Smoking Pot Can Lead to Schizophrenia

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Nov 202010
 

Smoking pot can increase your risk of getting schizophrenia. The risk becomes higher when the drug is used by people under the age of 21.

While those with a biological predisposition towards schizophrenia (e.g. a family history of the disease) are at the highest risk, heavy cannabis users during the teen years when the brain is developing are particularly vulnerable. Experts said between 8 percent and 13 percent of all schizophrenia cases have been linked to marijuana use during these formative years.

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder than affects over 50 million people worldwide. Schizophrenics suffer from hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, and unusual mannerisms. They may hear voices that no one else hears or see people or objects that aren’t there. Patients may believe that they are being persecuted, harassed or spied upon. These symptoms usually begin in men in their late teens and early 20s and in women in their mid-20s to early 30s.

Schizophrenia is often described in terms of positive (or productive) and negative (or deficit) symptoms. Positive symptoms include delusions, hallucinations as well as thought disorders typically regarded as manifestations of psychosis. Negative symptoms are so-named because they are considered to be the loss or absence of normal traits or abilities.

Considering the popularity of marijuana both here and abroad, experts said the number of schizophrenics could dramatically increase over the next few years. At present, marijuana is the most widely consumed illicit drug used by about 146 million or 3.7 percent of the world’s population aged 15 to 64 years old, according to the World Drug Report prepared by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC). In the United States alone, about 15 million Americans use marijuana.

The link between schizophrenia and marijuana has been established in over 30 different scientific studies made over the past 20 years. These were mostly done in the United Kingdom, Australia and Sweden. The growing body of evidence is also due to the increased potency of marijuana. The British Lung Association said street marijuana is 15 times more powerful today than the ones sold three decades ago.

“Researchers in New Zealand found that those who used cannabis by the age of 15 were more than three times (300 percent) more likely to develop illnesses such as schizophrenia. Other research has backed this up, showing that cannabis use increases the risk of psychosis by up to 700 percent for heavy users, and that the risk increases in proportion to the amount of cannabis used (smoked or consumed),“ according to Schizophreia.Com, a non-profit web community that provides information, support, and education to people with schizophrenia.

Aside from marijuana use, schizophrenia is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. The disease tends to run in families and may be triggered by exposure to viruses or malnutrition in the womb, problems during birth, and stressful environments. Faulty brain chemistry caused by imbalances in the brain chemicals dopamine and glutamate is another possible cause.

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Understanding Bipolar Disorder – 9 Symptoms And 10 Signs Revealed

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Nov 202010
 

Bipolar disorder is also known by manic-depressive illness. It’s characterized by incidents of serious depression along with mania. It’s seen when there is a sudden mood swing of a person that can unexpectedly change from happy to sad to irritable and back again. This cycle repeats itself. This change of depression to mania and vice versa can happen within a short amount of time. The person’s patterns for the illness will show through to others around them. Being able to tell this pattern and seeing it will help in the next stage of the person’s disease.

No doubt there are definite signs from when a person goes from a mania state to depression state. When they are in the state of mania, bipolar illness can be familiar through these symptoms.

1. hyperactivity which can lead to restlessness and rapid talking
2. extreme feelings of high
3. excessive irritableness
4. belief in unrealistic powers
5. lack of or poor judgment
6. increase of sexual urges
7. abuses alcohol and other drugs
8. aggressive behaviors
9. denial that anything is wrong with him or her

Yet, when a person is suffering from depression, the disease can be known through these signs.

1. persistent sadness or anxious mood
2. pessimism
3. uncharacterized feelings of unworthiness and guilt
4. low sex drive
5. exhausted even though there is a lack of physical activity
6. energy level decrease even with day to day activities
7. lack of or poor judgment
8. decrease in appetite
9. chronic pains not due to physical activity
10. suicidal thoughts or tendencies

The illness is thought to generate in the teenage years and is carried right through the person’s life. The difficult behind this disease is that it not easily seen as an illness but rather noted as an attitude or hyperactivity problem. Many kids diagnosed with ADD (attention deficit disorder) or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) may be incorrectly diagnosed or rather need bipolar treatment in conjunction with ADD/ADHD. It is because of the lack of knowledge that some incorrect diagnosis leads some bipolar sufferers to abuse drugs and alcohol, have bad relationships, have poor job quality or job skills and some have suicidal thoughts. It is currently thought that nearly two million Americans suffer from bipolar disorder.

In its early stages of manic-depressive disorder, hypomania does take place. The person, in this stage, shows an extreme high energy level that can lead to impulsive, not to mention, reckless behavior. The bipolar patient will deny he is doing anything wrong and in his mind, he is correct. For those around him, they can recognize the improbable behaviors the person exhibits.

Another common problem with getting the right treatment for those who suffer from bipolar is the misdiagnosis because early signs can be attributed to alcohol or drug abuse. In later stages, the person can suffer a full clinical depression or breakdown.

Medicine is used to treat the disease. Most often, doctors will prescribe the drug Lithium, which is helpful in controlling mania and the reoccurrence of mania and depression. Scientists have also tested anticonvulsant medicines for the process of kindling. Kindling is the process in which sensitivity to stress by the brain results in abnormal behaviors and activities. Lithium has been found to block the process in the early stages… other medicines which are carbamezepine and valproate work in the later stages. These treatments have been approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Adminstration). Electroconvulsive therapy is great for those where medications will not work, mostly in severe cases of the disease.

Why Knowing About Schizophrenia Is Important

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Nov 202010
 

The scary thing about schizophrenia is that sufferers may be so confused by the symptoms that they are unable to tell what is real and what is fantasy. For instance, when serial killer David Berkowitz saw black dogs barking out orders to kill, he believed they were actually there.


Many schizophrenics keep their voices and thoughts to themselves, for fear of being labeled “crazy.” Another schizophrenic, Janice Jordan, mentioned being unable to tell her counselors about a delusional figure known as “The Controller” who barked orders at her during psychotic episodes.


The more patients learn about the illness and its many effects, the better equipped they are to handle the symptoms. Unfortunately, taking life-long medication is also a realistic assumption on the road to recovery.


Schizophrenia research reports some interesting findings. For instance, the mental illness is largely caused by a neuro-chemical imbalance of Dopamine, Seratonin and Norepenephrine.


In a normal brain, the frontal lobe increases its blood flow and the “listening” part of the brain diminishes. PET scans reveal that in a schizophrenic brain, the frontal lobe is active but the “listening” part remains just as active.


The sensory overload usually causes a hallucination. People who are born with it generally have irregular brain cell patterns. Drugs and stress do not cause schizophrenia, but they can certainly exacerbate the symptoms. In some cases, family members who understand very little can agitate the symptoms by using an accusing tone of voice or reacting angrily to the sufferer.


Family members who know about schizophrenia can learn to recognize symptoms of an acute attack: a change in personality, social withdrawal, sleeplessness, agitation, using words that do not make sense and seeing things that aren’t there. It is important to create an environment that facilitates recovery. Keeping peace and serenity at home, helping the schizophrenic set realistic goals, sharing tasks, gradually increasing independence and encouraging new hobbies can all provide schizophrenia support.


There are many misperceptions about schizophrenia. One is that schizophrenia is the same as multiple personality disorder (MPD), which is simply not true. MPD is often characterized by two or more separate and distinct “personalities” which sometimes go by different names, display different mannerisms and have entire lists of unique likes and dislikes.


By contrast, schizophrenics exhibit different behavior, as well as suffer delusions and hallucinations. However, they maintain a basic sense of self, afflicted by mood swings and fragmented thinking. Another misperception is that sufferers are violent by nature.


Because of cases like David Berkowitz or Herb Mullin, the general public associate schizophrenia with murderers – but the only real danger for 99% of schizophrenics is self-harm. By educating the public, diagnosis and recovery can be more effective.

Natural Solutions to Dealing with a Bipolar Disorder

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Nov 192010
 

Although a great number of medications have been created and developed to help people deal with the many different kinds of bipolar symptoms, natural remedies exist that can help to lessen the impact as well. Diet and exercise are the two most common ways to deal with the effects of bipolar depression. Apparently, fish are a great source of food that people have enjoyed for thousands of years.

One of the best things that can be found in fish is the Omega-3 substance. Studies conducted on Omega-3 have revealed many benefits. Some of the medications that people take to help reduce bipolar symptoms include lithium and valproate. Omega-3 provides the same benefits that these medications do without any known side effects. Omega-3 can be found is many types of fish including the tuna, mackerel, and salmon.

Omega-3 is used to help people with other types of health issues including diabetes. Studies conducted on the benefits of this substance revealed that diets rich in Omega-3 help people to get better sleep, reduce their level of depressions, and reduce suicidal ideation. Imagine being able to take a natural substance with little or no side effects instead of having to deal with the often difficult drugs and medications that people often take to reduce the effects of a bipolar disorder. Some other natural supplements to consider include Vitamin A, C, and E.

Avoid the chemicals found in many of the processed foods and keep your cholesterol as low as possible. The use of exercise is the other natural remedy that many people are using to deal with bipolar depression. Exercise produces natural endorphins that help people to reduce stress levels. When depression takes hold of the body, it is often very difficult to remove it without some form of exercise. Using bipolar medications along with diet and exercise can help people to beat the problems that many families and individuals have to deal with concerning a bipolar disorder.

Schizophrenia and Psychology

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Nov 192010
 

Schizophrenia is a chronic, relentless, and disabling brain disease. In fact, it can be defined as a disorder characterized by a range of cognitive and emotional dysfunctions that basically involves instability in the content of thought, perceptions, language and communication skills along with fluency of thought and speech and interpersonal functioning. More often, it affects an individual’s capacity to “think straight.” Thoughts may come and then may go easily and rapidly and an individual may not be able to focus on one thought for very long and may be easily distracted.

Individuals who have schizophrenia often suffer or carry terrifying symptoms of hallucination and delusion. Generally, considered as psychotic symptoms, in hallucination a person has a tendency of watching, listening, smelling, or feeling something that doesn’t really exist. Moreover, he or she may also have a false sense of sound like listening different tones or voices that might not be heard by other individuals. These are the most ordinary psychotic symptoms that generally affects near about 65 to 70% of patients. Adding to this, delusion is the false psychological belief and a person usually has a thought that other people are reading their minds or controlling their thoughts. These symptoms may leave them fearful. In most of the cases, their speech and behavior get so disorganized that they may be impenetrable or terrifying to others.

Apart from this person suffering from schizophrenia may experience severe mental symptoms or even psychosis due to undetected essential medical conditions. A patient may not be capable of sorting out what is appropriate or irrelevant to a situation. The person may be unable to connect thoughts into coherent sequences, with thoughts becoming disorganized and fragmented. Moreover, a person may show any interest in social gatherings, avoid contact with others and when enforced to cooperate, he or she may have not had anything to say. In some severe situations, an individual can spend an almost entire day doing nothing at all. These problems with disturbing expression can be particularly upsetting to friends or even family members. The consequences of the disease, in any case, are very much emotional and as a result, psychological therapies can be helpful and one of the best ways to treat this disease.

In recent times, the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy, which is primarily considered as psychotherapy has shown positive improvement in both positive and negative symptoms in some patients. The approach has strengthened the patient’s capacity for normal thinking, using mental exercises and self-observation. Actually, some evidence has even shown drastic improvement in patients’ ability to learn and remember different things. Adding to this, individual psychotherapy is another form of psychosocial therapy that is available for people with schizophrenia. This type of therapy mainly focuses on current or past problems, thoughts, experiences, feelings and relationships.

In this therapy, a sufferer shares his or her experiences with a trained empathic person. Now talking about their world with someone outside it can help the patient gradually learn and understand more about themselves and their problems. This psychotherapy helps them learn to sort out between the real and unreal or distorted world. Recent studies also indicate that supportive, reality-oriented, individual psychotherapy can be beneficial for outpatients with schizophrenia.

Psychotherapy for schizophrenia often emphasizes adding structure to a person’s life. This structure can assist the patient suffering from schizophrenia in going to work every day, keeping good personal hygiene, and building personal relationships.

Gist Of Bipolar Disorder – Looking For Symptoms And Cures?

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Nov 182010
 

Everyone has an emotional side that pops out now and then. But, in case of a person who is affected by bipolar disorder, the emotional side pops out more frequently, and tends to be of very great intensity, that it will cascade their senses, and not let them think about what they are doing, and the damages that they might cause because of their problem. Their feelings shuttle between depression, and happiness. One day they are feeling very depressed, and the next day, they will be full of energy.

Bipolar disorder is something that cannot be predicted, and it is very confusing. This type of condition is also chronic. There is nothing to feel bad about if you are a person who is affected by such a disorder. It is important to learn about this, so that one can act according to the situation.

Bipolar disorder is something that will hamper the feelings of a person that change as per the mood. This kind of problem has two extremes. One is where the person is too sad, and goes into depression, or when he is too high, and gets maniacal.

The world itself proves to be a very good example for this condition. Consider the world; it has two poles, the North Pole, and the South Pole. If the South Pole is the depression, then, the North Pole turns out to be the maniacal behavior. If a person tends to have either of the conditions, then, the person is said to be facing an episode. All these episodes are to be discussed with a person like your healthcare provider.

American Psychiatric Association has defined four episodes, that is connected to bipolar disorder:

1. Depression. When a person is extremely sad for a very long time, then, he tends to stay in a confined room, and might not want to come out… this condition is where the person realizes that he is not enjoying what he usually does.

2. Mania. Often, this is seen as the condition that is the sequel to extreme happiness due to some unknown reason, but, this is not something to feel happy about, because, right after this phase, an individual might get angry if something spoils his mood.

3. Hypomania. This is the milder version of the mania episode. In this case, a person might feel really good for some reason, and might be very happy. But, this is also dangerous, because, no one knows what is going to happen post-hypomania, as a patient might enter mania, or depression.

4. Mixed episode or mixed mood. This is the condition where a person might cycle between depression and mania, many times during a day.

These are very dangerous episodes that can drive a person to the extent of committing suicide. The condition where a person experiences depression or mania in more than four instances in a year is referred to as rapid-cycling. The symptom differs for mania and depression.

Symptoms of Mania:

Reduced sleep, increase in energy levels, constant distraction, talkative, racing thoughts, and mind jumps, more confident, more focused- but is not too successful.

Symptoms of Depression:

Feeling down, feeling guilty, lack of interest in sex, feeling sad all the time, feeling hopeless, sleeping a lot, or very little, feeling worthless, feeling tired, feeling restless, decision-making problems, concentration problems, very less energy, losing interest in food, reminiscing about death, and suicide.

There are many reasons for the bipolar disorder to eat a person’s life, but, off late, it is not seen as a great problem. There are many treatments that can actually cure a person’s disorder. It is pretty important that all these people consult their healthcare providers, who will device a plan that will certainly stabilize their moods.

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