Week 2

This week's post is about diagnosing realistic patients with anxiety disorders. What fun.

Case Study 10: A 36-year-old man and his young son were driving through an intersection when another car ran through a red traffic light and struck them. The two were trapped in the car until a fire department rescue team freed them. The patient was bruised but not seriously hurt. His son had a broken leg. The first few days after the accident the patient was preoccupied with arranging care for his son and getting the car repaired. A few days later he began having recurrent distressing thoughts and images of the accident. Theses symptoms lasted for several weeks. The memory of his son’s screams after the car was struck seemed particularly vivid. The patient became irritable, had difficulty concentrating, and avoided talking about the accident. He went out of his way to avoid driving down the street where the accident occurred. As time went on he could no longer remember whether the traffic light was red or green when he approached it.

This patient is suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It is recommended that the patient should seek mental health professionals who specialize in the treatment of trauma and PTSD or local mental health clinics, psychiatric hospitals, or counseling centers for therapy (Be sure to trust the therapist or else PSTD can become worse and the therapy will not work).

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that causes anxiety, reexperience, and avoidance of things that connect with the traumatic event. The patient has recalled the event through images and thoughts, particularly his son's screams. He started to become agitated and avoided talking about the incident. The patient even stayed away from the street that the crash happened on. All of these symptoms have lasted for at least a month. These all connect to the symptoms of a person suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Summary: If you or someone you know is experiencing anxiety, recalling the event, and avoiding the thought of the accident, they may have PTSD and should be treated as soon as possible by a trusted PTSD therapist.

Week 1

Edgar Allen Poe is famous for his literature full of "interesting" genres. Poe was born on January 19, 1809 and was taken in by John and Frances Allan after his parents died when he was young. He is considered to have taken part in the American Romantic Movement. He is also the first well-known writer who tried to make a living off writing alone. Poe's works influenced literature in the United States and around the world. Inspiring as he is, Poe suffered from bipolar disease which effected his literary works known today.

Sufferers of bipolar disorder commonly suffer from episodes of depression. Poe's life was depressing from age 2 when his father abandoned his family and his mother's death soon after. Even though he was taken care of well by the Allans, he was never really adopted making him somewhat of an outcast. With the death of his young wife and cousin, Poe began to write what is ironically called "tragically beautiful". His episodes of mood swings often gave him wild imaginations which show in his works. Before his death, he was found in a crazied state assumed from mixed episodes of bipolar disease. 

Bipolar disease is a pretty freaky disorder in my opinion. It's as if your moods are riding a rollercoaster and can twist and turn into whatever. Anxiety sinks in and you start feeling things like lack of motivation and suicidal ideas. It's kind of scary to picture yourself having this disease. With depression, agression, fatigue, insomnia, rage, and delusions, I'm definetly glad that I don't have this disorder. I would think that the disorder actually reinforced Poe's writings and is what made his works what they are today.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe

http://gstrecker.iweb.bsu.edu/poepoetry.htm

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/bipolar_disorder/article_em.htm