What is Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Seasonal Affective Disorder is a mental disorder characterized by symptoms similar to depression occurring at a particular time of the year; usually fall or winters. Due to its similarities with depression, it is also called Seasonal Depression. It is quite common to feel a little down during winters, as we want to remain cozy in our beds and less likely to socialize but SAD goes beyond this usual feeling and hinders our daily functioning.

Since it is a diagnosable mental condition and is described as a mental illness in DSM and ICD, we should have an understanding of what SAD looks like and when do we need to be alert.

What does it look like?

SAD being a mental illness shows up with a group of symptoms like:

• Feeling Low , sad for most of the hours in a day
• Lack of energy, fatigue
• Lack of interest in pleasurable activities
• Craving carbohydrates, weight gain
• Long hours of sleep
• Poor concentration
• Irritability

What causes SAD?

SAD has been linked with multiple factors but there is no one particular reason for it to occur. The different causal factors can be put up as:

• Reduced exposure to sunlight
• Imbalance in brain chemistry
• Deficiency of Vitamin D
• Melatonin Boost
• Stress/ negative thoughts

Diagnosis of SAD: SAD can be diagnosed by a professional with the help of psychological assessments. There are a number of psychological tests available to understand the symptoms and their severity in the patients. Few of the psychological assessments used are:

• Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ)
• Beck’s Depression Inventory
• Personal Inventory for Depression and SAD

With the help of these tests and clinical evaluation, diagnosis is given by a mental health professional only.

How can I get better?

SAD being a mental illness, definitely requires Psychological support. However,  a few simple techniques can speed up the progress which can be done from the comfort of your home. Few techniques that we can practice are:

• Exposure to Sunlight
• Taking Vitamin D  
• Exercise daily preferably outdoors.
• Keep your workstation near a window.
• Keep a check on your sleep hours.
• Socialize indoors or outdoors.
• Talk about thoughts bothering you.

Professional help would include:

• Light therapy
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Pharmacotherapy (anti-depressants)

Points to ponder about SAD…

• SAD is treatable with lifestyle changes, medication and psychotherapy.
• SAD can reoccur at any point of our life.
• All stages of SAD don’t need medication.
• Light therapy for SAD is efficient for all age groups, but, should be taken through a professional only.
• SAD symptoms can include suicidal tendencies as well; seek help from mental health professional immediately.

Seasonal Affective Disorder has been a major concern for all ages, majorly adults, impacting the daily functioning, quality of life and professional efficiency. A good portion of our population is still not aware of SAD and therefore goes un diagnosed for long period or unless it turns severe. It is the need of the hour to spread awareness and educate people around us to identify SAD and encourage help seeking behavior. We at Neuropsyche Centres are working towards psycho-educating people and motivating them for treatment of SAD and other mental health issues.

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You might find yourself crying for no reason or shouting at people over small things. It’s not that you want to be like this, but it’s like there’s a dark cloud hanging over you all the time, making it hard to see the good things in life.

Your body might feel tired all the time, even if you’ve slept for hours. And no matter how much you eat, you either have no appetite or can’t seem to stop eating.

Sometimes you wonder if life is even worth living anymore. You feel worthless, like you’re a burden to everyone around you. These thoughts can be scary and overwhelming and sound like depression.

WHAT IS DEPRESSION

Depression is a condition where people feel very sad and hopeless for a long time. It’s like having a heavy weight on your heart that won’t go away. People with depression may lose interest in things they used to enjoy and have trouble sleeping or eating. They might feel tired all the time and have negative thoughts about themselves. Depression is tough, but with support and help, it’s possible to feel better.

LOOK AT FOLLOWING CASE:– A lady who has always been happy and outgoing. But after her husband’s death, she’s been feeling overwhelmed and sad. She used to love going out with friends, but now she just wants to stay home alone. Small tasks, like getting dressed or making dinner, feel impossible. Her friends notice the change and try to help, but she feels like she’s slipping further into a dark hole. Eventually, she realizes she might be depressed and is facing symptoms like:

• Low mood for a prolong time
• Loss of interest or pleasure in activities that are normally pleasurable. .
• Feelings of guilt or poor self-worth, 
• Poor concentration
• Hopelessness about the future,
• Suicidal ideation, disrupted sleep
• Changes in eating or weight
• Fatigue or lack of energy.

Like the flu or a broken bone, depression is a real illness. Things can improve with the right support from family, friends, and a therapist or a psychiatrist. Though it may take some time, but the symptoms can be relieved with the right treatment. As seen by the previously mentioned example, she decided to visit a therapist with the goal of receiving professional help after experiencing challenges with her day-to-day routine. In order to avoid the problem getting worse, it is important that you get the required support.

The post Navigating The Darkness: Understanding Depression first appeared on Neuropsyche Centers.

However, a large part of Indian population is still unaware of mental health issues and the ways in which psychotherapy can benefit them. Myths about psychotherapy still exist in our society which contributes to low help seeking behavior and inquisitive outlook towards psychotherapists.

Busting a few of the myths related to psychotherapy, let’s discuss what psychotherapy actually is and how it can help us.

• Only “crazy” people go to therapy

 It is often believed that psychotherapy is for people who go crazy or have some diagnosed mental illness. Rather, psychotherapy is targeted for everyone who feel stuck at any point in their life to help them improve their efficiency and quality of life. It could be relationship issues, managing work stress, developing personal resources or any crisis situation.

• I don’t need therapy, I can talk to my friend

Talking to a friend is obviously very relaxing and cathartic to many of us but it is not the same as talking to your therapist or taking psychotherapy. Psychotherapists are professionals who comprehend your worries, reasons for them and formulate management plans to address your concerns.

• Psychotherapy is mostly just talk

The credit for this myth goes to our television shows and movies which portray the functioning of a psychotherapist in a very passive manner. Psychotherapy is much more than just talk as the therapist works on a proper module of a therapeutic model aiming towards transformation of the client.

• Psychotherapy is Forever

Psychotherapy doesn’t work magically and bring changes overnight. Psychotherapy take time to show its efficiency, and requires some base number of sessions to identify root causes for the concerns and their competent treatment. Therapy is a continues process and if taken consistently is terminated in fixed period of time.

• Psychotherapy is happiness therapy

Psychotherapy tends to deal with client problem and maladaptive behaviors which cause distress, which, is not a very happy experience for most of us. When we discuss and identify the problems, it makes us sad, uncomfortable and overwhelmed at times. But, eventually therapy helps us to deal with our emotions and manage our stressors.

• All psychotherapies are same

There are many therapies which run on different modules aiming at different kind of problems a person may face. So, the treatment for an individual is tailored according to the needs of the client. The approach used by the psychotherapist could differ from therapist to therapist and from the nature of problems as well.

These are few of the common myths related to psychotherapy that we need to eradicate from our society and spread more factual information about psychotherapy and psychotherapists. We at Neuropsyche centres aim at creating a society more educative towards mental health, making psychotherapy more accessible, and encouraging a healthy and supportive community.

The post Busting Psychotherapy Myths first appeared on Neuropsyche Centers.

Genetic factors — having a close family member with a mental illness can increase the chance that you might get a mental illness. However, just because one family member has a mental illness does not mean that others will.

Environmental Factors – Early life experiences and environmental factors play a crucial role. Childhood trauma, abuse, neglect, or inconsistent parenting may contribute to the development of maladaptive personality traits and mental health issues.

Personality factors – Some traits such as perfectionism or low self-esteem can increase the risk of depression or anxiety.

Parental Influence – Parental modelling and the quality of parent-child relationships are significant factors. Children may learn disturbed behaviours or coping mechanisms from their parents, contributing to the development of personality disorders.

Physical Health – For being a mentally healthy person, it is essential condition that a person should be physically healthy. It is a general fact that the person who is chronically ill also suffers from mental tension, frustration, and inner conflicts.

Complications during birth– Early age Pregnancy and birth complications e.g.  prematurity [before 26 weeks], low birth weight, substance use by mother during pregnancy may cause mental health problem in children.

Drugs and alcohol – Abusing drugs and alcohol in an Excessive amount can be led to mental health issues as it impacts one’s brain.

Brain Damage – There are naturally occurring brain chemicals which send signals to different parts of your body through neural networks.  If the functions of these neural networks are impaired, chances of neurological damage become high. This may lead to various neuropsychological issues.

Other factors- unemployment, debt, grief, discrimination, death of parents or someone close, divorce, relationship issues, accident leading to brain injury resulting in mental health problems, Exposure to toxins during childhood, social and cultural background.

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Anxiety is a natural response to stress, but sometimes it can become overwhelming and interfere in daily life activities. It is also an extreme feeling of worry when something unexpected happens to you. It is a common mental health issue that may occur due to overthinking or unnecessary predictions of situations. Anxiety comes in several forms, and each has its own distinct set of symptoms. These are frequently characterised by restlessness, irritation, trouble sleeping, and avoidance of particular situations.

UNDERSTANDING STRESS, WORRY AND TENTION

STRESS: Stress is the feeling of being under pressure or overwhelmed by things happening around you. It’s like your body and mind reacting to situations that might be challenging or demanding. When you’re stressed, you might feel tense, worried, or even upset. Stress can come from many things, like schoolwork, work, exams, or even just everyday life.

WORRY : Worry is when you feel nervous or anxious about something. It’s like a little voice in your head that keeps telling you something bad might happen. When you worry, you might feel nervous, scared, or uneasy. It’s normal to worry sometimes, but too much worry can make you feel stressed and upset. There are certain situation in which stress  are beneficial, such as the stress you experience before tests or interviews.

TENSION : Tension is like a tight feeling in your body or mind. It’s when you feel like something is pulling on you, making you feel anxious or stressed out. It can happen when you’re worried about something or when you’re in a situation that’s difficult to handle. Your muscles might feel tight, and your mind might feel strained.

Anxiety can occasionally arise later in life, but it usually begins in childhood or adolescence. Since anxiety problems may remain for months or even years, they are frequently chronic if we do not seek professional help at the right time. For example, a person who has big dreams for his future, wants to start his own business and become successful. Every day, he thinks about his goals and feels a bit tense because he’s not sure if he’ll achieve them. However, he ignores these feelings and keeps pushing himself.

After a while, he starts experiencing more anxiousness, which starts hampering his daily life activities, such as finding it hard to focus on his work and even struggling to sleep at night. His anxiety starts affecting his daily life. He feels stressed out all the time and finds it difficult to enjoy things he used to love, like spending time with friends or hobbies.

Eventually, he realizes that he can’t keep ignoring his anxiety. He seeks help from a therapist, who helps him understand his feelings and teaches him coping strategies. With time and support, he learns to manage his anxiety better and starts taking steps towards his goals without feeling overwhelmed.

Everyone experiences stress for a number of reasons, like worries about their jobs, money, relationships, health, and other concerns. However, stress will become serious and cause issues in day-to-day living if it increases over time. According to the example mentioned above, regular anxiety or stress might worsen if you don’t get help from professionals when you need it.

SIGN AND SYMPTOMS

• Dry mouth
• Difficulty breathing
• Feeling pf choking
• Chest pain or discomfort
• Nausea or abdominal distress
• Feeling dizzy
• palpitations or pounding heart
• accelerated heart rate
• sweating
•  trembling or shaking.
• Hot flushes or cold chills
• Irritation
• Acidic issues
• Constipation

The post Understanding Anxiety & Stress first appeared on Neuropsyche Centers.