The Psychology Thread

"Both sides of this “War on Guns” use the same disturbing language - it’s not about treatment for the mentally ill, it’s about keeping those “undesirable elements” from “negatively impacting” the rest of society. It’s about keeping people isolated, which is exactly what fuels the fire behind public mass shootings. This is why they keep happening - because our proposed solutions, and the rhetoric behind them, are as much or more poison as they are cure."

Well, it happened. The person I was talking to with the son who has ODD said that her son is being placed in a residential facility, after the police had been called on him for his behavior. It's really sad.

She says that the facility will gave him 24 hour guidance, a psychiatrist who can help with his meds, and help him to understand his choices and how they affect him.

edited 31st Aug '15 6:25:57 AM by BonsaiForest

Good.

Well, I ask this: What can be done for people with ODD? How much can they be helped?

Depends.

Depends what else they have with it, if it is genetically induced or trauma based, if his mom does exactly what the team says or not, it's case specific.

There's no medication for it, despite the fact that it's probably neurological in origin. Talk therapy is all we have right now. Do you happen to know which facility he's in?

Best to send that by PM, folks.

Good point.

They may put him on anti-anxiety meds just to help him calm down and be more receptive to therapy. They'll also be evaluating his diet and allergies to see if there is any biological contribution to his situation if they're doing their job right.

This will be more than just talking therapy. He will have classes to keep up his education, occupational therapy, physical therapy, kid will have a whole team of people catering his environment to helping him feel healthier and make his therapy the most safe and productive for him.

Best way to dig into the statistically likely allergies and food intolerances? Somewhere where you can monitor intake without worrying about covert trips to e.g. the cornershop...

And, yes: autoimmune complications are something to take into account, unfortunately. :/

That was one thing I was very proud of where I worked. They immediately put the kid on a bland diet as soon as they came in and would get full bloodwork and dietary needs evaluation on top of testing for depression, dyslexia, whatever. Even just changing how many meals they had in the day like a smaller six meal breakdown instead of the traditional three with same caloric needs can do so much in making therapy easier and more efficient for the client.

It's a little daunting and even measuring bowel movements sucks. But you figure out what baseline is and you know where to go from there. You don't play around with figuring out health issues.

Isn't it amazing what shifting basic things like meals can do? Not everybody works well on the cultural "three with occasional snacks" thing most places have adopted.

Some biologies and psychologies work best with one blowout a day... others fare better with small-and-often. And, there's only one way to find out which you are. *shrugs*

It's amazing.

One of my boys always acted a fool before classes. So all I did was ask that his PT be his first class of the day. He did brilliant after that because he actually could not only have enough time for his medication to kick in before he was trying to learn, but he started his day running and climbing, so that instantaneous burst of energy felt productive and a source of confidence, not a source of punishment.

All bodies shall now acclimate to mandatory average regulation. Beatings will continue until morale improves.

Makes sense. Others, of course, would get a different response: the "need naptime/ art" response to food... Leading to restlessness about an hour or two afterwards as their bodies kick into "use the energy now" mode. No amount of wanting or wishing can help them concentrate at that point. :/

edited 31st Aug '15 9:33:06 AM by Euodiachloris

so, question.

should I go find a doctor to actually diagnosis me for whatever I have?

because I've been racking my head with just what exactly is wrong with me for years, and I feel just saying I have anxiety doesn't really cut it. Like, I know I have social anxiety, but I feel that isn't all that's wrong with me. sometimes I wonder if I have some variant of autism, or maybe a dependency disorder, or something!

I'm paranoid constantly that my friends will just up and leave me^note which has happened, codifying whatever abandonment issues I have, I feel unfulfilled in my relationships despite knowing I do have friends, and I have an unhealthy, and not entirely consciously driven, obsession with wanting a romantic relationship, as I feel I can get the fulfillment (sense of being wanted & affection) I feel I psychologically need.

my sense of self worth is crap, and I get jealous of others easily, which I just turn inward to hate myself more. I can get very clingy with the friends I have, which I have to hold back out of fear, but then I feel dishonest & hate myself more. I can't really relax around people, even my best friend to some extent I'm nervous around.

when I'm alone (and not excepting to deal with tons of people in the near future) most of my problems go away & I feel more stable, but that sense of unfulfillment lingers no matter what.

would even getting a diagnosis help at all? as I feel I've tried nearly everything within my power to try, and none of it seems to have worked.

Short answer: If you can afford it, have the time, and want to, it is a good idea.

Long answer: Psychologists are not just for diagnosis, yanno. It is not like going to the doctor and saying "YOU HAVE BUTT DISEASE. GOOD LUCK. BYE." Besides the tools for diagnosis, psychologists also offer tools to help you with your problem. Diagnosis is but one part. A very interesting, difficult, and charming part, but just part of it.

Understand that just noticing the issues is also but a part of it. Dedication, interest and rapport (Which basically means: getting along well with your psychologist) are all good things to have in order to get somewhere.

While this website may not be very good at FINDING HORNY SINGLES IN YOUR AREA I am pretty certain that there are plenty of psychologists or people knowledgeable about your country's healthcare system options to reccomend you something or someone. All ya gotta do is but to ask.

Is there a term in psychology or psychiatry for when a person has a pathological tendency to violent outbursts, without any specific connection to such conditions as PTSD?

Many disorders could be prone to violent outbursts. Drug addiction ones, bipolar ones, spciopathy/psycopathy ones, defiant disorder, certain extreme cases of schizophrenia...

Also, you don't have to have a disorder to be suffering from stress... *shrugs*

I would also recommend being very careful about attributing violence to PTSD.

While it is true any disorder will carry the chance of violence with it in some form, mostly, PTSD doesn't make you violent to others. You're more likely to be adverse to violence with most expressions of PTSD, and even then, you're still more likely to harm yourself over others.

It's not impossible, I just don't want people thinking PTSD turns people into volcanic monsters just ready to erupt when a closer depiction is someone curled in a ball on the floor crying uncontrollably.

Hunger Games, at least the books, is on of the better modern depictions of PTSD I have seen in fiction. I'm not surprized that Suzanne Collins spent time with actual diagnosed patients of various backgrounds in order to make her depiction real.

I'm trying to work out if that makes the Hunger Games a good or bad reading recommendation for someone with PTSD.

Depends on why and what kind of PTSD they have.

It's not like asking a vet to watch Saving Private Ryan.

@ aszur - I know that that is only a part of psychology. I'm currently seeing a therapist (next visit is tommorrow!) and a psychiatrist for my anxiety meds. I ask about the diagnosis because that is one of the areas of Psych I haven't really looked into. and I want to look into my issues at as many ways as possible to try & deal with it better, because currently it is causing me too much anguish, screwing with my ability to focus, and generally making me unhappy.

@Euo - my stress resulting in nervous breakdowns on a roughly weekly basis, and a lot of my behavioral patterns growing up were marked as 'weird'. my parents thought I was possibly autistic for awhile. never got tested, but still. I know clearly from my own life experience that I'm some form of Neuro-divergent, but I don't know what exactly.

If you're already seeing professionals for the issues you're having then they are probably the best people to speak to about if looking into getting any kind of diagnosis would be beneficial.