Strategies for Reducing Stress,

Stress is a fact of life, it is something that will always be present and man has no choice but to deal with stress. Stress in itself is not entirely bad since it can propel man to take action in order to relieve the stress and anxiety. On the other hand, stress that persists and affects the normal functioning of the individual becomes chronic stress and is psychologically unhealthy. Chronic stress can lead to physiological and psychological manifestations such as stomach ulcers, migraines, asthma and hypertension, insomnia, appetite change, depression and disorientation. Managing stress is a skill it can be learned and applied to ones daily activities. There are a number of ways for reducing stress, such as meditation, relaxation, avoiding stressors, changing ones attitude and behavior towards the stressors, and seeking support (Duffy  Atwater, 2001).
    Stress is basically psychological in nature it is something that we think about, something we feel strongly about and something that arouses anxiety. Coping with stress can also be psychologically motivated, when were upset, we tend to eat more in the effort to feel satiated and feel good about ourselves, reducing the anxiety that the stress have caused. However, unhealthy coping always backfires since it does not effectively deal with the stress. I am more inclined to change my attitude and behavior towards the stressors in my life as a means of reducing stress. I have control over my thoughts, emotions and actions, while I do not have control over other people or events that may cause me stress, thus, it would be a better idea if I change what I have control over. For example, a certain teacher is a stressor for me because I have difficulty in her subject, but since I have control over my thoughts and behavior, I can change my opinion about the subject so I would not be stressed whenever I have a class with that teacher and subject. Also I could change how I associate the teacher with the difficult subject, therefore eliminating the teacher as a stressor.

Running head schizophrenia.


This is a psychiatric diagnosis which explains a condition associated with abnormalities in the perception or even expression of truth. It can also be defined as a chronic, severe, and a disabling brain disorder. Individuals diagnosed with this condition hear voices which others cannot hear and this is described as auditory hallucinations. The person may feel very suspicious about people around them and this can terrify them and make them prefer solitude (Gottesman, Shields  Hanson, 1982). People with schizophrenia may talk without making sense or may even sit at one point without moving or even talking for a long time. At times, it is hard to realize that one has schizophrenia until they speak out. People suffering from schizophrenia have a problem maintaining job and even themselves, therefore they depend on others for help. Seeking medical treatment helps in reducing many signs of schizophrenia though most people who have the disorder can contain the signs all their life.
Causes of schizophrenia
There are various factors which are thought to cause schizophrenia. Among these factors are genes and environment and different brain chemistry structure. Schizophrenia is found in individuals who have first degree relatives with the disorders i.e. a brother, parent, or even a sister (Beebe, 2003). Those individuals who have second degree relatives with the disorder are also likely to develop the disorder. The probability of developing the disorder is high among identical twins when one of the twins has the disorder. Under brain chemistry, it is thought that imbalance in the complicated functioning of the brain might result in schizophrenia. In addition, brain structure of people with schizophrenia is different because it has been found that they have larger ventricles (Farmer  Pandurangi, 1997).
Symptoms of the disorder
The symptoms are classified into three broad classes namely positive signs, negative signs, and cognitive signs. Positive signs include psychotic signs which are not observed in normal individuals (Farmer  Pandurangi, 1997). The people exhibiting these behaviors have abnormalities in perception or expression of reality. The signs observed may be on and off which may at times become severe while at other times they are hardly noticeable. This also depends on whether an individual is receiving treatments or not. The behaviors exhibited includes auditory hallucinations whereby the individual affected hears voices talking to him, talking to themselves or even ordering them around on what to do. A person may experience such voices for quite sometimes before the people around them realize what they are going through. Other types of hallucinations include seeing imaginary objects or people, smelling things which cannot be smelled by other people, or even feeling imaginary touches when nobody is around (Gottesman, Shields  Hanson, 1982).
People with schizophrenia may also feel delusions. Delusions are untrue beliefs that are not part of an individuals culture and do not change. Such people continue believing even after assurance that such things are not possible. They may believe that people around them can control what they are doing through magnetic waves, can see what they are thinking etc. They may even associate other peoples actions to be directed to them like radio stations announcing their thoughts loudly. They may feel so suspicious about people around them thinking that they can be harmed and this makes them get withdrawn to themselves (Hirsch  Weinberger, 2003).
People with schizophrenia have thought disorders. They have a problem in arranging their thoughts or even connecting them to make sense. One may not be able to understand what they are saying or may stop talking suddenly in the middle of the thought. In such a case, they believe that what they were thinking about has been snatched away from them. People suffering from Schizophrenia also experience movement disorder which can be noticed by repetition of certain body movements several times. The disorder may get severe until an individual cannot move or even respond to other people around them and this is referred to as catatonia (Fred  Lawrence, 2002).
Negative signs of schizophrenia are linked to disruptions to normal emotions and behaviors. These signs are not easy to notice and can be confused with depression or even other problems. The signs exhibited include showing expressionless face while talking, feeling dejected, inability to start and even to maintain planned activities, and talking sparingly even when forced to talk (Gottesman, Shields  Hanson, 1982). Such people need assistance with their day to day activities and since they can neglect their body hygiene, someone should remind them so that they do not seem lazy. Cognitive signs, just like negative signs may not be noticed easily unless some tests are done. The signs include poor understanding of information and even inability to use the information given in making decisions, poor concentration, and inability to understand information and use them immediately. Cognitive signs make life difficult and may result into a severe emotional suffering (Maj  Sartorius, 2002).
The disorder affects both sexes uniformly. The signs like hallucinations and delusions are observed between the ages 16 to 30 with the male gender showing signs a bit early as compared to the women. The disorder does not develop above the age of 45 (Fred  Lawrence, 2002). Though the incidences of schizophrenia in children are very rare, there is an in creasing awareness of childhood schizophrenia. Detecting schizophrenia in teens is not easy since the initial signs of the disorder may only be change of friends, drop in academic performance, insomnia and hyperactivity which are normal behaviors in teenagers (Beebe, 2003).
There are some factors which can be employed in an effort to diagnose schizophrenia in teenagers who are likely to develop the disorder. The factors are preferring solitude most of the times, family history of psychosis, increase in unusual thought and suspicion. This stage of the disorder is called prodromal period especially in youngsters who have the disorder (Fred  Lawrence, 2002).
People diagnosed with schizophrenia are never violent though some signs of schizophrenia can be linked to violence like delusion of persecution. A person suffering from schizophrenia and at the same time is involved in drug abuse is likely to be violent (Gottesman, Shields  Hanson, 1982). If these people become violent, it is usually targeted at family members and it is likely to happen at home. The risk of these people becoming violent is very low though they are prone to attempting suicide quite often. Research shows that about 10 of young males suffering from schizophrenia die through suicide related cases. It is also not easy to detect which people with schizophrenia are likely to commit suicide making it hard to help these people out (Beebe, 2003).
Since people who abuse drugs may exhibit signs similar to those people suffering from schizophrenia, people with schizophrenia may be mistaken for substance abuse. Drug abuse cannot result into schizophrenia, while people suffering from schizophrenia are more likely to abuse drugs as compared to the normal people. In addition, drug abuse can affect the efficacy of treatment for schizophrenia since some drugs may exaggerate the signs exhibited and even make them more severe. Additionally, drug addicts are likely not to follow their treatment regime. The most encountered substance abuse in people with schizophrenia is nicotine addiction (Hirsch  Weinberger, 2003).
Treatment
Since the real cause of the disorder has not been established, the treatment given is aimed at eliminating the signs of the disorder. The types of therapy used include antipsychotic and psychosocial treatments. In antipsychotic treatment, the frequently used drugs include chlorpromazine, haloperidol, perphenazine, and fluphenazine (Gottesman, Shields  Hanson, 1982). Clozaril which is a second generation antipsychotic is an effective medication which eliminates psychotic signs, hallucinations, and breaks with reality though the drug causes agranulocytosis and this will force patients to have the level granulocytes checked weekly which is costly. Other examples of antipsychotic which do not cause agranulocytosis are risperidone, olanzapine, paliperidone, aripiprazole, among others. Stopping medication should be a gradual process (Hirsch  Weinberger, 2003).
Psychosocial therapy is used in people who have undergone through antipsychotic therapy and have shown stability. The main aim of this therapy is to help patients tackle their every day problems associated with the disorder like personal care, concentration, maintaining work, and also improving relationship with the people around them (Hirsch  Weinberger, 2003). Patients who get psychosocial treatment follow their medication regime strictly and are likely to respond well to treatments. The doctor gives education about the condition, emphasizes the significance of treatment.

Carl Rogers Theory of Personality.


Carl Rogers developed a theory of personality based on the assumption that every organism has the innate and natural tendency for growth or actualization. Rogers emphasized that each person is inherently good, he said that individuals have the same tendency for goodness and people encounter problems when they are not able to recognize their goodness and capacity for growth. Rogers also said that society and culture imposes expectations and standards that have resulted to conditions of worth which makes us believe that we are only worthy when we have lived up to those standards and expectations. Rogers theory of personality revolves around the basic nature of man for growth and how that growth can be curtailed or led astray by social forces. Rogers also developed a therapeutic technique or approach that is based on his theory of personality which he called client-centered therapy (Duffy  Atwater, 2001).
The contributions of Rogers theory lies in his concept of actualization and how incongruity between the real self and ideal self causes adjustment problems. Rogerss theory is humanistic in that it brought into focus the humanness of the person. The theories of personality at this time had been dark and focused on the traumatic experiences, neurosis and faults of human functioning that Rogerss theory was a positive influence. One of the major contributions of Rogers was his therapeutic technique. He advocated that before the counseling process, it is important that the counselor has congruence, empathy and respect for the client (Duffy  Atwater, 2001).
A limitation of Rogerss theory lies in its simplicity and lack of conceptual precision, whereby the tendency for actualization becomes great motive for all human behavior. Rogerss theory was not able to explain how actualization was developed it also ignores the role of learning and maturation in the formation of ones personality. Moreover, his client-centered therapy was criticized for its lack of steps and processes, and that it is difficult for a counselor to be always congruent, emphatic and respectful to his or her clients, after all he or she is also human (Duffy  Atwater, 2001).

Middle-age is period between 40 to 60 years when an individual goes through physical, emotional and social change. As children become independent and move out, middle-aged parents feel a sense of emptiness in their lives, which is often referred to empty nest syndrome (Mitchell  Lovegreen, 2009). This can be overcome by concentrating more on ones own personal life rather than the life of children. Developing a hobby and learning new things could serve as positive distractions to overcome this period. The loss of parents and elderly relatives can cause depression and lead to fear of death. Seeking emotional support from other family members or support group would be a good idea to overcome this tough phase in life. One can use this opportunity to catch up with old friends and relatives.
Another common problem is boredom in marital life, which may cause one to seek out happiness in secretive affairs and one-night stands. Marriage counseling and couples therapy could help avert disaster by openly talking about ones feelings. However, if that fails, it usually leads to separation and divorce, which further complicates the problem. Coping up divorce would involve accepting the reality that one has to move on. Meeting new people, appreciating the present and avoiding the tendency to dwell on the past are also critical.  
The physical changes associated with aging could also lead to emotional stress.  Maintaining a healthy lifestyle through exercise not only keeps the body healthy from ailments but also facilitates adequate sleep. A healthy diet also helps avoid obesity and related emotional stress. To cope up with depression or boredom, one might seek out pleasure in gambling, alcoholism, smoking or excessive shopping, which eventually leads to debt. Therefore, one needs to be in control of their decisions and ensure that their actions are not too impulsive.   
    Middle-age is also a period when people usually question their life and choices, by comparing it with their peers. This could lead to doubt of self-worth and lack of purpose in life. The fear of being labeled as old and losing opportunities in social settings can further fuel depression. This discontent with life could trigger a need for drastic change. One can also analyze alternate career opportunities if it does not endanger ones financial stability. Setting short term goals and rewards could make life more purposeful. Contributing to charity and volunteering to social causes can also help in making life more meaningful.