Archive for January, 2012
New Anti Anxiety Medication
Posted by admin in Anti Anxiety Medication on January 30, 2012
For a long time, there has been numerous medications used to treat the symptoms of anxiety. Probably the most common types of treatment methods have included Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors and Tricyclic Antidepressants. The downside to these medications is that they may cause severe and life-threatening side effects. With ongoing research and valuable studies, new anti anxiety medication has been introduced into the healthcare industry. The advantage to new medication is that they are recognized to work just as effective as other medications, but without the side effects. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, are among these new medications. This new anti anxiety medication works to improve the neurotransmitter serotonin.
Serotonin can be found in the mind, along with the digestive track. It’s accountable for regulating mood and is often regarded as the “happy” hormone. Individuals with depressive and anti anxiety disorders are simply to possess low amounts of serotonin, so these new drugs boosts the amount of serotonin in the brain. SSRIs can be prescribed to both children and adults and also have little if any side effects. Children have reported mild side effects including stomachaches, nausea and difficulty sleeping, while adults have reported sexual difficulties and nervousness. This new medication may be used on the long-term basis and many doctors suggest that patients make use of this new anti anxiety medication not less than twelve months.
Another type of new anxiety drugs are the class of medication called benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines are prescribed to assist in controlling anxiety symptoms, but they are utilized on a short-term basis. Some patients discover that they become dependent on these medications and also develop a tolerance to them. Because benzodiazepines are a highly effective kind of medication, new forms of medicines happen to be introduced. This new anti anxiety medication is designed to have fewer unwanted effects while still trying to treat anxiety symptoms, but patients find that they’re still just as addictive as the former ones.
Reviewing the Various Types and Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Posted by admin in Symptoms Schizophrenia on January 29, 2012
Schizophrenia is a form of psychosis that shifts sufferers from reality to an often terrifying world of delusions, confusion, danger and hallucination. Often the symptoms of schizophrenia are described as “positive” or “negative.” Positive symptoms, such as delusions, hallucinations, thought disorders and involuntary movements may come and go.
Negative symptoms refer to reductions in normal behavior, such as a monotonous voice, emotionless facial expression, a lack of pleasure, infrequent speech, poor hygiene and the inability to execute a plan. Sometimes, symptoms occur constantly, while at other times patients suffer from schizophreniform disorder.
There are five different types of schizophrenia, according to schizophrenia research, and the symptoms vary. The first type and the most common is paranoid schizophrenia. The paranoid schizophrenic suffers bizarre delusions and sometimes auditory hallucinations.
For instance, the patient may believe that the government is spying on them, that people on television or animals are talking to them, or that someone is trying to deliberately hurt them. Often, paranoid schizophrenics also suffer an accompanying anxiety disorder that causes heightened fear, nervous twitches and displeasure. Other patients have delusions of grandeur, and believe they are a great inventor or a celebrity.
Strange emotional responses characterize the second type, which is called disorganized schizophrenia. Symptoms of schizophrenia for this type may include emotionless facial display, a monotone voice, or the inability to laugh, cry and show any emotion. Sufferers may exhibit signs of “psychomotor poverty,” disrupted speech patterns, a lack of spontaneous movement or motivation, derailment, thought disturbances and reality distortion.
The third type is called catatonic schizophrenia, which is the stereotypical view of a person rocking back and forth in a strait jacket, staring vapidly — sometimes rambling incessantly, or at other times being completely mute. The symptoms of this type may include making jerky, bizarre movements, with arms and legs flailing about for no reason. The catatonic schizophrenic is incapable of caring for him or herself and is characterized as having a very severe mental illness.
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Paranoid Schizophrenia – Effect on the Family
Posted by admin in Paranoid Schizophrenia on January 28, 2012
John always wondered if there were others who felt the same loneliness that had almost always been a part of his life. John lived a somewhat secluded life because he was unable to explain the bizarre behavior of his mom. He worked hard at keeping his friends and his mom at a safe distance from one another.
John first noticed that things were not right when he was 10 years of age. This was when his mom complained of “ringing” in her ears. Since he was only a kid, John was not able to comprehend the implications. He only knew that his dad was concerned and his mom was obsessed.
John’s mom, Mary, was a very pretty woman. She was raised in a home that can only be described as an environment of poverty. Mary’s father was a “hell fire and brimstone” preacher of a small congregation, perhaps a dozen people. Mary’s mom never worked. Mary related stories of ridicule by her peers because she dressed differently from the others. This was more a result of her father’s religion than his bank account. She was the youngest child by several years. Mary had two older brothers and two older half sisters. Other details of the childhood environment are unknown.
The ringing in Mary’s ears progressed rapidly. It was a matter of months and the “ringing” became “voices.” John and his sister, Carol, did not understand when Mary began making bizarre statements. She would talk about events that never happened. “People have been eating our groceries,” she might say. She would go into long diatribes telling stories in great detail. This confused the children. It scared them. Mary told the kids they were going to hell. The voices told her many things to this effect. Mary’s statements were given more authority when she began with “god told me…”
John’s stepfather, Fred, was a very kind, patient, Christian man. Fred was a man in his early thirties when Mary’s diagnosis of “paranoid schizophrenic” was first delivered. As an older adult, John is amazed when he thinks back at the responsibility his stepfather assumed at such an early age. Fred felt helpless. He had no idea how to handle the situation. Fred only knew that he must not abandon his daughter, his stepson or his wife. Fred was gifted from Above with the abilities needed for the situation.
It was about 9:30 in the evening when Mary had her first serious episode into the bizarre. She told the family that god was not pleased with them. Mary slammed the front door and ran down the street stopping to knock on doors and screaming, “You are all going to hell.” Fred called the Pastor of his church who arrived in short order. He was a man in his early thirties. The two men managed to corral Mary and bring her back to the house. That began an all night conversation between the three adults. The children were in bed, but certainly, not asleep. Mary screamed and the men used calming voices that seemed quite ineffective.
Morning arrived and Fred explained to the children that Mom was sick. Pastor was going to accompany him to the hospital. It was later that the children learned the hospital was a state mental institution. The treatment of the day consisted primarily of electroshock therapy.
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