Dr. Thomas Mj

Emotions are our feelings. Sometimes we are happy & sometimes sad, sometimes angry & upset, sometimes calm & contented. Joy, sorrow, fear, grief, anger, jealousy, love etc are normal human emotions which every individual experiences. These emotions are there in everyone, but how one reacts to the emotions vary from person to person, based on his tolerance level, coping skills, patience etc. Anger is one such emotion, which do us harm if not controlled. One does not have control over his emotions, but has control over his actions.

Anger is a basic emotion which every human being experiences in response to life events or situations. If out of control it may harm in aspect of career, relationships & varied aspects of life, and also brings in feeling of insult, frustrations, disappointment, & other negative feelings within. Try the following measures to control your anger:

1) First realize & acknowledge that you have the anger outburst problem, & stay aware & cautious about it in all situations.

2) Try to understand your own emotions especially those events, situations etc that triggers your anger. Whenever you face any such situations, stay alert & calm, try to avoid it or control it.

3) When you are angry, take a short break, move away from that place if possible, have a cup of tea or coffee etc to calm your mind.

4) Whenever you are feeling angry, try to interrupt the anger cycle in the following way:

a) At that moment do not talk & try to divert yourself & control your anger first. In the state of anger you may say or do things which you may regret later after you calm down.

b) Try to distract your mind by visiting a favorite website, listen a song on your cell phone, do something that comforts you or daydream about an activity of choice etc.

c) Use countdown to distract your mind- start counting backwards from 100 to 1.

d) Use physical relaxation techniques like deep breathing exercise.

e) Use mental relaxation techniques like positive thinking & imagery, where you imagine anything that gives you happiness.

f) Just talk to someone with whom you feel comfortable and relaxed.

g) Take your anger as a humor & laugh it away.

Try till your anger calms down.

5) If any person or situation is triggering your anger repeatedly talk to the concerned person when you are in a calm & relaxed state of mind, or work on solving the problem.

6) Work on increasing the calmness of your mind, so that you do not break down easily in any situation. For that do physical activities like regular exercise, yoga, meditation, relaxation techniques like deep breathing exercise daily. Sleep adequately & maintain a healthy lifestyle.

7) Avoid substance of abuse like alcohol, cannabis etc, as these substances reduces frustration tolerance & makes the mind restless easily.

8) Try to be good listener & develop good communication skills, as proper communication solves many problems.

9) Learn to assert yourself, express your feelings calmly & directly, without becoming hostile & defensive.

10) Do not try to suppress your anger, but try to solve it. As suppressing anger leads to anxiety, depression, & other detrimental effects on the body within.

   If after trying above also you are not able to control your anger, then seek professional help. Consult a Psychiatrist who will evaluate you & advice you medicines or counseling sessions accordingly.

Epilepsy is a chronic disorder of the brain that affects people worldwide. It is characterized by recurrent seizures, which are brief episodes of involuntary movement that may involve a part of the body (partial) or the entire body (generalized), and are sometimes accompanied by loss of consciousness and control of bowel or bladder function.

Seizure episodes are a result of excessive electrical discharges in a group of brain cells. Different parts of the brain can be the site of such discharges. Seizures can vary from the briefest lapses of attention or muscle jerks to severe and prolonged convulsions. Seizures can also vary in frequency, from less than 1 per year to several per day.

One seizure does not signify epilepsy (up to 10% of people worldwide have one seizure during their lifetime). Epilepsy is defined as having 2 or more unprovoked seizures.

Fear, misunderstanding, discrimination and social stigma have surrounded epilepsy for centuries. This stigma continues in many countries today and can impact on the quality of life for people with the disorder and their families.

Signs and symptoms

Characteristics of seizures vary and depend on where in the brain the disturbance first starts, and how far it spreads. Temporary symptoms occur, such as loss of awareness or consciousness, and disturbances of movement, sensation (including vision, hearing and taste), mood, or other cognitive functions.

People with seizures tend to have more physical problems (such as fractures and bruising from injuries related to seizures), as well as higher rates of psychological conditions, including anxiety and depression. Similarly, the risk of premature death in people with epilepsy is up to 3 times higher than the general population, with the highest rates found in low- and middle-income countries and rural versus urban areas.

A great proportion of the causes of death related to epilepsy in low- and middle-income countries are potentially preventable, such as falls, drowning, burns and prolonged seizures.

Causes

Epilepsy is not contagious. The most common type of epilepsy, which affects 6 out of 10 people with the disorder, is called idiopathic epilepsy and has no identifiable cause.

Epilepsy with a known cause is called secondary epilepsy, or symptomatic epilepsy. The causes of secondary (or symptomatic) epilepsy could be:

• brain damage from prenatal or perinatal injuries (e.g. a loss of oxygen or trauma during birth, low birth weight),
• congenital abnormalities or genetic conditions with associated brain malformations,
• a severe head injury,
• a stroke that restricts the amount of oxygen to the brain,
• an infection of the brain such as meningitis, encephalitis, neurocysticercosis,
• certain genetic syndromes,
• a brain tumor.

Treatment

Epilepsy can be treated easily and affordable medication. Recent studies in both low- and middle-income countries have shown that up to 70% of children and adults with epilepsy can be successfully treated (i.e. their seizures completely controlled) with anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs). Furthermore, after 2 to 5 years of successful treatment and being seizure-free, drugs can be withdrawn in about 70% of children and 60% of adults without subsequent relapse.

Prevention

Idiopathic epilepsy is not preventable. However, preventive measures can be applied to the known causes of secondary epilepsy.

• Preventing head injury is the most effective way to prevent post-traumatic epilepsy.
• Adequate perinatal care can reduce new cases of epilepsy caused by birth injury.
• The use of drugs and other methods to lower the body temperature of a feverish child can reduce the chance of febrile seizures.
• Central nervous system infections are common causes of epilepsy in tropical areas, where many low- and middle-income countries are concentrated.
• Elimination of parasites in these environments and education on how to avoid infections can be effective ways to reduce epilepsy worldwide, for example those cases due to neurocysticercosis.

1. Alcohol alters your brain chemistry

The relaxed feeling you can get when you have that first drink is due to the chemical changes alcohol has caused in your brain. For many of us, a drink can help us feel more confident and less anxious. That's because it's starting to depress the part of the brain we associate with inhibition.

But, as you drink more, more of the brain starts to be affected. It doesn't matter what mood you're in to start with, when high levels of alcohol are involved, instead of pleasurable effects increasing, it's possible that a negative emotional response will take over. You could become angry, aggressive, anxious or depressed.

2. Alcohol can actually increase anxiety and stress rather than reduce it

Unfortunately reaching for a drink won't always have the effect you're after.
While a glass of wine after a hard day might help you relax, in the long run, it can contribute to feelings of depression and anxiety and make stress harder to deal with. This is because regular, heavy drinking interferes with neurotransmitters in our brains that are needed for good mental health.

When we drink, we narrow our perception of a situation and don't always respond to all the cues around us. If we're prone to anxiety and notice something that could be interpreted as threatening in the environment, we'll hone in on that and miss the other less threatening or neutral information. For example, we might focus on our partner talking to someone we're jealous of, rather than notice all the other people they've been chatting to that evening.

3. Alcohol depression = a vicious cycle

If you drink heavily and regularly you're likely to develop some symptoms of depression. It's that good old brain chemistry at work again. Regular drinking lowers the levels of serotonin in your brain - a chemical that helps to regulate your mood.

Drinking heavily can also affect your relationships with your partner, family, and friends. It can impact on your performance at work. These issues can also contribute to depression. If you use drink to try and improve your mood or mask your depression, you may be starting a vicious cycle.

4. Alcohol is linked to suicide, self-harm, and psychosis

Alcohol can make people lose their inhibitions and behave impulsively, so it can lead to actions they might not otherwise have taken - including self-harm and suicide. Extreme levels of drinking (such as more than 30 units per day for several weeks) can occasionally cause 'psychosis'. It's a severe mental illness where hallucinations and delusions of persecution develop. Psychotic symptoms can also occur when very heavy drinkers suddenly stop drinking and develop a condition known as 'delirium tremens' - symptoms include body tremors and confusion.

5. Alcohol can damage your memory

Soon after drinking alcohol, your brain processes slow down and your memory can be impaired. After large quantities of alcohol, the brain can stop recording into the 'memory store'. That's why you can wake up the next day with a 'blank' about what you said or did and even where you were. This short-term memory failure or 'black out' doesn’t mean that brain cells have been damaged, but frequent heavy sessions can damage the brain because of alcohol's effect on brain chemistry and processes.

Drinking heavily over a long period of time can also have long-term effects on memory. Even on days when you don't drink any alcohol, recalling what you did yesterday, or even where you have been earlier that day, become difficult.