Kendra has continually struggled
with making interpersonal relationships with her life as her regular outbreaks
usually scare away other students. Also
since Kendra started using drugs she tends to steal from the people closest to
her in order to get the money to get the drugs and get high. No matter how many times the police or her
mom has caught her, she continues to buy weed.
She says that the weed calms her down and allows her to function in her
broken home.
Kendra’s mom is looking for her
to enter a rehabilitation center since she thinks Kendra is addicted to
pot. Kendra’s mom is very fearful that
her daughter’s drug use will escalate into more harmful drugs that will put
Kendra’s life in danger along with other people’s lives in danger by the decisions
that Kendra makes while she is high. But
Kendra wants none of the help that her mother is giving her since she feels
that Esther just wants to get rid of her so she decided to move back with her
father and drop out of school with only a year left.
A few years have passed by and
Kendra is now 21 facing financial problems as she cannot hold a job for longer
than 2 months at a time. This leaves her
without any health benefits and little money since she only received minimum
wage at the jobs she has worked. She
cannot rely on her father because he has problems with alcohol and he only
feeds constantly into her drug problem and has started drinking herself. Her mom used to send her money every week to
help Kendra get by but Esther has stopped that seeing that money was not being
put to good use. Kendra is going to
apply for welfare in order for her to be able to buy food for herself and some
clothes when she needs them.
Kendra’s 25th birthday
is coming up and she realizes that she has only a couple of friends to surround
her to celebrate in which they just use her to get to drugs easier but this
only bothers her for a little while before she starts going back to her old
ways.
Kendra is now thirty-two years of
age. She has been through a lot in her twenties. After spending more and more
time with her “new” group of friends Kendra got into a little too much trouble
with the police and spent seven years in prison. Prison was hard, very hard for
Kendra. She got into many fights and confrontations with inmates.
After serving her time she was
released on probation. Kendra was very severely underweight as she did not eat
the prison food and the drug use has eaten up her body. Sadly, Kendra did not learn any lessons from
jail time and quickly got back into doing drugs just about 6 months after she
was released. In addition to being high and under the influence almost daily,
Kendra got pregnant. She currently has a three-year-old son. She currently does
not have custody of her little boy due to her lack of being able to provide for
him. Child services have put him into a
foster home for the time being.
Kendra has had many ups and downs
since high school and has tried to straighten up. However, she always finds
herself in trouble. She fears that she
will never see her son again and wants to get help as the years keep passing
by. She hopes that she can regain
strength for her family to accept her back and raise her child in the Jewish
faith as she was. Kendra feels that she
has lost herself between her episodes and drug use.
1) What are typical milestones of a woman with Bipolar
disorder in early adulthood?
2) What are the steps that Kendra has to do to get her son
back?
3) What is the likely hood that Kendra’s child will have a
mental disability or disorder? Provide evidence of how genetics play a role in
mental health disorders.
4) Explain the effects that drug
use has on the body in an average person and the effects it has on someone
living with a mental disorder.
5) What are a few short term goals
that will help Kendra stop using drugs? What are some long term goals that she
could keep in mind?
1. Bipolar disorder is not as uncommon as many people believe it to be. Millions of Americans are affected by this disorder on a daily basis. “Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks” (The National Institute of Mental Health, 2012, para. 2). Bipolar disorder often develops in a person's late teens or early adult years, where at least half of all cases start before age 25. Symptoms may last from days to months and can include: little need for sleep, easily distracted, poor temperament control, very elevated mood, very upset (agitated or irritated), and reckless behavior (A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia, 2012). Substance abuse is also very common among people with bipolar disorder, in that people with bipolar disorder may try to treat their symptoms with alcohol or drugs. However, substance abuse may trigger or prolong bipolar symptoms. Once diagnosed as having bipolar disorder, many look to their doctor for medication to “cure” the disorder. However, “there is no cure for bipolar disorder, but proper treatment helps most people with bipolar disorder gain better control of their mood swings and related symptoms” (The National Institute of Mental Health, 2012). Medication can be prescribed to help stabilize mood swings and better control the symptoms of bipolar disorder.
ReplyDelete2. Kendra must go through a series of steps in order for her to regain custody of her son. First, Kendra must stop using marijuana! She needs to understand the severity of her drug use on not just her own development, but on her son’s. As soon as she stops abusing drugs, Kendra’s second should be to get a stable job. In order for her to get a job though, she must be clean of drugs! Kendra will start receiving an income, where she will be able to pay her bills and better support herself. Kendra should also look into becoming involved in a support group. This group will help her to overcome her temptations to use again, and will also give her a group of people she can turn to when she is experiencing hard times. This support group will help Kendra to make friends and expand her social life. Once Kendra begins to turn her life around, Social Services will see her efforts in wanting to change and will then start to consider whether or not her son can go back in her care.
ReplyDelete3. Individuals with mental illness tend to have a lower marriage rate and a higher divorce rate. Many children that are raised in homes with parents with mental illness tend to suffer from problems associated greatly with unstable family life. They are at risk of developing social, emotional and/or behavior problems (Mental Health America, 2012). Children with parents with mental illness are at risk for a range of mental health problems, including mood disorder, alcoholism, and personality disorders (2012). Because a parent has a mental illness, children are genetically more vulnerable for having a mental illness as well. However, they are able to overcome this vulnerability to live a stable life. For children to overcome this vulnerability, protective factors need to be present in their environment to decrease the chance of them developing a mental illness.
ReplyDelete4. Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2010). The main active chemical in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC for short. The use of marijuana can have many harmful effects on the body and brain’s development. Marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2010). Physical effects of marijuana use can cause infertility, an increased heart rate, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, asthma, and can reduce resistance levels to disease and illness (Caron Treatment Center, 2012). Marijuana increases heart rate by 20-100 percent shortly after smoking and also shows to be an irritant to the lungs; containing 50-70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2010). People living with a mental disorder tend to become dependent on marijuana to sedate them. They believe that it puts them in a “happy place,” and become addicted to the feeling they get while on the drug. However, a number of studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2010). With Kendra already struggling with bipolar disorder, the marijuana use could just be making her mood swings more severe.
ReplyDelete5. To discontinue her drug use, Kendra could keep many things in mind. For short-term goals, she could try discontinuing her drug use a little at a time. This will help wean her body off the drug for a long-term discontinuation. She could also begin applying for a job and try to keep a job. If she wants to regain custody of her child, she needs to prove that she can keep a job to support herself and her child. With a job, she also needs to start saving money so show she can support someone other than herself. She should also drop all ties with her “friends.” She does not need any bad influences while she is making this transition in her life. Also, asking for help would be very beneficial for her. She could get the right advice and support to help her during this time in her life. These short-term goals can help her achieve her long-term goals. One long-term goal would be regaining and keeping custody of her child. Another long-term goal would be continuing to hold a steady job. She could also think about trying to create and hold a good relationship with her mother and father. With this relationship, they could all become more active in the Jewish religion. Additionally, a very important long-term goal for her would be no more drug use. Without drugs, she will have a better chance to stay on track with what is most important to her in life.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
ReplyDeleteA.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia. (2012). Bipolar disorder. Retrieved June 24, 2012, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001924/
Caron Treatment Center. (2012). Marijuana. Retrieved June 23, 2012, from http://www.caron.org/marijuana.html?gclid=CP75_4yE5bACFYeo4AodSnbM1w
Mental Health America. (2012). When a parent has a mental illness: Issues and challenges. Retrieved June 24, 2012, from http://www.nmha.org/index.cfm?objectid=e3412bb7-1372- 4d20-c8f627a57cd3d00f
The National Institute of Drug Abuse. (2010). Drug facts: Marijuana. Retrieved June 23, 2012, from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana