The Hysteria Over Conversion Disorder
Scientists in fields connected to neurobiology and psychiatry remain mystified about the cause of Conversion Disorder. The disorder is characterized by physical symptoms of a neurological disorder, yet no direct problem can be found in the nervous system or other related systems of the body. This fact alone is not unusual; many diseases and symptoms have unknown origins. Conversion Disorder, however, seems to stem from "trivial" to traumatic psychological events and emotions rather than biological events. The extreme symptoms often disappear as quickly as they appear without the patient consciously controlling or feigning them. Thus, Conversion Disorder serves as a significant example of how blurred the conceived demarcated divisions of mind/body/behavior can be.
Conversion Disorder is diagnosed solely by its physical symptoms seen in patients. Symptoms can be divided up into three groups: sensory, motor and visceral. Sensory symptoms include anesthesia, analgesia, tingling, and blindness. Motor symptoms may consist of disorganized mobility, tremors, tics, or paralysis of any muscle groups including vocal cords. Visceral functions include spells of coughing, vomiting belching, and trouble swallowing (1). Most of these symptoms are strikingly similar to existing neurological disorders that have definitive organic causes. Conversion Disorder, on the other hand, defies the nerve patterns and functions from which the symptoms should follow. CT scans and MRIs of patients with Conversion Disorder exclude the possibility of a lesion in the brain or spinal cord, an electroencephalograph rules out a true seizure disorder, and spinal fluid eliminates the possibility of infections or ot...
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...ies in the seeming dichotomy between mind and body. This dichotomy however remains a created one for the benefit of our own understanding. Yet, in the case of Conversion Disorder, delineated scientific thinking seems to have prevented our understanding rather than facilitating it; by inspecting the trees, we are missing the forest.
References
1)PsychNet-UK
http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/conversion_disorder
2)Emedicine: Instant access to the minds of medicine., Dufel, Susan M.D. "Conversion Disorder".
http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic112.htm
3)Parobek, Virginia M."Distinguishing conversion disorder from neurologic impairment".Journal of Neuroscience Nursing. 04/97. Volume 29. Number 2. p. 128.
Infotrack: Expanded Academic , scroll down to E-journals, select Science Direct and search for title
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Library/Docs/biology.html
Rowland, Lewis P. (ed.): Merritt's Textbook of Neurology, eighth edition. Lea and Febiger. Philadelphia, 1959, pp. 630--631.
Rene Descartes was a 17th Century mathematician and French Philosopher whose life's work focused on providing a new prospective on the human perception of reality. The definition of this reality is seen as Descartes greatest life goal. Coined as the "Father of Modern Philosophy," (Cunningham & Reich, 2010, p. 385), Descartes laid the groundwork the philosophy and reality as we perceive it today. Descartes autobiography, Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking Truth in the Sciences (Descartes, 2004) shares with the reader a glimpse into the mind of a brilliant, yet frail, man who provided an in depth explanation on the perception of human existence and the reality we live in today. The works, shortened to Discourse on Method for the modern day, outlined in Cunningham & Reich (2010), focuses on Descartes's proof as to the existence of God and is the crux of his argument and stance on the reality of man.
This was a powerful book in my eyes even though the context was a fictional book. I feel Katheryn Stockett did a great job giving the characters, along with the plot, great detail which successfully made the book intriguing. The Help changed many lives of women in the book and also gave me different views of life as well. The Help is an amazing book which I feel everyone should read for excitement and entertainment.
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In his book Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes tries to accomplish several subject concerns. Firstly, Descartes attempts to accomplish the use of methodological doubt to rid himself of all beliefs that could be false. Then, he arrives at particular beliefs that could not possibly be false. Next, he discovers a criterion of knowledge. Also, he proves that the mind is distinct from the body and also the existence of God.
In the introduction to The Help, author Kathryn Stockett says, “I started writing it the day after September 11... I was really homesick – I couldn 't even call my family and tell them I was fine. So I started writing in the voice of Demetrie, the maid I had growing up.” Demetrie was a strong source of stability in Stockett’s life, just like the characters in her own novel. Everything Demetrie did for the Stockett family was well before she started thinking about Demetrie’s point of view on the situation. Stockett states, “I am ashamed to admit that it took me 20 years to realize the irony of that relationship. I 'm sure that 's why I wrote my novel, The Help – to find answers to my questions, to soothe my own mind about Demetrie.” (Stockett 528-529) Throughout the heartbreaking yet ironic novel, Stockett made sure to unveil how writing has enough power to develop positive changes on not only individuals, but communities that have a strong mindset of what they think is right and wrong.
Throughout history, explanations for mental illness have been described as supernatural, psychological, and biological. Prior to the early Greek physicians, the supernatural model of mental illness prevailed. Early humans did not have science to explain natural events so magic, mysticism, and superstition were used as a substitution. They believed in animism, the idea that all of nature is alive, and anthropomorphism, the tendency to project human features onto nature. Reification was also a popular belief that assumed if you can think of something, it exists. Sympathetic magic was the idea that one can heal and individual by influencing an object that is similar or closely associated to them (Frazer, 1890/1963). Primitive healers would often imitate the patient's ailments and then model the recovery. Reification also lead to the bel...
A cult is a group of sadistic people that harm and take advantage of young, innocent people that are ripped away from their families and into a cold, dangerous world. There are many questions as to are cults really harmful. Cult leaders have many persuasive ways to trick you into believing their beliefs and their twisted ways of life. One common way that cult groups usually do is they pick out the most innocent and lonely victim. Then they make you feel comfortable and welcome and raise you on a pedestal, but then they start judging on how you choose to live and usually use religious ways to persuade you into their cult, tricking you into their society. Cult leaders frequently use brainwash and many other techniques that are psychologically damaging. In cults their victims are often tormented, brain washed, and eventually lose their sense of ownership to oneself. “Cults confine their members to follow strict rules that ultimately can cause loss of free choice or will, diminished intellectual ability, sense of humor, reduced capacity to form flexible and intimate relationships, poor judgment, physical deterioration, malnutrition, hallucinations, dissociation, guilt, identity diffusion, paranoia, and neurotic, psychotic, and suicidal tendencies.“(According to the Cult Information Centre) There are many cults and there are many different types of cults such as political, racial, and religion. Some of the most notorious clans that have had a major impact in our general public are the Manson Family, the Ku Klux Klan and the one most famous cult in our part of the Texas region was the Branch Davidians. All of these cults have one thing in common which is a belief that their cultures are more superior than other peers.
While the great philosophical distinction between mind and body in western thought can be traced to the Greeks, it is to the influential work of René Descartes, French mathematician, philosopher, and physiologist, that we owe the first systematic account of the mind/body relationship. As the 19th century progressed, the problem of the relationship of mind to brain became ever more pressing.
impossible to tell the sane from the insane, the ability to reason ultimately becomes the
But, “human persons have an ‘inner’ dimension that is just as important as the ‘outer’ embodiment” (Cortez, 71). The “inner” element cannot be wholly explained by the “outer” embodiment, but it does give rise to inimitable facets of the human life, such as human dignity and personal identity. The mind-body problem entails two theories, dualism and physicalism. Dualism contends that distinct mental and physical realms exist, and they both must be taken into account. Its counterpart (weak) physicalism views the human as being completely bodily and physical, encompassing no non-physical, or spiritual, substances.