Emotional

SOME EMOTIONAL DISEASES

DEPRESSION  :    Depression is a common but serious mood disorder. It affects in many ways on  feeling, thinking, and handling daily activities, such as eating,  working. Or sleeping,  Depression can affect people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and genders. Women are more often diagnosed with depression than men, but men can also be depressed. Because men may be less likely to recognize, talk about, and seek help for their feelings or emotional problems, they are at greater risk of their depression symptoms being undiagnosed or under treated. It can be of many types such as :-

  • Major depression– This may develop depressed mood or loss of interest, most of the time for at least 2 weeks. This results in  interference  with daily activities.
  • Persistent depressive disorder– It may consists of less severe symptoms of depression but last much longer, usually for at least 2 years.
  • Perinatal depression–  This type of  is depression may develop during pregnancy (known as prenatal depression) or after childbirth (known as postpartum depression).
  • Seasonal affective disorder– is depression that comes and goes with the seasons, Symptoms of this type of depression generally start early winter and goes away during the spring and summer.
  • Depression with symptoms of psychosis: This is the most  severe form of depression in which a person experiences psychosis symptoms, such as delusions (false  beliefs) or hallucinations (seeing or hearing something that is not really there).
  • Bipolar  (manic) depression: In this type of depression person feels sad, indifferent, or hopeless, combined with a very low activity level, and may also have  manic  episodes of elevated moods, such as feeling very happy, crying in sadness,  irritable, etc with a marked increase in activity level.
  • Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder: This is a condition in which children or adolescents experience ongoing irritability, anger, and frequent, intense temper outbursts.
  • Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD): This is a health problem of women and is quite similar to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) but is more serious. PMDD causes severe irritability, depression, or anxiety around the time of period, generally a week or two before start of period in women.

Causes : Depression may develop due to specific circumstances such as major negative life changes, trauma, or stress, Side effect of certain medications such as synthetic hormonal drugs.  Some research suggests that genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors also play a role in depression.

Depression, especially in midlife or older age, can co-occur with other serious medical illnesses, such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, chronic pain, and Parkinson’s disease.

Symptoms : Symptoms of depression may include –  Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood, Increased anger or irritability, hopelessness or pessimism,  frustration, or restlessness, Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness, Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities, Difficulty in concentrating, remembering, or making decisions, Difficulty sleeping, waking too early in the morning, or oversleeping, Problems with sexual desire and performance, Physical aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems without a clear physical cause that do not go away with treatment, Isolating from family and friends, Thoughts of death or suicide or suicide attempts.

FOBIA  : .  Phobia is a mental disorder, an exaggerated, imagined and irrational fear. The imagined  threat is greater than any actual threat posed by the cause of terror. Phobic persons,  often shape their lives to avoid what they consider to be dangerous. Phobic persons experience intense distress when faced with the source of their phobia. This can prevent them from functioning normally and sometimes leads to panic attacks.

Phobia can be of the following types :-

Specific phobia: This is an intense, irrational fear of a specific trigger. It is a simple phobias and  can be linked to an identifiable cause that may not frequently occur in the everyday life of an individual, such as snakes.

Social phobia : This is a extreme fear  of public humiliation and judged by others in a social situation. The thought of large social gatherings is terrifying for someone with social anxiety. It differs than shyness. It is a complex phobia and  it is not easy to identify  their triggers .

Agoraphobia: This is also a complex phobia and it is a fear of situations from which it would be difficult to escape  such as leaving the house or being in a large crowd. It is commonly misunderstood as a fear of open spaces but could also apply to being confined in a small space, such as an elevator, or being on public transport. People with agoraphobia have an increased risk of panic disorder.

Symptoms – Symptoms are almost  common across all types of phobias. They may include – an  uncontrollable anxiety when exposed to the source of fear, Thinking to avoid source of that fear at any cost, inability to function properly when exposed to the trigger, an inability to control the fear feeling when exposed to the trigger.  Phobia may also be associated with some physical symptoms such as sweating, abnormal breathing, accelerated heartbeat, trembling, hot flushes or chills, a choking sensation, chest pains or tightness, a nervous feeling in the stomach, dry mouth, confusion and disorientation, nausea, dizziness, headache etc. A feeling of anxiety can be produced simply by thinking about the object of the phobia. Younger children with phobia may cry, become very clingy, or attempt to hide behind the legs of  parent or an object.

Phobias are  linked to the amygdala which is an almond shaped small structure lies behind the pituitary gland in the brain. The amygdala can trigger the Sympathetic nervous system activation (commonly known as the “fight-or-flight” response).

ANXIETY :  Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness. It can be a normal reaction to stress. For example,  feeling anxious when faced with a difficult problem at work, before taking a test, or before making an important decision.  It may result in sweating ,  restlessness  and  making tense, and have a rapid heartbeat. The anxiety may give you a boost of energy or help you focus. But for people with anxiety disorders, the fear is not temporary and can be overwhelming.  Anxiety disorders are conditions in which  anxiety  does not go away  can get worse over time and  can interfere with daily activities such as job performance, school work, and relationships.

Anxiety disorders can be of  several types including:

  • Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).People with GAD worry about ordinary issues such as health, money, work, and family, but their worries are excessive, and they have them almost every day for at least 6 months.
  • Panic disorderPeople with panic disorder have panic attacks. These are sudden, repeated periods of intense fear when there is no danger. The attacks come on quickly and can last several minutes or more.
  • Phobias.People with phobias have an intense fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. Their fear may be about spiders, flying, going to crowded places, or being in social situations..

Ccauses of anxiety disorders – The cause of anxiety is unknown. Factors such as genetics, brain biology and chemistry, stress, and environment may play a role.  Traumatic events in early childhood or adulthood, Family history of anxiety or other mental disorders , Some physical health conditions, such as thyroid problems etc may also cause anxiety disorders.

Symptoms of anxiety disorders may include – Anxious thoughts or beliefs that are hard to control,  restlessness,  tense and interferences with  daily life. They do not go away and can get worse over time. They may also be associated with Physical symptoms, such as a pounding or rapid heartbeat, unexplained aches and pains, dizziness, and shortness of breath, Changes in behaviour, such as avoiding everyday activities one used to do.

STRESS : Stress is a state of worry or mental tension caused in a difficult situation. It is the result of a hormone ‘Cortisol’ produced by Adrenal glands under such situations. Stress is a natural human response that prompts us to address challenges and threats in our lives. Everyone experiences stress to some degree. However, the way we respond to stress, makes a big difference to our overall well-being. Stress affects on mind and body. While a little stress help us perform daily activities, too much stress can cause physical and mental health problems. Stress makes it hard to relax and can come with a range of emotions, including anxiety, difficult concentrating, headache or other body pains, an upset stomach, poor or increased appetite, and/or trouble sleeping. Chronic stress can cause depression and worsen pre-existing health problems.  

 TREATMENT :  Since, all such disorders are emotional and / or psychological in nature, their treatment can not be done by the patient himself and therefore,  it needs proper medical consultation.  Patient may write to us following the consultancy procedure given on our website.