Psychological Disorders
Shirley Myers
Psy/240
06/26/2011
Gazda

There are a plethora of psychological disorders to be discussed and the many theories about these disorders are endless. Along with theories about the disorders there are also many different kinds of treatments with many different effects. There are also levels of severity that come along with each individual mental disorder. Some of these disorders include Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Panic Disorder, Bulimia Nervosa, and Tourette syndrome. There are treatments for these disorders but with all treatments there can be negative results associated with the treatment. The theories associated with each disorder give professionals some insight into what the mental disorder is exactly and how it is to be treated and has caused psychological medicine to come a very long way from its sordid beginning. Schizophrenia is classified as one of the many major psychological disorders and can be incapacitating. Pinel explained that the term Schizophrenia means, “The splitting of psychic functions” (Pinel, 2009). There are several symptoms associated with the diagnosis of Schizophrenia and they are as follows: delusions, inappropriate affect, hallucinations, incoherent thought, and odd behavior (Pinel, 2009). For most professionals it usually only takes one sort of symptom to form a diagnoses of Schizophrenia. One of the theories that are believed to cause Schizophrenia is that an individual may inherit the personality but must have some sort of experience to trigger the disorder and bring it to life. The Dopamine theory of Schizophrenia states that the disorder is caused by the over production of Dopamine in the brain. There are drugs that counteract the brain’s ability to produce Dopamine and therefore lessen the symptoms of Schizophrenia. Chlorpromazine (Thorazine) and Reserpine are both known to lessen the amount of Dopamine that the brain is allowed to produce which is known to make the symptoms of Schizophrenia a lot more manageable. There is also another disorder that can be treated by Chlorpromazine which is called Bipolar. Bipolar disorder is known as a disorder that can cause absolute mania or severe depression. There are levels associated with Bipolar disorder which are level one and two. Level one depressives and not as severe as level twos and there is an option to learn other coping mechanisms to control the disorder without relying on medication such as exercise as an outlet for their mania. Level two Bipolar disorder is usually treated with mediation such as Chlorpromazine or a medication known to control blood pressure which is called Clonidine. The blood pressure medication is known to help an individual who suffers from Bipolar when they are in their manic phase. It is known to control physical urges and outburst along with anger and will help keep them calm. There are also several medications that will treat the depression aspect of the disorder such as Zoloft or Paxil. Pinel discusses, “One prominent theory of depression is the Monoamine Theory” (Pinel, 2009). The reasoning behind this theory is that depression is caused by the over acceptance of serotonin and the inactivity of adrenergic synapses. Certain MAOI’s can be used in the medicinal treatment of Bipolar also. Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors can block the amount of serotonin that is accepted which can lead to a lessening in the symptoms of Bipolar. Clonidine is a medication that treats both Bipolar disorder and another disorder called Tourette syndrome. Tourette syndrome, which is classified as a nueropathological disorder, is defined as, “multiple motor and vocal tics lasting for more than one year” (What Is Tourette Syndrome? Par. 1, 2001). These individuals suffer from uncontrollable movements and jerks along with vocal outburst that may consist of profanity. One major theory is that individuals posses a gene for the disorder that is triggered by other environmental conditions and changes (Eubanks, 2011). There are several medications that can be used to treat Tourette syndrome along with another form of treatment. This form of treatment is known as deep brain stimulation. This treatment entails placing a brain pacemaker inside the brain to control electrical impulses in the brain. This treatment still remains experimental. There are medications that also treat this disorder such as Haloperidol which is known to treat Tourette syndrome along with Schizophrenia. Xanax is another medication that may be used to calm the involuntary movements and not only helps to treat Tourette syndrome but is also used to treat Panic disorder. `Panic or Anxiety disorder is a disorder that usually brought about by some kind of stress in an individual’s life. This could be just daily stress about money or something as severe as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder which occurs after some sort of major trauma. There are five major classes of anxiety disorders which are known as generalized anxiety disorders, Phobic anxiety, Panic disorder, obsessive compulsive, and posttraumatic stress disorder. The biggest symptoms of this disorder are debilitating panic attacks which involve different phobias, inability to properly breathe, chest pain, and nausea. This condition will a lot of times keep a person from actually going out and interacting with other individuals. Treatments include medications such as Xanax which is in a class known as Benzodiazepines. They are a type of relaxant and can make it easier for the individual to react in public situations. Medications that are known to treat depression can also treat panic disorders such as Paxil and Zoloft. The same kind of antidepressant medications used to treat depression and panic disorder can also be used to treat a condition known as Bulimia Nervosa. Bulimia Nervosa is a serious weight control condition that involves constant food purging followed by immediate vomiting to keep weight gain at a minimal. This condition often causes severe weight loss if left uncontrolled and with this lack of nutrition can also cause other medical conditions such as kidney failure. The constant vomiting can also cause the individual conflicted to lose their teeth due the acid in the vomit eating away at the gums and enamel. The biggest theory that Bulimia is based on the self perception. Another theory is that weight is something in the individual’s life that they control by the Bulimia method. There are several treatments for the disorder. Those that are not so severe may treated with psychotherapy and other group types of therapy. The more severe cases may be treated with medication such as antidepressants. The antidepressants may be used to turn the negative self image into a more positive one to hinder the need to lose more weight. Each of the above psychological disorders all has different levels of severity. For each different level of severity, there may be different treatments. The theories that have been developed about each disorder has given individuals some understanding of the disorder itself and has also lead to break through treatments that can lead to those afflicted being able to live almost normal lives. Some treatments consist of psychotherapy or may be severe enough that medication is needed. But all conditions can be treated if they are caught early on and treatment is started.

References

Eubanks, Sonja Rene MS. (2011). HealthLine: Tourette Syndrome. Retrieved from: http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/tourette-syndrome-4

Pinel, J. P. J. (2009). Biopsychology. 7th ed. Pearson. Boston, MA.

Reserpine. (2011). PubMed Health. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000095/#a601107-otherUses

What is Tourette Syndrome? (2011). Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA). Retrieved from: http://www.tsa-usa.org/Medical/whatists.html