Better Health and Higher Self Esteem - Essay Example

It describes certain behavioral characteristics that are symptoms of behavioral or mental disorders in children. From this diagnostic criteria, the following are examples of behavioral and mental disorders: Adjustment Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Selective Mutism, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depressive Disorder), Major Depressive Disorder, Autistic Disorder, and Schizophrenia.

Adjustment Disorders are relatively common and emerge when children are temporarily unable to appropriately adapt to stressful events in their lives. Anxiety Disorders have many types but the common factor is exaggerated anxiety, or when anxiety becomes intense and persistent, interfering with the child’s functioning. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is characterized by recurrent and persistent obsessions or compulsions that cause significant impairment or distress and are often time-consuming.

PTSD can develop after a child is exposed to a traumatic event and is usually characterized by intense fear, helplessness, nightmares, and difficulty falling asleep, among others. Selective Mutism occurs when a student persistently fails to speak in events or activities where speaking is expected. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is characterized by a severe and frequent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity unusual in the child’s developmental level. Oppositional Defiant Disorder is characterized by hostility, defiance, and disobedience towards authority figures.

Conduct Disorder is ODD of a more severe nature as it is often exhibited by aggression towards other people (not just of authority figures) and animals, destruction of property, and theft or deceit. The Aminergic system is the brain’s controlling system when a person is awake, while the Cholinergic system dominates when asleep. These systems serve to trigger the “on” and “off” mechanisms of the human body, or the altering states of sleep and wakefulness. Molecules that comprise the Aminergic system are called amines while those that make up the Cholinergic system are called cholines.

Amines are necessary for the recording of experience while cholines are necessary for the consolidation of memory.