Abnormal psychology free essay sample

Running Header: Bipolar Life Bipolar Abstract This project will look at the character, Dr. Kay Jamison, from the autobiography, An Mind. It summarizes the whole book which is based on her life experiences while dealing with bipolar. It describes how she was diagnosed with the disorder. This project discuss symptoms, causes, and treatments. It will talk about the defense mechanisms that Dr. Kay Jamison most commonly used, rationalization and sublimation. The theoretical perspectives that were used to describe her disorder were the humanistic and the psychodynamic approach. Kay earned to deal with her disorder and took medication to help ease the symptoms and wrote the autobiography. Part l: Summary The book written by Dr. Kay Jamison, tells her life story describing her illness of being a manic depressant, which is now referred to as bi-polar. She describes her childhood as growing up in a loving but military regimented and structured household where she was encouraged to explore her curiosity and vast scientific interests. We will write a custom essay sample on Abnormal psychology or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Having grown up and living on military bases, Kay kept constantly moving where she attended four different schools by the time she reached he 5th grade. But even so, she had what she described as a normal life with having close friends and even a boyfriend. Her life took a different twist by the time she reached fifteen years old. She was attending a regular high school in a wealthy community in California. When she left behind her conservative life to attend this high school, she felt completely out of place. She lost her ability to cope and adjust. Kay found that this regular school was highly competitive in both academics and athletics. The competitiveness of this school left Kay feeling humiliated and inadequate. At round this time, she also started seeing changes in her fathers behavior. This one time, a very loose and engaging man was now a very depressed, pessimistic, drinking individual fly into rages. She was scared to even go home at this point. Her own mother would stay away from the house becoming more involved with her work to avoid the home life. It was during her senior year in high school when Kay experienced what she described as her first attack with her depressive illness. She stated she would start rambling and becoming out of control with her talking. Suddenly nothing made sense in her world and she ouldnt concentrate or comprehend things in class. She would have to read things over and over. Her once imaginative mind had turned on her and she could no longer focus. She found nothing interesting or worthwhile. It was also when she had her first thoughts of death and that life was not worth living. Kay withdrew from people and would literally avoided contact. She didnt even want to get out of bed. Her college years were filled with more confusion with continual feelings of suicide. There was also an excessive spending on elaborate items. One of her purchases was a horse that he couldnt even afford to keep and other non essential items. She continued to miss more classes and was unable to concentrate. Her initial major was medicine, but she knew she could not provide the concentration that was required in this field so she switched her major to psychology. Kay knew she needed help and that she had a mental illness. It was at this point she was prescribed and took the drug called Lithium to control her Once she started taking the Lithium she could now process things. She was no longer hallucinating. This medication enabled her to slow down. She ended up seeing a sychiatrist to help address her problems. Kay knew that the drug along with psychotherapy would keep her from relapsing, but she was embarrassed having to take it. The drug seemed to almost make her feel like she was in a drunken state. At times, Kay wrongly felt like she could stop taking the Lithium and she was the exception that could have a normal life without it. But when she stopped, her manic- depressive condition came back even stronger. It was at this time she attempted suicide. Kay felt as if she was a burden for her friends and family staying alive in her condition. She recovered rom this attempt and came to terms with the realization she would have to continue this medication for the rest of her life. At this time, she discovered that her condition was hereditary and that three generations of family members had it. It was very difficult being in the psychiatry field and to confide with others about her condition. As for professional reasons, she was concerned about the perception that colleagues would view her as weak and she wanted the respect of her peers. She was also concerned that exposing her illness would Jeopardize her ability to obtain a medical icense and perspective employers and whether they would hire her. Dr. Jamison reflects in her book that despite struggling with her illness, this was a success story. She recognized the need to take medications to control this illness. She also recognized the importance of continual medication compliance with not only herself, but for all patients. Kay confided in those she could trust and was fortunate to have the love and support from so many friends, family, husband and colleagues. As she pointed out there are so many people in many professions suffering from this condition. Many manic depressant individuals end up self-medicating, making them alcoholics or drug abusers and eventually committing suicide. She went on with her life with no regrets and lives it without guilt or embarrassment. This is not a condition that is brought upon by up bringing or lifestyle. Manic depression is a disease that requires treatment. The author is able to see from a different perspective as to how the condition effects patients and has a unique understanding of the illness. She can describe from a firsthand point of view on the importance of taking medication for this condition. Part II: Diagnosis Axis I: Bipolar Disorder (Manic-Depressive Illness). Axis Ill: No medical conditions. Axis lv. She had multiple stressors that could have influenced her disorder. She moved to California, off the military base where she felt most comfortable. She had a bad relationship with her sister, her father had a drinking problem, high school was to difficult, divorced her husband, and had many relationships with other men. Axis V: Lowest Score: 19. Even though Kay knew she had something wrong with her and received therapy, she was still severely suffering from her bipolar disorder. No matter what she tried doing, nothing seemed to help in the long term. She took lithium to help ease the symptoms, but it would make her unable to concentrate. Every time she would stop taking it, her episodes would come back even stronger than before. This lead her to attempt suicide by overdosing on the medication. Highest Score: 81 . After her attempted suicide, she received much more medical care and she was able to recover. She continued taking the medication and went on with her life. She was able to work and have relationships. She was showing little to no symptoms of er disorder and was satisfied with her life. Average Score: 50. ad been suffering from bipolar disorder or also called manic-depressive illness which was how it was referred to back in the seventies. At first, it was thought that Kay was suffering from a major depressive disorder. Her first attack of depression came when she was in high school in which she described it as being very confused all the time, feeling of worthlessness, and she wanted to avoid any contact with people. The n, when she was enrolled in college, she started to have sudden changes in her mood. At one moment, she would be excessively happy and euphoric, then she would become irritable and angry for no reason. She would always be restless and suffered from insomnia. She would also have abnormal shopping frenzies. Some of her purchase were a horse that she couldnt even afford, undesirable styles of furniture, an abundant amount of watches with an overall price of $30,000, and twelve snakebite kits. All of these symptoms are clear signs of a manic episode. Kay had multiple periods of depression and manic episodes which led to thoughts of hopelessness and a suicide attempt. She had multiple relationships with men in which she had excessive involvement in pleasurable activities. Another disorder that Kay could have arguably had was cyclotymic disorder. It is similar to bipolar, but the symptoms are less intense. Kay had prescribed to her which is why she is diagnosed with bipolar. Part Ill: Research Bipolar is a mood disorder which is categorized under axis I of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Bipolar can be defined as people who have excessive amounts of mood swings that alternate from states of depression or mania. It is also possible for a person to experience both mania and depression symptoms at the same time. For most people, it is embarrassing to be labeled with this disorder because they feel as though theres a stigma that comes along with it. Without the right support system or care, people with bipolar can find life very unbearable. When studying bipolar disorder, many researchers look at the symptoms, causes, risk factors, and treatments. Bipolar is rare disorder to develop. It is equally obtainable in both males and females. Until recently, researchers have found that no more than one percent of the general opulation has the disorder (Akiskal, 2010). Now, there is new evidence that for a higher prevalence of up to at least five percent (Akiskal, 2010). This new rise in the percentage can be due to the fact that people are becoming more acceptable of their condition. In todays society, people are more caring for others with disorders and encourage those who are less fortunate to seek help. can be observed can fall under the category of mania. Mania can be defined as a state in which a person has an excessive amount of euphoria and delusions. A person that is in a state of mania ay experience risky behaviors, decrease in sleep, racing thoughts, and an increase in sex drive (Malhi, 2003). A person may feel as though they are invincible and that they are on top of the world. This leads to them participating in dangerous activities like car surfing, mixing different types of drugs, or even participating in sexual activity with many people. A person in a state of mania may experience many sleepless nights. When people sleep, there brain releases a chemical known as serotonin, which is responsible for regulating mood, sleep, appetite, and dreams (Basics, 2007). Its a known fact that the average person needs anywhere between seven to eight hours of sleep. When people dont get enough sleep, they have a build up of serotonin which can cause irrational thinking and delusions (Basics, 2007). This can cause people to break away from reality. Manic people also may obtain many thoughts that can lead to impulsive behavior. An example of an impulsive behavior that a person may have is going on a spending spree. When people are in the mania state go on spending sprees, theyll make irrational purchases. They will buy things that they dont even need or any desire of the Abnormal Psychology free essay sample The Court has now considered whether or not juveniles should be sentenced to life without parole (LWOP). They have ruled that life without parole may not be given to a juvenile unless their crime involves murder. With restrictions already placed on the  death  sentence, retaining the possibility of life without parole is important. Society needs an ultimate punishment for those who commit heinous crimes and also as a deterrent. The Courts decision should encourage those who run prisons to focus on rehabilitation, as more people will eventually be up for parole. † (Richards, 2011) An interesting bit of information I read states, â€Å"Connecticut is one of just three states where the age of jurisdiction for a juvenile ends at 16. In Connecticut, a juvenile is any person under the age of 16, or over the age of 16 but who violated the law before turning 16. Cases involving arrests of juveniles who are 16 and older are heard in adult court. We will write a custom essay sample on Abnormal Psychology or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Legislation has recently been passed to review this juvenile age policy. (Haller, 2006) I feel that the community these teens lives in should not be entirely responsible to pay for the cleanup and or rebuild of the destruction a certain group of teens did. Nor should the parent which is why I propose that the community service jobs’ pay could go towards the amount it would take to fix their mistakes. This would teach them a little something about responsibility as well as take care of the issue at hand. I am not entirely sure I agree with the death penalty in general but I agree with this statement from Richards as I fully believe everyone deserves a second chance. In the paragraphs to come I intend to cover my opinion in further detail as to why I think the juvenile justice system should adopt the focus I believe in as well as how it will affect the law enforcement, the court processes probation, corrections, community services as well as the intervention programs. Towards the end of my paper I also intend to discuss the opposing view and why I feel they are not a valid choice. I feel that the juvenile justice system should look further into primarily using rehabilitation for their troubled youths because everyone deserves a second chance. They may have committed the crimes that are being held against them but they also may have learned their lesson because of the reality of the situation. I would hate for a life to go to waste from sitting behind bars when they could have been through the rehabilitation process and possibly some counseling and truly learned from their mistakes, if they would be fully capable of leading an otherwise successful life. I definitely feel that they need to be punished for what they did regardless if they were under the influence or claim they didn’t know what they were doing at the time, the victim and their families deserve at least that but I think that sentencing them to extensive jail time or prison time is counterproductive. You want those who have been through the justice system once or twice to go and talk about their experience in hopes that it would deter other teens and young adults from committing crimes. While focusing on the rehabilitation aspect of things, I feel these at risk teens should be participating in community services. They could be picking up trash along the roads, wash graffiti off the train cars or even be cheap labor for the county in the form of mowing county lawns or helping road construction or garbage disposal companies. I think my idea behind this would be to prove that life isn’t easy and even though you made a serious mistake, you can be successful in the end. Neither job is a glorious job but it has to be done not to mention the pay isn’t all bad (once they are in the actual position not just being cheap labor that is). Obviously if things go the way I am hoping, there will be a reduction in court cases as well as hopefully arrests therefore it would directly affect law enforcement as well as the court system but I think the affect could be both positive and negative. While it would definitely reduce the number of cases a probation officer would see, the judges and the lawyers would deal with, it could also give these particular people more time to deal with other types of more severe crimes or extra time with their own families. I feel that even one teen touched and moved by the horror story of another having gone through jail and probation would be worth the change. It would be nice if our generations could grow up knowing that yes the justice system is there to serve and protect but it also wants those who go through the system to learn and become rehabilitated to be a successful member of their community. â€Å"The current controversy over juvenile justice results in part from the fact that many states have shifted the focus of the juvenile justice system from rehabilitation to punishment and deterrence.