Week 2; Research into Mental Illness

In order to create concise characters with mental illness, I had to do research into the particular disorders that I had chosen:


1. Anxiety Disorders can be an ongoing and impact the ability to live your life as you want to.

.General Anxiety disorder: The most common type of anxiety disorder;

Symptoms

• Over worrying 
• Feeling out of control
• Feeling on edge
• Alert to your surroundings
• Muscles tension and sweating

GAD can be diagnosed alongside depression or other anxiety disorders.

Cause of Anxiety 

• Genetics 
• Life Experience; this could be bad experiences such as being bullied or losing a loved one.
• Drugs: Caffeine and alcohol
• Circumstances

Treatment for anxiety

Self Help

• Meditation
• Eating healthy regularly 
• Exercise
• Have a daily routine
• More sleep
• Keep a mood diary

2. BPD: Borderline Personality Disorder:

BPD is an illness that affects the way you think and feel about yourself, as well as your emotions and relationships with other people. Sometimes called emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD)

• BPD means that you feel strong emotions which can be difficult to cope with. You may feel angry or upset very often.
• Around 1 in 100 people have BPD.
• Having BPD can make it more likely that you will self-harm or act impulsively

Symptoms

Experiences of living with borderline personality disorder are unique to each person. You only need to experience 5 of the following to be diagnosed with BPD.

• Extreme reaction to feeling abandoned.
• Unstable relationships.
• Confused feelings about who you are.
• Being impulsive in a dangerous way.
• Self-harm, suicidal thoughts and behaviours.
• Feelings of emptiness or feelings of abandoned.
• Difficulty controlling emotions and anger.
• Overwhelming mood swings.
• Paranoid thoughts when your stressed.

Red highlighted symptoms are my own symptoms

BPD can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are similar to depression, psychosis and bipolar disorder.

BPD can also be diagnosed alongside depression and different anxiety disorders. 

Types of BPD

Borderline type: Difficulties with relationships, self-harming and feelings of emptiness.

Impulsive type: Difficulties with impulsive behaviour and feelings of anger.

Causes of BPD

• A traumatic childhood, such as neglect, abandonment or abuse.
• Genetics; However there is no clear evidence that there is a gene that causes BPD.

Treatment for BPD

Talking therapies: The most common treatment of borderline personality disorder is talking therapy.

• Dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT): helps you build skills with distress other than harmful.
• Cognitive analytical therapy (CAT): helps you understand problems you have in relationships, and change patterns of helpful behaviour.
• Mentalisation-based therapy (MBT): help you make assumptions about what other people think or feel.
• Medication: there is no medication for BPD.

3.Psychosis

If you are experiencing psychosis, you might see or hear or believe things that others may not. You may believe your experiences are real.

• Psychosis is a medical term used to describe seeing, hearing or believing things that others do not.
• Common symptoms of psychosis are hearing voices and believing others are trying to harm you.
• There is no one single cause of psychosis, but genes and your environment can play a part.
• It can be a symptom of mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

Symptoms

• Hearing voices.
• Seeing things with other people do not see.
• Feeling someone touching you who is not there.
• Smelling things which other people cannot.

Delusions

• You are being followed by secret agents or members of the public.
• People are out to get you or trying to kill you.
• Something has been planted in your brain to monitor your thoughts.
• You have special powers, are on a special mission or in some cases that you are a God.

Cognitive Experiences

• Being unable to concentrate.
• Memory problems.
• Unable to take on information.
• Poor decision making.

Diagnosis

Anyone can develop psychosis, men and women are equally affected.

Causes of Psychosis

• Genetics
• Chemicals: Dopamine increase can cause hallucinations, delusions and disorganised thinking.
• Childhood Trauma
• Drugs
• Stress

Treatment 

Medication

• Olanzapine
• Repiridone
• Clazapine

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).