Dr. Saroja Rs

In many cases, the body responds to a stressful or traumatic situation by disassociating with it. This can result in the development of a dissociative disorder. A dissociative disorder or dissociative amnesia is a mental illness that involves the breaking down of memory, consciousness, identity and perception. It can interfere with a person's general functioning, social life and relationships. People suffering from dissociative amnesia can have long gaps in their memory of the accident and the time before and after it. 

Women are at a higher risk of suffering from this condition as compared to men. It has also been found to have a genetic link as people suffering from this condition often have other members of their family who experience something similar. Manmade and natural disasters such as wars, floods, earthquakes etc that cause overwhelming stress is said to trigger this disease. 

The inability to recall past events is a primary symptom of this disease. Other symptoms include:

• Depression or anxiety
• Inability to remember personal information
• Substance abuse
• Mood swings
• Sexual dysfunction
• Panic attacks
• Obsessive compulsive symptoms
• Hallucinations and 
• Social withdrawal

Treatment for this disease is a two step process. The first step involves relieving symptoms and controlling any behavioral changes. The second step aims at helping the person to recall and process their memories. Developing coping skills and rebuilding relationships is also focused on. Depending on the individual and the severity of symptoms showcased a doctor may choose to treat the patient using any of the following forms of treatment. 

1. Psychotherapy: This form of treatment is designed to encourage communication and give the person insight into their problems. It uses a number of psychological techniques. 
2. Cognitive therapy: Changing dysfunctional thinking patterns and their resulting emotions and behavior patterns is the focus of this form of treatment.  
3. Medication: Dissociative amnesia patients who also suffer from depression or anxiety can benefit from medication such as anti depressants and anti anxiety drugs. However, this medication does not treat the dissociative amnesia itself. 
4. Family therapy: In some cases, along with the patient it is also necessary to counsel the family. Family therapy involves educating the family members about the disorder and symptoms of recurrence. 

Clinical hypnosis: This type of treatment uses intense relaxation and focused attention techniques to access the unconscious part of the mind and allow people to explore their thoughts, emotions and repressed memories.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

It is often said that we are what we eat. So, when a person aims to stay healthy, maintaining a healthy rate of metabolism is important. So what about foods which can really help boost the metabolism?

While exercise is important to stay healthy, it is said that what a person eats accounts for about 70 to 75% of the entire challenge of being fit. So, it can be said that eating foods which help the metabolism stay at a high level is something which is really very important. But, what exactly are these foods?

1. It is known that excessive consumption of eggs leads to high levels of cholesterol, but that really does not mean that egg whites are bad for health. As a matter of fact, not only it has a lot of Vitamin D and protein, but there is also a great amount of branched chain amino acids, which can work wonders on the metabolism of a person.
2. Water is something that is really underrated in a variety of ways. It should not come as a surprise, in that case, to know that it can do its bit to help in keep a metabolism rate high. After all, something that gets the body to function more smoothly should also be part of the answer to getting a more effortless high metabolism rate! Another thing which is interesting to know when it comes to water is the fact that if it is drunk cold, more calories can be burnt as the body would spend some energy in warming the water up. Now, is this not a very simple way to go about making sure that one’s metabolism does not slow?
3. There are some chemical compounds which can help when it comes to improving the metabolism. One of these happens to be capsaicin. Also, it does not mean that this compound needs to be bought or anything like that. As a matter of fact, it occurs absolutely naturally in chilli peppers. So, just incorporating some of them into the food one eats in a consistent manner will help a lot. Apart from just capsaicin, there is also quite a bit of vitamin C in chilli peppers, so it is truly a case of two birds, one stone!
4. A cup of coffee is said to be a daily need for a lot of people. While too much is not good, the fact that coffee drinkers tend to have a 16% higher metabolism than normal should provide sufficient reason to make a daily coffee a habit.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Surrogacy is the method that is used for reproduction in which a woman other than the woman, who wants to have the baby, agrees to undertake pregnancy and give birth to a child for the couple that appoints her. A couple can opt for surrogacy in the following conditions.

- Infertility
In the case of females who cannot reproduce due to infertility or some other medical conditions that make the process risky for both the mother and the childlike heart diseases, liver infirmities and high blood pressure, surrogacy can opt for so that the couple can experience the bliss of becoming parents.

- If you are a single parent
A single parent can opt for surrogacy in order to fulfil his/her dream of having a child to live for.

- Other factors
There are several other factors when a couple might want to opt for surrogacy. For instance, in couples, where the female is too busy building a stable career for herself and she cannot take the risk of opting for pregnancy, surrogacy can come to their rescue. Also, repeated miscarriages, pelvic disorder, hysterectomy, an impaired uterus or the absence of uterus can act as reasons to opt for surrogacy.

There are a few factors that need to be considered before opting for surrogacy. They are listed below.

Type of surrogacy

Traditional surrogacy and gestational surrogacy are the two options available. In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate mother not only carries the embryo in her womb until childbirth but also donates the egg. However in gestational surrogacy, the egg is taken from the biological mother and impregnated in the womb of the surrogate mother through in vitro fertilization techniques. The intended parents need to take a decision regarding the type of surrogacy that they wish to opt for.

Surrogacy laws

The intended parents must be aware of the surrogacy laws prevalent in their country so as to make sure that they can go through the entire process smoothly. For instance, in India, it is mandatory that the surrogate child should be biologically related to one of the two parents.

Cost of surrogacy

Another important factor that needs to be considered while opting for surrogacy is the cost of the undertaking. It can involve high costs due to the unpredictability of the situations surrounding the process, so the financial stability of the intended parents should be kept in mind. Also, choose the right agency or even if you choose an independent candidate to become the surrogate mother for your child, make a wise choice. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Gynaecologist.