Kaveri Hospital

Epilepsy is a neurological disease which is characterised by recurring epileptic seizures. These seizures can be brief or can persist for prolonged periods. Vigorous episodes which last long can result in physical injuries such as broken bones. Mention that 6th February is International epilepsy day.

Causes of Epilepsy
The cause of this condition isn’t very evident; however, most medical practitioners attribute epileptic seizures to brain injury, tumours, infections in the brain or birth defects. Some doctors believe that epilepsy is caused due to genetic mutations and is an outcome of abnormal activity of cells in the brain. Other causes for this condition can be alcohol or narcotics withdrawal and electrolyte problems.

Symptoms

1. Repeated seizures
2. Impaired memory
3. Bouts of fainting
4. Short spans of blackout
5. Sudden bouts of blinking and chewing
6. Panic
7. Inappropriate repetitive movements

Types of Seizures
A seizure, also known as fit, is usually a brief episode characterised by uncontrollable jerking movement and loss of awareness due to abnormal neuronal activity in your brain. A collective occurrence of these seizures causes epilepsy.

There are three types of seizures an epileptic person usually encounters.

1. Idiopathic: This kind of seizure has no apparent cause
2. Cryptogenic: The doctors believe that there is a cause for the seizure but cannot detect it
3. Symptomatic: These seizures occur due to a reason.

Treatments

1. Medication: Medication is the most common treatment in case of epilepsy. Drugs taken on a regular basis can stop the seizure partially. But in very severe cases, they seem to have no effect at all.
2. Surgery: For symptomatic seizures which are caused due to abnormal brain function, surgery can be a way to get rid of seizures. In some minor cases, nerve stimulation in the brain and special diets can be prescribed to control the epileptic seizures.

Five facts about epilepsy you need to know:

• Epilepsy is not psychosis or madness and can be treated easily 
• Popular celebraties with epilepsy include Aristotle, Alfred Nobel, Alexander the great, Sir Isaacs Newton, Martin Luther and Julius Caesar etc. 
• Woman with epilepsy can have a normal pregnancy 
• Newer medicines for epilepsy are effective and very safe 
• Surgery can cure epilepsy in some patients.

Life is constant game of changes and people who can adapt to it and move on generally tend to find their pockets of happiness. From bad finances to lack of love to a near ones loss, each of us constantly face struggles that can leave us drained and depressed. People often work on these external factors to find their happiness. Those who suffer from depression as an illness though find it taking over multiple spheres of their lives disabling them from doing routine tasks with ease. Depression, like other diseases, can also have a biological origin. 

Several theories concerning the biologically based cause of depression have been suggested over the years. Simply put, chemical imbalance in the brain can be a trigger to depression. As the 'command center' of our body, the brain uses a number of chemicals as messengers to communicate with other parts of itself and with the nervous system. These chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters are released and received by the brain's nerve cells called neurons. Neurons are constantly communicating with each other by way of exchanging neurotransmitters. This communication system is essential to all of the brain's functions.

Among the biological causes of depression, the most prominent and widely researched is the monoamine hypothesis. The three main monomine triggers of imbalances that trigger depression are neurotransmitters called serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. Serotonin regulates functions like sleep, aggression, eating, sexual behavior, and mood. Similarly, the catecholamine hypothesis suggests that a deficiency of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine (also known as noradrenaline) in certain areas of the brain was responsible for creating depressed mood. Norepinephrine helps our bodies to recognize and respond to stressful situations. 

Dopamine plays in important role in helping each of us seek out our 'high' or 'pleasure' from rewards. Low dopamine levels may in part explain why depressed people don't derive the same sense of pleasure out of activities or people that they did before becoming depressed.

Another leading cause of clinical depression is focused on the endocrine system. The endocrine system is responsible for making hormones and releasing them into the blood to regulate processes like reaction to stress and sexual development. Hormonal irregularities may lead to depressive symptoms like loss of appetite and sleep. It is further observed that those who have particular endocrine disorders sometimes develop depression, and some individuals who are depressed develop endocrine problems despite having healthy glands. 

In a research done among depressed individuals, over half had a hormone called cortisol in excess in their body and abnormal times of secretion. 

Depression can have many triggers and origins and it is important to see the right doctor who can treat the cause, triggers and symptoms in addition to the disease. Depression has a genetic predisposition. Also, the faulty thought pattern alters the physiology by upsetting the hormonal balance. Psychological professional help should be a priority in depression and its role should not be under emphasized.

Human relationships are fragile in nature. It takes lesser time to break a relationship than to make one. Irrespective of its tenure, the end of a lovely relationship can leave you heartbroken and hamper your entire life. It not just affects your emotional well-being, but has the possibility to hamper your overall physical health. You must remember that there is no magic formula to help you cope up with the pain of losing. But, you will have to be determined to help yourself in this difficult time.

Most of us are forced to start our personal life from ground zero or the scratch, soon after we are left to struggle alone following our break-ups. You must have heard it from most of the people surrounding you that time heals all. But, it is your effort along with the time that will help you come out of the depressive phase.

Here are certain tips to help you to come out of the depressive phase after a break up:

1. Talk or write: Any emotional problem grows bigger as you try to hide it from others or yourself. You should not bury the emotions within you and treat them as dead secrets. You will have to talk it out with friends and closed ones. If that is what you don’t want to do absolutely, you must at least try and relieve yourself of the burden by writing about it in private. Try and get rid of the tendency to suppress the unpleasant feelings. After pouring out all the feelings on paper, destroy the paper into shreds and throw it out of the house. While destroying the paper affirm " with this I destroy and uncreate the energy I invested in this relationship.
2. Do take care of your body: The first thing that we tend to forget at the time of break up is our physical health and to maintain personal hygiene. Most of us skip our meals, don’t take showers and lead a secluded life. This should be avoided as your health comes first. You will have to take proper meals and maintain personal hygiene so that you don’t put your health at risk.
3. Go and exercise: You can pump out your endorphins through cardio exercises. This helps a lot. This will also lower the stress levels and improve your cognitive functioning.
4. Remember the great things in life: It is the time when you must look back and remember all the great moments of your life. You must not feel low and lose your self-confidence. Rather, you must feel confident by remembering the golden moments. Remind yourself of all your greater goals in life and treat this break up as a petty issue.
5. Meditation: Meditation helps them focus their life on track.
   • Track your life - Create a journal where you want to go. Create several pointers in symbolic form in a journal or in drawing form. Give a date and time to each pointer. Create steps how will you reach the next pointer. And thus creating the track of your life. 
   • Declutter - by removing the things which were given by the person.

घबराहट एक ऐसी समस्या है जिसपर यदि ध्यान नहीं दिया गया तो काफी मुश्किल हो सकती है. लेकिन इसके लिए कुछ असं से उपाय अपनाकर हम काफी राहत महसूस कर सकते हैं. आज व्‍यस्‍त जीवनशैली और आगे बढ़ने की होड़ के कारण लोगों में एंग्जायटी की समस्या तेजी से बढ़ रही है. आइए घबराहट से निपटने के तरीकों के बारे में जानें.

घबराहट के लिए घरेलू उपचार
घबराहट यानि एंग्जायटी एक प्रकार का मानसिक विकार है. इसे मेडिकल भाषा में एंग्जायटी डिस्‍ऑर्डर को नर्वस सिस्टम पर अधिक प्रेशर पड़ना भी कहते हैं. एंग्जायटी से ग्रसित रोगियों की संख्‍या दिन प्रति दिन इजाफा हो रही है, यदि सही समय पर इसका इलाज नहीं होता है तो यह धीरे-धीरे गंभीर रूप ले सकता है. हालांकि, एंग्जायटी अटैक को कंट्रोल करने के लिए दवाईयां, साइकोथैरेपी आदि कई प्रकार के उपचार मौजूद हैं. यहाँ पर ध्यान देने योग्य बात यह है की दवाओं पर निर्भरता एक नशे की लत का रूप ले सकती है. इसलिए इसके उपचार के लिए घरेलु उपाय सबसे बेहतर विकल्प सिद्ध हो सकता है. आइए मन को शांत करने के ऐसे ही कुछ सुरक्षित और प्राकृतिक विकल्‍पों के बारे में जानते हैं.

1. कैमोमाइल चाय
कैमोमाइल चाय में औषधिय और रोगनाशक गुण होते है जिसके कारण इसका उपयोग दवा के रूप में बहुत पहले से किया जा रहा है. इसके एंटी-इफ्लेमेंटरी और शांत रहने वाले गुण एंग्जायटी को काफी हद्द तक कंट्रोल करने में मदद करता हैं और नर्वस सिस्टम को शांत रखने में सहायक होते हैं. इसके अलावा कैमोमाइल में निहित कुछ तत्त्व वैलियम जैसे मादक पदार्थों के तरह मस्तिष्‍क को रिसेप्टर्स करने के लिए बाध्य करती है. कैमोमाइल की चाय बनाने के लिए एक कप पानी में सूखे कैमोमाइल के दो चम्‍मच मिलाकर अच्‍छे से उबाल लें. फिर इसमें शहद की एक चम्‍मच मिला लें. इस गर्म चाय को दिन में तीन बार लें. यह मस्तिष्‍क को शांत रखने के साथ आपकी प्रतिरक्षा प्रणाली को भी बढ़ावा देती है.

2. नींबू बाम
इस जड़ी बूटी का उपयोग स्ट्रेस और एंग्जायटी को कम करने और अनिद्रा को दूर करने के लिए लंबे समय से किया जा रहा है. नींबू बाम आपको चाय, कैप्‍सूल या अन्‍य शांत जड़ी बूटियों के साथ मिक्स कर के मिल सकती है. नींबू बाम से बनी चाय आराम तंत्रिका तंत्र को उत्तेजित करती है.

3. ओमेगा-3 फैटी एसिड
ओमेगा-3 फैटी एसिड घबराहट के लक्षणों को कम करने और शरीर में स्ट्रेस केमिकल के स्‍तर जैसे एड्रेनालाईन और कोर्टिसोल को कम कर मूड को अच्‍छा करने में मदद करता है. फैटी फिश जैसे ट्यूना और सालमन, अखरोट और अलसी के बीज में ओमेगा-3 फैटी एसिड प्रचुर मात्रा में होता है. एक स्टडी के अनुसार, जो लोग फिश ऑयल सप्‍लीमेंट का इस्तेमाल करते है उनके खाने और सोने की आदतों, कोर्टिसोल का स्तर और मानसिक स्‍तर के द्वारा मापने पर घबराहट कम देखने को मिली.

4. जिंको बिलोबा
इस जड़ी-बूटी का सेवन मेमोरी डिसऑर्डर और ऐसी समस्‍याओं के लिए किया जाता है जो मस्तिष्‍क में रक्‍त के प्रवाह को कम कर देती है जैसे मेमोरी लॉस, फोकस की कमी और मूड बदलना. यह जड़ी बूटी पूरी तरह से सुरक्षित है और लंबे समय से इसका उपयोग किया जा रहा है.

5. लैवेंडर
यह लोकप्रिय जड़ी-बूटी अपने शांत प्रभाव के कारण लोकप्रिय है. कई स्टडी के अनुसार यह सिद्ध हुआ है की इसकी खुशबू हृदय गति और ब्लड प्रेशर को कम करने में सहायक होती है और यह भावनात्‍मक एंटी-इंफ्लेमेंटरी के रूप में सहायक है. इसके इस्तेमाल करने से एंग्जायटी कम महसूस होती है जब लैवेंडर के तेल का इस्तेमाल किया जाता है. एक और जर्मन अध्‍ययन के अनुसार, विशेष रूप से तैयार लैवेंडर टेबलेट जनरल एंग्जायटी डिसऑर्डर जीएडी) से पीड़ि‍त लोगों में चिंता के लक्षणों को प्रभावी ढंग से कम करने में मदद करती है.

6. कावा
साउथ पैसिफिक एरिया में मिलने वाला औषधीय पौधा कावा बेचैनी से परेशान लोगों के लिए बहुत कारगर सिद्ध हुआ है. इस पौधे का प्रभाव दिमाग और केंद्रीय तंत्रिका तंत्र के अन्य अंगो पर काम करता है. कावा की जड़ का इस्‍तेमाल एंग्जायटी, स्ट्रेस, डिप्रेशन, सिरदर्द, बेचैनी, अनिद्रा और भावनाओं को शांत करने के लिए किया जाता है. अध्ययनों से पता चलता है कि यह घबराहट के लिए एक आशाजनक विकल्प होता है.

7. एल-थिएनाइन या ग्रीन टी
ग्रीन टी एंटीऑक्‍सीडेंट गुणों और स्‍वास्‍थ्‍य लाभों के कारण लोकप्रिय है. एल-थिएनाइन ग्रीन टी में एक एमिनो एसिड है. एल-थिएनाइन हृदय गति और ब्लड प्रेशर को नियंत्रण करने में सहायक है और एंग्जायटी को कम करने में भी आपकी मदद करता है. एक अध्‍ययन के अनुसार, 200 मिलीग्राम एल-थिएनाइन लेने से परीक्षण के दौरान चिंता की आंशका वाले विषय में छात्रों ने बहुत ही शांत और अधिक ध्‍यान केंद्रित कर परीक्षण दिया.

For a fully functional and productive life, a person requires a healthy body and a healthy mind. Mental health issues could range from depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, dementia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, autism and other causes.

Hence, it is important that a person pays attention to these mental health disorders to avoid further problems in their lives, as well as the lives of the people around them.

Here are a few reasons as to why a person should not avoid or ignore their mental health problems:

1. Better Physical Health: There is a solid association between the brain and the body. In case you are in physical pain, your work and family life might be influenced or you will be unable to do the activities you might like. This can prompt anxiety, nervousness and depression. People with physical health issues are three times more prone to look for mental health care than those without physical conditions as physical health problems can prompt mental distress and mental health issues can impair your physical health.
2. Enhanced Productivity and Financial Stability: Stressful situations may trigger reactions that can make a person unproductive and lead to financial problems as well. Some people end up abandoning their homes, going bankrupt or homeless after trying to manage some sort of mental illness.
3. Less Strain on the Family: Mental sickness or disorders influence families as well. The children of individuals with mental health issues are at more serious danger for misuse, disregard and an extensive variety of emotional and behavioral issues. Since they cannot look up to their parents for help and they frequently isolate themselves from their friends and most of them do not get the required social backing. Much of the time, the impact extends into adulthood, driving children to look for psychological or mental treatment of their own.
4. Evasion of Crime and Victimization: A few studies recommend that individuals with untreated mental health, particularly in combination with other risk factors, might be at risk of carrying out criminal activities, violence or most probably becoming victims themselves. The danger increases gradually when the individual uses medications or alcohol or has acute symptoms. It could also happen if they are not aware of their mental state or have poor adherence to medication. Usually, acts of violence happen against relatives or somebody in the individual's nearby group of friends or in close proximity to them.
5. A Longer, Happier Life: Individuals with even a mild mental health issue may have a lower life expectancy and a short lifespan. Those with the largest amounts of depression or nervousness had the danger of death that increased an incredible ninety-four percent, mostly identified with heart diseases.

Internet addiction is becoming a serious thing with each and every passing day. Earlier people used to treat internet addiction lightly but now people are taking a more serious approach towards it as internet addiction is becoming a reality. Let us know more about it and it's impact on children and adoloscent.

What is Internet Addiction?
Internet addiction can be defined as the excessive use of internet or devices connected to the internet which is causing interference with the day to day activities of everyday life. This addiction is mainly affecting the children and adolescents because they are the biggest users of internet.

Internet addiction has been the subject of a number of debates and is being debated worldwide. Many people have different point of views regarding internet addiction. This is also becoming a social issue as the effects of this addiction on the individuals is also being felt by the members of the society.

There are debates regarding if internet addiction can be regarded as a mental health disorder. But most scholars do not regard it as a disorder. They are of the opinion that it is a type of addiction and in many cases it becomes severe which leads to disruption of day to day activities.

Impact Of Internet Addiction On Children
Internet addiction among children and adolescents do not have any effective diagnosis and it is in fact difficult to properly diagnose this addiction. In many areas it is not even considered to be a real disorder by many people. Internet addiction is often followed by or accompanied by other mental health disorders.

There have been instances in which children and adolescents have reported to be severely addicted to the internet and this started to have negative effects on their lives.

Final Verdict
Some scholars and medical practitioners attempt to define internet addiction by a single question, that is the time spent on the internet. If the amount of time spent by an individual on the internet is affecting his health and is causing other problems like mood swings and depression and the deprivation of internet if causes withdrawal symptoms then this can be regarded as an internet addiction for that person.

Some things in this world can be of great help but the same thing can prove to be negative as well. Internet is similar to this.