Clinical Aspects of Eating Disorders
The eating disorders have been a common occurrence in the current society. These are the various psychological disorders that will usually be presented by an individual’s poor eating habits. The most common eating disorder is the anorexia nervosa where an individual has an obsessive desire to lose weight and hence they lose appetite or refuse to eat. There are numerous clinical aspects that are used to identify eating disorders. Individuals suffering from anorexia nervosa will usually present an obsessive fear of gaining weight and will control their weight through starvation, vomiting, purging and extreme exercise (Capasso, Petrella & Milano, 2009). Bulimia nervosa will usually present a case of binge eating while after which an individual will feel guilty, self-condemn and depressed. The alternative behavior adopted may include purging like the use of laxatives, fasting, vomiting and over-exercising. There are also eating disorders not otherwise specified which do not meet the DSM-IV-TR category of specific disorders. In this case, the disorder may undertake numerous characteristics of the above mentioned.
Risk and Causal Factors and Treatment
There are numerous risks and causal factors involved with the above mentioned eating disorders. Striegel-Morore and Bulik (2007) identifies that eating disorders serve as the 10 causes of disability among women. Anorexia nervosa in particular serves as the highest killing mental disorder. The risks factors associated with eating disorders may be psychological, biological, social and external factors. The psychological factors may include low self esteem, feeling of inadequacy and depression or anxiety. Social factors which will usually affect individuals in the modern society include cultural values associated with thinness and petit bodies (Capasso, Petrella & Milano, 2009). These disorders can be treated by the use of cognitive behavioral theories and has been mainly used for majority of eating disorders. This will primarily use the cognitive restructuring that is mostly absent from the suffering individuals. The use of these CBT therapy will enable clients to change their mindset and adjust their behaviors to displace “eating disorder mindset”.
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Symptoms and Prevalence of Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia has been an issue in the modern society presented by an individual’s inability to understand reality and abnormal social behavior. The individuals will usually present symptoms such as confused thinking, delusions, lack of motivation, hallucinations, negative symptoms and abnormal motor behavior (Strauss et al., 2013). According to reports in 2013, nearly 23.6 million individuals have experienced the illness. However, it is noted that the males are affected more than the females. This is where 0.3%-0.7% will usually suffer from schizophrenia. The occurrence of schizophrenia may take place from teenage years to the mid 20s. The earl signs of the disorder may include withdrawal from social groups including friends and family, poor sleeping patterns, poor motivation, irritable moods and dropping performance in school or work (Strauss et al., 2013). However, teenagers are less likely than the adults to present cases of delusions or hallucinations which are more visual. The occurrence of schizophrenia may be difficult to identify as many individuals lack the awareness of the illness.
Treatment, Risk or Causal Factors of Schizophrenia
The main risk factors associated with schizophrenia are usually associated with the environment and the genetic construction of the individual. In the case of the environment, the living area, drug abuse and developmental issues may affect the individual. The latter will usually be characterized by issues such as hypoxia and infection that may affect the development of a fetus (Strauss et al., 2013). However, though an individual may be at risk due to the possessed genes, there is no one gene that causes the disorder. The brain is the affected part of the individual. Studies have indicated that the affected individuals have different structures of their brains. The frontal lobes, hippocampus and temporal lobes will usually be the affected areas of the brain. Nearly 20% of the people affected by the disease will usually recover from the disease (Strauss et al., 2013). However, the cases where the disease may be lifelong it is noted that antipsychotic medications can be take to manage the disorder throughout their lifetime.
References
Capasso, A., Petrella, C. & Milano, W. (2009) “Recent Clinical Aspects of Eating Disorders”, Reviews on Recent Clinical Trials , 4: 63-69.
Strauss, G. P., Horan, W. P., Kirkpatrick, B., Fischer, B. A., Keller, W. R., Miski, P., Buchanan, R. W., Green, M. F. & Carpenter, W. T. (2013) “Deconstructing Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia: Avolition Apathy and Diminished Expression Clusters Predict Clinical Presentation and Functional Outcome”, Journal of Psychiatry Res. , 47(6): 783–790.
Striegel-Morore, R. H. & Bulik, C. M. (2007) “Risk Factors for Eating Disorders.” American Psychological Association , 62, 3:181-198.
