Psychological Effects of HIV and AIDS

        If you are diagnosed with HIV, your physical health is not the only issue you have to deal with. (Coping with HIV/AIDS: Mental Health) HIV also affects a person’s mental health. Mental health is defined as a state of emotional and psychological well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities, function in society, and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life. A HIV diagnosis brings about a wide range of emotions. These emotions include fear, anger, helplessness, sad, anxiety, denial, fatigue, grief, shock, and confusion. The patient is often overwhelmed with the changes to be made in life. HIV and AIDS also can have a condition called AIDS Dementia Complex, or ADC. These emotions and ADC affect the patient’s mental health.

            The most natural and normal first reaction after a positive HIV test is denial. Many patients deny the test is true and often believe there is a mix-up in results. Denial can be dangerous if not dealt with. Patients in denial may fail to take safety precautions or reach out for help. The best way to deal with the denial emotion is to talk early with a doctor, therapist, or other support person.

            Another common and natural reaction is anger. Some patients are angry about how they got HIV or that they didn’t know they had it. A person experiencing anger may feel frustration or loss of control. Anger can sometimes lead to depression. Ways to deal with anger are to talk about feelings, exercise to ease tension, and avoid other situations that cause anger. It is also important not to drink alcohol or use drugs. These behaviors can cause the patient to participate in actions that can intensify the anger or place others at risk for infection.

            Sadness and depression are also common among HIV and AIDS patients. Grief can also factor into these. Some patients feel a diagnosis is a big loss of life. Some patients feel hopeless, alone, tired, or uninterested in life. The patient should talk to a doctor, support group or supportive friend or family member if they have these feelings. Anti-depressants can also be prescribed.

            Fear and anxiety for a HIV/AIDS patient may be caused by a variety of factors. They may be caused by not knowing what to expect with the illness. The patient may be afraid of telling others and afraid of how others will treat them. The patient may fear being rejected by their peers and communities. The patient is sometimes uncertain about their health and future. They may feel uncertain about the medications given to help them or about the whole experience. One of the best ways to deal with the feelings of fear and anxiety are to learn as much as possible about HIV. Asking the doctor any and all questions about treatments, medications or about HIV and AIDS in general may help reduce some of the anxiety. Talking to supportive friends and family is a good way to handle the fear and anxiety. There are also support groups a patient can join that will help them as well as let them help others also living with HIV or AIDS.

            Fatigue affects 33% - 88% of HIV patients. (Fatigue remains common in people with HIV, and often connected with social factors and mental health issues) Fatigue has been defined as “a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency of accomplishment, usually accompanied by a feeling of tiredness that is not reduced by a good night’s sleep.”  Fatigue can be either physical or psychological or even both. Anxiety and fear are usually the causes of psychological fatigue. While medication can help the patient, success has also been found using cognitive behavioral therapy.

            An AIDS patient also feels guilt when diagnosed and sometimes throughout the illness. They feel guilty about how they could have put themselves at risk. They also feel that their diagnosis is punishment for some sort of bad behavior such as drug use or sexual promiscuity. As the illness progresses, the patient feels guilty about depending on others. An important part of working through the guilt is to understand one’s self-worth. Therapy can help the patient with this.

            AIDS Dementia Complex, or ADC, occurs in approximately 70% of those infected by HIV. (Stine, 2011) ADC may be the first sign of AIDS. Symptoms of ADC vary from person to person. ADC is considered a progressive brain disorder and causes a decline in cognitive functions such as memory, reasoning, judgment, concentration, and problem solving. Symptoms of ADC include confusion, memory loss, difficulty thinking and speaking, and balance problems. Changes also occur in personality and behavior. ADC causes severe changes in four areas. These are cognition, behavior, motor coordination and mood. There are several theories for the development of ADC. One such theory is that the HIV virus reaches the brain when it becomes active therefore affecting the mental and physical processes of the brain. (Sue, Sue, & Sue, 2010) Another theory is that because AIDS affects the immune system, AIDS related infections causes infected cells to release toxic substances. (Sue, Sue, & Sue, 2010) These toxins cause changes in psychological processes. A third theory is that the cortex, or outer layer of the brain, gradually thins as the disease attacks the immune system. (Wood, Wood, & Boyd, 2011) In almost all HIV patients with dementia, there is some level of cerebral atrophy. Cerebral atrophy is defined as a wasting away or diminution in the size of cells or tissue structures of the brain.      

      

            AIDS Dementia Complex usually occurs when the CD4+ count falls to less than 200 cells per micro liter. (Dementia Due to HIV Infection) ADC is caused by the HIV virus itself and not by an opportunistic infection. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has prevented or improved the symptoms of ADC symptoms. ART has also delayed the onset of ADC. The frequency of ADC has declined to about 20% of all HIV infected persons since the use of ART. Some methods of treatment for ADC include education and information, psychotherapy, self-help groups, anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications.

            The HIV virus and AIDS causes physical and emotional health problems. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said it best, “The HIV virus, like terrorism, kills indiscriminately and without mercy. As cruel as any tyrant, the virus will crush the human spirit…” (2003)

 Works Cited

Coping with HIV/AIDS: Mental Health. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2011, from HIV InSite: www.hivinsite.ucsf.edu/insite?page=pb-daily-mental

Dementia Due to HIV Infection. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2011, from E Medicine Health: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/dementia_due_to_hiv_infection/article_em.htm

Emotional Effects of HIV and AIDS. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2011, from Livestrong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/87706-emotional-effects-hiv-aids/

Fatigue remains common in people with HIV, and often connected with social factors and mental health issues. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2011, from AIDS Map: http://www.aidsmap.com/Fatigue-remains-common-in-people-with-HIV-and-often-connected-with-social-factors-and-mental-health-issues/page/1439035/

Stine, G. J. (2011). AIDS Update 2011. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Sue, D., Sue, D. W., & Sue, S. (2010). Understanding Abnormal Behavior. Boston: Wadsworth.

Wood, S. E., Wood, E. G., & Boyd, D. (2011). The World of Psychology. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

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Beating the Clock

How do you deal with the stress of life's demands? What solutions work best for you and why? Does your significant other or family use the same technique?


     I hear daily that my life must be stressful. I also hear that I must be superwoman because I just smile and move through life. I have no free time. As a matter of fact, I have been with at least one of my kids all day, every day since fall of 2008. While I would love a break, it’s just not plausible at this time. My life IS stressful. I am a full time college student. I am a mom of 7, with 5 under the age of 6. I do home school my 4 oldest. My husband does work long hours (and sometimes, like now, we are miles apart. 350 to be exact).


     To deal with life’s stress and demands, I do many things. Each day, I make lists of what needs to be done. I have a list for “must-do” and a list for “do if I have time”. I remember to tell myself that life does not always go to plan. I remind myself to work around life’s “curveballs”. My biggest thing is to stay flexible each day.


     Sometimes things happen that tend to stress me out – an argument, kids misbehaving, finances. I usually tend to mentally stress myself out over them. Everything tends to work out in the end, for the most part.


     My husband’s technique to handle stress is to work. I’m not sure how this works for him, but it’s what he chooses to do. He even says he doesn’t stress about much because he knows I’m stressing enough for the both of us.

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Having Children

What do you think about people who choose not to have children?
Honestly, this depends on the day. When my children have been giving me a tough time, I think people who choose not to have children are smart. But, on the more common occasions of having special moments with my children, I wonder why some people choose to miss out on parenthood. In all seriousness, I feel the decision to have children is a personal and private decision. It should not be society’s decision, but the individual’s decision. In no way should a person be judged for their decision on children.


What is your choice? What do you say to people who ask about it?
I knew that I always wanted children. I said my limit was 4, but I ended up with 7. I always get the questions of “Why so many?”, “Don’t you know what causes that?”, and “What did you do? Keep trying until you got that boy?” (I had 6 girls before my only son). At first I would answer these questions with detailed answers. However, now I am tired of them and answer very shortly, “My decision to have children and how many is my business.” I still get the question, “Are you done now?” To which I answer, “And if I’m not?” It normally ends the children conversation.

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The Inaccuracy of Eyewitness Testimony

       Eyewitness testimony is used every day in court cases across the country. But, how reliable is eyewitness testimony when it comes to the aspects of a person’s memory? Quoting Elizabeth Loftus, “Memories are not fixed.” This means that memories can be changed, lost and created. Eyewitnesses tend to remember major details, but memory of minor details is low. Eyewitnesses who perceive themselves as objective have more confidence in their testimony. However, confidence is not the same as accuracy.

Many factors can account for a person’s eyewitness testimony to be inaccurate. One such example is when a weapon is used in the crime being committed. Some studies show that a witness’ attention may be more on the weapon rather than the details of the crime and the perpetrator. A witness may be less likely to recall the events accurately. Another factor concerns how a police line – up is conducted. Some research suggests first having the witness describe the perpetrator and then look through photos matching that description rather than looking through photos first. Some also believe that errors are less likely if members of a line – up are viewed one after another rather than all together. However, although the “show – up” method (seeing one suspect at a time) results in fewer misidentifications, it is less likely to make a positive identification. A third factor that can affect eyewitness testimony is how a witness is questioned. Specific wording by police officers or attorneys can affect how a witness recalls information. Some researchers suggest that neutral questions be asked. Suggestive techniques can result to mistaken memories. These mistaken memories can even be detailed if the techniques are suggestive enough. Another study reports that race could even play a role in inaccurate eyewitness testimony. This study reported that it is 15% more likely that a witness identify the wrong person if the perpetrator’s race was different than their own.

           

       Witnesses can have false memories. There are several reasons this can happen. One reason was talked about previously - suggestive techniques. Another reason is the misinformation effect. This occurs when misleading information is supplied after the event and results in false recollections of the actual event. Also, each time a witness recounts testimony, they become more likely to change their testimony in response to misinformation. Some “recovered memories”, which are most likely to be false memories, are usually uncovered by hypnosis or guided imagery. Hypnosis does not improve accuracy of memory. Having a witness, or victim, imagine an experience as if it happened, can lead them to believe it did happen.  An eyewitness can also pick up information from other sources, such as the media or idle gossip. They can use what they hear to create false memories of an event. Children as witnesses can also contribute to the false memory scenario. Children’s memories can be highly affected by others especially when the event is highly stressful or emotional. Witnesses talking to one another before police can jumble up memories as well.

            The inaccuracy of eyewitness testimony can have some implications on our society. Wrong testimony can lead to the wrong person being convicted of a crime. This means an innocent person could spend years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit. The other part of this implication is that while an innocent person is jailed, the true guilty person is still free. He could then commit crimes again. This is also an implication, as our tax dollars are paying for an innocent person to be jailed. There could also be lawsuits to be paid if it is revealed that the person was innocent and jailed. Also, inaccurate testimony could let a guilty person go free. More state money could be spent trying to convict the person in some other way. These are all severe implications for our society.

 After conducting my research, my conclusion is that eyewitness testimony is not always accurate and can in many times be wrong. I personally feel that a court case should not rest solely on eyewitness testimony but should also be based on forensic evidence.

References

Renner, T., Morrissey, J., Mae, L., Feldman, R.S. & Majors, M. (2011) Psychsmart. New            

    York, NY: The McGraw – Hill Companies, Inc. (pp. 150 – 153)

Wood, S. E., Wood, E. G., & Boyd, D. (2011) The World of Psychology (7^th ed.).       Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. (pp. 200 – 202)

University of Washington Faculty. (2003) Our changeable Memories: legal and practical

    Implications. Loftus, E. retrieved from 

    http://faculty.washington.edu/eloftus/Articles/2003Nature.pdf

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Operant Conditioning As Observed At Chuck E. Cheese

For two hours, I observed parents and children in a “natural” setting – a child themed restaurant including pizza, games, toys and play area. I set out to observe families to see how they offered reinforcement and/or punishment to their children and what brought caused the parents to offer the reinforcement or punishment. I chose Chuck E. Cheese because I thought it would be a great place to observe children and their parents. The one chose was a large building with lots of space, games and play areas.

Place of Observation:

Chuck E. Cheese

6637 Ritchie Highway

Glen Burnie, Maryland 21060

Date and Time:

Saturday, October 8, 2011

4:00 – 6:00 pm

Number of Families Studied:

4

(8 adults, 7 children)

Family #1

Family #1 consisted of two parents and two children. This family was African – American. The parents appeared to be in their mid 30’s. The two children were both girls and appeared to be between 8 and 10 years of age. This family appeared to be close. The parents were observed actively playing with the children. I learned that this trip to Chuck E. Cheese was a reward for the girls behaving at the dentist office the day before. This is an example of positive reinforcement. The desired behavior {girls behaving at dentist} was met with a reward {trip to Chuck E. Cheese}.

Family #2

Family #2 consisted of two parents and one child. The family was Asian – American. The parents appeared to be in their early 30’s. The one child, a boy, appeared to be around 6 years old. The parents seemed more involved in their own conversation than in their son’s behavior. The boy ran around for several minutes hitting other children in the establishment before the parents took action. The father grabbed the boy by the arm, yelled at him sternly to behave and then sat the boy in the booth for 6 minutes before allowing him to play again. The little boy appeared to have learned his lesson for the moment as he behaved the rest of the time they were there. This is an example of negative punishment. There was a removal of something pleasant {playing} as a result of undesired behavior {hitting children}.

Family #3

Family #3 consisted of two parents and three children. The family was Caucasian. The parents appeared to be in their early – mid 30’s. There were two boys, appearing to be around 4 and 10. The third child was a girl, around age 6. This family also appeared close. They were talking during dinner and laughing and smiling. After eating, the kids were given their tokens to go play games. The youngest boy snatched some tokens out of his sister’s cup. The father immediately popped the boy’s hand, firmly but not hard. He explained to the boy that taking the tokens from someone was wrong. He instructed the boy to give the tokens back to his sister as well as a couple from his own cup as punishment.

I think this situation resembled both positive punishment and negative punishment. I think it is positive punishment as an unpleasant stimulus {having hand popped} was added due to an undesired behavior {taking tokens}. I think it is negative punishment because there was a removal of something pleasant {the boy’s tokens} due to an undesired behavior {taking tokens}.

Family #4

Family #4 consisted of two parents and one child. The family was bi – racial. The parents appeared to be in their mid 20’s. The little girl appeared to be around 3 - 4 years old. The little girl was well – behaved until the Chuck E. Cheese character made an appearance. The little girl got scared of it and hit it out of fear. The father became angry and popped the little girl’s butt. The family then left the establishment.

I also think these actions resembled positive punishment and negative punishment. The undesired behavior {hitting the mouse mascot} was met with an unpleasant stimulus {spanked}. Also, the undesired behavior {hitting the mouse} was met with the removal of something pleasant {leaving the establishment}.

Comments

I’m assuming (based on observation) that this technique is used frequently with Family #1. The girls seem well – behaved and respect their parents. I think that Family #2 should have been paying more attention to their son and punished him sooner. To me, Family #3’s techniques did not seem too drastic. I was most surprised by Family #4’s actions. The little girl was terrified of the mouse and I feel she hit it out of fear and instinct. I hope that the parents explain to her how to handle fear more appropriately.

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Schedules of Reinforcement

Continuous Reinforcement Schedule

Example: Giving my daughter money for each correct math problem on her test

Advantages: My daughter will strive to do well in math.

Disadvantages: She may come to expect money for each correct answer in everything.

Fixed Interval Schedule

Example: Receiving salary pay at a job rather than hourly pay

Advantages: I will know how much I will receive on each pay day and I can budget around it.

Disadvantages: There is no incentive for me to work harder because I will be receiving the same pay no matter how many hours I work.

Fixed Ratio Schedule

Example: I receive a $25 bonus for every 10^th sale I make as a salesperson.

Advantages: I have an incentive to sell more and push sales.

Disadvantages: Disappointment if I do not achieve enough sales.

Variable Ratio Schedule

Example: Winning money from a slot machine.

Advantages: I will be winning money.

Disadvantages: I will spend more money playing the slots because I will not know which time I will win.

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Making Love Work

Do you think that the qualities described in the reading are the most important ones in a love relationship? Please reference specific qualities from the text.  If not then what is?
            I think all the qualities described in this article are very important in a love relationship. It would be very difficult for me to name one that is more important than the others. I feel the “You Can Accept Others as They Are” quality is important. The article states “sometimes people fall in love with an image, not the reality, and spend their relationships resenting that their partners cannot be what they never were.” I think this happens a lot. I think in the beginning of a relationship people are “in love” with a vision of how they want their partner to be. Then as the relationship progresses and they realize reality is different than the image, they don’t know how to cope. I also think some people spend their time looking for the “perfect” partner, sometimes to the point of not realizing they have their “as close to perfect as you can get” partner all along.
            I also find “You Are Willing to Forgive” as an important quality. If you cannot forgive a partner for a past mistake, then how can you truly move forward? Love relationships should be made stronger, not torn down by revenge.
            I feel each of the 10 qualities discussed bring about communication. Communication is vital to a strong, healthy relationship.

Are there any aspects of your own relationship that need work, and do you talk to your partner about it?
            I really enjoyed this reading. In all honesty, I see points in each of the qualities that need work in my marriage. This reading has shown me ways to approach my concerns that are not as blunt as the way I usually come off. This reading has also shown me that the points I feel need work, on both our parts, are valid. One that I feel I struggle with is “Your Love Is Selfless”. I don’t struggle with it in the sense of his interests; feelings, etc. are below mine. Quite opposite, in fact I always put his needs ahead of my own.

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