Youth Forensic Psychiatry is a wrap and you know what that means? Summer holidays, baby.
Did you know?
People with Cotard’s Syndrome hold the delusional belief that they are dead.
Did you know?
1st generation antipsychotics were developed in the 1950s and treated symptoms of schizophrenia. They work by binding (and blocking) receptors in our brains that have been specifically reserved for dopamine. In fact for the medication to work, it must occupy 72% of these dopamine “docking sites”. That seems like a lot!
Did you know?
Lithium has long been used to treat bipolar 1 disorder. It is extremely effective, preventing relapse in 80% of patients with a first episode of acute mania. Lithium is an ion with a single positive charge, found in the 1st row of the periodic table along with sodium. There are 2 varieties of lithium found in nature, lithium-6 and lithium-7. Lithium-7 is far more abundant and has an extra neutron which makes it heavier. These lithium ions are “primordial nuclides” which means that they pre-date our solar system! Most lithium used in the United States today is obtained from dry lake mining in Chile and Argentina.
Did you know?
Psychopaths are not crazy or insane. One expert described them as emotionally colorblind. For example, a color-blind person can say a traffic light is red, when what he means is that the top light is lit. A psychopath says ‘love, hate, sad, afraid, angry’ but in reality he feels few of these emotions. He reads off the body language of those around him and generates the correct emotional algorithm, which he models but does not feel. He can be good at this because he is not confused or distracted by emotions of his own. A psychopath may seek only to satisfy his primal needs. Not all psychopaths are criminals. There are isolated cases of psychopaths who callously choose to satisfy primal needs for sex, wealth and power in criminal ways. A true psychopath does not feel fear. A psychopath lies continually and indiscriminately to manipulate. He does not care if he is caught lying because he does not experience embarrassment. He is not delusional. His actions are based entirely on self-centered logic, and he chooses to act on that logic with full mental capacity.
‘Psychopath’ (psychopathy) is not a diagnosis. It is more of a description that describes a pattern of behavior. It may be seen in extreme personality disorders but it is not the same as a personality disorder. A criminal who displays psychopathic behavior but not debilitating symptoms of mental illness (like psychosis, which is different) at the time of his crime will be held criminally responsible in a court of law.
Psychopathy is not an illness and so it is not curable. Psychopaths are almost never rehabilitated but they are masters of illusion and can repeatedly fool intelligent and experienced professionals like doctors, lawyers, judges and major financial investors – often ones who have already been fooled once!
Now we both know.
Next Up: Thanks for sticking with me. I’ll try to post a bit over the summer. (I still owe you an update from surgery block!) Otherwise, see you August 29 for Fourth Year! 😀
