Psyc Notes

Bipolar

• mostly caused by genes - there is a bipolar and skitzophrenia overlap in genetics a lot

symptoms

• mania: hi self esteem/grandiosity...mania/hysteria... 
• hypomania=at least 4 days
• psychotic symptoms 
• rapid cycling - cycle through 4X year

40% chance of attempted suicide - highest of all psych disorders

Diagnosis

• bipolar I: may have mania, but not depression
• bipolar II:more likely to have hypomania and serious depression 
• cyclothymic:

gender and cultural 

M =F 

Asians< all

creativity - yes

not creativity in skitzophrenia

80% of creative writers have had at least one depressive episode

his brother (Terry) when in mania has very stream of conciousness convos w/ him.. can't stop him and cant tell him he's changed meds - he wont listen

his friend is an interior decorator. and bipolar.  when she is manic she is AWESOMe at her job. she disregards rules of design and makes awesomness. also produces more in manic stage

Bipolar

causes

psych 

• bullshit. it used to be thought that it was a manic flight from depression (more in book)
  
• and that stress+general emotions/arousal caused

physiological

• genetics - highest - 80% related (studies w/ twins)
• 20% is prob related to prenatal complications (ma's in libro)
• stimulation/concussion or something of frontal lobe
• brain structure
• instability of brain activity : in frontal lobes (FL), prob structural, FL doesn't control other parts of brain as well as it should. neurotransmitter levels are off. 

1. treatments: mood stabilizers (drugs to stabilize moods and thoughts)+antidepressants
2. MS bring down mood from manic
3. anti's bring back up 
4. crazy to balance these - very difficult
5. also use antiphychotics

John Cade - in book - looked at his pee to see what caused bipolar. but then tried to seperate out parts and put them in guinea pigs and then see which ones caused the guineas to die/have symptoms -- in seperating using lithium - he found a treatment - 

lots of side effects for lithium - but very effeci

tve

• a strong emotional event can cause mania : positive or negative

talked about psychoeducation  and Cog behavioral crap - 

• focus on continuing meds 
•  on medical not crazy 
•  on calming the environment: dont cause manias:
  
• comparison: we realized we have to make accomadations for those in wheelchairs , why not for those w/ psych disorders?  -

also this day he started with a comment on the jayplay article about controlling your dreams - they dont rep unconsciousness  behavior -- this is bullshit  

dreams are the random stimulation of memories to keep the brain functioning whilst you sleep.  when a cell assembly is stimulated - boom! you have that memory. more recent mems are more likely to fire if stimulated.  they make no sense - but you make a story of it. 

programming dreams - if you think about a memory or thing - you prime it and since you just thought about it - it is more likely to come up if that area of the brain is randomly stimulated.  

no magic.