Lecture 8

Question 1

Which of the symptoms below is typical of a person experiencing schizophrenia?

A) Psychopathy
B) Psychosis
C) Depression
D) Mood disturbances

Answer 1

B!

Question 2

Review the debates

Answer 2

There is no scientific consensus about many aspects of schizophrenia:
* Is schizophrenia a medical disease?
* Why do schizophrenia symptoms vary so widely among different individuals?
* Should this illness be understood as a broad category of related diseases (e.g.,
similar to cancer categorizations)?
* Should this illness be understood as a social construction to categorize what is considered by some to be strange and unusual behaviours?

Question 3

What are the 3 reasons Dr. Saks believes she was able to cope with her condition and live a successful life? video so just go over it

Answer 3

support system, supportive workplace, good treatment (psychotherapy 4-5 times a week for decades, medications)

Question 4

What are Dr. Saks’ recommendations for society to better manage schizophrenia? video

Answer 4

no restraints, get rid of stigma, more research and resources, stop criminalizing mental illness, better treatment w/out force

Question 5

What was Dr. Saks’ answer to the question about taking a “magic pill” that would cure her condition? video

Answer 5

in an instant, it is an awaking nightmare

• does not mean that she regrets the life she could have had if she didn’t have a mental illness

Question 6

What are the 5 primary values of the Hearing Voices Movement

Answer 6

1. Voice hearing is not restricted to “sick” or mentally ill individuals; certain life events can spark the hearing of voices by any individual
2. There is no “correct” way to explain the phenomenon; varied cultural and personal beliefs about voice hearing are all valid
3. Individuals who hear voices should be encouraged to take ownership of the experience, rather than let themselves be defined by expert explanations; in doing so, individuals may feel empowered to make send of their voices without medical interventions
4. Voices typically do not arbitrarily appear as a result of disease; instead, they are bound up with other aspects of the voice-hearers life and thus they can be explored through broader considerations of a person’s psychological, emotional, and spiritual experience
5. The Hearing Voices Movement challenges the dominant belief that voices must necessarily be suppressed or eliminated; instead, voices can be accepted as a real and significant aspect of a person’s existence

Question 7

When are delusions deemed bizarre?

Answer 7

• when they are clearly implausible and not understandable to same-culture peers and do not derive from ordinary life experiences

ex. belief that an outside force has removed his or her internal organs and replaced them with someone else’s organs without leaving any wound or scars

ex. of nonbizarre : belief that one is under surveillance by the police, despite a lack of convincing evidence

Question 8

in what context must hallucinations occur?

Answer 8

in the context of a clear sensorium; thsoe that occur while falling asleep (hypnagogic) or waking up (hypnopompic) are considered to be within the range of normal experience

Question 9

What is disorganized thinking (formal thought disorder)?

Answer 9

• typically inferred from the individual’s speech
• the individual may switch from one topic to another
• answers to questions may be obliquely related or completely unrelated
• rarely, speech may be so severely disorganized that it is nearly incomprehensible

Question 10

What is catatonic behaviour

Answer 10

• marked decrease in reactivity to the environment
• ranges from resistance to instructions; to maintaining a rigid, inappropriate or bizarre posture ; to a complete lack of verbal and motor responses

Question 11

What are 2 negative symptoms that are particularly prominent in schizophrenia

Answer 11

• diminished emotional expressio nand avolition

Question 12

What is the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia

Answer 12

A. two or more of the following: Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized or catatonic behaviour, negative symptoms

and theres B, C, D, E, F, but yeah idc

Question 13

What are some powerful and negative beliefs about schizophrenia, and how it impacts at the societal and individual level?

Answer 13

There are many powerful and negative beliefs about schizophrenia
* People with schizophrenia are characterized as damaged, different, deranged –
this is not fair or accurate

This stigma has impacts at the societal and individual level:
* Foster misunderstanding of schizophrenia, causes, and treatment
* Increases stress, and decreases the likelihood that a person will seek treatment and care
* Self-stigma prevents people from disclosing a diagnosis or seeking help
* May extend to care providers, and promote negative stereotypes and further stigmatize mental illness