PTSD and the Use of the Drug Oxytocin for Treatment, Free Essay on Mental Disorder

PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) is a mental disorder that people develop after having an encounter or experiencing an event that was life-threatening to them for instance, a natural disaster or even a car accident. Mostly for an individual suffering from PTSD the symptoms may start later on or may go for a long period of time. Symptoms for PTSD usually begin after one has been involved in a traumatic event. The common signs and symptoms of PTSD include; re-experiencing signs and symptoms, an individual may be striving to forget the encounter, experiencing negative beliefs and feelings and hyper arousal. Most individuals who are affected with PTSD are regularly concerned with mental health disorders like anxiety, depression or products use disorders Hannawi, Lindquist, Caffo, Sair and Stevens, (2015). These symptoms usually develop gradually for a few months and years which may cause distress.

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Both environmental and genetic factors usually cause PTSD distress, the disorder usually develop when a subset individual is exposed in a traumatic event which is considered to be a distress. For the genetic factors, they include various common and infrequent genetic variants (Hannawi et al, 2015). The diagnosis of the disorder is usually based on the observable behavioral characteristics, the patient's experiences and the reports gained from patients suffering from the same disorder who are from the same family, hence the disorder is considered to be hereditary. When carrying out a diagnosis of PTSD, the health practitioner is supposed to put into consideration the person's culture and lineage (Hannawi et al, 2015). Genetic factors are considered to be of great risk exposure to some trauma events, perhaps to some extent some personal differences are of influence to the environmental choices.

Both counseling and use of oxytocin medication are considered to be the mainstay of treatment of the disorder also putting into consideration job training and rehabilitation. If no improvement is achieved by use of these methods the health practitioners are advised to use the oxytocin (Hannawi et al, 2015). The antidepressants help an individual to manage the feelings associated with trauma. Individuals with this disorder tend to recover quickly if they get help and support from family members and friends. Social problems such as breakups, deaths and natural disasters are the main results of PTSD as most people suffering from this disorder are connected or associated with a loss of a loved one. This is the same reason as to why physical challenges are experienced, and most infected people tend to commit suicides (Hannawi et al, 2015).

People who have PTSD regularly experience hallucinations where they hear some voices, delusions and their speech are usually disorganized. The final side effect is said to be a loss of mind or thought, where their sentences are not well connected, and one can barely understand their speech (Hannawi et al, 2015). Further, they experience some strong feelings which are associated with grief, fear and sadness. Distortions of self-experience where the patient feels that another person's thoughts and feelings are not real and that they are inserted into a person's mind. Impairment in the social cognition is usually not associated with the disorder, and also most people tend to isolate these kinds of people. Patients of this kind tend to experience some difficulties while working (Hannawi et al, 2015). Hence, they remain jobless, loss of memory, lack of giving attention to crucial things, executive functioning and lack of speed when processing information. Individuals who have PTSD regularly find facial emotion perception being challenging to cope up with and normally keep quiet for a few minutes while talking to another person because of using alcohol and other drugs.

Most individuals who are affected by PTSD do not accept their illness or take the recommended treatment which has an enormous impact on the insight. Furthermore, people suffering from this disorder usually suffer from a high rate of irritable bowel disorder which they rarely talk or mention it (Hannawi et al, 2015). Psychogenic polydipsia or the intake of excess fluid with lack of psychological reasons for taking the drink is a common habit with individuals who are affected by PTSD.

The heritability of PTSD is estimated to be around 80% which infers that different genetics usually determines the risks of PTSD in an individual from the same family. There is such a variation as it is difficult to separate both the genetic and environmental impacts. One of the family risks experienced when one is diagnosed with the disorder is that 40% of the monozygotic twins in the family will suffer from the same disorder and if one of the parents is suffering from the disease it can transmit genetically to both twins Harris and White, (2018). The most common genes known identified for the transmission of PTSD are said to be of small effect, unknown transmission, and expression. There is the involvement of genetic relations between the common variants which are said to be the major causes of PTSD and another disorder referred to as bipolar disorder; this disorder refers to a genetic correlation between intelligence and immune disorders which are none genetic (Harris et al, 2018).

Most scientists who study on how different the brains of people with mental illness differ from each other are mostly interested in the structure of the brain and its function. The structure of the brain can be studied by having a comparison between the brain anatomy in patients affected by PTSD and the brain anatomy of the individual without PTSD (Harris et al, 2018). A good example to put into consideration is the ventricle size of the brain when studying the structure of the brain whereas the frontal lobe activity can be used when researching the functional anatomical differences (Harris et al, 2018).

Another field in which the researchers are said to have great interest on is the communication of the brain; this is carried out using substances known as neurotransmitters which are used to revealing more information on how the brains of people who have PTSD differ from those of individuals without the disorder (Harris et al, 2018). The study on neurotransmitters can be used in revealing both the structural and functional differences used in making up PTSD brain. Neurotransmitters act as messengers of the brain where information and data are carried from one brain cell to another (Harris et al, 2018).

There are some brain cells which are known as neurons, they are usually responsible for the different kinds of neurotransmitters and are also made up of receptors which are built purposely for the neurotransmitters. For those neutrons which are sensitive to different neurotransmitters are said to come together hence creating circuits in the brain structure which are used for processing the different type of information getting in the brain (Harris et al, 2018). When another brain cell in the brain is signaled the neuron releases the neurotransmitters. A small space in the brain known as the synapse is where the neurotransmitters are released into and are used in attaching the neurotransmitters to the receptors which are usually allocated at the end of another neuron.

There are a variety of neurotransmitters in the brain structure, and they have been involved in the symptoms of PTSD, they are dopamine and glutamate. For the dopamine, it is used or is usually involved in controlling the movement and thoughts in the brain Samuni, Goldstein, Dean and Berk, (2013). It has further been involved with in seeking originality and has interest in the new experiences or encounters. Drugs such are cocaine are said to affect the functioning of the dopamine in the brain greatly. Furthermore, dopamine is usually associated with a person's feelings of pleasure and their well-being.

The diagnosis of PTSD usually involves the doing away with other mental health disorders, and the symptoms of the disease are not because of the medication or medical conditions. For one to carry out a diagnosis of PTSD some processes are put into consideration, they include; the physical exam which is usually done with the purpose of ruling out challenges which are said to be causing signs and symptoms of related complications (Samuni et al, 2013). Tests and screenings involve tests which are used in ruling out the conditions with similar symptoms and the screening of alcohol and other drugs. The health practitioners may also consider involving imaging studies such as an MRI or even the CT scanning.

There is the psychiatric evaluation where a doctor evaluates the mental status of patients by clearly observing the appearance and demeanor and also asking the patient some questions about thoughts, moods, delusions, and hallucinations. It also includes a decision that should be carried out by the family and a person's personal history. Conducting the diagnostic criteria involved for the disorder, this should be used considering the American Psychiatric Association (Samuni et al, 2013).

PTSD is said to be requiring a lifelong treatment even when the symptoms are said to be subsided. Treatment is done considering both medications and psychological therapy can be used in managing the disorder as at the moment. When the disease is said to be vital, hospitalization is said to be needed and the best way to handle the disease (Samuni et al, 2013). For a psychiatrist who is said to be well experienced and to be having the necessary skills when it comes to treating the disorder must guide the treatment.

However, medications are said to be the cornerstone of PTSD treatment and especially the antidepressant medications which are mainly the most recommended drugs by health organizations. They are meant to be controlling the signs and symptoms by affecting the neurotransmitter dopamine. The main achievement in the treatment of the disorder with the oxytoxin medication which is an antidepressant is the management of the signs and symptoms using the lowest amount of dose (Samuni et al, 2013). Another type of drugs can be used, but it will take several weeks for the patient to feel and notice the improvement and the different symptoms. Individuals who are usually infected with the disorder tend to argue that the medications for PTSD can have some side effects hence patients remain reluctant to use the drugs. However, the doctors advise them to take the medications as prescribed without being reluctant.

The social brain is a concept that originates from the fields of evolutionary biology, primatology and the comparison in the neuroscience although it has become dominant in the behavioral science. A paper known as Brothers can describe the social brain as the higher level of the cognitive and effective system in the brain cells which have gone through an evolution of results hence increasing the manifold social selective pressures (Samuni et al, 2013). The social cognitive skills are said to have developed from the human infants as referred and predicted by the patterns. Most scientists argue that the senses of a child and the consciousness arising from the primarily shared inter-subjectivity between the mother and the infant. Furthermore, the social brain concept is a handy and essential concept which is used describing the clinical manifestations and biological basis of a broad spectrum of psychopathology (Samuni et al, 2013).

References

Hannawi, Y., Lindquist, M. A., Caffo, B. S., Sair, H. I., & Stevens, R. D. (2015). Resting brain activity in disorders of consciousness A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurology, 84(12), 1272-1280.

Harris, J., & White, V. (2018). A dictionary of social work and soc...