Paul Adams
Creator & designer
Bournemouth and Poole College
In the short term, I plan on completing my the access course and gaining a place to university. In the long term I hope to gain a masters, and PhD in Phamacological sciences. My experience with technology and creating this website provides the skills I need to "get a foot in the door". With technology moving so quickly, scientists in any field, need to have the ability to quickly shift and learn new techniques of investigation. With this in mind, I hope to go further in exploring Pharmacoinformatics being the study of pharmacology and computational systems of the future.
I have experience in working in Bars and restaurants which helped develop my "people" skills. Along with my position held as an SME for a large technological company supporting mobile devices, have also given me skills to get me ready for the challenges of university. This has also given me the opportunity to develop this website and Google Chrome Extensions.
Psychology
We studied 3 units in Psychology although 2 of them were related, psychological approaches and research methods was one unit, although we did it separately as it was 2 assignments.
Psychological approaches and research methods
Psychological disorders
Psychodynamic
Psychodynamic is the approach created by Sigmund Freud, often known as the Freudian approach. Sigmund Freud proposed that consciousness has separate competing parts. Whatever part pf the consciousness is dominant at any time = directly influences our observable behaviour.
He suggested 6 levels of the mind:
| Conscious | Preconscious | Unconscious | ID | Superego | EGO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aware of an responding to our own surroundings. | Of or associated with a part of the mind below the level of immediate conscious awareness, from which memories and emotions that have been repressed can be recalled. | Not awake and aware of and responding to own environment, the opposite of consciousness. | "Pleasure principle" The personality component made up of unconscious psychic energy that works to ssatisfy basic urges, needs and desires. |
"Morality principle" The component of personality composed of our internalized ideals that we have acquired from our parents and society. |
"Reality principle" The component of the peronality that is represented by our conscious decision making process. |
Anxiety Disorders
Symptoms, causes & treatments
Objectives
Define the concept of "Neurosis"
Identify comorbidity issues
Identify causes and treatments
What neurotic/ anxiety disorders are there?
Phobias
Generalised Anxiety
OCD
Panic Disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Acute stress disorder
Anxiety symptoms, only become a disorder when it starts affecting the patients personal life.
Comorbidity is a situation in which a sufferer has one condition which meets requirements for other disorders as well, or where there are similarities between the symptoms of 2 different disorders.
The GP has to choose/ decide what disorder the sufferer has.
There is often comorbidity between anxiety disorders because
Most anxiety disorders share the same symptoms (Racing heart, perspiration etc)
The causes may be the same for each disorder. Anxious people may start "collecting" disorders resulting in a snowball effect.
Is there comorbidity between anxiety and other disorders?
Illness anxiety disorder/ Hypochondriasm - Somataphormic "of the body"
Conversion Disoders - Hysteria, Anna O and Freud
Avoidant personality disorders - avoiding situations which results in avoiding that situation for the rest of your life.
Substance abuse - Essay subject, if you are anxious you may need to be taking the substance in order to calm yourself down.
Eating disorders
Sleep disorders
Depression
Hoarding - keeping possessions, letting them go will cause anxiety
Trichotillomania - compulsive hair pulling
The average of depression for European countries is 62%, the below are the total across 6 countries.
| Country | Germany | UK | Italy | US | Spain | France |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | 46% | 59% | 59% | 60% | 72% | 76% |
What is a phobia?
A disrupting, fear mediated avoidance that is out of proportion to the danger posed by a particular object/ situation, that is recognised by the sufferer as groundless/irrational.
What is making these families so vulnerable?
Lability
Seratonin excitation
Brain structure sensitization
Noradrenergic over-activity
Goldman 1995 Diathesis-stress model
Diathesis? = anxiety
You have to have the trigger "diathesis" then be in a situation that causes it to "have" Anxiety
Depression
Aims for the lesson:
Define concept of depression
Identify possible cause
Identify current treatments
| Emotions | Cognition | Behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| Anxiety | Loss of motivation - cessation of normal activites | Over pessimistic |
| Loss of self esteem | Social isolation | Can't plan |
| Irritability | Daily struggles | Suicidal thoughts |
| Aggression | Appetite change | |
| Sleep disruptions | ||
| Self neglect | ||
| Escapism | ||
| Self harm |
Types of depression:
Uni-polar depression
Post partum depression
dysthymic disorder
Bi-polar depression
SAD - seasonal affective depression
Cyclothymic disorder
What causes depression?
Genetics
Serotonin deficit
Noradrenaline deficit
Low frontal lobe activity
Are these related, and which caused the other?
Could diet affect cause depression?
Foods containing Triptophan can improve your mood.
Could hormones affect your mood and cause depression? (Biological)
Cortisol excess
Thyroxin deficit
Oxytocin deficit
Melatonin excess
Estrogen loss
Psychological causes depression
Loss
0-2 - belonging/trust - dependency fixation, the vulnerability of loss experienced causes the depression which is the anger at the loss turned on oneself.
Lack of positive reinforcement
Negative cognitions
Hopelessness
Lack of self regard
Biopsychosocial model.
Looking at all three "approaches" is important, as each person is individual to themselves. There could potentially be multiple causes, and therefore the best treatment is not necessarily one or the other therapies or drugs.
Disorders
Psychology notes 24/01/2018 - Shizophrenia.
Assignment info:
1500 words
Outline one bio and on psych cause of symptoms
outline 2 treatments/therapies based on the causes described above
Evaluate these treatments/ therapies.
Schizophrenia was classified as a mental illness by blueler in 1911. It's one of the most severe illnesses in history. It is essentially the mind splitting, where the "Brain is no longer talking to each other". Sarbin (1992) however argued that Schizophrenia is a syndrome. A syndrome is a collection of symptoms not clearly fitting into any one disorder.
| Symptoms | Most common and earliest Symptoms | Not symptoms |
|---|---|---|
| Delusions | Loss of motivation | Depressed mood |
| Hallucinations | Social withdrawal | Blank facial expression |
| Thought disturbance | Poor intelligence | |
| Apathy | Drug intoxication | |
| Poor self-care | Disjointed behaviour | |
| Paranoia |
To be diagnosed with schizophrenia, you "have" to suffer with symptoms for 6 months. It gives the opportunity for drugs to leave the system that could be causing the symptoms.
Hallucinations are seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or feeling something that others cannot detect. These are one of the more severe symptoms of schizophrenia. It can be a somatosensory experience, which is actually feeling the hallucination an believing it is real. 75% of schizophrenia sufferers get hallucinations.
Delusions are where a person cannot tell what is real from what is imagined. It is another severe symptom of schizophrenia. Some people may believe something which isn't true, they aren't able to tell the difference. 70% of schizophrenic patients have delusions.
25% of schizophrenic patients will never recover, and 25% can recover. 50% are functional, and don't need medication or get along with it. "Revolving door" patients, they are never fully recovered, but never fully ill either.
Are there different types?
Yes and no, the UK now has a sliding scale rather than categorising. America however, has got categories.
Eating disorders
What eating disorders are there?
Bulimia Nervosa
Diabilimia
Binge eating disorder
Nocturnal binge eating disorder
Prader Willi syndrome
Pica
Bulimia is more about overeating.
Anorexia Nervosa
Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder
Vomiting (associated with other psychological disturbances).
Anorexia is more about avoiding food.
What are the symptoms of eating disorders?
Binge eating - Both anorexia and bulimia
Weight loss - Anorexia
Anxiety - Anorexia
Purging - Both
Depression - Bulimia
Secretive/ avoidant - Both
Perfectionist tendencies - Anorexia
Loss of menstruation - Anorexia
Lethargy - Anorexia
Excessive exercise - Both
Fasting - Anorexia
Impulsive - Bulimia
What are the causes of Anorexia?
Biological factors that might cause Anorexia
Genetic inheritance
5HT2 receptor fault
Immune system defect
Brain Damage
Premature Birth
The Serotonin 5HT2, could have caused anorexia, but it could also be that the anorexia is causing the 5HT2 damage.
There is a large question that asks what is the cause, and what is the effect. Similar to what came first, the egg or the chicken. This is a common kind of question that scientists want to find the answer to it.
Other factors may be causing Anorexia Nervosa
Social media pressures
Social rewards
Family pressure
Bullying
Personality type
Cognitive distortions
When explaining a cause, use a theorist, link it to a perspective/ approach, and identify what research it is based on.
What are the treatments for Anorexia?
5HT2 receptor fault -----> Drugs
Brain Damage -----> Drugs
Starvation effects -----> Enforced diet change
Cognitive dysfunction -----> CBT
Family Stress -----> Family therapy
When outlining a therapy identify origins, the principles they are based on, and the stages & length of treatment.
And finally Evaluate, make sure to include the pro's and con's of the therapies.
Personality Disorders
Explain the concept of 'personality'
List different types and symptoms of PD
What is meant by 'personality'?
Freud brought personalities to the world. He said that you are not born with them. He said that you can change personalities, focusing on the Ego to make it stronger. A dysfunctional adult would be from a fixation "being stuck" with that fixation.
Personality = Unique characteristics
Thoughts - Feelings - Behaviour
Extrovert - very loud, outgoing, fun
Introvert - Quiet, reclusive
Predictable patterns/ responses
Relatively permanent characteristics
Resistant to environmental influences
"Traits"
When to these traits become a 'personaility disorder'?
Thoughts - Feelings - Behaviour
When the traits deviate from the sovial norms
When the traits differ from statistical average
when the behaviours distress self/others
When the traits effect relationships negatively
Personality Disorders:
A group of disorders chracterised by maladaptive or inflexible ways of dealing with orders and one's environment.
What personality disorders are there?
British personality disorders
NHS 3 "groups"
A. Fantacists or eccentrics
B. Poor mood regulation
C. Anxious or Fearful
DSM-V 6 types
Narcistic
Borderline
Avoidant
Anti-social
Schizotypal
Obsessive compulsive
Mild ----> Severe
1/20 of population currently diagnosed with a personality disorders.(Royal college of pyschiatrists, 2017)
All involve persistent emotional instability
Profound negative impact on life.
Comorbidity
Drug abuse
PTSD
Eating disorders
Mood disorders
What could cause PD?
Genetics
Seratonin system sluggish
Frontal Lobe inactivity
Abusive family (77% sufferers cite issue)
- High levels of conflict
- Invalidation
- Low levels of care
- Rejection
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Verbal abuse
Cause -----> Effect
?
How would you treat PD?
Biological ----> Drugs
Poor sense of self ----> Soial skill deficits