psychrachalog

[psychrachalog]

what got you into forensic psychology?

hi! so at first, i just thought it was interesting. when i started undergrad, i sampled a bunch of different psychology courses and absolutely fell in love with the forensic psych one (the professor later became my mentor and i owe him so much). so one half of it is just that, there's nothing else i like learning about more. it's faciniating isn't it? how some people with the same experiences can have different life outcomes, how some people are at more risk for engaging in criminal behavior, how mental illness intersects into the criminal justice system. quite frankly, i just think it's cool.

the other half is. a little sadder. when you learn more about the american criminal justice system, you learn more about how horrible it is. how mistreated people are, especially people of color. if there are strides i can make as a researcher and a clinician in the future, even if they are small, i want to do what i can.

[psychrachalog]

You’re blog is nice! I major in research psychology, so I love reading you. Thank you for your posts so far 😁💕

thank you!!! it's still so new and i'm trying to work out what exactly to post so it makes me very happy to know that you enjoy the few things i have posted so far <3

[psychrachalog]

something i recently brought up in supervision was the first session.

why does it feel like you’re being asked a ton of questions that seem pointless? why do we care that you broke your toe once in the fourth grade? to me, it seemed kind of redundant at first, like why am i asking you all of these borderline invasive questions?

there is a reason!

everything’s important, even though it may not seem like it. you are the expert on you, and we need to know as much as we can from the expert in order to guide you best. maybe that broken toe will come up later, maybe it won’t, but no detail is insignificant. before we can do anything, we consult experts right? this is what it is - we are consulting you on you.

but do you have to answer these questions? absolutely not. you can always express that, or say that it's something you want to discuss at a later point. you are not under an interrogation, you can divulge what you are comfortable with!

[psychrachalog]

Hi!! You seem pretty cool. Is it true that people with adhd are more likely to have asthma/stomach problems/sleep apnea?

-Luna

hi!! so, this is actually something i've never really read about before, so i did some research (the peer-reviewed kind, not webmd haha). as a disclaimer, i am not an expert in adhd or any of the three conditions you listed.

so for asthma, there seems to be marked comorbidity between it and adhd. what this means is that people with one are seen also have the other at a higher rate than what one would expect in a normal population. this does not mean that someone with adhd is more likely to have asthma, but rather the rates of people with both are just a bit higher. one doesn't cause the other, if that makes sense.

for stomach problems, i actually found that there are differences in the gut microbiome in people with adhd as opposed to those without! that's pretty cool...however, there isn't a whole ton of research out there. also, i don't really know much about biology/physiology, so some of the research went kind of over my head. but yeah, i'd say that there might be a likelihood of stomach problems...but as to what those are, i'm not too sure. also, things like IBS can have symptoms that present as adhd or anxiety, even when the person doesn't actually meet the criteria for those disorders, which i did know prior! a lot of times, anxiety is misdiagnosed when it is a cause of IBS, or sometimes anxiety flies under the radar because one of the physical symptoms of anxiety is stomach pain. i think adhd might work in a similar fashion.

lastly sleep apnea...so interestingly, sleep apnea can actually cause adhd-mimicking symptoms as a result of the effects it has on your brain (for example, restlessness and emotional instability). so the symptoms can look really similar! as for a cause-effect, that doesn't seem to be the case.

let me know if you want links to the sources i found for this information!

[psychrachalog]

hi, i’m anny. i’m a clinical psychology graduate student.

what this is:

a place for us to talk about psychology! my special interest is in forensic psychology but i am building my foundation on clinical psychology, so i love discussing anything and everything. send me asks!

what this is not:

a diagnostic or therapy tool. a crisis management service. i am happy to talk about things like coping skills or your personal experience if you want to, but if you are experiencing a crisis please reach out to the appropriate services if you are able to.