Video Summary

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Video Summary

Video Summary 1: Introduction

Psychology is defined as the study of the human behavior and mental processes. This study involves the recording of human behavior and mental processes, which are then used to draw meaningful conclusions such as the predictability of people. Psychology has many dimensions, and is interconnected with other fields of science. Much disagreement has been observed by psychologists with more research being carried out in a bid to make more discoveries on the complexity that is the human brain. Sigmund Freud was a doctor, psychologist and philosopher who made major strides in the field of psychology among other fields of social science in the early 20^th century. He believed that the subconscious is an entity of the human mind that could be studied and understood, despite an individual not being aware of it at that time.

Freud described mental illnesses as the lack of ability to carry out normal life activities due to disorganized and repetitive mental and behavioral patterns. He believed that there was a possibility to heal or reduce the symptoms of these illnesses through talk therapy. The complexity of the mind made the school of thought known as structuralism to become dismissed. It focused on breaking down the mind into basic sections according to their functions. Another school of thought developed by William James. This study supported the idea that the mental status of an individual was an adaptation of the person’s environment. B.F Skinner developed the study of observable behavior, where he maintained that the internal processes could be measured objectively and empirically through external observations of the human behavior. The wake of the 20^th century continued to unravel the mysteries of the human brain courtesy of psychologists and scholars. These discoveries led to new fields of science such as Neuroscience and cognitive science.

Video Summary 2:  OCD and Anxiety Disorder

Psychological disorders have been defined as dysfunctional, irregular, and uncomfortable patterns of thought, actions, and feelings that disrupt the normal and day-to-day healthy functions. This is a wide range of disorders, which include anxiety disorder. Psychologists agree that it is normal to feel anxious occasionally. However, anxiety disorders develop when the feelings of fear become irrational and compulsive which lead to symptoms such as a racing heartbeat, shakiness, and loss of appetite. This disorder may give rise to, obsessive compulsive disorders (commonly abbreviated as OCD)  whereby patients exhibit a compulsion to carry out certain activities such as cleaning hands thoroughly, counting steps and constantly cross checking whether the door is looked. The patients will perform these activities in a bid to alleviate this feeling of anxiety. OCD is known to develop originally as unwanted thoughts, which develop to become actions that eventually lead to these compulsions. Treatment for these conditions includes psychotropic and psychotherapy drugs.

Generalized anxiety disorder is the continued and agitated worry over normal daily events and activities, and where no obvious threat or reason is visible. Patients having this disorder often expect irrational and disastrous outcomes from harmless activities such as eating, sleeping, or reading. This is related to panic disorder, which is characterized by a sudden and irrational fear without a reasonable cause. Panic disorder is often short lived but severe. Physical symptoms include heavy breathing, crying hysterically and chest pains. This disorder is more common in younger people. It may be a result of a previous psychological trauma experienced. Phobias are persistent and irrational fears of objects, places, situations, or places. They are mostly a result of past traumatic experiences and lead to avoidance behavior such as avoiding large water bodies by hydrophobic patients. Most of the anxiety disorders are related, with one being a cause or effect of the other.

Video Summary 3: Schizophrenia and Dissociative Disorders

Schizophrenia is described as a mental disorder that alters the manner in which people view the world. It is literally translated to “split mind” but the meaning has changed to a split from reality. It is a condition that generally appears earlier in men than women. It is characterized by a disorderly mode of thinking, disorganized speech, selective attention breakdown, compulsive movements, confusion of emotions and abnormal behaviors. These behaviors and thoughts are often not in connection to their situations, For instance, patients may laugh at serious situations or cry without reason. Another common occurrence in schizophrenic patients is auditory and visual hallucinations. Patients will also begin to develop delusions of self and paranoia, thinking that there exist people who are out to harm them. These are categorized as psychotic symptoms.

Psychologists have grouped dissociative disorder and schizophrenic disorder symptoms into three types:

• Positive symptoms: These symptoms add certain elements to the patients, such as hallucinations and delusions
• Negative symptoms: These symptoms negate certain elements from the patient, such as lack of sleep, lack of appetite, lack of ability to socialize comfortably with others
• Disorganized symptoms: These symptoms do not add any meaning to the patient. They may exhibit bizarre behaviors.

Patients having these disorders have been proven to exhibit abnormal brain activity. In addition, the receptors have been found to be more than the normal brain contains. This, scientists believe, could explain symptoms such as hallucinations in the patients. Treatment has been shown to reduce these symptoms and help the patient live a healthier life. Drugs used to block the release of dopamine are useful in the treatment. These include anti-psychotic medication such as haloperidol, aripiprazole, Clozapinea and olanzapine.

Video Summary 4: Trauma and Addiction

Traumatic experiences have been known to affect patients in different ways. Severe cases have known to leave the patients with life-long effects, which are difficult to cope with. These traumatic disorders come in different forms. A common result of a traumatic experience is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, commonly abbreviated as PTSD. This is a mental health condition caused by a terrifying past event. The event may be either experienced or witnessed by the patient. Characteristics include flash backs, nightmares and anxiety and thoughts that cannot be controlled. The stress hormone cortisol is often released during these experiences. Reliving these experiences may cause a patient to develop more anxiety disorders. PTSD commonly leads patients to unhealthy behaviors such as self-medication in a bid to make the symptoms bearable. Continued use of these drugs leads to psychological dependence. In many cases, the patients may not realize that they have become dependent. This eventually leads to addiction.

Addiction is described as the excessive and lack of ability to control substance use, which may result in interference of normal and healthy daily life activities. Addiction and trauma are related, in that most people who engage in substance use are trauma patients. Some of the common addictive activities include shopping, gambling, sex, alcohol, and narcotics use. Patients are normally aware of the ill repercussions of engaging in these activities, but the compulsion to carry them out normally overshadows their rationale. Without proper diagnosis and treatment, this condition will worsen. Treatment has been shown to improve compulsions and consequently improve the patients’ health. Some studies suggest that there are certain factors that make some individuals more prone to traumatic disorders than others. The main factors include the genetic makeup and the environment, which may condition an individual to become more resistant.