Psychiatry and Psychology
Tourette syndrome (also called Tourette's disorder or simply, "Tourette's") is an abnormal neurological condition characterized by motor and vocal tics. Tics are involuntary, rapid, sudden repetitive movements or sounds. Tics can be classified in a variety of ways. Motor tics can affect any part of the body including the head, neck, face, arms, shoulders, hands, feet, or legs. Facial tics, especially eye blinking, are usually the first symptoms of TS. Vocal tics are sounds that are made involuntarily. Vocal tics can include clearing the throat, coughing, sniffing, grunting, yelping, or shouting. In a few cases, vocal tics can include strange, inappropriate, or obscene words and phrases (called coprolalia). Vocal tics can also appear as constantly repeating the words of others (echolalia).
Dealing with Anxiety and Panic Attacks
Panic attacks involve sudden feelings of terror that strike without warning. These episodes can occur at any time, even during sleep. People experiencing a panic attack may believe they are having a heart attack or they are dying or going crazy. The fear and terror that a person experiences during a panic attack are not in proportion to the true situation and may be unrelated to what is happening around them. Most people with panic attacks experience several of the following symptoms:
Symptoms of depression in women include: Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" mood. Loss of interest or pleasure in activities, including sex. Restlessness, irritability, or excessive crying. Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness, hopelessness, pessimism. Sleeping too much or too little, early-morning awakening.
Everyone feels sad or low sometimes, but these feelings usually pass with a little time. Depression—also called “clinical depression” or a “depressive disorder”—is a mood disorder that causes distressing symptoms that affect how you feel, think, and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working. To be diagnosed with depression, symptoms must be present most of the day, nearly every day for at least 2 weeks.
Conduct disorder (CD) is a mental disorder diagnosed in childhood or adolescence that presents itself through a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate norms are violated. These behaviors are often referred to as "antisocial behaviors."
Diagnosis of this condition is based on clinical symptoms alone, as there are no diagnostic laboratory tests. In order to meet the criteria for Tourette syndrome, both motor and vocal tics must be present before the age of 21 , and the tics must occur many times a day for at least 12 months which is the case in this patient. Tourette syndrome is associated with several comorbid conditions, with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) the most common. OCD is therefore the condition this child is most at risk of developing in the future.
This video illustrates several forms of catatonia including waxy flexibility, forced grasping, opposition, negativism and aversion.
Symptoms of serotonin syndrome include a classic triad of mental status changes (eg, anxiety, delirium, confusion, restlessness), autonomic dysregulation (eg, diaphoresis, tachycardia, hypertension, hyperthermia, diarrhea, mydriasis), and neuromuscular hyperactivity (eg, hyperreflexia, tremor, rigidity, myoclonus, ocular clonus). Serotonin syndrome is clinically diagnosed and laboratory tests are used to rule out other etiologies. It usually occurs due to inadvertent interactions between drugs, therapeutic use of multiple serotonergic agents, or serotonergic medication overdose. Treatment involves discontinuation of serotonergic drugs, supportive measures, and sedation with benzodiazepines. In severe cases, a serotonin antagonist (cyproheptadine) may be used.
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. There are four basic types of bipolar disorder; all of them involve clear changes in mood, energy, and activity levels.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a mental disorder of the neurodevelopmental type. It is characterized by problems paying attention, excessive activity, or difficulty controlling behavior which is not appropriate for a person's age.
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Recent evidence supports initial treatment with nonpharmacological interventions (behavior therapy) in preschool age children (3- 5). Parent-child behavioral therapy improves problem behaviors and parent-child relationships. It involves teaching parents to consistently implement effective behavioral techniques (eg, rewards and non-punitive consequences to shape behavior, calm limit setting, structured daily schedules, minimizing distractions). Behavioral interventions can also be used in patients who do not meet full ADHD criteria or in combination with medication for school-aged children and adolescents with ADHD. Medication in preschool children should be considered when behavioral therapy fails or the child's function is severely impaired (repeatedly expelled from day care or school, risks injuring others). The family's preferences and values should always be considered in treatment decisions.
Disordered Eater vs. Eating Disorder - What's the difference?
Bulimia (boo-LEE-me-uh) nervosa, commonly called bulimia, is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder. People with bulimia may secretly binge — eating large amounts of food — and then purge, trying to get rid of the extra calories in an unhealthy way. For example, someone with bulimia may force vomiting or engage in excessive exercise. Sometimes people purge after eating only a small snack or a normal-size meal.
Panic attacks are discrete periods of intense fear or discomfort. Symptoms may include palpitations, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, a choking sensation, chest pain, nausea, dizziness, paresthesias, and a fear of dying or losing control
An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from one of several standardized tests designed to assess human intelligence. IQ is a number meant to measure people cognitive abilities (intelligence) in relation to their age group. An I.Q between 90 and 110 is considered average; over 120, superior. Roughly 68% of the population has an IQ between 85 and 115. The average range between 70 and 130, and represents about 95% of the population.
What is your mental age?
What Your Handwriting Says About You
Why You’re Attracted To Certain People
The easy experimental answer to this question is 264 hours (about 11 days). In 1965, Randy Gardner, a 17-year-old high school student, set this apparent world-record for a science fair. Several other normal research subjects have remained awake for eight to 10 days in carefully monitored experiments. None of these individuals experienced serious medical, neurological, physiological or psychiatric problems. On the other hand, all of them showed progressive and significant deficits in concentration, motivation, perception and other higher mental processes as the duration of sleep deprivation increased. Nevertheless, all experimental subjects recovered to relative normality within one or two nights of recovery sleep. Other anecdotal reports describe soldiers staying awake for four days in battle, or unmedicated patients with mania going without sleep for three to four days.