Monday, December 6, 2010
Psychological Disorders
Wile discussing in class psychological disorders and treatment i was shocked that 15% of the population uses treatment services. It is crazy to think that 1 in about every 7 people use psychological services. I began to wonder if all the people that use it truly need it. Another thing that interested me during the lecture was that the success of therapy depends on the patients desire to improve. It made me think about what kind of people would go into something that may help, with an attitude that they do not want to get better or are indifferent about the treatment.
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When you discussed these statistics in class, I was shocked as well. However, when I think about it on a day-to-day basis, the statistics don't seem as striking to me. Just off the top of my head, I can think of 5 people who use psychological services. However, I wonder if those statistics are including both minor and serious reasons for using these services because in all of those 5 examples, all but one I consider to be minor (some people go to therapy because they have problems with stress or even dealing with other people (relationships, etc.). As a result, I guess the real question that I am asking is are psychological services becoming more and more "normalized"? I say this because not all people who use these services are Schizophrenics or people with anxiety or depression. There are, after all, those people who just want to talk and be heard so that they do not become consumed with depression or anxiety? As a result, can therapy almost be a preventitive measure just as much as a treatment? These are just some of the ideas that I formulated while you were discussing these topics.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to what you said about success of therapy depending on the patients' desire to improve, I guess there are situations where people are almost forced into help. Families, for example, might insist on someone "getting help" though the actual person may not wish to participate as willingly, and thus the effectiveness of the therapy may be impacted. Also, there is also the factor that people don't like to get help. For example, guys, typically, are less likely to seek help than women. This is because they don't want to feel vulnerable and weak and also may feel a sense of pride. However, women, too, can harbor these thoughts and feel reluctant to open up to a therapist, which could greatly impact the success of the treatment.
It made me think about what kind of people would go into something that may help, with an attitude that they do not want to get better or are indifferent about the treatment.
For some reason, my name isn't coming up, Dr. Frankel. If you see smallgirlgymnst, it's also me. I have no idea why my old aol email is showing up.
ReplyDeleteSorry, also disregard the last statment. It copied from the question because I did this in a word document first.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't surprised by the statistics presented in class about the amount of people who seek professional help. I know a lot of people who have sought therapy, for one reason or another. It has become less of a taboo subject in recent years, and luckily it is now a more accepted thing in society. While some people need long term therapy to help them with serious psychological disorders such as bipolar or anxiety, many people consult therapists to solve situtational problems, such as experiencing a divorce, even if they have no prior mental health problems or are not diagnosed with a disorder. I think that this is acceptable, because at some point or another everyone needs help. If therapy is effective and benefits those who seek it, then the amount of people seeking it is irreveleant. As long as people are getting the help they need than therapy should be open to all who request it.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of motivation to change, I agree that you need to want to change in order to make a difference in your life. Some people are forced in therapy by parents or caretakers, and in that instance it is probably rarely helpful because the patients are bitter over being forced into treatment. You need to recognize you have a problem and want to change it in order to really improve who you are and how you deal with things, whether they be everyday problems or mental disorders.
This is a discussion, not a comment. I am not allowed to creat new discussions for some reason.
ReplyDeleteDISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) involves the coexistence in one person of two or more distinct personaities. While reading about this in Chapter 13, I immediately thought of one of my favorite movies, Fight Club. In the movie, the main character played by Edward Norton is clearly experiencing multiple personalities. On one side, his true personality is played by himself. He is sort of a depressed character who had a job as a salesperson. However, his other personality, being played by Brad Pitt is the complete opposite. He is a violent individual who creates a Fight Club to vent his inner agression. This is an example of DID because each of the personalities are not merely personalities. They have "lives" Norton, for example is a salesperson. However, Pitt plays a soapsalesperson. In addition to this, Norton's character has no idea that Pitt is his other identity. As a result, basically this is the equivalent of "loosing chuncks of time" and having different memories with each personality, two traits that are clearly characterostic of this disorder. As a result, if anyone hasn't seen this movie, should definitely watch it to understand this disorder better.
-Desiree' Williford