Is Cyclothymia a Disorder free essay sample

Is Cyclothymia a Disorder? People who have Cyclothymic disorder usually do not realize they may have a treatable disorder because they feel that their mood swings are associated to lifes imbalance. Many things in life can trigger mood swings making it difficult to determine if there is a mood disorder. However, an individual that has unpredictable mood swings may have Cyclothymia and should be concerned. Individuals who have this disorder go through life on an emotional rollercoaster and tolerate up and down feelings, because they believe these feelings are normal emotions. This research paper will give the definition, causes, and symptoms of Cyclothymic disorder and how it is diagnosed. I will also give examples of my own personal experience with mood swings; and interview an individual dealing with Cyclothymia to show evidence why some think this disorder is not a disorder at all. Cyclothymia or Cyclothymic disorder is defined as a relatively mild mood disorder. We will write a custom essay sample on Is Cyclothymia a Disorder or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In Cyclothymic disorder, moods swing between short periods of mild depression and hypomania, an elevated mood. The low and high mood swings never reach the severity of major depression or mania. Cyclothymia is a Bipolar-like illness. People with Cyclothymic disorder have milder symptoms than in full-blown Bipolar disorder (WebMD). The exact cause of Cyclothymic disorder is still unknown however, Depression researchers are exploring two sets of influences. One focuses on genetic predispositions and on abnormalities in brain structures and functions (including those found in neurotransmitter systems). The second, the social-cognitive perspective, examines the influence of cyclic self-defeating beliefs, learned helplessness, negative attributions, and stressful experiences. The biopsychosocial approach considers influences on many levels (Myers 529). Cyclothymic symptoms are generally similar to those of Bipolar disorder, but they are less severe. With Cyclothymia, an individual can typically function in daily life but the unpredictable nature of mood swings may significantly disrupt the individuals life because he or she may never know how they are going to feel. Symptoms include mood swings that result in elevated confidence and energy levels to the inability to maintain enthusiasm for a new project. In addition, these mood swings can cause brupt changes in personality from cheerful to depressed or even anger. Personal relationships can suffer due to the influence of moods causing constant pulling and pushing away of emotions. It is also common for an individual with Cyclothymia to self-medicate by using alcohol or illegal drugs. The mood swings of Cyclothymia do not follow a set pattern. A person may experience the same mood swing for weeks, months, even years at a time before suddenly having the opposite mood. In addition, the severities of mood swings differ from person to person. Hypomania is a ood that many do not perceive as a problem; it actually may feel good and give an individual a greater sense of well-being and productivity. Cyclothymic disorder is diagnosed by using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). This manual contains diagnostic criteria and text containing information about the disorder such as associated features, prevalence, familial patterns, age-culture and gender specific teatures and ditterential diagnosis. This manual is used by mental health professionals from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds in a wide range of settings (American Psychiatric Association). According to the Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, the DSM manual specifies six criteria that must be met for a diagnosis of Cyclothymic disorder: (1)Numerous episodes of hypomania and depression that are not severe enough to be considered major depression. These episodes must have lasted for at least two years. (2)During the same two-year period (one year for children and adolescents), the individual has not been free from either hypomania or mild depression for more than two months at a time. (3)No major depression, mania, or mixed (both depression and mania together) condition has een present during the first two years of the disorder. 4)The individual does not have a thought disorder such as schizophrenia or other psychotic condition. (5)The symptoms are not due to the direct effects of substance use (such as a drug of abuse or a prescribed medication) or to a medical condition. (6)The symptoms cause significant impairment in the patients social, occupational, family, or other im portant areas of life functioning. Not until doing research for a group presentation on Cyclothymia did I realize that I may be living with Cyclothymia and have been for uite some time. For example, for years I have struggled with mood swings that range from happiness to sadness then anger; optimistic to pessimistic; increased to decreased energy levels and much more. I have always related my mood swings to everything from lifes challenges to going through menopause. When I am overwhelmingly happy, I have an extreme amount of energy and must stay busy. My thoughts race so fast that I can hardly keep up with new projects I begin because I am so eager to finish them. At times, this enormous amount of energy causes me to ake rash decisions but to me it is at this time I make my best decisions. When really excited about learning and doing new things, I talk so fast that my husband has to tell me to slow down. In addition to the overwhelming feeling of happiness, my self-esteem is in a total comfort zone and I love everything about myself and love everyone around me. However, all of that can change in a fraction of minute, from feeling on top of the world to feeling I hit rock bottom. When feeling depressed, it feels like no one cares or understands what I am going through and everything feels ike its falling apart at the seams. I do not feel like laughing or talking to anyone and it does not take much for me to get upset with someone. I find myself aggravated by the silliest things, disagree, and find fault in everything; this causes those around me to feel intimidated. I lose interest in the projects I started and I do not feel like doing anything outside of the basics. I feel tired and drained and cannot concentrate on the things I need to. I start seeing myself differently and get angry that I cannot change what I see or feel. I start dwelling on my past mistakes and connect them to very bad feeling I have. My family and co-workers have come to accept my moods and Just stay clear of me when I am in my bitch mode. These mood swings make me feel so out of control. I connect my moods with what I perceive as lifes normalcy of right, wrong, good or bad, it becomes very challenging to decipher whether or not my moods are associated with a disorder. Therefore, this gives me the assumption that many others may feel the same and go through years of dealing with mood disorders that they relate to normal feelings. Once again, lifes changes trigger mood swings

A Gab of Sky by Anna Hope Essays

A Gab of Sky by Anna Hope Essays A Gab of Sky by Anna Hope Paper A Gab of Sky by Anna Hope Paper To be united with many, and still feel so alone In the vastness of great cities a feeling many can relate to. Every man and woman wakes up, steps out into world, making their way through the endless clutter of human beings, each one with a vast amount of goals, that must be achieved and destinations that must be reached. Part of growing up has, in stereotypical fashion, been said to be to accept this reality; the reality of having to check off the to-do-list every day. It might only be a luxury of youth that one can refrain from this, and let ones Instinctive ambition and desires ale. To be controlled by the Immediate wants and thoughts of ones mind and heart. This is exactly what Elli, the main character of A Gap of Sky, by Anna Hope, does. Engulfed by the city, and its pulsating, never-ending tempo the reader follows the young Elli in her simple goal of purchasing some computer ink. On her quest though, she is taken over by sudden urges and curiosity. She lets herself sway away from her path. Elli is a 19 year old girl, living the carefree and extreme life, in the buzzing city of London. One assumes she Is studying English at some sort of university, due to the fact her mall goal for the day Is to write an essay on Virginia Wolf. As she lies in her bed, the reader meets her waking up from a crazy night on the town, enriched with alcohol and drugs. She regrets nothing and seems to be living the life, where every moment is precious and must be enjoyed to the fullest. Suddenly she realizes it is Monday, and the harsh realities creep up upon her. She must write and hand In this essay the next day, but she has no printer Ink. So she sets herself the goal of buying the printer Ink, and thereafter writing the essay. It Is a bright, sunny, yet cold day, that wraps her body and hurts her lungs, as she scatters through the city in search for a computer store. She is overwhelmed by all the impressions, and seduced by her curiosity she wonders off her path. In an odd exhibition of some sort her head begins to throb. The pain brings about a sense fear, desperation and despair in her. The concept of death begins to dance in her consciousness. She seeks out a river, to relieve her from this agonizing pain. On her way she begins to feel better, and following a stranger she enters a store of some sort. There she picks up a little stone: a stone that brings about a melancholic sensation in her. She begins to reminisce about her mother, who the summer before had given Elli a stone like this one, for good luck. She repeats her mothers name to herself, picturing her in her head, which make her feel lighter, alive and beautiful. A feeling she hopes the world can see. She wants to share it with the world. Walking out onto the street again, she sees how, all around people are Interconnected by the bond of love, that she herself feels. Skirting away again, remembering her need for imputer-ink, she once again makes her way through the city. She has though, not forgotten the river, she searches a terrace from where she can admire it. The night above receives her, and she at the end notes to herself all her goals, and how all is good. The narrator is a third person-omniscient, using the narrative technique; stream of consciousness, a technique the writer and feminist Virginia Wolf used In many AT near works I Is . N stream casts ten reader In many alertness, Owe to Ell being very distracted and unfocused. This technical reference to Virginia Wolf could e considered an inter-textual element. It could be a result of ingesting drugs she changes her focus by the second, for example; Monday. It is Monday. Essay there is an essay due, important, due for Tuesday morning ( ) and so on. Her thoughts are hurriedly rushed through. The narration Jumps from subject to subject, as if one were inside the head of the young Elli. It is chaotic and frantic, much like the city of London, which is the setting of the story. It could be concluded that this is the authors purpose. Her mind is dark, and almost lacks a sense of structure, much like en could say about a big busy city, like London. Elli is constantly on the move, drawing parallels to the pulsating city. Her attitudes towards things seems rebellious, exemplified by her content and giggle when she sees a glove on a fence, flicking the world off. She does not feel accountable to anyone. The exhibition she stumbles upon has the theme Living and Dying, a theme is very precedent throughout the story. She does not feel ready to die; she is alive, and grateful to be so. The city does though have a power over her. It can both bring her down and up again. At one moment the city brings about fear, and sadness in her, making her feel nasty, brutish, and short (A. Hope, pig. 4 1. 8). As her headache passes, light is cast down onto the street, leaving her feeling rancid and worn. She realizes how short and precious life is. An epiphany described as a Gab in the sky. Making her way to the river, representing a crossroad in her life, she is faced with a choice. She can either drown herself in the cities murky river, like Virginia Wolf did, who is referred to earlier in the story. Or she can wash herself clean -clean from drugs.

Science lab Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Science lab - Assignment Example Between 1900 and 2000 the world’s population increased by six billion and industrialization was at its peak (Wright & Boorse, 2010). Vast piece of land has been cleared to accommodate settlement and agriculture. All this contributed to 90% decline in ground water. The trend of environmental degradation came to limelight in 1962 when Rachael Carson wrote a book called silent spring. Later, in 1972 report named limit to growth and another known as our common future in 1987 by Brundtland commission were published (Wright & Boorse, 2010). It was due to these three major publications that influenced the adoption of the ideology knows as sustainable development. For clear evidence of the previous state of the environment, it was mandatory I review map and analyze them. The satellite vegetation maps showing the vegetation cover from 1800 to date and human settlements map over the same duration of time was a fundamental source of data for this study. Further, geological data on the trend of ground water was also influential in this study. Therefore, the major method of date collection was map reading and analysis. In 1900 through to 2000, the world population has increased by six billion. Because of the high population increase, there was the need to find means to fend for the need of this large number, which led to clearing of forest by 90% to create space for settlement and cultivation. It was also during this time that the European countries and America engaged in high industrial activities, which tremendously impacted on the environment. Forest cover, which plays a role in enhancing hydrological cycle had reduced, meaning that rain had also reduced (Wright & Boorse, 2010). In this line, the amount of water that percolated through the soil profile to recharge the ground water was reduced by half. Since the developments of environmental policies, there have been attempts to reverse the damage that happened in 1900. In this pursuit, forest