Good Research Paper On Reflections On Fieldwork: Symptoms Of Bipolar Disorder

This past month, there happened to be a fieldwork for employees, including those in the educational field. I have been an ACRS teaching assistant for a number of months, and I attended a certain fieldwork, centering on psychological research that are prevalent nowadays. It is in this fieldwork that I was able to meet a certain client who was experiencing Bipolar Disorder for six years now. He was a twelve-year-old boy, who happened to be so pessimistic about his view of the world, which for him was not a nice place to live in. For Teddy (not his real name), the world is something that is dark and gloomy, as he currently finds something that is negative in people, things, and experiences, and then shifts abruptly from being sad to being exceedingly excited, to being extremely depressed. This essay focuses on the symptoms of Bipolar Disorder, insisting that teachers in the education field should be more than willing to assist these patients while they attend school, since these disorders are not that easy to experience, for one who suffers from the disorder.

Bipolar Disorder I and Bipolar Disorder II

The term bipolar disorder refers to a serious disease centering on the nervous system, in which “changes in brain function and an imbalance in brain chemicals causes bipolar disorder, which in turn causes inappropriate emotions, thoughts, and behavior” (Burgess, 2008, p.1). One clear example is the Bipolar Disorder I, such as the case of Teddy (one of my students), wherein there were times when he was shy, and then he became fearful and anxious, then there was panic when he was asked about what he felt. Later on, he looked angry and irritable, and that shyness turned abruptly into a state of avoidance. There was this impulsivity on how he reacted to people, and for most of the time he was procrastinating while I talked to him. These specific behavioral observations proved how children and adolescents, who experience Bipolar Disorder I, usually tended to behave in an abrupt, fluctuating manner or behavior when dealing with people. There is shifting of emotions that increases vulnerability of developing stress and anxiety, which may worsen if not treated.
The second example is Bipolar Disorder II, such as in the case of the son of Trudy Carlson, author of the book “The Life of a Bipolar Child”. Ben (son of Trudy Carlson) had Bipolar II illness, and it was an illness that was frequently missed, since it led to hypo mania. Although Ben’s case was under the Bipolar Disorder, the type of Bipolar that Ben had was more dangerous, since it had a most painful effect on the patient. Like the other Bipolar Disorders, Ben’s type of disorder also led to an imbalance of the brain chemicals, although there was more vulnerability to depression, and a state of being trapped emotionally. This state of depression continued until his period of adolescence, wherein it affected his behavior and his way of life, making it more difficult to sleep at night or to wake up in the morning. Worsened by the fact that Ben felt hopeless with his peers, his life led to tragedy when he conducted suicide and ended his life, after a stressor led him to believe there was nothing more to hope for. Lithium remained to be useless in the story of Ben. Similar to the case of Teddy, he was mostly irritable and abruptly changed his emotions and behavior. Unlike Teddy, however, Ben’s case was more tragic, and his challenges were more painful. Thus, it appears that Bipolar Disorder tend to worsen as time went by; as the patient advances in age, so does the disorder advances, making it worse than it was in the ages of childhood.
One counterexample of the Bipolar Disorder is the Schizoaffective Disorder. This Schizoaffective Disorder is usually attached to experiences of hallucination and delusions, such as the case of Nimpha, who sees things that are not normally seen by other people. Schizoaffective Disorder is an amalgamation of both the Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia. This means that the patient is more likely to experience both hallucinations and delusions, as well as, the mood disturbances of the Bipolar Disorder. There were cases when Nimpha (another student of mine) experienced thought disorders, which was likewise disturbing and dangerous, as it could lead to negativity and to maladaptive state or condition like suicide. Nimpha’s hallucinations were usually “outside” a mood episode, unlike the case of Ben and Teddy in which delusions take place “during” a mood episode. This meant that with Nimpha, hallucinations and delusions were usually connected to the current scene or environment—things that may be fantasy or imaginary, and not things that were found in the current world. Thus, Nimpha tended to see dazzling lights of blue, red, and yellow that moved around her in bed; or human images that looked at her beyond the walls at night. As an effect of an imbalance in neurotransmitters, Nimpha experienced thought disturbances that had affected her way of thinking, making it dangerous, as it could be the cause for suicide attempt. To sum up, Schizoaffective Disorder deviates from Bipolar Disorder mainly because of two things. First is the tendency to experience hallucinations outside and/or during a mood episode. Second is the converging of both Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder. These two things make Schizoaffective Disorder much worse for teachers in the educational field, since 40% of patients with Schizoaffective Disorder attempt to end their lives (Daniel, 2010, p.15).

Conclusion

In the field of teaching, it is always vital to consider the physical, mental, and emotional condition of the student, especially since these disorders are not that easy to experience. For the patients of mental and mood disorders, there are certain experiences that they see, hear, or feel that have significant effects on their behavior and the manner in which the see the world. Thus, learning may be difficult for them, as they are constantly bothered by an imbalance of brain chemicals, which bear significant effects on their behavior and the way they react and interact with their surroundings. They appear to be constantly bothered by the events that take place, making them retract from the acquisition of new knowledge. In the field of education, teachers should seriously assist the abnormal children, for them to learn that the world is much more beautiful place, in spite of the peril brought by the disorder.

References:

Burgess, W. (2008). The bipolar handbook for children, teens, and families: real-life questions with up-to-date answers. New York, NY: Penguin Group.
Carlson, T. (2000). The life of a bipolar child: what every parent and professional needs to know. Dunlune, Minnesota: Benline Press.
Daniel, M. (2010). Schizoaffective disorder simplified. Essex, UK: Chipmunkapublishing.