Don t like social gatherings? Have you always been the one who avoids family get together? If your answer is affirmative, then you are probably suffering from Avoidant personality disorder.  Avoidant personality disorder is a psychological condition wherein, one feels extremely shy. Becoming overly sensitive to rejection and developing feelings of inadequacy are common signs of this disorder. This disorder can lead to problems in your work life and relationships. 

Symptoms
With APD, the commonly surfacing symptoms would include disapproval and disregard of situations and people, rejection and embarrassment. It generally gets very difficult for the one to get acquainted with new people and form intimate relationships. One generally ends up misinterpreting people s comments and criticism thus, feeling angry and frustrated all the more. 

Causes
The exact cause of APD has not been established yet. It is believed that environmental and genetic factors play a role in this disorder. People who are inherently shy and reserved are usually prone to developing this psychological anomaly. 

How do you treat APD?
In order to treat APD, you can opt for the following modes of treatment:

Psychotherapy: Cognitive behavioral therapy is a treatment option for APD wherein, the doctor counsels on how to change one s thinking patterns and thought process, thus, influencing his/her actions.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy: Psychodynamic therapy involves you becoming aware of the unconscious thoughts. It helps you figure out how your past experiences frame your behavior. Your past emotional pains can be resolved with this technique so that you can move ahead with your life. 
Medications: Anti-depressant medications used to treat depression and anxiety can be used to treat APD.

Prefer Social Isolation - Can it be a Sign of Avoidant Personality Disorder?

Dementia cannot be singularly regarded as a specific disease, but rather indicates a group of symptoms associated with your memory, cognitive thinking, and social abilities, up to the point where daily functioning gets affected. In most cases, dementia steadily worsens over time (progressive dementias). Dementia is not to be confused with memory loss alone; because it is natural with old people to experience memory loss, but that does not necessarily mean they have dementia. If the reason is dementia, then you may require medical treatment.

Causes

Dementias are generally caused either by damage to or changes in the nerve cells operating in the brain. The causes can be grouped differently based on the type of dementia experienced and the part of the brain affected. While some causes can be reversed with effective treatment, others, unfortunately, cannot.

The most common causes of dementia which cannot be reversed include:

1. Alzheimer's disease
2. Vascular dementia
3. Parkinson's disease
4. Frontotemporal dementia
5. Dementia with Lewy (dementia which is neurodegenerative and progressive in nature) bodies
6. Severe head injuries

Other irreversible causes which are relatively rarer than usual include:

1. Huntington's disease (breakage of the brain's nerve cells)
2. Creutzfeldt-jakob disease (irreversible and fatal brain disease)
3. Multiple sclerosis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
4. Infections like syphilis
5. Leukoencephalopathies (diseases affecting the brain's'white' areas)
6. Brain injuries
7. Multiple system atrophy

Causes of dementia which can be treated include:

1. Hypothyroidism
2. Heavy metal poisoning
3. Certain brain tumors
4. Chronic alcoholism
5. Hiv/aids
6. Vitamin b12 deficiency
7. Medicinal side effects or abnormal drug reactions
8. Normal pressure hydrocephalus
9. Certain cases of encephalitis

Symptoms

Symptoms of dementia include:

1. Memory loss
2. Difficulty finding the right words
3. Difficulty exercising judgments, especially during emergencies
4. Inability to recall particular events or to recognize people and places
5. Depression or other mood disorders, in addition to symptoms like uncontrolled aggression or constant agitation.

Causes and Symptoms of Dementia

Depression is a very unfortunate state to be in, in every sense of the word. It is a sickness of the mind and can only be felt by the person experiencing it. As a matter of fact, it is even worse when depression does not occur on its own, but is rather accompanied by another condition such as fatigue.

There are many cases where depression occurs along with chronic fatigue syndrome. The irony is that when a person is depressed, he or she is unlikely to be willing to get out of bed and when this is compounded by chronic fatigue syndrome, even if the depression alleviates, it would not make much of a difference as it would be a case of  mind willing, flesh weak !

Many of the people who are diagnosed with depression have extreme patterns when it comes to sleep. Either he or she would sleep for extended periods of time and feel lethargic to do anything else. Or, the other situation is generally when he or she is more or less an insomniac and does not get sleep even if he or she would really like to grab a bit of shut-eye!

What are the Symptoms?
When a person is going through depression, it can be said to be of the highest importance to be able to judge the symptoms of the condition soon, so that the person can go and seek treatment. The symptoms, which are being talked about include extreme eating habits, that is, either eating way too much or not enough at all, along with a continuous sense of anxiety which, depending on how severe the case of depression is, can cause a person to have his or her mind clouded by the anxiety which over sweeps all other thoughts. In addition to these symptoms, there are other signs which appear with the onset and continuance of depression. These include disinterest in hobbies, which once appeared enjoyable to take part in.

Chronic fatigue syndrome kills off any urge to partake in any activity, which is voluntary in nature. With the combination of these two conditions, it can be quite possible, rather unfortunately, for a person to find himself or herself to be stuck in a vicious cycle. Sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea can really kill a person s zing and as a result of the same, make it harder for him or her to get out of depression and more likely to fall into depression if he or she has not yet. Curing depression includes changes schedules, engaging in yoga and other similar activities. Dietary changes may also be warranted. However, the recovery should take effect soon!

Depression - It Can Cause You to Feel 100 Years Old

Anger is an inherent part of human nature. Regardless of whether a person is consciously or subconsciously aware of the feeling, our emotions are often overpowered by violence, hatred, and aggression. Much has been studied and said about the primitive negative fantasies of a child that later stems itself in the form of anger and aggression. In a modern-day world, it is crucial to managing one s anger by allowing positivity to take control and purge out the negative emotion.

Why is anger management crucial?
If one is not able to manage their anger, it can affect one s mental health while directly hampering professional and personal relationships. Anger management is a must for people who are not able to exercise control over their temper and allow this emotion to take control over their lives. Lack of anger management is one of the root problems in most urban countries including India. Steps should be taken to reduce its effects for so that there is an overall benefit for an individual and society at large.

How to manage anger?
Anger management is meant to help people control their anger practically while boosting the physical and mental wellness of the affected person.

Here are six effective tips to manage anger-

One should not pressurize oneself to be perfect. You should expect others to do their job well while avoiding anger and frustration in case there is any underperformance or failure in living up to the specified standards.
If one has gone through a traumatic past, it is important to confide in someone rather than sulking or brooding over it.
It is important to provide quality time for oneself so that one can derive pleasure and happiness and therefore be surrounded by a positive emotion.
One must try to handle the situation diplomatically rather than getting angry and allowing the situation to go out of hand.
The age-old remedy of counting backwards plays a commendable role in this regard. You should allow yourself some time to regain the composure and not lose the temper completely. Developing a positive outlook towards people and situations offers a new perspective on life and can save the day.
Expression of anger need not always be violent; you can choose to be quiet or avoid a particular situation if possible. This can save your relationships as well.
Both anger and stress are co-related, and their management also works in similar ways. This may be attributed to the fact that both these emotions comprise of similar constituents and can affect any person in detrimental ways. Prolonged stress and anger can take a toll on both emotional and physical health and therefore, it is necessary to control them and reduce its impact.

6 Effective Tips For Better Anger Management!

Anger is an emotion found in every human being. There is nothing wrong with being angry. However, if it gets out of hand there might be serious consequences. Knowing a few things about anger management might help the next time you are struggling to manage anger. 

The Wrong Approach
Before knowing, what are the right things to do, it is necessary to know what doesn t work well. This will give a better insight on anger management. 

Often, we think suppressing anger might be the right thing to do. But, it is not. Trying not to react to a situation and keeping it under wraps, might affect your health and can even be the root cause of heart disease. However, suppressing it often lessens the intensity of the anger.
Just like suppressing it is not a good idea, venting it out completely is not the right approach as well. Venting might help you to cool down faster later on, but initially, it might hurt the other person and also have a negative impact on health. Venting anger occasionally will also make the person aggressive in nature.
Thinking or using words like always, never, should/shouldn t, must/mustn t do not usually help. Thinking about  he should never talk to me like that  or  they are always being unfair to me , brings about negativity and doesn t help in calming down.
The Right Approach

Counting to 10, the age old approach to anger management often helps in cooling down and giving a clear perspective. When we are angry, we end up saying and doing things we don t mean to. Counting gives us some time and helps us calm down a bit.
Breathe slowly when you are angry, say experts.  Instead of talking or reacting to the situation, just breathe in and out slowly. When you breathe out more, your body will calm down and make you relax.
Talk to someone who understands you when you are angry. Instead of venting out or suppressing it, talk it out with a friend or a family member. Tell them your feelings and why you are angry. This will help you a lot in relaxing. It works as a counselling session.
To manage anger, in the long run, one should always lead a healthy lifestyle. It means not just having a healthy diet, but also having proper sleep, not being stressed about anything, doing exercise, etc. 
Doing something creative often takes your mind away from angry feelings. Join a dance class, an art workshop, start keeping a journal, it will definitely help in the long run.
Leave the place immediately for few moments and drink water slowly when angry. Don't prolong the anger, come back and start conversation normally.

Anger Management - What Works and What Doesn't

Many live with certain disorders without being aware of it. It is possible that someone close to you is living with OCD, and knowing the symptoms is crucial to diagnose the problem accurately and the treatment can be started as early as possible. 

OCD or the obsessive-compulsive disorder refers to excessive thoughts leading to repetitive behavior or erratic personal behavior. This long-lasting and chronic mental disorder induces recurring and uncontrollable thoughts in a person. These types of behavior are medically referred to as  obsessions' and  compulsions'.

Patients suffering from the disorder feel a strong urge to repeat certain actions over and over again. These actions may include compulsive cleaning of the immediate domestic environment, washing hands or clothes, checking on things, etc. These behavior patterns may lead to severe disruptions in the daily life of the affected individuals.

How do you know if you have OCD?
Some of the common symptoms of obsession are fear of dirt or physical  contamination , a constant urge to properly arrange or re-arrange domestic objects, having aggressive and sexual thoughts, harboring a desire to harm oneself or others, etc. Common examples of such thoughts include an irrational fear of physical  contamination , feeling depressed at the sight of a lack of symmetry, thinking about acting inappropriately, shouting obscenities, etc.

Some of the common symptoms of OCD include repeatedly washing hands, compulsive counting, checking again and again on certain things, etc. For instance, patients may frequently check whether doors and windows have been secured inside an apartment, or whether the oven is switched on or switched off, etc.

What can influence such behavior?
OCD is an outcome of imperfect brain structure or specific chemical abnormalities in the brain. Genetics is also a possible causative factor. No one single reason is found as the main cause of this psychological disorder. Therefore, the exact reason behind this mental disorder eludes science till date. Many studies indicate that environmental factors may trigger this mental condition. For example, sexual or physical abuse in childhood or infections like streptococcal can trigger the subsequent development of OCD.

How can OCD be managed?
OCD can be treated with psychotherapy, medication, and a combination of both. The ideal treatment is determined by the condition of the patient and to which mode of treatment he or she is most responsive. When opting for antipsychotic medication, one needs to discuss this with his or her doctor to understand the benefits and side effects before commencing the medication. When it comes to treating the children or the adults, psychotherapy offers the most effective results.

Patients and their caregivers must realize that OCD does not have a surefire cure. Therefore, it may last for years or sometimes even a lifetime. However, proper psychological evaluation, therapies, and treatment should prevent the condition from worsening. These interventions help in controlling and managing the symptoms to ensure a long normal life. Patients are advised to visit a psychologist in case they identify any signs of OCD because early detection is the first step to effective treatment.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - What Can Influence Such A Behaviour?

Don't wait any longer, manage your Adult Psychiatrist online with a Lybrate doctor today

Consult for Adult Psychiatrist - Online and Easy!

FilterClear All

COMMON SPECIALITIES

COMMON ISSUES