Delusions of grandeur are false beliefs held by an individual in which they believe with full conviction that they are a celebrity, person of high rank, omnipotent, and/or a powerful entity – despite significant evidence to the contrary. Imagine waking up one day thinking that you’re the president of the United States, despite the fact …
Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon that approximately 7% of the world’s population will experience at some point in their lives. Furthermore, it is thought that among individuals with diagnosable sleep disorders (e.g. narcolepsy), nearly 40% will deal with episodes of sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is characterized by the body and musculature being rendered completely immobile …
Have you ever experienced a nightmare, became conscious, but were unable to move your body? This is a phenomenon known as isolated sleep paralysis that an estimated 5% to 40% of the general population experiences at one point or another throughout their lifetime. During this condition, you may feel extreme fear, notice the fight-or-flight response, …
Many drugs have anticholinergic properties, meaning they inhibit the neurotransmission of acetylcholine in the brain. Drugs with anticholinergic effects prevent acetylcholine from binding to receptors, resulting in therapeutic effects. There are three major types of anticholinergic drugs including: antimuscarinics, ganglionic inhibitors, and neuromuscular inhibitors – the majority being antimuscarinic. Anticholinergic drugs are often administered for …
Excited delirium is considered a relatively uncommon health condition characterized by severe agitation, aggression, distress, and is often fatal. In many cases of excited delirium, individuals will have displayed noticeable increases in body temperature (fever), utilized drugs that altered dopaminergic functioning, and exhibit overtly bizarre behavior. Although the condition is rare, those with excited delirium …
Emotional upheavals are most commonly associated with those who’ve dealt with a traumatic experience, blocked the traumatic emotion and/or memory from conscious perception, and then later end up experiencing a resurfacing of the traumatic memory accompanied by strong emotion. It is the strong surge of unpleasant emotion, seemingly out of thin air that leads people …
While there are a number of potential factors that may cause mental illness, one that many people don’t consider is that of methylation. It is believed that genetic mutations may lead to abnormalities in the methylation process. The methylation cycle is a specific biochemical pathway that is responsible for influencing a variety of critical biological …