Running Head: MINI ETHNOLOGY 1
We Write Essays for Students
Tell us about your assignment and we will find the best writer for your paper
Get Help Now!HUMAN BEHAVIOR SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT 2
MINI ETHNOLOGY 8
Human Behavior Social Environment
Mini Ethnology
Interviewer’s Story
Madeline was a healthy baby girl. She was funny and loved to run I don’t think she ever
walked. When Madeline began school her teachers noticed that she was very bright and excelled
in everything that she did. By the time Madeline was in the third grade her teacher Ms. Bishop
wanted to skip her to the fourth grade but I would not permit it because I felt that she needed to
remain with her class and she didn’t want to leave her friends. Madeline was very popular and
had a lot of friends. She enjoyed roller skating on the weekends and loved to sing. Madeline
did well in school but at home we noticed that she had begun to act oddly. She went through a
phase of not wanting to touch anything. She used the inside of her coat pocket to open doors and
would not sit on the bus. When I asked her what was going on she told me that the door knobs
and seats on the bus were dirty, and that I should use something to open doors because
doorknobs had germs. I didn’t think much about it, I thought that it was a phase and a spinoff of
something that she had learned in school about cleanliness.
I was always busy working and caring for five other children and my husband participation
was zero unless the children needed to be disciplined. By the time Madeline reached high school
her illness had progressed During high school Madeline was involved in many acts of unkind
acts. One instance that I can remember is when she did not get the role in a school play. She
was very upset and taunted the student for weeks before I knew anything about it. When I
addressed this with her she told me that she should have gotten the part in the play because she
was better, and she felt that the drama teacher choose her because she was sleeping with the girls
father, I was floored. I could not believe what I was hearing. I went to the school
to speak with the drama teacher Ms. Baskerville. She informed me that Madeline has been
acting out since she did not get the part in the school play and that her accusations were not true.
When I spoke with Madeline she confessed that she only made that statement because she was
mad, and then apologized. When Madeline was a senior in high school she was dating the
Captain of the football team and she was so happy and proud.
The band was looking for a new mascot to lead the band, Madeline tried out unfortunately
she did not get it. The student that got the position was in for the ride of her life. Madeline not
only taunted her she taunted her friend’s as well, and George broke up with her. During this time
George was running for class president. Madeline was so furious with him for breaking up with
her she made signs that read “DON’T VOTE FOR GEORGE TILLMAN”. She talked her
younger sister into coming to school early and posting the signs, and he lost the race. After
graduation Madeline went to an out of state college her major was Political Science.
During her first year her roommates contacted me stating that Madeline was acting strangely and
they were worried about her. When I asked what kinds of things, Beverly respond that she locks
all the doors and won’t let them in unless they tell her their phone number. Another incident that
occurred was that she was carrying all of her personal belongings with her to class in a suitcase.
Madeline graduated magna cum laude and that year she was nominated Ms. Political Science.
The family rode to North Carolina to support her for the homecoming day parade. When
Madeline graduated from college she returned home and that is when the realization set in that
something was deeply wrong. Madeline began accusing family members of trying hurt her and
put everyone on notice that she is watching everyone very closely. She began to bang pots and
pans and making loud noises, playing loud music and keeping food in her room. Madeline was
not violent but she always thought that someone was trying to hurt or deceive her. She told me
that she can hear us planning to send her away, but she was not going. Later that year Madeline
was hired as an assistant in the US Attorney’s office.in Newark, New Jersey, and she loved her
job. She was advocate for social justice and attended any rally or event that promoted social
change. It appeared that she was doing better, there were no more talks about people trying to
hurt her and her paranoia had seemed to have subsided, until the company cookout. That was
disastrous. She accused the one of the lawyers of having a knife in the pool and he was trying to
stab her while she was under the water. We were asked to leave the premises and Madeline lost
her job.
How The Illness Changed the Persons Relationship
Madeline became increasingly agitated. I told her that I wanted her to see a doctor and she
refused. After weeks of disruption and incident after incident I finally called the police. She
walked the around the house all night long talking to herself and yelling. I called the police but
they told me there was nothing they could do because she had nothing wrong and could
not arrest her or take her to the hospital, she would need to have shown that she is a danger to
self or others, and they left. I didn’t know what she was capable of and I was fearful, and I
locked my bedroom door and attempted to go to sleep. I could hear pots and pans banging on the
floors and walls of the apartment.
When I went to the kitchen Madeline was sitting on the floor with the food from the refrigerator.
I called an ambulance and they took her to the hospital for observation and released. By this
time I had lived in fear and agony for six months. Later, Madeline was arrested for throwing a
garbage can at the window of the US Attorney’s office in Newark, New Jersey, she was arrested
and sent which was federal offense. . She was charged and was sent to the psychiatric ward in a
Federal institution for 90days. This was the beginning of a long road to travel. When Madeline
was released one of the hardest things that I had to do was to tell her that she could no longer live
with me. I explained that she would need additional help that I simply could not help her with.
Madeline lived in rooming house and attended an outpatient program. During that time there
were many reoccurrences. Madeline would not take the medication because she did not like the
way it made her feel. She told me that she felt outside of herself and could still hear voices. I
took her back to the doctor and she was prescribed something different. During this time
Madeline had been prescribed several different medications all of which she stated at some point
and time was not working for her. Madeline episodes of treatment programs and medication
changes were ongoing. As a family we didn’t really know or understand her diagnosis of
paranoid schizophrenia what was happening until she was arrested and assigned a social worker
to her case. Madeleine’s siblings thought that she was being the same vindictive person that that
she was when they were younger. They did not immediately buy into the fact that she had an
illness that prevented her from functioning at a steady level without medication. The family had
a difficult time understanding why she would not take her medication if it was supposed to help.
The family simply did not know enough about the illness to make appropriate decisions or to
understand the effects that it may have had on her. After several incidences we attended family
counseling, to get a better understanding of the illness and the effects mental illness has on a
family and the expectations of Madeline’s illness. To my surprise the social worker was able to
answer all questions and was able to give us examples how Madeline felt during a psychotic
episode and that the symptoms of auditory hallucinations and feelings of being watched were
real to her. Madeline has always been a high achiever. She earned A’s and B’s for as far back as
I remember, and I stated earlier she graduated from college at the top of her class. We all felt
that she worked hard at being the best at everything and when she failed it affected her ability to
function and triggered something, we didn’t know.. The social worker asked if anyone else in
the family suffers from Schizophrenia. I wasn’t sure so I did asked my mother who has since
passed away. She told me that my Uncle Joshua use to talk to himself and say he heard voices
but everyone called him crazy. At the age of 102 he committed suicide in his hometown of
Hockley, Virginia. The social worker informed us that Schizophrenia is genetic, but that there
are other causes for the diseases well. “Genetic factors and gene-environment interactions
together contribute over 80% of the liability for developing schizophrenia and a number of
chromosomal regions and genes have been “linked” to the risk for developing the disease.
Despite intensive research and spectacular advances in molecular biology, however, no single
gene variation has been consistently associated with a greater likelihoodof developing the illness
and the precise nature of the genetic contribution remains obscure at this time. Environmental
factors linked to a higher likelihood of developing schizophrenia include cannabis use, prenatal
infection or malnutrition, perinatal complications, and a history of winter birth; the exact
relevance or nature of these contributions is, however, unclear”.. During family functions
Madeline would act out and speak loudly and inappropriate accusations towards others. During
one family function Madeline yelled out “Uncle John I know you are f***g my mother, you
should be ashamed of yourself that is your sister” I was hurt and embarrassed. She accused
people of lacing her food and drink. Many of the family members laughed and made fun of her,
they did not understand Madeline illness. After a few of those embarrassing times I was reluctant
to tell her about of upcoming family functions because I was afraid of another embarrassing
situation.
Theoretical Perspectives
The structural functioning affects all aspects of life. In Madeline case she suffered with issues at home and at work. Her ability to function at a steady normal rate was not without medication.
The impact of the illness on their daily Life
The impact on Madeline life was painful for her and the family. When Madeline took her
medication as prescribed she was more likely to function well, with regards self-care, interact
socially , she worked part-time, took public transportation and she loved going to the library but
she still carried all of her belongings with her. Today Madeline continues to take medication on
at a more frequent regiment
My reflection
During this interview I was able to reflect back to several clients that suffered from mental health
issue. I began to think about how other family members addressed issues of mental health. I
also began to think about how the individuals themselves felt feeling abnormal or different
because of their issue. Individuals that often stop taking their medication because they begin to
feel better and are able to perform normally. Clients have reported to me that they stop taking
their medication because they don’t like the effects of the way medications make them feel,
oftentimes feeling lethargic, tired and unable to function. During my research I found that many
clients are noncompliance is “driven by lack of insight which, medication beliefs and substance
abuse. “. While most commonly adult onset, does occasionally occur in children and
adolescents. Youths appropriately diagnosed with schizophrenia tend to have
significantly lower school success and face more daily academic challenges which can be
insurmountable. Madeline was never diagnosed for schizophrenia. I would think that
medication for children at such a young age would lower their success in school.
References
Schizophrenia, “Just the Facts” What we know in 2008. 2. Epidemiology and etiology
Journal of Social Work Practice
Psychotherapeutic Approaches in Health, Welfare and the Community
Volume 29, 2015 – Issue 3 Mental Health
The post Mini Ethnology appeared first on Essay Mine.
Welcome to originalessaywriters.com, our friendly and experienced essay writers are available 24/7 to complete all your assignments. We offer high-quality academic essays written from scratch to guarantee top grades to all students. All our papers are 100% plagiarism-free and come with a plagiarism report, upon request
Tell Us “Write My Essay for Me” and Relax! You will get an original essay well before your submission deadline.
