Week 2: Studying Case Studies

Hannah, age 55, was in a major car accident 20 years ago during a cross country trip. Ever since, she has been unable to drive on major highways. Although she does drive, she goes to great length to travel only on back roads and scenic routes. She is able to go where she wants but it often takes her much longer to get there than it should.



____________________________________________________________________



According to the DSM-IV (http://allpsych.com/disorders/anxiety/index.html), Hannah has post traumatic stress disorder. The biggest indicator is that she exhibits a strong avoidance factor of things that remind her of a traumatic event (the car accident). Also, we can assume that she avoids highways because they will remind her of the accident.
_____________________________________________________________________

Psychological therapy is considered the best treatment for PTSD. Some anti-anxiety medications might help as well.

____________________________________________________________________

Because of a major car accident, Hannah has post-traumatic stress disorder. The fact that it has lasted for over 20 years is an indication that her anxiety is fairly severe. As a result of her trauma, Hannah is unable to drive on major roads, preferring to drive only on back roads. We should treat her primarily with pyschologically therapy which can be supplemented with medication.

Buzz Aldrin, Bipolarity, Alcoholism, Depression

Edwin Eugen Aldrin, Jr. (nicknamed Buzz) was born on January 20, 1930 in New Jersey. He is most famous for being one of the first humans to walk on the moon in 1969 with Neil Armstrong. Buzz Aldrin also flew over 60 combat missions in the Korean War. In his personal life, he has been married three times, has six children, and one grandchild.

When asked about his psychological health, Aldrin denied having bipolarity, instead calling it depression and alcoholism. Psychiatrists, however, still believe it to be bipolar disorder. Regardless, his emotional difficulties split up his family and led to a divorce. This break down made it hard for him to adjust to life, especially with his new celebrity status. As a result, he was often hospitalized for severe depression. Fortunately, Buzz Aldrin has been able to overcome his problems with therapy and by building a new family.

Personally, I feel that bipolarity is a grey area in psychology. I think it is too hard to determine whether or not someone is suffering from bipolar disorder or some other mental issue. Bipolar disorder, in my mind, is one of the least severe pyschological problems a person can have. Whatever the true nature of bipolar disorder is, however, does not stop a person from being a success. Clearly, we are able to overcome bipolarity and depression with therapy and other techniques.

For more information:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20010501-000029.html

http://bipolar.about.com/od/businessmenpoliticians/p/buzzaldrin.htm