Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Essay Example

? CASE STUDY QUESTION DSM-IV-TR refers to ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fourth edition)’. It was prepared to grade, explain, and identify mental disorders. It has different versions and currently work is going on for the groundwork of DSM-5 which would be launched in May 2013 (First, 2010). By substance abuse we mean over-indulgence in a drug. Such of indulgence becomes an obstacle for concerned person’s physical and mental growth (Gillespie, Neale, Prescott, Aggen, and Kendler, 2007). The DSM-III-R included overlapping criteria for defining abuse and dependence. But in case of DSM-IV, the criterion sets were defined in such a way so that they don’t overlap. In case of Carol, she is suffering from the first criteria of substance abuse. The criteria say it arises in a failure to meet essential responsibilities in work, school, or home. In Carol’s performance at work and school highlights it. QUESTION 2 Cannabis, which is also known as marijuana, is prepared from the cannabis plant. Consumption of this drug as a means of “getaway drug” has its impact on intelligence and memory and there are mental disorders like schizophrenia. Prevalence In Australia, cannabis is most extensively used and accessible illegitimate drug. Evidences point to the fact that regular use of the by adults or adolescents develops a dependence for this drug. On the basis of the data from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) from 1993 to 2007 one can conclude that dependence on cannabis is prevalent among the age group between 20-29 years. There has been a rise in the rates of treatment for cannabis dependence (Roxburgh et.al, 2010). In a research work by Miller- Lewis and others based on the data by NDSHS on the Australian adolescents between the age group 14 to 19, it was found that the incidence of use of cannabis was higher. The research pointed out the fact that students were more prone towards its usage. (Wade, Dyer, & Miller-Lewis et. al, 2003) Causes The usage of cannabis is often associated with social, physical, and psychological problems. (Verweij et, al 2010). The failure of the law in its proper implementation can also be attributed for the increasing consumption of cannabis in Australia. Both legislative and punitive methods to control the use of cannabis, especially among the young people have failed. (Kinsely, 2005) Hospitalization rates and Burden of the disease As the intake of cannabis as become very much common, one might wonder the rate at which people are hospitalized for it. It has been found out that the trends in hospital separations related to drug induced psychosis in Australia for cannabis has reduced. The high intake of cannabis can lead to intoxication as a result of which there are accidents. Hospitalization rates have increased due to the accidents that have occurred due to the intake of the drug. An astonishing case of hospitalization has been in the case where a toddler was admitted because he had accidently consumed the cannabis of his parents. Moreover hospitalizations were more frequent within the group of indigenous people of Australia. Cannabis when taken on a regular basis and in huge amount in can lead to several problems and lead to different diseases including mental. Children who are addicted to it find themselves performing poorly in schools. In fact a positive correlation is seen between the use of cannabis and its detrimental effect in education. Cannabis increases the poor performance of the students and ultimately they leave school. Thus it creates a population of uneducated people with severe addiction to cannabis (Lynskey & Hall, 2000). There is lot of health effects that is associated with the consumption of cannabis. Consumption of cannabis leads to intoxication which affects behavioral skills. As a result there has been an increase in the number of accidents of those who intake cannabis. Further, continuous consumption of cannabis creates dependence on it which is very hard to leave. Cannabis smoking is “carcinogenic” so it leads to cancers in mouth, lung, tongue, and esophagus. Too much consumption of cannabis can lead to schizophrenia and other psychotic diseases. (Hall, 2009). The use of cannabis is associated lack of motivation to symptoms of anxiety and depression. There are even psychological responses like mild changes in mood. (Clough et, al 2005). QUESTION 3 The term psychodynamics implies a systematic study of human behavior backed by psychological forces. The concept was introduced by Freud in order to find out what goes inside the mind of a person and how he views the world. “Psychodynamics include emotional relationship, unconscious mental processes, psychological defenses”, etc. (Fine and Fine, 2011, p. 93). In our case study we came across Carol, a 25 year old woman addicted to alcohol and cannabis brought in the emergency ward. She was very uncooperative and insisted that she was absolutely fine. However after talking to her she was admitted as a Mentally Disordered under the NSW Mental Health Act 2007 for observation. While talking to her many aspects of her life came up that could be attributed to her present status. As a child she never shared a close relation with her parents. In fact continuous fight between her parents which at times use to end in punches, made her scared of them. Her poor performance in school made her quit it at the age of 15. To get rid of her horrifying past so resorted to intake of cannabis and also heavy drinking. When she was brought in the hospital she was mumbling about someone not loving her. Her break up with her boyfriend also affected her deeply. She never denied that at early an age she started consuming cannabis and alcohol. But her recent emotional turmoil plunged her into regular consumption of alcohol. She resorts to cannabis and drinking as she finds it a source of relaxation. However her continuous absence from job even resulted in her job loss. Thus to forget one aspect of her life she resorted to other things and ultimately reaching a dead end. As she is entangled in this vicious circle she just wants to die. Here one can say that Carol’s lack of financial as well as emotional security can be attributed as one of the main reasons for her present condition. BIBLIOGRAPHY Clough, A.R., d'Abbs, P., Cairney, S., Gray, D., Maruff, P., Parker, R. and O'Reilly, B. (2005). Adverse mental health effects of cannabis in two Indigenous communities in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory (Australia): an exploratory study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 39, (7), pp. 612-620. Fine, P and Fine, D.W. (2011), Psychodynamic Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Community Psychiatry. Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry, 39 (1), 93-110. First, M.B. (2010), Paradigm shifts and the Development of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Past Experiences and Future Aspirations. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 55 (11), 692-700. Gillespie, N.A., Neale, M.C., Prescott, S.H., Aggen, S.H. and Kendler, K.S. (2007), Factor and item-responsive analysis DSM-IV criteria for abuse of and dependence on cannabis, cocaine, hallucinogens, sedatives, stimulants, and opiads. Addiction, 102(6), 921. Hall, W.D. (2009), Challenges in reducing cannabis- related harm in Australia. Drug and Alcohol Review, 28 (2), 110. Kinsely, S. (2005), A tale of two jurisdictions. Can Australia and Canada learn from each other’s experience with cannabis control? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 39 (3), 154. Lynskey, M., and Hall, W. (2000), The effects of adolescent cannabis use on educational attainment: a review. Addiction, 95 (11), 1621-30. Miller-Lewis, L. Wade, T., and Dyer, K. (2003), The prevalence of cannabis use in an Australian Tertiary Student Population. Australian Psychologist, 38 (1), 73-77 Roxburgh, A., Hall, W., Degenhardt, L.,McLaren, J., Black, E., Copeland,J.and Mattick, R.P. (2010), The epidemiology of cannabis use and cannabis related harm in Australia in 1993-2007. Addiction, 105 (6), 1071-1072. Verweij, K., Zietsch, B., Lynskey, M., Lynskey, M.T., Medland, S.E., Neale, M.C., Martin, N.G., Boomsma, D.I., and Vink, J.M. (2010), Genetic and environmental influences as cannabis use initiation and problematic use:meta analysis of twin studies. Addiction, 105 (3), 417-30. Read More