Exploring Living with Schizophrenia
The two documentaries presented a contrast in perspective on Schizophrenia, and what it is like for some who live with this disorder. Although there were overlapping themes, watching each of these two videos brought forth different aspects of the disorder. In the documentary Haywire: Children living with Schizophrenia (2010), the subjects of the documentary were children who were in the mists of their psychosis. They had little to no control over their signs and symptoms and were heavily dependent on their parents for all of their needs. I was surprised by the early onset of the disorder and sadden by the severity of symptoms exhibited. It seemed at times hopeless, for both the children and for the parents.
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The psychosocial factors that were the focus and theme of exploration throughout both documentaries were medication management, and social support. In the documentary featuring the adults, one woman, Shauna, spoke of the environmental factor of medication and how it affects people with schizophrenia. She and many others interviewed explained that some medications are accompanied by devastating side affects that are often difficult to live with. Thus, adherence to medication, for those with schizophrenia, is low due to many of the debilitating side affects. Moreover, there is not one medication that can help all patients; in fact, it may take years for a patient to find the right dose and medication that works to manage his or her symptoms. However, the right medication can remarkably improved the lives of people with this disorder. Many of the adult participants in the documentary were able to find medication and doses that worked to alleviate many of the symptoms of schizophrenia. The struggle of finding the right medication was also explored in the documentary about the children. Many of the children were on several different medications, yet they were not able to find the right concoction of medications and doses that were able to alleviate their symptoms. For the girls that did eventually find the right medication, their lives were remarkable changed for the better. Thus, medication is an extremely influential environmental factor that directly impacts the lives of people with schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is an ominous word often associated with psychosis, delusions, as well as paranoia. Society supposedly understands how horrible symptoms like these make schizophrenia one of the worst mental diseases that one could live with, and the story of Elyn Saks is definitely no exception. In the memoir The Center Cannot Hold, Elyn R. Saks brings her readers through the harsh realities of living with schizophrenia, while also dealing with the stresses associated with high school, getting a college degree, while still maintaining relationships with family and friends. Saks had inadequate care as a child when her symptoms first began appearing, and being transferred through countries following school, and being passed from doctor to doctor
Schizophrenia: one of many types of mental illnesses that is able to stretch and mold one’s inner mind and emotions to monstrous proportions. Imagine the person that holds your affection the most, a spouse, a family member, a close friend, anyone, now imagine that person writhing with anger to an extreme extent within the confines of their own mind. Behavior such as that of schizophrenia is what columnist Steve Lopez tries to describe in his novel, The Soloist. And the character of the mentally ill Nathaniel Ayers, for instance, is not only the main reflection for Lopez’s interaction with a schizophrenic mind, but is only a part of what the novel has to deliver to the reader. In a brief summary, the entire novel consists of Steve Lopez: columnist
Supporting the DSM-5 checklist for a diagnosis of schizophrenia is the fact that the symptoms first began when Randy was in college and these have increased over time. The information provided on Randy’s family history, his school/social history, plus the description of his current lifestyle and the symptoms he now displays, could be used by the biological theorist
Assignment Wk. 7: Interview Subject The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Mental health counselor I have chosen to interview for my final project. In this paper I will include the specialties, the age groups and the modality of clients she services. Further I will explain, why I chose to interview Ms. T Licensed Mental Health Counselor Interviewee
Researchers are uncertain about the causes of schizophrenia
Schizophrenia may change how you think, feel, and behave. The patient may not be able to know what is real and what is not real. Also, thoughts may not be clear, or may jump from one topic to another.” Symptoms include confusion, delusions, hallucinations, and feeling mentally lost. When a doctor
Then there are patients like Cheryl. Cheryl is a middle aged white woman, who is mostly seen dressed in sweats and t-shirts. Her hair is usually wild and untamed and she wears a pair of broken glasses, pieced together with tape. Many of these patients have experienced trauma, which may have been minor (i.e. bad grade on an exam) or extreme (i.e. sexual abuse), and may have led them to become more ill. This documentary exposes the truth behind those who suffer a mental illness and shows how they are still people who struggle with the same issues as those without a mental illness.
Anna Quindlen in the article, “The C Word in the Hallway” argues that mental illness don’t get enough awareness or help that it actually needs. Quindlen supports her argument by using similes, tone and bias’ to state that many teachers are not trained to recognize mental illness and so some just dismiss it and so that leaves “over two thirds of the mentally disturbed children without any help”. Insurance also does not aid in covering the costs because “health insurance plans do not provide coverage for necessary treatment”, or if they do then they think that they should “penalize those who need a psychiatrist instead of an oncologist”. The author's purpose in writing this was to inform people about the scary reality that many kids and teens face today and to argue that it is nothing to joke about and that it needs to be taken seriously.
A Beautiful Mind with Schizophrenia A Beautiful Mind, starring Russel Crowe as John Nash, is a phenomenal portrayal of one of the most mysterious and complicated mental disorders known to the world of psychology: schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder in which the patient experiences hallucinations and delusions, and often has difficulty functioning in their daily life (CITATION). A Beautiful Mind allows some insight into what this disorder entails and what it may be like to live with the diagnosis, as it accurately represents various symptoms and treatments.
In recent years, the general trend has progressed towards the biogenetic endorsement of Schizophrenia. The biogenetic model focuses on combining two previous models, genetic and biological, into one coherent framework (Angermeyer et al 152). By doing this, the hope that the negatives of one model would be balanced out with the positives of the other model. For example, a consequence of endorsing the genetic model was a phenomena called genetic essentialism. In a case study by Nicolas Rusch, he defines genetic essentialism as a mindset that “…implies that genes are the unchangeable basis of a person’s identity…” which subsequently increased the prejudice against the diagnosed (Rusch pg 328).
From there on Steve tries to form a relationship with Nathaniel, a person who is much more to him than just a homeless musician. Nathaniel suffers from schizophrenia. Throughout the film, Steve learns how difficult it is to communicate with Nathaniel. The movie also exquisitely demonstrates the legal and ethical dilemma the mental health field can develop (Foster, Krasnoff & Wright, 2009). Communication is needed when having a conversation with people.
This paper will report on Nina Sayer, the main character in the movie Black Swan. It will attempt to describe and explain the biological, psychological and social elements that influenced the onset and progression of Nina’s battle with schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Section one of this paper will provide a summary of the movie as well as a social profile of the main character in the movie. It will also discuss how the filmmaker, Darren Aronofsky, presented the symptoms and the causes of these disorders —and how accurate he portrayed them. In section two, the paper will provide academic research that will focus on the biological, psychological, and social influences of the subjects disorder.
The effects of this type of drug can be defined as drug-induced psychosis — misinterpretation and confusion relating to a person’s ability to perceive reality, think
In the last few years, the representation of people suffering from mental illness in popular culture has greatly increased, showing actual teenagers that characters and idols have real problems in everyday life. One of the literary leaders in this psychological revolution is the novel, and recent film, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Throughout this story, the viewer learns about different types of mental disorders from depression, to post-traumatic stress disorder, to schizophrenia. The events that occur throughout this storyline show real-life situations and struggles that teenagers go through. Stephen Chbosky expertly handles the topic of mental illness in the novel and film, The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
What are some thoughts that come to mind when a person brings up the word schizophrenia? According to Ford-Martin, “Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder or group of disorders marked by disturbances in thinking, emotional responsiveness, and behavior” (2139). The character, Alice, from the film, Alice in Wonderland is a perfect example of schizophrenia, and the director, Tim Burton, further emphasizes the disorder by his use of film techniques. One characteristic of schizophrenia is delusions. According to Fallon, “The delusions of paranoid schizophrenics usually involve thoughts of being persecuted or harmed by others or exaggerated opinions of their own importance, but may also reflect feelings of jealousy or excessive religiosity” (2957).