In terms of biochemistry, chemical imbalances in the brain may be involved in certain mental illnesses. Neurotransmitters, for example, play a very important part in behaviour – one theory links depression to low levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin and noradrenaline. However, the relationship between neurotransmitters and depression is very complex and therefore, more research is needed to discover the exact link between this and the disorder. People suffering from depression, also often have high levels of the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is sometimes referred to as a ‘stress hormone’ because it is produced in times of stress.
This has not always been the view and the importance of suggestibility has been researched and studied by some of the most influential figures in hypnotherapy. Sigmund Freud accompanied by Charcot and Bernheim studied the concept of suggestibility. Freud viewed suggestibility as a symptom of neurosis, this theory was supported by Charcot and he stated that suggestion was a symptom of a complex psychopathology of hysteria and not a psychic phenomenon. These theories lead to the belief that is was the hypnotherapist that was the powerful being and did not allow for the idea that the patient had any responsibilities for any
They administered the drug dexfenfluramine, which depletes levels of serotonin in the brain, to participants. The researchers then used a questionnaire to assess hostility and aggression levels, which were raised after taking dexfenfluramine in males but not in females. There may be a gender bias in this research. Although a link was found between low levels of serotonin and aggression, this was not evident for the female participants. This suggests that the role of serotonin in aggression may be different for female compared to males, and therefore there is a gender bias in human studies in this area.
Addiction has severe negative consequences affecting the addict’s mental and physical well being. Addiction also has numerous allegations for the health of the public, because of substance abuse, addiction is now a major donor to many serious diseases and it can also result in violent behaviors. This article supports my stand point that addiction is a mental illness rather than a bad behavior and creates a solid argument on how addiction takes over the addict’s brain and is the main source of inappropriate behaviors. I can use these examples as reasons why I believe addiction is a chronic brain disease instead of a bad behavior in my research
Abnormal psychology is a portion of Psychology that involves the study of behaviors that “seem” unusual or inappropriate by society's standards. However, in some cases, these unusual and inappropriate behaviors may be certain disorders or dysfunctions. People with these disorders may not necessarily be able to control their “emotions, drives, or desires.” Dissociative disorders, Sexual disorders, and Schizophrenia delusions lie heavily among the long list of abnormal disorders in the study of psychology. In the next few paragraphs, a thorough explanation of the disorders mentioned above will be discussed. When a person has a dissociative disorders, it usually means that their memory has failed.
The validity of stating that visions and voices are veridical evidence for the existence of God cannot be very strong. This is because some visions and voices could be caused by mental health problems or abnormalities in human nature. For example, St. Paul was blinded by the white light and hearing God’s voice matches the symptoms of an epileptic fit. Therefore there could be mental problems and physical problems which may cause them to see these so called visions and voices. Swinburne’s principle of Credulity and Testimony could be used to contrast this.
Predicting Dangerousness When judging whether a patient is a danger to themselves the mental health professionals are often called on. They are also asked as part of the legal proceedings to determine whether people should be involuntarily hospitalized or maintained involuntarily in a mental facility. The accuracy of the judgments made by these professionals on predicting the dangerousness of these people is in question. The mental health professionals are not very accurate when it comes to predicting the dangerousness of the people they treat. They are more likely to over predict, in some cases people may be labeled as dangerous when they are not.
While it may be true that some psychologists and hypnotherapists make rather extravagant claims regarding the powers inherent in the hypnotic state, what actually occurs during hypnosis with certain subjects remains difficult either to define or to debunk. Despite the controversy over how best to explain hypnotic effects, “psychologists do agree that hypnosis can be a highly effective therapeutic technique”. (Hockenbury, D. & Hockenbury, S. (2013). Consciousness and its Variations. Psychology, 6, 132-181).
Jentsch’s study of the ‘uncanny’ shows that people significantly differ in their sensitivity to what evokes the uncanny feeling. Freud describes that the uncanny is evoked by “a feeling that the person has long since experienced or heard of anything that has given him an uncanny impression”, yet for the person to experience the uncanny he must experience himself into the possibility of experiencing it. Freud claims that both the meaning which has been attached to the ‘uncanny’, and the people, things, sense-impressions, experiences and situations which arouse the feeling of uncanniness are linked to the same result: that “the uncanny is the class of the frightening which leads back to what is known of old and long familiar.” Freud suggests that something has to be added to what is novel and unfamiliar in order to make it uncanny, whilst Jentsch claims the feeling of uncanniness can be related back to intellectual uncertainty which, in Freud’s terms, “would always, as it were, be something one does not know one’s way about in” – suggesting that the uncanny was also unfamiliar. Jentsch suggested in his studies that for a writer to produce uncanny effects in their novels, they must “leave the reader in uncertainty to whether a particular figure in the story is a
The milder forms of mental health disorders are mood disorders. They can affect the way we feel and think which it turn effects how we act. One of the most common mood disorders is Bipolar disorder; this causes extreme shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out everyday tasks. A person suffering with bipolar disorder experiences two extremes in a very short time frame. A person with bipolar disorder will act impulsively, often indulging in high risk behaviors such as spending sprees and impulsive sex, drug or alcohol use.