Recently in Dysfunctional/Maladaptive Behavior Category

Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD's) are a group of disorders in which communication and socialization deficits are present (most commonly  Autism Spectrum Disorder).  Over the last few years I have worked with many children and young adults with PDD's and have seen countless acts of self-injury.  After reading and commenting on Sam's entry about the self-injuries exhibited in Manic I began to wonder why people with PDD's have similar behaviors.

http://www.autism.com/families/problems/selfinjury.htm

The most common self-injuries I have seen include hand biting, banging of the head, and scratching.  These can be pretty serious and often times need immediate medical attention.  The website above gives a general overview of the behavior and some possible causes.  Some include biochemical (neurotransmitters) imbalances that may be associated with the disorders.  Another possible reason, which I agree with the most, is for arousal.  So many people with autism are incredibly sensory oriented that they may need intense stimulation in order to be calmed down.  Extreme anxiety is often the cause for self-injury to occur in the people I have worked with, so it would be logical for extreme self-stimulation to settle these emotions. 

Similar to the teens in Manic who abuse themselves due to lack of control, people with PDD's may self abuse for the same reason.  When all control is lost, cutting or head banging may be the only way to regain power over something.  Do you agree or disagree?  Do you see the relationship between the two, or do you think they have completely different causes?  

Self-Cutting Behaviors in Adolescents
Self-Injury: Addiction? Parasuicide? A Call for Help?
Self-Injury: Myths and Misconceptions 1
Self-Injury: Myths and Misconceptions 2

While watching Manic, I couldn't help but wonder why a few of them had injured themselves. The one girl had an 'Anarchy' symbol on her thigh, and Lyle had burned himself. Self-Injurious behavior has increased over the last several decades and is probably seen as an American problem, but it has been around for a long time throughout cultures. Cases involving emergency visits occur at a rate of 225 per 100,000 people aged 7-24. While causality is unclear, my Abnormal Psychology textbook cites a recent study that found that of the adolescents that engage in self-injurious behavior, 50% have a depressive or anxiety disorder, 60% have a substance used disorder, 60% have a disruptive behavior disorder, and more than 50% have a personality disorder (most often borderline, avoidant, or paranoid personality disorder). Obviously, those numbers add up to more than 100%, so the comorbidity of mental disorders associated with this behavior makes intervention and treatment that much more difficult and complex.  

Self-injury is typically thought of as a suicide attempt, but that is not necessarily true. It can be used as a coping mechanism (albeit a short-lived and poor one) for dealing with emotional stress. Some people actually run into cutting by accident (like the girl in Manic) when they accidentally cut themselves shaving or something and instead of pain they feel relief. As described in the 'myths and misconceptions 2' link, this lack of pain experience might be explained by being in a dissociative state ( or zoned out). What causes the dissociative state is less clear. The relief (negative reinforcement) is actually the result of endorphins flooding the brain which is the result of the response to pain and can have actual euphoric-like effects (positive reinforcement). With the co-occurrence of both of these effects, it is easy to see why self-injurious behavior can become a powerful coping mechanism.

I've always been interested in learning what motivates people to do things that would be considered extreme to the general population of that culture.  Why do people kill other people?  There are many different motivating factors that could answer that question.  But what kind of motivators are present for someone to kill another person they don't know and have no personal problem with?

I read an interesting article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100310/ts_csm/286499  about a US-born woman that is described as having become gradually radicalized by Islamic contacts through the internet.  She is a middle-aged American woman that had contact with Muslim extremists and was given an order to kill a man in Sweden.  She was preparing to do so when police got wind of the conspiracy and arrested her.  She agreed to marry a co-conspirator so he could travel more easily and have better access to travel in Europe, which is also an example of extreme behavior that doesn't have a blatant motivator. 

All of her actions seem without obvious motivation.  Religion doesn't seem to be the strongest motivator in this case because none of her comments mention God, converting to Islam, or anything that could be tied with extreme religious belifs.  The little I know about the incident from the article seems to me that she could possibly be motivated by a need for affiliation.  What I infer from the article is that she is a single, middle-aged woman with plenty of time on her hands to spend perusing the internet making contacts with Islamic extremists.  She might feel interpersonal rejection from her peers in her own culture, which is a typical fear of people with high needs for affiliation, and because she was unable to gain approval with people in her culture, sought approval elsewhere and via the internet. 

This woman also seems to display long-term goal setting behaviors.  All of this communication with extremists, planning, and marrying a co-conspirator was done over a period of time in order to achieve the goal of killing the man in Sweden.  These behaviors done before the long-term goal was reached were mini, short-term goals that would have provided enough reinforcement to keep her going with the end result, long-term goal in mind.  Constant communication and smaller steps to take before her desired result provided motivation to continue toward the goal.  It also helped internalize her goal to become more intrinsically motivated.  The article said: "In June, 2008, LaRose posted a comment on YouTube under the moniker "JihadJane" saying that she was "desperate to do something somehow to help" suffering Muslims, according to the indictment." which indicates that she was somehow intrinsically motivated toward extremist thinking to the point of plotting and intending to murder someone.

All of this seems to make sense with what we've been learning in class, but I'm still left wondering how all of these motivators and reinforcers could be enough to make someone intend to murder another person and having adopted these extremist views at a later age in life.  I would be able to understand it more from a motivational standpoint if she had been immersed in this culture and extreme thinking her whole life, but she was born in the US and adopted these views from internet communications.  It doesn't seem like enough motivation to commit murder.  But, perhaps this disturbing phenomenon is why the beginning of the article says how even experts are baffled by this sort of extreme behavior.

Main Article:  

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Depression/feel-eat/story?id=4387456

 

          One reason I found this article very interesting is because I believe that each of us, including myself, do not often think about the effect that our diet has on our emotions and mood. The researchers in this study came to the conclusion that "Food really does have a lot of power." By properly maintaining a well-balanced diet we can significantly improve our mood. This article analyzes several different foods and provides the possible effects each one can have on a person's health.

 

     An important point here is that mood can affect your eating choices, and what you have eaten can subsequently affect your mood. In some ways, this can be a cyclical process. People who eat harmful foods may sometimes feel bad as a result of their nutritional effects and continue consuming the harmful food to (temporarily) get rid of the negative feelings. In psychological terms, there is negative reinforcement.

 

    This is a very important topic today, and I think each of us should take time to consider this study. As these researchers report, " the average consumer isn't eating a healthy enough diet, let alone a diet that will put them in a good mood." As of today, over a third of adults are obese - not just overweight, but obese. As they say in the article, "Though no studies show that mood disorders and increased obesity are directly related, many agree that there is some correlation."

      As I mentioned in my last article, the prevalence of fast food should be of great concern to us, and I say this for a few reasons. Fast food restaurants, such as McDonalds, often use addictive ingredients within their products that may taste very good and increase short-term feelings of happiness, but these artificial chemicals increase the motivation to eat more through grossly unnatural means. When I suggest that we may need to have higher standards on our food (fast food, grocery store products, etc.), I realize some of the criticisms that may arise. Some people would say that consumers could just make these foods in their own home, or people would just find ways around the standards. There are many European restaurants, however, that do have higher standards on fast food than we do. The food may not taste as good in the moment it is consumed, but it is much healthier for one's physical and mental health over the long term.

      There are a few psychological concepts at play here. To avoid the tastier, yet unhealthier foods a person must possess effective gratification delay strategies. Another important point here is that many people are not at a "natural" homeostasis level as determined by their DNA and genetic predisposition. I believe the problem here is largely cultural. Also, this is not just an obesity problem or mood problem - there are many factors at work here, and it may take a bit of critical thinking to get a grasp on what is actually going on. As these researchers reported, "(The) rising rates of depression and other mood disorders (parallel) the rise of obesity in the U.S... It is hard to establish cause and effect, but it's not by chance that stress has been going up and depression has been going up and obesity is going up." There is a very big difference between psychological disorders that require medication and mild mood impairments, but the effects of dietary behavior are a critical part of the equation. Some individuals with anxiety problems have shown significant improvement by simply eating a healthier diet. The effects of this problem are very widespread, long lasting, and have proven devastating to the lives of many people.  

      I would also like to focus on a few of the findings of this study as they relate to happiness in terms of neurotransmitters and overall mood. It mentions all of these foods in depth on the website, but I will try to summarize their information here. 

   Fast Food is known to be a "mood downer." These are the main points about them the article mentions...

 

- Unequivocally, fast foods are mood downers. While it may be cheap, fast, or just easy to reach for a donut, a bag of chips, or a hamburger, eventually, your mood will pay the price.

 

- The immediate effects of a high-fat or sugary snack can be misleading. Often, they give a quick burst of energy and may reduce tension. But these effects run in reverse rapidly. They shift to increase tension and reduce energy.

 

- Fast food and junk food are usually the most processed foods, where the nutrients are refined to the point where they are absorbed immediately or not at all, leaving no long-term sustenance for the body to feed off of. It is addictive to eat that sort of lipid-laden diet.

 

- Besides the poor nutrient content, fast food often contains many additives and preservatives that can affect mood negatively. Food colorings and preservatives, like benzoate, and added flavorings like monosodium glutamate (MSG), can cause anxiety, according to Scott.

 

-  Studies have shown that the omega-6 fatty acids often found in these foods, can compete with omega-3 fatty acids and an imbalance between the two can lead to obesity and depression. Since Americans often don't get enough omega-3s in their diets, consuming too many fast food items puts them at risk for mood problems.

 

   Luckily, we have a great variety of other choices, which include...

 

Salmon -  Salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help to improve one's mood, one's heart, and possibly even one's mind. Omega-3 fatty acids are used for building neurotransmitters like serotonin in the brain, and some studies have shown that eating plenty of these fats has depression-preventing qualities. Other foods with these acids include flaxseeds and walnuts.

In fact, countries where oily fish are a part of the diet, such as Japan, have lower rates of depression than other countries. These countries often have a healthier diet and lifestyle overall, but their omega-3 intake is higher as well.

 

Milk

- rich in calcium and the amino acid tryptophan

- bone-building properties

- calcium is known to calm nerves when feeling stressed or anxious

-  tryptophan is important for producing serotonin, which elevates mood.

 

Chocolate

- rich in a variety of mood-lifting ingredients (most concentrated in dark chocolate)

- dark chocolate is high in polyphenols, which are shown to improve cognitive function

- chocolate also contains phenylethylamines, a neurotransmitter that, in low levels, is associated with depression and in high levels can be associated with schizophrenia

- phenylethylamines work by releasing endorphins in the brain and promote feelings of attraction and giddiness.

- "Both sex and dark chocolate activate the same parts of the brain"

 

(additional foods are analyzed in the main article)

Do you get mad when your internet goes down or is slow and all you want is to check Facebook? Are you compelled to check/respond to text messages or e-mails even when you have more important things to do? In fact, my internet cut out on me while typing this post and I got a little angry myself. But is there such a thing as internet withdrawal as a result of internet addiction?
I ran upon this interesting article:
Issues for DSM-V: Internet Addiction

This is an editorial from the journal Psychiatry that discussed internet addiction and whether it should be recognized as a common disorder. This disorder includes three different categories of  internet use: Gaming, sexual preoccupations, and e-mail/text messages. These all include 4 components:
"1) excessive use, often associated with a loss of sense of time or a neglect of basic drives, 2) withdrawal, including feelings of anger, tension, and/or depression when the computer is inaccessible, 3) tolerance, including the need for better computer equipment, more software, or more hours of use, and 4) negative repercussions, including arguments, lying, poor achievement, social isolation, and fatigue"

Other countries like South Korea believe internet addiction is a serious public health problem, but in America the problem is more private. It could also be considered an economic problem due to decreased productivity.
With such reliance on the internet these days, the lines could be blurry as to what constitutes addiction and restricts functioning versus what is actually required to function.

I'm curious who has heard of these Pro Anorexia (Pro Ana) communities for anorexic and bulimics. In the past, I had heard of these types of communities and even viewed one of the Pro Ana sites. I had forgotten about such sites until looking for an article to blog about this week. I was trying to find more information on motivation in relation to anorexia and ignoring the physiological need for food as discussed in, I believe, chapter 1 or 2 of the textbook, and I came across this article. It is a run down of what a Pro Ana community is and it's purpose. They are controversial sites that actually exist to motivate people to NOT eat and "stay in control." It is bizarre and tragic to me that there are sites that directly promote and encourage eating disorders. While I was reading the article I thought about how "motivation" is a word that usually has a positive connotation (e.g. motivated to work out, succeed in school, be successful in the workplace, etc.) but in this case, people are being motivated to do something very detrimental to their health and bodies.

The wording in this article was disturbing to me. An example would be people who "strive to develop an eating disorder." It also goes on to explain that skinny anorexics have the "upper-hand" in the community because bulimics or those still "striving" to develop anorexia do not exude the same willpower to resist food and "idolize" the anorexics.

One of the most troubling things about this article is the pledge from a community, Thinnest of Them All, which I have pasted below.

"I believe in Control, the only force mighty enough to bring order to the chaos that is my world.
I believe that I am the most vile, worthless and useless person ever to have existed on this planet, and that I am totally unworthy of anyone's time and attention.
I believe that other people who tell me differently must be idiots. If they could see how I really am, then they would hate me almost as much as I do.
I believe in oughts, musts and shoulds as unbreakable laws to determine my daily behavior.
I believe in perfection and strive to attain it.
I believe in salvation through trying just a bit harder than I did yesterday.
I believe in calorie counters as the inspired word of god, and memorize them accordingly.
I believe in bathroom scales as an indicator of my daily successes and failures
I believe in hell, because I sometimes think that I'm living in it.
I believe in a wholly black and white world, the losing of weight, recrimination for sins, the abnegation of the body and a life ever fasting."

Your thoughts on this behavior or these communities? I couldn't find the Thinnest of Them All community, but feel free to share any Pro Ana communities you know of or come across.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1257083/pro_ana_community_underground_community.html?cat=5

*This blog is not in support of these communities or eating disorders. If you or a loved one has an eating disorder please seek help.

There have been a lot of different speculations as to why Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris committed the crimes at Columbine High School.  However, this is one of the first articles I have found outlining psychological reasoning behind their actions.  I actually wrote my book report on the motivation behind Columbine, however I did not focus on the boy's psychological problems.  I did find this very interesting, but I think it's important to remember that this is only one opinion and not necessarily fact.