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Understand mental health problems essay
Understand mental health problems essay
Understand mental health problems essay
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Given the descriptions of the mental illnesses in our textbook, lectures and various media outlets about the illnesses shown in the HBO movie “Back from Madness – The Struggle for Sanity” I was still surprised how illnesses really affect people (HBO, 1990). When reading textbooks, various media outlets and research papers it is extremely difficult to understand completely the severity of a mental illness. These sources are just descriptions of the illness it doesn’t give a personal account of what the patient is going threw. Taking in account the real affects of having a mental illness on the patient, their family and friends. I was surprised when viewing the documentary that a person with Bipolar I disorder (manic depression) acted the way Todd did. I am aware that Bipolar I disorder is known as someone who has a manic occurrence that results in a period of bizarre elevated mood and behavior that interrupts life. The person will most likely experience episodes of depression. The behavior that I saw from Todd in the movie was completely different than I imagined people who have Bipol...
Many stories people read are written for the express purpose of entertainment and sometimes even to persuade, but few are written to teach a moral. The story “A Fable with Slips of White Paper Spilling From The Pockets” written by Kevin Brockmeier does just that. Although relatively short, the story is filled with words of wisdom and life lessons that are meant to instill a sense of selflessness. The story is about a man who finds God’s overcoat from which he finds prayers from the people he encounters. Kevin Brockmeier makes exceptional use of magic realism and symbolism to teach a moral lesson.
-Healy David. Mania: A Short History of Bipolar Disorder. The John Hopkins University Press. Baltimore. 2008. Print
... Bipolar Support Alliance conducted a research study that indicated more than 2.5 million people suffer from Bipolar, also known as Manic Depression (Fawcett 3). The many faces of this illness is treated and stabilized with various types of medication and therapy. Furthermore, the family of the patient most likely will benefit from seeking therapy in their effort to help the patient with stabilization and living with this illness. All involved in the patient’s life is valuable in this process. Strategies for recovery include medication, visits with psychiatrists and other medical providers as needed, psychotherapy and support from family. These strategies can help people live with this illness affectively. No matter the type, Bipolar is a sickness and should be looked at and treated as such. People are much more than their illness and should be treated accordingly.
Bipolar disorder is a lifelong mood disorder characterized by periods of mania, depression, or a mixed manic-depressive state. The condition can seriously affect a person’s reasoning, understanding, awareness, and behavior. Acco...
I first became interested in bipolar or, manic-depression a few years ago when somebody close to me was diagnosed with it. I wanted to understand it better but found that the jargon and detached observations of psychiatric theory and practice that you can find on the internet didn’t really help me to understand what people actually go through. Kay Redfield Jamison’s ‘An Unquiet Mind’ manages to cut through all that to create a fiery, passionate, authentic account of the psychotic experience and introduce you to that facts of the illness without you even realizing it. Kay Jamison’s story is proof that mentally ill people, with help from medication, can live a wonderful life.
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a psychopathology that affects approximately 1% of the population. (1) Unlike unipolar disorder, also known as major affective disorder or depression, bipolar disorder is characterized by vacillating between periods of elation (either mania or hypomania) and depression. (1, 2) Bipolar disorder is also not an illness that remedies itself over time; people affected with manic depression are manic-depressives for their entire lives. (2, 3) For this reason, researchers have been struggling to, first, more quickly diagnose the onset of bipolar disorder in a patient and, second, to more effectively treat it. (4) As more and more studies have been performed on this disease, the peculiar occurrence between extreme creativity and manic depression have been uncovered, leaving scientists to deal with yet another puzzling aspect of the psychopathology. (5)
“When one is diagnosed with manic depression, one’s status as a rational person is thrown into question. What it means to be rational or irrational depends on what notions of personhood are in play, notions that must be understood in their cultural context” (Martin, 2007). In American culture we have a blurred line between what is rational and what is irrational. The biggest blurred line is between what is rational for a man and what is rational for a woman. Mania and depression that is within the context of bipolar disorder cross that line because today in American culture mania is considered a male characteristic, while depression is considered a highly female characteristic. But when you are afflicted by bipolar disorder you don’t get to choose one or the other; you are stuck with both ends of the spectrum. Although there is a reported equal rate of bipolar disorder in men and women, there are a myriad of significant sex and gender differences related to not only that culturally blurred line and it’s influence on everyday life but also the cause of the disorder and of the episodes, symptoms, diagnosis, and comorbidity that bipolar disorder entails.
Just for a moment, imagine being a child who is unable to have a stable youth because of recurrent episodes of major depression with manic symptoms, intermingled with phases of normal behavior and hypomanic periods. Bipolar disorder – also called manic-depressive disorder – is a disorder that entails severe mood swings; fluctuating from the most horrible depressions to the most euphoric and energetic phases (Birmaher, 2013). The DSM-IV TR portrays Bipolar I Disorder as an illness during which a patient is affected by mood changes that last from weeks to months. This means, that the patient goes through periods of depression, followed by a normal state for a short period of time before the onset of a manic episode. As stated by the DSM-IV TR, Bipolar I disorder is characterized by the occurrence of at least one manic episode, one mixed episode and one period of major depression. There are also various subtypes to Bipolar I disorder, such as Bipolar II disorder – which is characterized by the occurrence of at least one depressive and one manic episode that occur in a form noticable to others but causing less impairment, and cyclothymic disorder – which involves fluctuating mood disturbance including less severe periods of depression and mania that last for short periods over an interval of at least two years (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). According to many studies, the amount of children and adolescents who are diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder increased rapidly over the last few years. According to the DSM-IV TR, the prevalence of the disorder amongst children and adolescents is around 1%. However, a team of academics described there is a forty-fold increase of the amount children or adolescents that were being diagnosed...
Bipolar Disorder can be classified by the occurrence of manic episodes followed by hypomanic or major depressive episodes. A manic episode is a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, extensive, or irritable mood and abnormally and persistently increased goal-directed activity or energy, lasting at least 1 week and present most of the day, nearly every day. During the specific period of mood disturbance and increased energy or activity, many symptoms are present. Some examples of these symptoms can include: -Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity, decreased need for sleep, and are more talkative than usual (“Bipolar and Related Disorders, “n.d.). There is a 10- 15% risk of completed suicide associated with Bipolar Disorder (“Bipolar Depression”, 2)
Bipolar disorder, which is also called manic-depression, is a term used to define forms of irregular and intense mood swings that can make someone be depressed one day and a complete maniac the next. Unlike other medical conditions, bipolar disorder does not only affect one’s life, but it can also have an impact on other individuals. The extreme mood swings can have a major consequence on someone’s social life and cause one to fail in his or her career or education. Even though bipolar is not the immense discussion in medical disorders; it is still a dangerous condition that affects a multitude of individuals in the world. Many suffer severe symptoms and dangers but they can still live a satisfying life with treatments and therapy.
Crowe, M. (2011). Feeling out of control: A qualitative analysis of the impact of bipolar
The film, Of Two Minds, is based on real life accounts of individuals living with bipolar disorder. Before watching this film, I had an idea of what bipolar disorder is , but after viewing this film I was completely mistaken. Previously, I thought being bipolar was going from a “normal” mood to an angry or sad mood in a matter of seconds and could be simply fixed by taking medicine. But my previous thoughts were completely wrong and bipolar disorder is very serious and complicated. I didn’t know the severity of this disease and I think a lot of the general public is uneducated about bipolar disorder as well as mental illness. Terri Cheney describes having bipolar disorder as, “Take the best day you ever had and multiply it by a million, it 's like a flu but one hundred times worse. It 's having flu in your mind."
Bipolar disorder is an overwhelming mental illness that can affect one’s life drastically. Bipolar is a disorder that is characterized by recurring episode of mania and depression. Most people who suffer from bipolar disorder are often misdiagnosed, and undergo ineffective treatments, which may hinder recovery and lead to the progression of the illness. In the movie “Mr. Jones”, (1993) the main character experiences broad symptoms of bipolar disorder that lead to an improper diagnosis. The article chosen to support this paper Emotional Reactivity in Bipolar Depressed Patients ( P. Stratta, D. Tempesta, R. L. Bonanni, S. de Cataldo, and A. Rossi Journal of Clinical Psychology 2014), broadly debates that bipolar disorder has
This week’s readings and videos increased my knowledge of bipolar disorder (BD) and informed how I will approach treatment of this complex illness with my own clients. I have seen BD’s impact up close for years as I know family members who struggle with it. I understand that acceptance of the disorder can be difficult. The stigma associated with BD is astounding, which does not help matters. I deeply appreciated Rusner, Carlsson, Brunt, and Nyström’s study in which they explored the existential meaning of life with BD.