Natalija

I agree with both erajshabzad99 and Daniel. Another red flag for me is the way a person reacts when I'm telling them about my success and positive experiences. I believe in the phenomenon "rooting for each other" and if I don't see that from both sides, wether it's a relationship or a friendship it's just a huge red flag to me which indicates that the friendship/ relationship is not as pure as I might have thought it was.

I think one of the main differences regarding the law cases about mental illness and insanity is that mental ilness it is not a legal defense like insanity is. If a person is found to be insane, the person is not guilty of the offense. If a person is mentally ill, then the person is guity of the offense but will almost certainly receive a lesser punishment at sentencing.

It is a general theory of criminalty postulated by the psychologyst Hans Eysenck that predicts that criminals as a group will have significantly higher scores on the personality dimensions of psychoticism, extroversion-introversion, and neuroticism-stability. Eysenck's theory supposes that inherited features of the nervous system influence criminal behavior.

Great question, I'd love to hear about this aswell cause I've been kinda struggling with this for the past few months. What I started implementing is the practice of mindfulness meditation and trying to stay as present as possible in every moment. Mindfulness meditation has helped me so far in cathing myself when my mind is rushing around and guiding myself back to the present moment faster.

@Benjamin Silber, Ph.D., ABPP has a great explanation on this topic. As he notes: "Individuals found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect (or insanity) are typically acquitted of their criminal charges. Depending on the nature of the charges and jurisdiction, the defendant may instead be committed to a hospital or other facility pending an evaluation of dangerousness or violence risk." He also explains that the definition of insanity differs from one country to another and he adresses the primary sources of information in order to assess whether a defendant is insane at the time of the alleged offense. It's a really great read! You can find the article on the blog or by the following link: https://www.psychological-evaluations.com/post/what-is-insanity

Thank you so much for your great explanation!

Daniel shared a great review that gives some really important implications of what's been going on and how it affected our mental health for these past 2 years. There is a damage for sure, the question is: "what can we do about it?" And I believe that we need a much higher consciousness and connectedness on this topic, on a global level, in order to minimize this damage as much as we can and learn how to better cope with the consequences.

High-functioning anxiety is not a diagnosis, as it’s not an anxiety disorder recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which provides diagnostic criteria for mental disorders. High-functioning anxiety typically refers to someone who experiences anxiety while still managing daily life quite well. People with high-dunctioning anxiety can perform very well at every aspect of their lives, like their career, love life, relationships.. while they are still struggling with anxious feelings and thoughts. High functioning anxiety can manifest through a variety of symptoms such as: • A tendency to overthink and overanalyze everything • Excessive worry • Imposter syndrome • Fear of failure • Emotional and physical fatigue • Perfectionism • Self-sabotaging thoughts and behaviors • Irritability and restlessness • Sleep problems • Problems concentrating • Difficulty saying “no” • Seeking validation from others • People pleasing

A review of a literature on delusions and violent behavior conducted by Nistazaki Maria, Papadimitriou Maria, Nikolaou Nikolaos and Alevizopoulos George published in the Journal of Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation, debates on whether violence can be triggered by symptoms of psychosis itself or not . In almost all studies reviewed, anger over delusions appears to lead to violent actions. Reactive aggression is considered the ultimate behavioral expression of anger in response to threats and delusions of persecution, conspiracy and espionage, leading to serious violence, can be an extreme threat to the psychotic patient. Perhaps the most important finding arising from this short review is that anger due to delusional thinking is a key factor that explains the relationship between violence and psychosis. . . . Nystazaki M, Papadimitriou M, Nikolaou N ,Alevizopoulos G. Delusions and Violent Behavior: A Short Review of the Recent Literature. J Forensic Sci & Criminal Inves. 2017; 3(2): 555613. DOI: 10.19080/JFSCI.2017.03.555613.

@Sehrish I. You're welcome!

Wow, I love your story! It's so amazing that you started observing people's behaviour from that age, while almost everyone else is still thinking about themselves. Thank you for sharing your story and also for your encouraging words. I wish you all the best in the journey ahead!

Absolutely! Having a routine is crutical because human beings need structures. The reason of this is because it gives us a sense of stability and control. There are so many things that are uncertain in our lives, so at least having a simple routine and sticking to it gives us that feeling of having our life in control. Also having a routine as waking up at the same time every morning regulates our circadian system. And our circadian system regulates multiple monoaminergic brain regions that control our mood, anxiety and motivated behaviors.

Wow, awesome concepts! Thank you so much for sharing your experience!What was the turning point for you for choosing the forensic field?

I'm a student of psychology and I'm on my third year of studies. Well, it's been a while since somebody asked me this question, so thank you! There were a few turning points in my life that somehow lead me to I'd say "my calling". When I was younger I had a boyfriend who was suffering from depression, I had no idea what depression was at that time and I just wanted to make him feel better by doing the exact opposite of what I "needed" to do. He was telling me that I am not helping at all but only making it worse and I was feeling so useless at that time even though I was just a child and I didn't know any better. The quilt and pain I was feeling led me to better understanding and wanting to help other people, at least I wanted to be able to make their lives a little bit better. So that's how it started.. and here I am now! ☺️ Would love to hear about you aswell!

I think 'cleithrophobia' can also be related to this condition which is actually the fear of being trapped, locked in, or unable to escape. Often, this fear is related to a concern that one will experience panic or significant discomfort, yet will be unable to leave the situation.

A systematic review and meta-analysis conducted by ( Denis Yukhnenko, MSc, DPhil student, Nigel Blackwood, MD, Clinical Senior Lecturer, and Seena Fazel, MD, Professor of Forensic Psychiatry) identified 15 studies from 5 countries, which reported data on 14 independent samples and 246,608 individuals. They found out that that several dynamic (modifiable) risk factors were associated with criminal recidivism in community sentenced populations, including mental health needs (OR=1.4, 95% CI: 1.2-1.6), substance misuse (OR=2.3, 95% CI: 1.1-4.9), association with antisocial peers (OR=2.2, 95% CI: 1.3-3.7), employment problems (OR=1.8, 95% CI: 1.3-2.5), marital status (OR=1.6, 95%: 1.4-1.8) and low income (OR=2.0, 95% CI: 1.1-3.4). The strength of these associations was comparable to that of static (non-modifiable) risk factors, such as age, gender and criminal history. . . . https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7183820/

The relationship between OCD and violence can be pretty complex. Some people with OCD may become angry at having to live with such a difficult disorder while others may experience anger as part of their obsessions or compulsions. It's like a vicious cycle: having violent thoughts, feeling guilty and anry because of having them which can often result with anger episodes. In OCD, the level, intensity, and specific behaviors of an anger episode can vary from person to person. Some people may express anger in destructive ways, while others internalize their anger instead. Some may do both. Individuals with violent OCD obsessions may also fear becoming angry, because they may fear that it will lead to them “snapping” or losing control. One of the most prevalent manifestations of anger in OCD, though, is reactive anger. This anger is less primary to the disorder and is more of a secondary reaction to having OCD.

I found a great literature review which explains the whole process of malingering detection. According to Resnik (1997), malingering detection must start with a thorough clinical interview and precise behavioral observations. He proposed several indicators of feigning psychiatric illnesses, particularly psychotic symptoms, in patients. He noted that patients rarely have the stamina to persistently perform in a way that is consistent with the symptoms they are attempting to feign. Patients may also behave differently when speaking to differing members of a multidisciplinary treatment team. That's why he sugested that the clinician must conduct long interviews focused on specific details that require the patient to maintain a consistent report. Clinical interview is a great source of infomation but many authors agree that just clinical interview is not enough. As Reid (2000) proposes that a clinical interview and behavioral observations must be paired with data from objective psychometric measures in order to formulate a convincing case. The following literature review states some of the mose successful psychometric measures but also explains the strengths and weaknesses of each of them. https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/227/

By what I've read online some of the main differences appear to be: ~ Sociopaths tend to act more impulsively and erratically compared to psychopaths who are often called cold-blooded. ~While psychopaths generally struggle to form attachments, sociopaths may be able to do so with a like-minded individual. ~ Psychopaths may be better able to disassociate from their actions and experience less guilt than sociopaths.

I found a really interesting article about this question. The writer explains that when an investigator questions a guilty suspect about the crime he committed, it can be safely assumed that the suspect has already employed one or more defense mechanisms to help him cope with his crime. The innocent suspect, on the other hand, has no need to reduce guilt or shame associated with the crime under investigation. That's why when defense mechanisms are identified during an interview, they should be associated with a guilty suspect. He shares some examples of responses to interview questions. The following example illustrates the defense mechanism indentification: Q: Have you ever just thought about forcing a woman to have sex with you? A: Well, sure. Every guy thinks about that but that doesn't mean I'd follow through with it. Here's one more that illustrates the defense mechanism rationalization: Q: Did you start that fire? A: No, but I was smoking in the area where the fire started and I have this strange feeling that maybe my cigarette may have accidentally started the fire. The other examples are about the defense mechanisms minimization, projection and displacement. https://reid.com/resources/investigator-tips/the-role-of-defense-mechanisms-in-detecting-deception