Born With Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is when someone has delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and behavior and weak signs of emotion and socialization. Now evidence shows, that it is extremely rare for it to be genetic. Question is, when can it be?

One of the strongest evidence for a genetic influence would have to be to locate the gene that is consistently linked with schizophrenia. Then again, if schizophrenia depended on a single gene, it would be hard for that gene to remain in 1% of the population, given the natural selection pressures against it.

So if schizophrenia has a genetic basis, but we can’t find that link and it can’t be passed down through many generations, then how is this possible? Take Jani’s family for example.

Jani is known as the world’s youngest Schizophrenic. Though people can be born with schizophrenia, they are more likely to be diagnosed around their 20s. Well unfortunately for Jani, she was diagnosed at the age of seven. She would have delusions and hallucinations of cats, dogs, rats and even kids. At the age of nine, her parents believed that it would be difficult for Jani and her brother to live together at the time, they decided to get two-one bedroom apartments across from each other in the same area. They thought it had worked so well that they decided to move back into one apartment. Overall, it seemed as a roller-coaster or to put it this way; every time they took two steps forward, they wound up taking one step back. They would have their good days and their bad days. And now Bodhi (Jani’s little brother), who was diagnosed with Autism, is going through the same slope as Jani was, even she believes that he has schizophrenia.

This brings us back to my question; now, research also says that schizophrenia can also be developed environmentally, so what do you think, does Bodhi show schizophrenic symptoms? Did he inherit the gene?  

Electroconvulsive Therapy: Helpful or Not?

Usually people with depression tend to be treated either with antidepressants or psychotherapy. But what happens if neither will work? Have you ever heard of electroconvulsive therapy, also known as ECT?

Now you might have heard of it before, but most likely from a negative point of view. Truth is, despite of its stormy history, ECT is among the safest and most effective treatments available for depression.

What they do is they place electrodes on the patient’s scalp and a finely controlled electric current is applied while the patient is under general anesthesia. The current causes a brief seizure in the brain. It might sound scary and a little painful at first, but ECT is one of the fastest ways to relieve symptoms in severely depressed or suicidal patients. It’s also very effective for patients who suffer from mania or other mental illnesses. 

Take this character for example; from the show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, rock star Derek Lord goes on a national talk show and lectures about the about the abuse of psychiatric drugs. Reason for doing so was because he himself was treated for a psychiatric disorder (depression and suicidal), but with a different method, ECT. He would explain how they would turn him over so he wouldn’t choke on his own vomit and make him develop these seizures. But when they asked him if it cured him of his suicidal thoughts, he said he never had one since.

These are the kind of risk factors that make you think, do you agree with electroconvulsive therapy, do you agree on psychiatry, would you risk your life to save it?

Fear Comes in Many Forms: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

My aunt is never afraid of a challenge; she can get on the highest roller coaster, go bungee jumping, even cliff diving. Makes me wish I could have that kind of courage. But there is one BIG thing that she could never do. Unfortunately, she had a traumatic experience with WATER as a child, and now, if she ever heard of a task that involved water; her spine would start to shiver, her breathing would become more shallow, she would also say that her heart felt like it was about to explode.  You think you know someone at first, but then they could change into a completely different person if being placed into a traumatic setting. She could be diagnosed with what is known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a typed of anxiety disorder that could occur after you've seen or experienced a traumatic event that involved the threat of injury or death. In her case, its severeness is only minimal than compared to the most common risk factor for this disorder: WAR VETERANS.

Veterans who were diagnosed with PTSD may have witnessed people who were injured or dying, or may have been physically injured during the mission. Some of the most common symptoms of PTSD include recurring memories or nightmares of the event(s), sleeplessness, loss of interest, or feeling anger and irritability. Take this clip for example; in the movie Stop-Loss, actor Channing Tatum plays a character of a soldier who shows the effects of PTSD. His friend/squad member finds him drunk, digging up a foxhole in his front yard and his wife with a bruise on her face. Steve (Channing Tatums character) felt like he was back at the military base and Brandon (the friend) was unable to get through to him.

The cause of PTSD is unknown. Psychological, genetic, physical, and social factors are involved. It is not known WHY traumatic events cause PTSD in some people but not others. This just gives us another reason why FEAR is our greatest weakness.  

SLEEPWALKING

One day, while I was staying at my aunt’s house, she told me how I would mumble in my sleep and that it wasn’t the first time. She said I was so weird that I would even start scratching my face that same way as if I was awake. Hearing things like that make me wonder, If my aunt caught me doing silly acts like that when I’m asleep, then what do I do when I’m at home? What I’m more curious about is if I ever sleepwalk?

Sleepwalking is a sleep disorder that causes people to get up and walk while sleeping.  It usually occurs when a person is in the deep stages of sleep (stage 3 or 4). The sleepwalker is unable to respond during the event and doesn’t even remember any of it. The causes of sleepwalking are not well understood, but it is more common when people are sleep deprived or under unusual stress. Sleepwalking occurs most commonly in childhood but can last into adulthood.  Evidently, parts of the brain are awake and other parts are asleep.  

Episodes of sleepwalking can go from quiet walking around the room to practically running or attempts to “escape.” Take this dog for example, her name is Bizkit, they call her The Sleepwalking Dog because they always seem to catch her in the act. Most of the time she starts off running in place; then sometimes she’ll stand up and start barking out of nowhere with her eyes glazy until she wakes herself up.

Several different factors may be involved in the development of sleepwalking like genetics, environmental, and medical conditions. Incidentally contrary to common sayings, it is not dangerous to awaken a sleepwalker, but it is not particularly helpful either.

It makes you wonder, do you do anything while you’re asleep?

Gender Identity Disorder

Though I have a few tomboyish characteristics; such as preferring an action movie rather than a romantic one, more into sports than into shopping, and prefer Batman over Hello Kitty any day, no matter what, I know I’m like any other girl. Now, I may look like a girl, I may sound like a girl, and I may act like a girl, but does that mean every girl has to have those same aspects as I do? What if a little boy looks like a boy, sounds like a boy, but acts like a girl? Since the day he was born, he always felt different, like he didn’t belong, until he observed a life of a girl. In that moment he knew that was the life he wanted, he knew he should’ve been born as a girl and not as a boy. This is known as Gender Identity Disorder.

Psychologists have long assumed that gender depends mainly or entirely on the way people rear their children, but that’s not the case. Take this mother for example; her son wanted to be a girl since he was two years old, by age 11 he began transitioning, she felt like her son died. Around that time, her mother had to rush in and save her daughter from almost jumping out of a window because she didn’t want to live the rest of her life being someone she’s not. When the mother was on the Dr. Phil Show, discussing about the situation, two psychologists explained to her, saying that the father wasn’t there for the child, she spent most of the time with her mother. Her mother believed they were wrong. The father was there for the child since the very beginning, the daughter spent most of the time with him than with her mother. They both tried to do everything unisex, but in the end they wound up dealing with it.

Some parents don’t accept that kind of decision when it comes to their kids, they believe treatments such as therapy or medication could reverse that effect. But sooner or later, they have to come to the realization that it was not a choice, it is who they are. If you were in that mothers shoes, what would you do?

Pheromone: Fact or Myth

For a split second, we question on whether to buy the $90 perfume/cologne. Sure, we think it’s crazy to purchase a fragrance so expensive, but in the end we wound up carrying it in one of our shopping bags. Why is that? Is it because we can easily afford it or was it just because we “had” to get it? For every purchase we make, has to have a purpose. When it comes to fragrances, we mostly focus on the scent; if it grasps our attention, so will others. But the main question is; how do these kinds of fragrances have that effect on people?  

Now, people will say they liked your fragrance because of the scent, but did you know some fragrances carry a type of chemical known as pheromone? Pheromone is a Greek word; phero, meaning “to bear” or “transfer" and hormone, meaning to “excite.” Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual.  Let’s take dogs for example, have you ever had a female dog that wasn’t neutered, whenever she was in her fertile period, though she was kept indoors, you find yourself with a yard full of dogs that happen to be males. The behavioral effects of pheromones apparently occur unconsciously. People respond behaviorally to certain chemicals in human skin even though they describe them as odorless.

In this video, you will see how a male figure tries to pick up women using only one line (pick up line). The first time they sprayed him with a placebo; no chemicals in the spray. 8 out of 10 women basically gave him the boot. The second time, he had to do the same thing, only difference was he was sprayed with the fragrance that had the pheromone chemical in it. 9 out of 10 women said yes to the date, the last one was a little surprised that she said yes as well, even though he was not really her type. When she found out that he was sprayed with pheromone, she realized on why she said yes. Even for males; if women wore a perfume with the pheromone chemical in it, it would definitely get a mans’ attention.   

So what do you think? Do you think wearing a fragrance with the pheromone chemical will get you more dates? Do you think someone else (of the opposite sex) wearing the fragrance will get your attention?  Or is all this just a myth? 

Korsakoff's Syndrome

Now almost everyone knows what Alzheimer’s is; it’s a different type of AMNESIA that you would mostly find elders diagnosed with, but did you know there’s another type of amnesia, also known as Korsakoff’s syndrome? Well KORSAKOFF’S SYNDROME or Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome as others call it, is a brain damage caused by prolonged thiamine deficiency. Now, this disorder is mostly in CHRONIC ALCOHOLICS who go for weeks at a time on a diet of nothing but alcoholic beverages, practically lacking in vitamins. The symptoms of Korsakoff’s syndrome are similar to those of people with damage to the prefrontal cortex, including APATHY, CONFUSION, and MEMORY LOSS.

A distinctive symptom of Korsakoff’s syndrome is CONFABULATION, it’s when patients fill in memory gaps with guesses. What I love about TNT’s new show PERCEPTION, not only because it leaves you interested for more, but you learn a lot from it. This is actually where I first heard of Korsakoff’s syndrome.

Here’s another example; in 1979 Dr. Ken Shaw and Allan Thomson worked with CHRONIC ALCOHOL USERS. When it comes to malnourished alcoholics, side effects include; Phase 1: RESTLESS, EXCITABLE, and DELIRIOUS stage to a LETHARGIC stage of confusion. Phase 2: Staggering gait or inability to walk. But what captured my attention was the most common stage known as PSYCHOSIS. Dr. Shaw worked with a patient that was diagnosed with MEMORY DISTURBANCE by testing him with a delayed-response task. The patient couldn't form new memories, unless he was using his working memory.

Now, you probably thought that my main focus was on Alzheimer’s, but surprisingly, the point that I was trying to get across was ALCOHOLISM and what could happen if you took it too far. Though some people who tend to drink know the consequences, they think they can handle their liquor. Alcohol can have a harmful effect on nerve cells in the brain cortex. Information like this, reminds me that there is a reaction to every action. Let me put it this way, just because other people believe that in order to have a “good time,” you need to drink. Question is; would you risk your life, just to have a “good time”?