific forms of therapy. Some questions you should attempt to answer: Who developed the form of therapy you chose? When was it developed? What was it developed to treat? Is it still used today? A

lot or only rarely? a. Form of Pyschotherapy: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy i. What I Discovered: This form of Psychotherapy I chose was developed by Dr. Aaron T. Beck in the 1960s. It was developed when he worked at the University of Pennsylvania as a psychiatrists for the students. Along with that, he started to study more about psychoanalysis and then later began to practice it. Dr. Aaron T. Beck practiced many trials to see if his psychoanalytic concepts of depression worked. The CBT is still used today in all parts of the world. And more importantly, more and more everyday it has been practiced and gotten a lot of support. b. Form of Biomedical Therapy: PsychoSurgery i. What I Discovered: This form of Biomedical therapy I chose was developed by Gottlieb Burckhardt. It was developed by the Swiss psychiatrist in the 1880s. But the first foremost raid into this biomedical therapy was developed by some Portuguese neurologist by the name of Egas Moniz in 1930s. This was also known by the name leucotomy or neurosurgery. It is only used in some countries, which is used to medical purposes such as treating mental illnesses of schizophrenia and other disorders but very rarely.

4. Develop a hypothetical (imaginary) child who would meet the diagnostic criteria for a neurodevelopmental disorder. It is up to you to select the age, sex, name, personal background of the child, and the disorder. Be thorough and creative in your response.Develop a treatment plan or path forward for the child based on what you've learned in the module. a. My hypothetical child: i. Name: Jason ii. Sex: Male iii. Age: 11 iv. Disorder: ADHD v. Personal Background: Jason is an excellent baseball player on the boys travel team. Lately, he had issues with understand the ball plays that his coach explains to him along with difficulty understanding basic instructions (not compliance). They also noticed that he isn’t paying attention when the group prays together before starting a ball game and he has his mind in some other direction. When asked to put his baseball equipment up, Jason would only gather everything and then be distracted by watching tv and is not able to put away his equipment. Being an 11 year old, Jason shouldn't have problems understanding rules and following them through. He is not developmentally appropriate for his age. vi. Treatment Plan: Jason’s treatment plan would consist of setting small goals for him to accomplish. His goals would include being specific with the task, something that is easily attainable, something realistic, and something done everyday in a timely manner. Basically setting a schedule up so you don't forget.. Goals to help not forgetting things like: packing up ALL the baseball equipment everyday after playing ball or standing in

one position while praying before a baseball game for 5 minutes everyday. Along with his treatment plan, his doctor can prescribe him adderall which is a type of medicine to help people focus and it is widely used to treat the disorder of ADHD. 5. For your Unit 4 discussion, use a search engine (such as Google.) to research a person from history that either was diagnosed with schizophrenia or, if not diagnosed, someone you believe would have met the diagnostic criteria. In your discussion, please describe the symptoms in detail and highlight the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia. In addition, describe either how the disorder was treated or how it should have been treated.

a. When researching a person from a history of being diagnosed with schizophrenia I came across Lionel Aldridge who was an Super Bowl-winning Football Player. All throughout his years of playing football and being a sports broadcaster, Lionel never showed any signs that might suggest he had schizophrenia. Suddenly, around the age of 33, Lionel starts getting sick. He says that he had “extreme paranoia and irritability and it was difficult for me to get along with others.” Lionel had been going for about 10 years without any help or treatment, but once he accepted the fact that he needed help, he began to get better. He mentions that along with medication, he also used other ways to help him treat his paranoid schizophrenia. Although he does say which ways, here are some general treatments: 1. typical antipsychotics -- are drugs that all share a common feature of being a strong block of the D2 type dopamine receptor. Although these drugs can help reduce hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized speech. 2. Atypical antipsychotic -- are drugs have more mixed mechanisms of action in terms of the receptor types that they influence, though most of them also influence D2 receptors. These drugs have a less of side effects on motor skills than the typical antipsychotic drugs. Aside from these medications, you can treat it with Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). This psychotherapy is shown to help reduce the distress in schizophrenia by placing a huge emphasis on one’s experiences, and how they develop a relationship and most importantly by helping them understand a lot of psychotic symptoms. b. http://www.schizophrenia.com/stories/aldridge.htm c. https://www.drugs.com/health-guide/schizophrenia.html 6. For your Unit 5 discussion, choose any one Bipolar and Related Disorder AND any one Depressive Disorder. Research both disorders and share with the class: the history of the disorders, symptoms, and common methods of treatment as well as anything else you found interesting. a. Bipolar and Related Disorder: i. Name: Bipolar I ii. History: Bipolar I is a form of mental illness. Someone who is affected by this has at least of one manic episode. Most people with bipolar I disorder also go through episodes of depression, but a lot of people in bipolar I disorder can live normal lives. People with family members that have bipolar are at a higher risk and the disorder can develop until the age of 50. iii. Symptoms: The symptoms of Bipolar I disorder include: manic episodes where the person has elevated mood and can feel “high,” Mind jumps around during conversations, inflated self-image, hypersexually, alot of

energy, does not sleep as much. Common Treatments: The most common treatment methods and medication are: Mood Stabilizers (Lithium, Valproate), Antipsychotics, Benzodiazepines, and Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). v. Interesting Fact: “About 2.5% of the US population suffers from bipolar disorder -- almost 6 million people.” b. Depressive Disorder: i. Name: Major Depressive Disorder ii. History: This disorder can affect one’s mood, behavior, appetite, and sleep. During this disorder, you have at least two weeks of low mood. A lot of people say the cause of this is genetics, as well as environmental and psychological factors. Risk factors include family history of the condition, certain medication, most chronic health problems, and a lot of substance abuse. iii. Symptoms: The symptoms from this disorder include: being really sad, less interest in most activities, gain/lose weight, feeling restlessness, tired all the time, feeling worthless, and you may think about harming yourself. iv. Common Treatments: The most common treatment methods and medications include: antidepressant medications (SSRIs, Tricyclic antidepressants), Psychotherapy, Lifestyle changes (change eating, avoiding alcohol), getting exercise, and sleeping well. v. Interesting Fact: “In 2015, nearly 7 percent of Americans over age 18 had an episode of MDD.” 7. https://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/guide/bipolar-1-disorder 8. https://www.healthline.com/health/clinical-depression 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_depressive_disorder iv.

-- replied to Melissa Williamson -- replied to Rozie Smith -- replied to Maimuna Sowe

(1) What is anxiety? How is normal anxiety different from abnormal anxiety? What adaptive purpose does normal anxiety serve? --- Anxiety is a general term for several disorders that cause nervousness, fear, apprehension, and worrying. These disorders affect how we feel and behave and can cause physical symptoms. Normal anxiety is often just like a emotion of being scared of something. When you have abnormal anxiety its more risky. You think about fear and survival. This can be often known as fight or flight response. When thinking about anxiety at very low intensity, the adaptive purpose it serves to normal anxiety is alarm. Alarming one’s body, and being alert is very important in crucial. Having known that something can be a threat to you can be beneficial to one.

(2) What role does classical conditioning play in the development of a specific phobia? (Hint: Refer to the Little Albert Study) --- Classical conditioning was a theory about associative learning. This was proven in the Little Albert Study. They found that this experiment not only concluded that Classical Conditioning worked on humans, but also that phobias could be caused by conditioned learning. Fear can be lived is a behavior that can be learned by classical conditioning. The role it plays is that you can find a solution to fear by classically conditioning them to not be afraid. (3) Distinguish between social anxiety and agoraphobia. --- Agoraphobia can be termed as a fear of being in a crowded place or open space. Social phobia can be termed as a fear of facing the society; a fear that is characterized by excessive shyness in social situations. Unlike people with social phobia, people having agoraphobia are afraid of walking alone in a secluded place and this is because of the fear of not getting any help if some panic situation arises. (4) Lastly, conduct a quick internet search of different types of phobias. Choose one specific phobia that you found the most interesting and share it with the class. --- The one specific phobia I found most interesting is called Cynophobia. This is called the phobia for the fear of dogs. I found it interesting because I am scared of dogs terribly, but I never knew that there was an actual phobia for it. I also found out that it is not as common as phobia of spiders but it still exists. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/anxiety https://www.psychestudy.com/behavioral/learning-memory/classical-conditioning/phobias http://www.differencebetween.net/science/health/difference-between-agoraphobia-and-socialphobia/#ixzz5KR0zrhdv

1) What are the underlying features (symptoms) of all of the disorders outlined in this module? --- The underlying features (symptoms) of all the disorders outlined in this module are similar. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Hoarding Disorder are both obsession based. Obsession on keeping things neat and clean and keeping everything (all items) period. Obsessions are repetitive, unwanted, and intrusive thoughts that trigger anxiety. (2) Conduct a Google search of someone living or dead who was diagnosed with OCD. Share with the class what you discovered. Make sure to identify the symptoms of OCD in your answer.

--- When I conducted a google search of someone living or dead who was diagnosed with OCD found that a person as such is Justin Timberlake. There was an article in which Justin Timberlake says he suffers from a combination of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder. Justin is quoted by website Collider.com as saying: "I have OCD mixed with ADD. You try living with that. It's complicated." It was claimed Justin had been arguing with his girlfriend Jessica Biel - who recently began living in Justin's Los Angeles home - over the contents of their fridge. A source said: "They are both used to doing things their way and having specific things in the fridge. "They've had to re-adjust where the beer, water and peanut butter go to make room for each other's favourite foods." This comes in hand with symptoms of OCD. A symptom of that is being organized and obsessing over thing and having it his way.

(3) Some have argued that the late Michael Jackson suffered from body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Do you agree? Explain why or why not. In your explanation, make sure to identify factors in Jackson's life and the symptoms of BDD to justify your response. -- Yes, I agree that late Michael Jackson suffered from body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). The glaringly obvious alterations of his nose, chin, facial structure, and skin tone indicate that he had multiple cosmetic procedures, and suggest that he suffered from a significant case of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). Jackson was catapulted to fame at a young age, and appeared unable to handle its pressures. This can eventually lead him to be insecure about his body and the way he looks. This goes with symptoms such as being preoccupied with physical appearance, feeling extremely self-conscious, and comparing appearance with that of others.

https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/similarities-and-differences-between-hoarding-disorder-andocd/ http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/504629/I-suffer-OCD-and-ADD-Timberlake-confesses http://www.timberlineknolls.com/eating-disorder/body-dysmorphia/signs-effects/ Watch the TED talk on PTSD and make sure to note anything that stood out. Share with the class, what stood out for you and why.

-- One main thing that stood out to be during this PTSD Ted Talk is when Janet Seahorn said that it is not a disorder but in fact a RE-ordeing of your neural networks and sensors. I would agree one hundred percent on this as well. Just because someone has experienced so much traumatic events in their life doesn’t mean they have an disorder. Also, I loved the fact that she gave when she said that not all experiences are supposed to be counted as bad, even the traumatic experiences should be considered good. Sometimes, you need a little bad in your life to make you more appreciative of things around you. Part II: Distinguish between PTSD, Acute Stress Disorder, and Adjustment Disorder. Identify the underlying feature(s) that make them alike and also identify differences between them in terms

of symptoms. What typically causes each disorder? How are they treated? --- Underlying features that make PTSD, Acute Stress Disorder, and Adjustment Disorder alike is that they are all mental disorders. Another thing they have in common is that they are all depression like as well. Symptoms of PTSD include: Flashbacks, BAd dreams, terrifying thoughts, feeling tense, not sleeping well, negative thoughts, having angry outburts, being easily startled, and so much more. The current diagnostic criteria for ASD are similar to the criteria for PTSD, although the criteria for ASD contain a greater emphasis on dissociative symptoms and the diagnosis can only be given within the first month after a traumatic event. The first difference is that the diagnosis of ASD can be given only within the first month following a traumatic event. If posttraumatic symptoms were to persist beyond a month, the clinician would assess for the presence of PTSD. The ASD diagnosis would no longer apply. Common characteristics of Adjustment Disorder include: mild depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and traumatic stress symptoms or a combination of the three. Symptoms not similar to PTSD and ASD are: crying spells, anxiety, skipping school/work, reckless driving and thoughts of suicide....