Showing posts with label Psychiatry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psychiatry. Show all posts

Friday, October 03, 2014

Game of Thrones

All men must die ... be unethically labelled.


The Hound
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - an anxiety disorder associated with serious traumatic events and recurrent thoughts and images. PTSD develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. The person who develops PTSD may have been the one who was harmed, the harm may have happened to a loved one, or the person may have witnessed a harmful event that happened to loved ones or strangers.




John Snow
Martyr Complex - in psychology, a person who has a martyr complex, sometimes associated with the term victim complex, desires the feeling of being a martyr for his/her own sake, seeking out suffering or persecution because it feeds a psychological need. In some cases, this results from the belief that the martyr has been singled out for persecution because of exceptional ability or integrity. Other martyr complexes involve wilful suffering in the name of love or duty.
 

Tyrion Lannister
''I'm not a fighter, I'm a bleeder''

Small Man Syndrome - a popular term for the inferiority complex that short men in society are commonly assumed to possess, which causes them, at least per theory, to overcompensate by trying harder than men of average height in life’s activities.




Nothing some lemon cake won't sort out.


Sansa Stark
The Masochist - a person who obtains a primary or secondary gain from tolerating mental abuse from those in his or her circle of contact. The word  masochistic  is now commonly used to describe personality traits in an emotional, rather than sexual sense. 




Mag Mar Tun Doh Weg (Giant)
Marfan Syndrome - a genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue. People with Marfan tend to be unusually tall, with long limbs and long, thin fingers. In most cases, Marfan syndrome is passed down through families (inherited). However, up to 30% of patients have no family history, which is called "sporadic." In sporadic cases, the syndrome is believed to be caused by a new gene change.



''Couldn't give a monkeys mate''

Joffrey Baratheon
Anti Social Personality Disorder - a type of chronic mental condition in which a person's ways of thinking, perceiving situations and relating to others are dysfunctional - and destructive. People with antisocial personality disorder typically have no regard for right and wrong and often disregard the rights, wishes and feelings of others. Those with antisocial personality disorder tend to antagonize, manipulate or treat others either harshly or with callous indifference. They may often violate the law, landing in frequent trouble, yet they show no guilt or remorse.



Reek
The Cataleptic - a body's persistence in unusual postures, with waxy rigidity of the limbs, mutism, and complete inactivity, regardless of outside stimuli.



He's available for children's parties too.

Ser Gregor Clegane
The Sadist - someone who enjoys inflicting pain on others; a sadist is all about hurting others, usually to get off sexually. However, this word is about more than sex. Anyone who is mean and enjoys it, like a bully, could be considered a sadist. The word sadistic is now commonly used to describe personality traits in an emotional, rather than sexual sense. Oh Mountain, you're going to be so annoyed when we explain all these jokes later.




 


Samwell Tarley
The Obese - excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. I've seen less bloated men dredged out of rivers. Forget about White Walkers and sealing the tunnel, it's time to plug up Tarley's top-hole.





''Wat ye fookin say about me curls Snow?''

Ser Alliser Thorne
The Narcissist - an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration. Those with narcissistic personality disorder believe that they're superior to others and have little regard for other people's feelings. But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem, vulnerable to the slightest criticism.


 
''Not to be technical brother, but according to Pycell's
chemistry - alcohol is a solution''

 
 
Cersei Lannister
Alcoholism - a chronic disorder marked by excessive and usually compulsive drinking of alcohol leading to psychological and physical dependence or addiction. Forget about the simple Lannister cousin and his beetle smashing, it's the grape apocalypse that's more concerning. I think it's time to put the plug in the jug.





 
 
Anyone for bitty?
Robin Arryn
Oedipus Complex - a child's positive libidinal feelings toward the parent of the opposite sex and hostile or jealous feelings toward the parent of the same sex that develop usually between the ages of three and six and that may be a source of adult personality disorder when unresolved - used especially of the male child.


 


 
 
''Twerkin' ye say?''
 
Grand Maester Pycelle
The Malingerer - fabricating or exaggerating the symptoms of mental or physical disorders for a variety of "secondary gain" motives, especially in order to shirk one's duty, avoid work, etc.

 
 
She seems vexed...and yet she looked
so relaxed in the bath this morning?

 
 
Jorah Mormont
Obsessive love - a hypothetical state in which one person feels an overwhelming obsessive desire to possess another person toward whom they feel a strong attraction, with an inability to accept failure or rejection.


 
Always. Always. Wear a helmet.




Oberyn Martell
The Sex Addict - ''Make sure you f**ked your fill before that day.''






The gene pool could do with a little chlorine


Lysa Arryn
Delusional Jealousy a person with this delusion falsely believes that a spouse or lover is having an affair, with no proof to back up their claim. Othello Syndrome is a type of delusional jealousy, marked by suspecting a faithful partner of infidelity, with accompanying jealousy, attempts at monitoring and control, and sometimes violence. The problem is named for Shakespeare’s Othello, who murdered his beautiful wife Desdemona because he believed her unfaithful.



 
Hodor's date night was heating up.


Bran Stark
The Psychotic -  an abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality".








Tywin Lannister
The Megalomaniac - ruthless, ambitious, amoral and the lust or craving for power. An arrow hurts just the same whether it's on the Iron Throne or the porcelain throne.







Drogon
The Pyromaniac - a mania for fire setting.










Podrick Payne
Casanova - What happened in that room?










Walder Frey
The Wedding Crasher
Back stabber
Bastard
[insert your own]




''It's sweaty balls up in here...''



Varys
Castration Complex - I suppose?



The armour discretely covered
her 'Who's the man' tattoo





Brienne of Tarth
Masculinity Complex - looks as though she could punch a train unconscious. Enough said.








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''Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.''
                                         ~ George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones    

Tuesday, April 01, 2014

LSD and Psychotherapy

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) first acts on the brain's serotonin system; the part of the brain responsible for feelings of well-being, and subsequently on the prefrontal cortex; which processes some of our uniquely human abstract thoughts. It also seems to reduce communication between different brain areas, leading to loss of inhibitions.
 
Dr. Ronald Sandison (1916 - 2010) was one of the first people in the U.K to use LSD in psychotherapy over 50 years ago. He remarked that it had three effects:
 
1) a general enhancement of 'what's going on inside'
2) a specific effect in raising forgotten memories, particularly traumatic memories
3) it seems to allow people the facility to explore those memories
 
Dr. Ben Sessa (pictured), consultant Psychiatrist at Bristol University, wants to pick up where Sandison left off. Dr Sessa argues that ''the role of LSD can speed up the process of breaking down the client's defences''.

Today, despite a growing belief of it's benefits among some parts of the medical community, the laws have made further use in psychotherapy almost impossible.
 
Sessa adds, ''I believe it can be used safely in the context of the clinical environment. If there is a possibility that LSD or other hallucinogenic drugs can have therapeutic potential in psychiatry, then I do believe they should be researched to explore this, because to leave that stone unturned is potentially closing the door on that group of patients who may benefit.''
 
Many experts today believe the dangers of LSD are more fiction than fact. It's physiologically non-toxic and no one has ever died from an overdose. True, one or two people in the 60's may have jumped out of windows, but that seems to have become a myth ingrained in history.
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''LSD was an incredible experience. Not that I’m recommending it for anybody else; but for me it kind of – it hammered home to me that reality was not a fixed thing. That the reality that we saw about us every day was one reality, and a valid one – but that there were others, different perspectives where different things have meaning that were just as valid.'' 
                                                                                              ~ Alan Moore

Monday, January 13, 2014

When mood interferes with our ability to function

What is Major Depression?  Symptoms can include; weight loss, insomnia, a negative self-image and even suicidal thoughts. It's not the mood itself that denotes pathology, but its extent, severity, and duration. When left untreated, depression can often go away by itself, but for many people - it persists. Depression can begin as a reaction to specific life experiences, such as the death of a loved one, job loss, divorce, or reacting to growing old.
 
Many people with major depression think they have only physical problems, so they seek help from a physician, and in fact they may never get to a mental health practitioner at all. Depression can come in many forms from the mildest, that may go undetected, to the most acute, requiring hospitalisation. 
 

The milder forms of depression may be exemplified by a high executive who flies a corporate jet and who feels a lot of physical symptoms occurring over a period of time with a gradual onset.
 
They may feel a sense of malaise, decreased energy, or a decreased enjoyment of life, but can still work and function as far as others are concerned. But as far as he's concerned, he's only working at 30 or 40 percent of his usual capacity.
 
This person may be very unhappy, their life may be extremely difficult for them and others may not even notice. The fact is that many people are working and functioning in this state. This same person may respond to treatment and feel one hundred times better once their actively treated. But to the outside world, they may look exactly the same. That's the mildest form of the illness.
 
In acute or severe depression, the psychomotor retardation is even more intensified. The person moves slower, speaks slower. The person actively withdraws from social contacts, he doesn't want to be involved with other people, they just want to be left alone. They can no longer function as well as they could. They have no motivation to work, to be involved in anything. Nothing seems worthwhile.
 
In psychotic depression, there is a break with reality, here the person experiences delusions, usually associated with guilt or self blame - more extreme forms of what we see in milder forms of depression. They may have hypochondriacal delusions about their bodies, such as cancer. In the most pronounced forms of depression, called 'depressive stupor', all of the previous symptoms are aggravated. Here the same person does not respond to the outside world at all. Some are even spoon-fed to be kept alive.
 
In general, the subjective case of the depressed person is that they're living life beneath a cloud. People are hopeless that anything will take the pain away. It's like being tortured and seeing no way to get out of it, no way to end the pain. And that's when people not only consider suicide, but that suicide seems like a merciful exit for them, a way to get out of what seems to be a no-exit situation.
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''Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls, the most massive characters are seared with scars''
                                                                                                                                               ~ Khalil Gibran

Monday, December 16, 2013

Christmas Carol Favourites - The Therapist and his Client

Schizophrenia ~ Do You Hear What I Hear?

Depressed ~ Driving Off A Cliff For Christmas...

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ~ Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer...

Compulsive Gambler ~ Run Rudolph Run!!!

Passive Aggressive ~ All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names...

Agoraphobia ~ Hiding Behind The Christmas Tree, At The Christmas Party Hop...

Multiple Personality Disorder ~ We Three Queens Disoriented Are...

Alcoholic ~ All I Want For Christmas Is........To Get Sh*t-Faced!

Dementia ~ I Think I'll Be Home For Christmas...

Pyromaniac ~ Later on...we'll conspire...as we dream by the fire...

Tourette's ~ Jingle F**K! Jingle B****CKS!

Morbidly Obese ~ It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...Diabetes !

Narcissistic ~ Hark The Herald Angels Sing About Me...

Body Dysmorphic ~ All I Want for Christmas.......is 6% Body-Fat And A Nose Job

Paranoid ~ Santa Claus Is Coming To.....Get Me !

Hypochondriac ~ He's making a complaint, He's checking it twice, He's not very happy with his doctor's advice...

Erotomania ~ The Twelve Dicks of Christmas...

Sadistic ~ Jingle Bells, Baseball Bats With Holes, The Safety Word is Sleigh...

Masochistic ~ Rudolph the Red-Arsed Reindeer...

Antisocial Personality Disorder ~ Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, the very next day you called me a scumbag, a maggot...

Social Phobia ~ Here Comes Santa Claus...Hide!

Borderline Personality Disorder ~ Thoughts Of Roasting On An Open Fire...

Personality Disorder ~ You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why...

Insomniac ~ I'm.....Dreaming About....Sh*t All...


Manic ~ Deck The Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Offices....


Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ~ Jingle Bells One, Jingle Bells Two, Jingle Bells Three, Jingle Bells Four, Jingle Bells Five, Jingle Bells Six, Jingle Bells Eight...Sh*t!...Jingle Bells One...


ADHD ~ He's Making A List, And Checking It Twice, Gonna Find Out...Do I Want Chicken Curry And Rice?

Exhibitionist ~ All I Want For Christmas...Is A Full Frontal !
 

 
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 ''The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live''                                                                                                                ~ George Carlin

Monday, October 28, 2013

The Dark Side

Does Darth Vader meet the diagnostic criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder? The following passage is taken from the BPS Research Digest (2010).
 
In a brazen act of arm-chair diagnosis, Eric Bui and colleagues at Toulouse University Hospital in France have written a short academic article arguing that the Star Wars character Darth Vader probably meets the diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD). The authors point to Anakin Skywalker's (as he was originally known) life history, including fatherly absence, early maternal separation and infantile illusions of omnipotence. They go on to claim that Skywalker meets six of the formal nine DSM (diagnostic and statistical manual) criteria for BPD:

'He presented impulsivity and difficulty controlling his anger and alternated between idealisation and devaluation (of his Jedi mentors). Permanently afraid of losing his wife, he made frantic efforts to avoid her abandonment and went as far as betraying his former Jedi companions. He also experienced two dissociative episodes secondary to stressful events. One occurred after his mother's death, when he exterminated a whole tribe of Tuskan people, while the other one took place just after he turned to the dark side. He slaughtered all the Jedi younglings before voicing paranoid thoughts concerning his former mentor and his wife. Finally, the films depicted his quest to find himself, and his uncertainties about who he was. Turning to the dark side and changing his name could be interpreted as a sign of identity disturbance.'
Does this matter? Bui and his colleagues argue that Skywalker's condition could help explain the appeal of the Star Wars films to teenagers - an age group they say presents 'more frequent BPD traits than adults'. They also suggest that promoting recognition that such a famous fictional character meets the criteria for a BPD diagnosis could help combat the stigma associated with mental illness. 'Finally,' they write, 'as [the Star Wars films are] part of most students' cultural background, this case study could prove useful in teaching the criteria of BPD to medical students and residents.'
Bui and colleagues first made these claims at a psychiatric conference in 2007.
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Bui, E., Rodgers, R., Chabrol, H., Birmes, P., & Schmitt, L. (2010). Is Anakin Skywalker suffering from borderline personality disorder? Psychiatry Research DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2009.03.031

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Delusions and other Irrational Beliefs


The Working Dead
Cotard delusion (or Walking Corpse Syndrome):

A false belief that one does not exist or has died. Patients often believe that they turned into the walking dead. A relatively rare condition that was first described by Dr. Jules Cotard in 1882. Cases have been reported in patients with mood disorders, psychotic disorders, and medical conditions.




''O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mock
The meat it feeds on.''  
Delusional jealousy (or Morbid jealousy):

 
A person with this delusion falsely believes that a spouse or lover is having an affair, with no proof to back up their claim. Morbid jealousy is a favourite topic among novelists and dramatists. ''Othello'' being a classic example.






Delusion of guilt or sin (or delusion of self-accusation):
This is an ungrounded feeling of remorse or guilt of delusional intensity.



Somatic delusion:
Heisenberg had bigger problems than Hank
A delusion whose content pertains to bodily functioning, bodily sensations, or physical appearance. Usually the false belief is that the body is somehow diseased, abnormal, or changed. A specific example of this is Delusions of Parasitosis: a delusion in which one feels infested with insects, bacteria, mites, spiders, lice, fleas, worms, or other organisms. Affected individuals may also report being repeatedly bitten.



Grandiose religious delusion:
The belief that the affected person is a god, or chosen to act as a god. A prominent topic in Freud's Schreber case study.



Capgras delusion (or Capgras syndrome):
''TOASTY!!''
 
A disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, or other close family member has been replaced by an identical-looking impostor. It has been described in psychiatric and neurological diseases. The onset of Capgras syndrome occurs at a significantly younger age and can be associated with psychiatric disease, cerebrovascular events, and illicit drug use (Josephs, 2007). See the film Changeling (2008) Well worth a watch!



Delusion of mind being read: The false belief that other people can know one's thoughts.





Delusions of persecution:

A delusion (common in paranoia) that others are out to get you and frustrate and embarrass you or inflict suffering on you; a complicated conspiracy is frequently imagined. Delusions of persecution are also common in schizophrenics, especially those suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.





Delusion of reference: The person falsely believes that insignificant remarks, events, or objects in one's environment have personal meaning or significance. Some schizophrenics may believe that current events are happening "for" them or because of something they did. Others may believe that the things strangers or celebrities do or say are meant as a message especially for them


Delusions of grandeur or megalomania:

Delusions of inflated worth, power, knowledge, identity. You may think you are a rock star, an actor or having a special relationship with a deity or famous person.  some schizophrenics may believe they are influential people from the past, such as Jesus Christ .







Any minute now...

Delusion of Reprieve:

Defined in psychology as a victim's false sense of hope in believing they will be pardoned in the last hour rather than meet their fatal end. It was poignantly discussed by Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, in his inspiring book 'Man's Search for Meaning' (1946). 




Delusion of control: This is a false belief that another person, group of people, or external force controls one's general thoughts, feelings, impulses, or behaviour.


Erotomania
 
Famously described in Ian McEwan's novel Enduring Love, it is a delusion in which someone falsely believes another person is in love with them. The target may often be a celebrity or another high-status person, but people with Erotomania may also develop fixations on random strangers and acquaintances.  Erotomania has also been termed de Clerambault’s syndrome, after the French psychiatrist who identified the behaviour. A minority of people may attempt to injure or kill people who they perceive as standing in the way of their relationship with the object of their affection this has been sensationalized in films such as Fatal Attraction.



Reduplicative paramnesia (RP)



Reduplicative paramnesia is the delusional belief that a place or location has been duplicated, existing in two or more places simultaneously, or that it has been 'relocated' to another site. RP is thought to result from an organic rather than psychiatric cause.

It is one of the delusional misidentification syndromes and, although rare, is most commonly associated with acquired brain injury, particularly simultaneous damage to the right cerebral hemisphere and to both frontal lobes.
 
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''We live and we die and anything else is just a delusion'' ~ Chuck Palahniuk, Choke

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Neurotic Society

Who ever said rap music was all about the Bitches, Hoes and Cristal? Lauryn Hill's new track goes deep.



Freud never relied on notes during analysis...
but he sure liked those Benjamins
Sick psycho psychology
In desperate need of psychiatry
Exorcisms, sobriety
Forcing Social lobotomies
People stuck in dichotomies
Pseudo sicko anxieties
Serial criminals dressed in variety
Social transvestism
Subliminal dressed up as piety
Transference projections
Like Cartesian images
Robbing innocence
Stealing inheritance
Quiet victims with no defence
Betrayed over dollars and cents
Maladjusted and ignorant
Maladdiction and dissonance
Too much addiction no consciousness
Don't trust it
The cosmology's busted, broken
It returns to the dust
It stinks of corruption
Oppression, deceit
Abuse in repeat
This Neurotic, Godless society.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Some Principles that allow me to understand Self-Injury.

With 12,000 people attending Irish hospital emergency departments in 2010 due to self-harm (Ring, 2011), it is important that ways of alleviating its prevalence in society are addressed. Furthermore, it is believed that cases which present to hospital are only the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately there is no panacea to ameliorate the suffering of the person who self-harms, and it would be naïve of me to assume that the following principles alone would be enough to suffice for an approach to understanding and responding to self-injury. Nevertheless, they stand out amongst others.

        
The first of these principles is that 'the injury is not the problem'. You would be by-passing a host of problems if it was only concern for the person’s actual injury. Having an erroneous assumption that the injury should be the focal point of attention would only be delivering a lump of verbal refuse to the client.

             

There should instead be a focus on their feelings before their behaviours. Most of the 'problems' with self-injury are nothing to do with the person who hurts themselves. While the scars may be psychologically detrimental to them, underlying deep seated issues should be regarded as a lot more insidious. The injury has to be viewed as an outward expression of their inner pain.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Job Seeking Psychiatrists

This post is meant in good-spirits. Don't get offended. If we can't incorporate and utilise humour in our daily lives then we're already doomed. Live, love, and laugh a lot!

* ''I don't want you to think of me as your Psychiatrist. Instead, I want you to think of me as a mental patient who killed the Psychiatrist before you got here...''

* ''So you think you are a potato? . . . On the couch please...''

* ''Welcome to your first day of Freudian analysis. What seems to be the penis?...''

* ''You say that you are paranoid? But I have a report here that says you looked very relaxed in the bath this morning...''

* ''O.K, Word Associations. I'm going to say a word and I want you to say the first thing that pops into your breasts...''

* ''You seem to have emotional problems and a below average I.Q...I'm prescribing Jersey Shore...''

* ''If you don't think I'm a nosey b**tard, then why did you write that in your diary?''

* ''Yeah.....the voices in your head are not only real, but they're accurate too''

* ''It's time to take a good long look at yourself''... The narcissist agreed.

* ''You being followed here to this appointment is just a delusion, because I followed you and there was nobody following you...''

* ''Oh that's a classic dream...it means that you're a psycho...''
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- Interpretations and Diagnoses' as above can lead to a life of licking stamps for dinner.