Have you ever thought about how a mental disease and how it
effects a person’s life. For example with bi polar disorder, many people just
shrug it off as a person who can’t control their emotions. Wee see them as
people who can be extremely happy at one moment in time and extremely sad at
another moment in time, but we never really think about how mental diseases
like bi polar disorder actually effect their quality of life. We never give
thought to how these mental disorders affect other areas of health as well.
This is something that Sarah Weisenbach has actually done research on. In the
introductory article I read for class she has documented how individuals that
have bi polar disorder increasingly struggle to maintain their quality of life as
they grow older. Her study concludes
that as people with bi polar disorder grow older their physical health
decreases as well. Specifically it was found that age and diseases like bpd
have a compound effect on function like verbal fluency, procession speed, and
emotion speed. What makes this information even more interesting was its
relation to another article I read. An article I found on e science news
discuss how mental disorders like bpd can also double the chance for an
individual to have a heart attack or a stroke.
In fact those that do not have a heart attack or a stroke are at high
risk for long-term cardiovascular disease. The article cites three main reasons
for this increased likely hood of contracting a cardiovascular disease. First
of all, many of the people with mental disorders have a high usage rate of
tobacco and alcohol in combination with a poor diet. To add on top of that,
many of the people with mental disorders live a sedimentary lifestyle, barely
getting any physical exercise as well. All of this in combination can lead to
obesity and diabetes. Second of all, while obesity and diabetes themselves lead
to an increased chance of having a heart attack or stroke, the medication
prescribed to combat these problems increases your chance of contracting a
heart attack as well. These medications lead to a high risk of having a
cardiovascular problem. The third reason cited in the article is access to
health care. People with mental
disorders unlike others can have trouble communicating their problems and some
times their symptoms prevent them from seeking help in the first place.
Both of these articles shed light on the struggle that
people with mental disorders go through. On one hand Sarah Weisenbach’s
research article specifically documents how as people with bi polar disorder
get older their condition only worsens. The disease has an increasing effect on
the overall quality of life as they get older. While the article on (e) science
news focus in general how mental disorders effects cardiovascular health.
This is something that is extremely intriguing to me. My
whole life I never considered how a disorder like bpd could affect other areas
of life. Overall, after reading these two articles I learned how mental
disorders affect other areas of health as well. For example bi polar disorder
doesn’t only affect your mood but in the long run it affects your motor skills,
cardiovascular health, as well as other aspects of your physical health.
Weisenbach,
S., Marshall, D., Weldon, A., Ryan, K., Vederman, A., Kamali, M., . . . Langenecker, S. (2014).
The double burden of age and disease on cognition and quality of life in bipolar disorder. International
Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
People with mental health disorders
twice as likely to have heart disease or stroke. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2,
2015, from http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/10/31/people.with.mental.health.disorders.twice.likely.have.heart.disease.or.stroke
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