Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Essays - Psychiatric Diagnosis

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Are you the type of person who has a phobia of germs, dirt, or contaminated bodily fluids? Is the only way to feel safe and pure is for you to cleanse yourself countless times a day? Or maybe you`re the type of person who has to check things twice, three times or more. Perhaps you`re the type of person who has to do everything twice, or by a fixed number. Maybe you are the type of person who must have everything neatly placed, and if misplaced at all you throw a tantrum. If you are a person who happens to do any of these things then maybe you have OCD, the acronym for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (formerly known as obsessive neurosis) is categorized as an anxiety disorder because the main focus seems to be anxiety and discomfort that is usually increased by the obsessions (thoughts) and decreased by the compulsions or rituals (actions). (Baer 3) According to Baer, Obsessions are defined as recurrent, persistent ideas, thoughts, images, or impulses that are experienced, at least initially, as intrusive and senseless. Compulsions are defined as repetitive, purposeful, and intentional behaviors that are performed in response to an obsession or according to certain rules or in a stereotypical fashion. (Baer 3) Obsession-compulsive disorder usually begins in late adolescence in one to two thirds of reported cases. The problem is associated with significant life changes. Obsessive-compulsive disorder results from biological and psychological influences. Abnormal levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin may play a role in OCD. Catscans of people with OCD have discovered irregularities in the activity level of the orbital cortex, caudate nucleus, cingulate cortex, and a brain circuit that assists control movements of the limbs. (Pato 8) Many patients report having numerous neurotic problems during childhood. These patients become socially isolated, and consequently fall into a deep depression. This disorder affects males and females quite differently. People with OCD tend to have a high celibacy rate, particularly males. Both sexes tend to marry at an older age than other types of psychiatric patients, and they have a low fertility rate. (Rachman 6) Most studies concluded that OCD patients possess higher than average intelligence. The average OCD patient has many types of compulsive behavior. The anxiety of OCD is caused through its persistence. (Mavissakalian 15) And maybe this is why cleaning and checking rituals are the most common types of obsessive-compulsive disorder. These patients carry out activities as disinfecting of objects, excessive hand washing until the hands are so clean that they crack and bleed, excessive showering, and excessive rinsing of dishes. Securing locks, alarm clocks, gas jets, and looking under the bed are some of the checking rituals OCD patients have. If the obsessive-compulsive person qualms and ponders when the ritual is not performed systematically. The task of this patient must be carried out to perfection or it will not be preventative or restorative. The checking ritual is described as intending to prevent some state of balance and order to avoid infectivity from some distressing stimuli. (Rachman 14) Some obsessional people often feel a compulsive need to arrange things in their environment. To the observer, compulsive arranging seems identical with the activities of normal, neat-minded people. The major distinction is the accompanying experience of compulsivity. The frustration experienced by the obsessional person is a result of disobedience of a different order severely disturbed by any deviation from the set order and feels compelled to reposition the status quo. (Reed 38) For example, if someone puts a document on your desk then this person just moved an item from your possession, in turn when you arrive, you have to remove the item and put anything that was interfered with back to a precise order. Sigmund Freud was particularly fascinated in the obsessive-compulsive disorder. He referred to it as the obsessional neurosis, and in 1926 Freud wrote it was unquestionably the most interesting and re-paying subject of analytic research. But as a research it has not been mastered. (Cooper 9) Freud also found evidence of passive sexuality, and sexual experience yielding pleasure. The defenses used in obsessional neurosis are denial, repression, regression, reaction formulation, isolation, undoing, magical thinking, doubting, indecision, intellectualization, and rationalization. Washing is most frequently engaged to an undoing of a dirtying action. In analytic therapy, obsessive-compulsive neurosis is regarded as the second type of transference neurosis. In hysterics, the ego forms an alliance with the analyst to battle the neurosis. In compulsive neurotics, the ego is split, with one part working logically while the other thinks in fantasy. (Cooper 14) Obsessions and compulsions

Wave-Particle Duality Definition

Wave-Particle Duality Definition Wave-particle duality describes the properties of photons and subatomic particles to exhibit properties of both waves and particles. Wave-particle duality is an important part of quantum mechanics  as it offers a way to explain why concepts of wave and particle, which work in classical mechanics, dont cover the behavior of quantum objects. The dual nature of light gained acceptance after 1905, when Albert Einstein described light in terms of photons, which exhibited properties of particles, and then presented his famous paper on special relativity, in which light acted as a field of waves. Particles That Exhibit Wave-Particle Duality Wave-particle duality has been demonstrated for photons (light), elementary particles, atoms, and molecules. However, the wave properties of larger particles, such as molecules, have extremely short wavelengths and are difficult to detect and measure. Classical mechanics is generally sufficient for describing the behavior of macroscopic entities. Evidence for Wave-Particle Duality Numerous experiments have validated wave-particle duality, but there are a few specific early experiments that ended the debate about whether light consists of either waves or particles: Photoelectric Effect - Light Behaves as Particles The photoelectric effect is the phenomenon where metals emit electrons when exposed to light. The behavior of the photoelectrons could not be explained by classical electromagnetic theory. Heinrich Hertz noted that shining ultraviolet light on electrodes enhanced their ability to make electric sparks (1887). Einstein (1905) explained the photoelectric effect as resulting from light carried in discrete quantized packets. Robert Millikans experiment (1921) confirmed Einsteins description and led to Einstein winning the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect and Millikan winning the Nobel Prize in 1923 for his work on the elementary charge of electricity and on the photoelectric effect. Davisson-Germer Experiment - Light Behaves as Waves The Davisson-Germer experiment confirmed the deBroglie hypothesis and served as a foundation for the formulation of quantum mechanics. The experiment essentially applied the Bragg law of diffraction to particles. The experimental vacuum apparatus measured the electron energies scattered from the surface of a heated wire filament and allowed to strike a nickel metal surface. The electron beam could be rotated to measure the effect of changing the angle on the scattered electrons. The researchers found that the intensity of the scattered beam peaked at certain angles. This indicated wave behavior and could be explained by applying the Bragg law to the nickel crystal lattice spacing. Thomas Youngs Double-Slit Experiment Youngs double slit experiment can be explained using wave-particle duality. Emitted light moves away from its source as an electromagnetic wave. Upon encountering a slit, the wave passes through the slit and divides into two wavefronts, which overlap. At the moment of impact onto the screen, the wave field collapses into a single point and becomes a photon.