Preview

Altered States of Conciousness

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
548 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Altered States of Conciousness
Describe how altered states of consciousness related to sleep, psychoactive drugs, or meditation and hypnosis affect individuals with the disorder

Individuals that suffer from bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive disorder, display periods of positive high activity then drop to periods of emotional depression as well as lack of interest no matter what kind of task they are trying to accomplish or activity they are participating in. These episodes expand for a period of weeks, however there is evidence that these episodes have lasted for months. Consequently, mood swings that are short-term are not considered a symptom of bipolar disorder. In essence, these short-term symptoms are viewed as a reflection of the abuse of legal/illegal drugs and alcohol. While manic episodes start suddenly lastly a minimum of two weeks but no longer than five months, depressive episodes have a tendency to last for a minimum of six months but no more than a year. The exception to this rule is in elderly people. Some of the behaviors associated with this disorder are mood instability, anxiety, drug abuse, depression, and chronic social and occupational difficulties. In extreme cases, where the disorder is not being properly treated, psychotic tendencies, such as schizophrenia, are present.
In addition, there are disorders that co-exist with bipolar disorder such as anorexia, bulimia, impulse control and Tourette’s syndrome. However, more common than not migraines, thyroid problems, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are present in people suffering from bipolar disorder. These behaviors are very contrasting compared to that of an average person. The behaviors become very agonizing as well as intercede with their ability to function in society on a daily basis.

Conscious levels of awareness which includes but is not limited to where the mental process becomes shallow and uncritical, self-perception, perceptions of the environment, self-control and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Psy 270

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Bipolar disorder is also called manic depression, and it appears to be caused by electrochemical abnormalities in the brain. TV shows like to show people with bipolar disorder as criminals, but don 't worry , only a small percentage are ever violent. "Mania" and "manic" don 't mean "crazy". They refer to extra high emotions, full of energy, fast talking, not needing much sleep. It is not easy to recognize the symptoms of bipolar disorder. All of us have moods of ups and downs, but the moods of a person suffering from bipolar disorder are much more severe. These mood swings can be a hindrance in daily activities and can destroy relationships. Especially when a person is not in tune with the changes they are experiencing.…

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Bipolar 1 disorder, also referred to as manic depression is a mental illness where patients affected experience the manic episode at least once in their lives. A manic episode can be defined as abnormal behavior accompanied by high energy and abnormally an elevated mood that disrupts life for a given period. Additionally, people affected by bipolar 1 disorder can experience depressive episodes. Mostly, there is a pattern cycle which alternates between depressive and manic episodes; in between these episodes, an individual can live a normal life. Anyone can develop bipolar 1 disorder where the majority of patients are said to develop the disease before 50 years. However, people who have an immediate family with bipolar…

    • 1377 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bipolar disorder involves changes in cognition, behavior, and mood. The episodes of bipolar disorder cycle through mania and depression. Mania is described as an elevated, irritable, or expansive mood, whereas depression is the opposite or hypomania. In the manic phase people present as euphoric, enthusiastic, and optimistic with an infectious personality. The euphoric state may suddenly may be replaced by extreme irritability if the persons needs are not met. In a manic phase the person’s speech may be rapid, loud, intrusive, and hard to follow or interrupt. If someone tries to interrupt a manic person he or she can just as quickly become, threatening, irritable or assaultive (Ebert, Loosen, Nurcombe & Leckman, 2008).…

    • 1763 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    According to the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorder, 4th edition Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR), bipolar is a recurrent mood disorder featuring one or more episodes of mania or mixed episodes of mania and depression (Antai-Otong, 2008). The bipolar disorders include, bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, cyclothymic, and bipolar NOS disorders. Bipolar I disorder includes one or more manic or mixed episodes, usually with a major depressive episode. Bipolar II disorder includes one or two major depressive episodes and at least one hypomanic episode. Cyclothymic disorder includes at least 2 years of hypomanic periods that do not meet the criteria for the other disorders. Bipolar NOS, does not meet any of the other bipolar criteria.…

    • 1603 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Psy 270 Depression Paper

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages

    For the diagnosis of bipolar disorder to be made, the patient must display episodes of both depression and mania. Usually these episodes occur in a cyclical nature. I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and, for me, my episodes cycle roughly every three or four months.…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Consciousness: awareness of the outside world and one’s own mental processes, thoughts, feelings, and perceptions…

    • 1112 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hca/240 Week 8

    • 1409 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Bipolar disorders which could also be called manic-depressive disorder consist of mood swings that range from a person expressing a low of depression up to the high of mania. People who experience depression may feel sad or worthless and may even lose interest or enjoyment in most recreational activities they previously found to be enjoying. When a person’s mood swings shifts frequently such as appearing happy to appearing sad in a blink of an eye it could be a sign of them having a bipolar disorder. “Bipolar disorders affect approximately 5.7 million American adults, or about 2.6 percent of the United States population age 18 and older in a year”, (Lenzenweger &, etc., 2007). The moderate age for detecting bipolar disorders is 25, (Lane &, etc., 2007).…

    • 1409 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Depression, mania, and bipolar disorder are classified as mood disorders. To just be upset about something and react irregularly than normal would not classify someone as having a mood disorder. However, people who have been clinically diagnosed as having a mood disorder suffer from severe mood swings hindering them from completing activities that would be done on a normal daily basis. Sufferers have thoughts of feeling hopelessness and negative thoughts, up to suffering physical symptoms such as fatigue. Mania and bipolar disorder sufferers also have some of the same symptoms as depression but alternate between really “high” and “low” moods and extreme mood swings. More specific symptoms would be loss of appetite, changes in sleep patterns, difficulty in concentrating or making decisions, and disturbed thinking. These thoughts have been known to cause suicide in some cases. Some patients who have mania or bipolar could become hostile when not handled appropriately. Many try and successfully complete suicide because they can not handle the overwhelming feelings they are experiencing. If the first attempt at suicide is not successful the person will more than likely attempt again and make sure they are successful this time.…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bipolar Disorder Paper

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Bipolar Disorder is a disease that is caused by a chemical imbalance in your brain. The number one effect of bipolar disorder is commonly recognized as mood swings. People with bipolar disorder experience unusually intense emotional states that occur in distinct periods called "mood episodes (Bridges to Recovery, 2011) for a person to go from extremely hyper to being depressed are signs of bipolar disorder. There are many different stages of Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar I Disorder is mainly defined by manic or mixed episodes that last at least seven days, or by manic symptoms that are so severe that the person needs immediate hospital care. Bipolar II Disorder is defined by a pattern of depressive episodes shifting back and forth with hypo manic episodes, but no full-blown manic or mixed episodes. Some people may be diagnosed with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder. (Features, 2005) This is when a person has four or more episodes of major depression, mania, hypomania, or mixed symptoms within a year. Though rapid-cycling is found more in women than in men.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    States of Consciousness

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The first and most common type is sleep. This altered state is controlled by the circadian rhythm, which is part of the human body’s biological rhythm. There are two theories of why humans sleep the adaptive theory that states that sleep patterns are evolved to avoid predators. The restorative theory states that sleep is necessary for the body to stay healthy. There are two types of sleep that a person will experience, Rapid Eye Movement (R.E.M.) where dreaming takes place and Non-R.E.M. which is more restful for the mind and body. A behavior that is associated with this altered state is sleep deprivation, which can result in serious health issues and affect mental performance (Pearson Learning Solutions, 2013). The second type, which is tied to sleep, is dreams. This altered state takes place during the R.E.M. type of sleep. A person can be in this altered state four to five times a night. A behavior that can be linked to this state is night terrors or nightmares that causes a person to awake suddenly and very afraid (Pearson Learning Solutions, 2013). The third type of altered state is hypnosis, where a person is susceptible to suggestion. As with sleep there is also two theories that try to explains this altered consciousness, first is disassociation, where the immediate consciousness of the mind is effect and the sub-consciousness is alert and aware. The second is social cognitive where the person is fully aware and is role-playing. An example of the use of hypnosis is pain relief, which the person’s…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Bipolar

    • 1086 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Bipolar disorder can also be known as manic depression. It is a lifelong condition which mostly affects the way patients feel or how they act. It is also one of the oldest known illnesses and can be a cause of serious shifts in mood, energy, racing thoughts, and bad behavior in its lows of depression. There are four different types of bipolar disorder, including the bipolar type I, bipolar type II disorder, Bipolar Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (BP-NOS) and Cyclothymic Disorder. Type I bipolar is associated with a period in which an individual has episodes of severe moods particularly caused by manic depression. Bipolar type II is characteristic of elevation of an individual’s mood; however, this form of bipolar is milder. This bipolar also shows mild episodes of hypomania; however, there are alterations between hypomania episodes and severe depression periods. Cyclothymic bipolar is the third type of bipolar that has alterations between the depression periods and hypomania. These alterations do not last for long as it occurs in full depressive cases. The last type of bipolar is BP-NOS. This disorder has simultaneous periods of episodes with both manic and depressive symptoms. An individual with this condition may have racing thoughts, and sometimes their feelings are grandiose. The individual with the condition may sometimes be moody and angry.…

    • 1086 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bipolar

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages

    People with bipolar disorder experience intense emotional behaviors that occur in different times which are called "mood episodes." A behavior which is carried out by being overly active mentally and physically and showing signs of hyper activity is called a manic episode, and someone that shows the behavior of a down and said to be depressed individual is known as having a depressive episode. Those individual who do suffer from bipolar disorder may tend…

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Outline of Consciousness

    • 1277 Words
    • 6 Pages

    William Wundt (late 1880 's) had subjects report contents of consciousness while working, falling asleep, and sitting still.…

    • 1277 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One way of being in an altered state of consciousness is sleep. You are not aware of what is going on around you. You have dreams and are unable to move something. Another way that people can be in altered state of consciousness is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Some drugs make you feel very relaxed, violent, or unaware of your actions. Others stimulate your body. Meditation, biofeedback and hypnosis are also ways to be in altered states of consciousness. In hypnosis, they respond to suggestions without realizing it. In biofeedback, they become aware of their inner body. Meditation is used to relax the bodies and gain…

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    States of Consciousness

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages

    ▪ Collective term for an individual’s perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and memories that are active at a given moment.…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics