 Humans are complex creatures whose psychological experience lies at the intersection of biology and culture.To paraphrase one theorist, Erik Erikson (we will discuss about his theory later sometime) psychologists must practice “triple bookkeeping”to understand an individual at any given time, simultaneously tracking biological events, psychological experience, and the cultural and historical context. At the intersection of biology and culture lies psychology, the scientific investigation of mental processes and behavior. All psychological processes occur through the interaction of cells in the nervous system, and all human action occurs in the context of cultural beliefs and values that render it meaningful. Psychological understanding thus requires a constant movement between the microlevel of biology and the macrolevel of culture.
 Last time we spoke about Mental illness and had some overview about the kind of mental illness people may experience. Today, I want to reflect on some issues which might many of us have seen or heard stories. Here is Jenny's issue which I found is quiet interesting and many of us might be aware of such facts, atleast not this extreme but we are known to the fact that how people may act to get complete attention from other people or get famous.
A 35-year-old woman named Jenny worked for a manufacturing plant where she was known as an efficient but quiet worker. Rarely did she form close personal relationships with co-workers, relying instead on her fiancé of a year for affection and companionship. That is, until the day when, for no apparent reason, her fiancé announced that their relationship was over. Forced to leave the apartment she had shared with him, Jenny moved back home to live with her mother.To occupy the free time that she had once devoted to the man she loved, Jenny began sewing costumes for the drama club at the elementary school where her mother worked. However, this task wasn’t enough to allow Jenny to find meaning in life or to feel connected with other people. Jenny felt hurt, betrayed, and alone. After several months of leading a relatively solitary existence, Jenny went to work and reported to her co-workers that she was dying of cancer. Suddenly, this relatively unassuming co-worker became the center of attention as people showered her with friendship and support. Having spent time with a neighbor who was suffering from breast cancer, Jenny was well aware of the course of a terminal illness, including treatment regimens, hair loss, and weight loss. To simulate hair loss, Jenny began cutting her hair and leaving hair remnants in the bathroom sink for her mother to find. Eventually, she shaved her head, the hair loss ostensibly the result of the chemotherapy she told everyone she was receiving. She went on a diet to lose weight, often a side effect of the treatment. She even joined a support group for women with breast cancer so that she could acquire even more of the attention and support she desperately desired. The students at her mother’s elementary school raised money to help her pay for medical treatments.
Although a few eyebrows were raised when the months passed and Jenny continued to report to work, few co-workers questioned the status of her illness. However, suspicions began to arise in the breast cancer support group. Needing information about Jenny, the support group leaders attempted to contact one of the doctors Jenny had claimed was treating her for her illness. Of course, there was no such doctor, so their attempts were futile. After one attempt after another failed to allow the support group leaders to contact Jenny’s doctors, they confronted her with the belief that she was faking the illness. Once confronted, Jenny confessed that they were right and the entire illness had been a fabrication! How could Jenny have created such a preposterous ruse? What could have motivated a seemingly normal individual to do this? The answer: Munchausen’s syndrome, a psychological illness that falls within the spectrum of factitious illnesses, in which people actually fabricate or induce illness in themselves. Compared to the lengths to which some people go, enduring repeated hospitalizations and unnecessary surgeries, Jenny’s case was relatively mild. Imagine the woman who stuck pins in her eyes to “blind”herself to the sexual abuse she was experiencing at home. Or, the woman who cut her tonsils out with scissors. Relatively speaking, Jenny’s case was at the less extreme end of the continuum. In fact, some people perpetrate Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy, in which they fabricate or induce illness in others. In Jenny’s case, an external or environmental event her fiancé’s calling off their engagement created a psychological illness that in some individuals can have fatal results. Unlike many perpetrators of Munchausen’s syndrome, Jenny immediately entered therapy and never experienced any problems of this nature again.
Next issue will be about Altruism where we will reflect some light on Mahatma Gandhi and how social and personal events impact his behavior.
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