Mind & Brain Clinic

Heel pain is a common problem in the body where the affected person experiences pain radiating from the heel bone. Heel pain usually progresses slowly over time, it is recommended to consult a medical professional, if heel pain turns severe. The pain tends to be most severe after one has been inactive for some time such as after waking up in the morning. 

Causes 

Heel pain is usually caused when tissues present in the bottom of the heel (Plantar fascia) is inflammed. These tissues connect the heel bone with the bones of the feet and acts as a shock absorber. Tears form in these tissues when they are damaged or when they get thicker. These tissues are at an increased risk of wear and tear for those who are over 45 years old. The risks also tend to increase if the person is obese or whose occupation requires standing for lengthy periods of time. 

Among other causes of heel pain are heel bone fractures, fat pad atrophy (a condition where a layer of fat present under the heel bone is reduced) and bursitis (inflammation of the fluid filled sacs present around the joints). Peripheral neuropathy is a condition where damage occurs in the peripheral nerves (that transmits signals between the central nervous system and the rest of the body), this can cause pain in the heel. 

Symptoms 

The symptoms of heel pain include: 

1. Experiencing pain while jogging or walking 
2. A feeling of pins pricking the heels after waking up in the morning 
3. Inability to put weight on the heel 
4. Painful swelling 
5. Pain in the heel accompanied by fever 

Heel pain can be prevented by taking certain preventive measures such as restricting usage of high heeled shoes without proper support and stretching the heel regularly. Medications such as painkillers are used to treat symptoms of heel pain. Consult a doctor for accurate medicines !!

A panic attack is a sudden fit of anxiety or fear. In this situation, a person’s heart starts pounding and they are unable to breathe. Sometimes, they may even feel like throwing up or even dying. It may even make a person withdraw from their daily routine and reach a point of hopelessness. If left untreated, these panic attacks can lead to a panic disorder. These attacks can have more physical symptoms including shaking, nausea, dry mouth, sweating or dizziness.

There are certain medications and treatments to cure this disorder. These include antidepressants and benzodiazepines, which are anti-anxiety medications. Taking them brings rapid relief, however; these are highly addictive and can have certain withdrawal symptoms. To avoid medications, there are certain self-help tips to cope with the problem. These include:

1. Avoid smoking, alcohol and caffeine. These are substances that can provoke your panic attacks.
2. Learn how to control your breathing while you are experiencing an attack. Deep breathing can relieve the symptoms that come with this disorder. This can help you calm down.
3. Practice relaxation techniques such as yoga and meditation. These strengthen the body’s ability to respond to situations that can cause anxiety. Not only do they release stress but they also increase the feelings of joy and happiness.
4. Try to exercise regularly. It is a natural anxiety reliever. Therefore, one should exercise in any form, for at least thirty minutes a day.
5. You should try to get as much sleep as possible. Insufficient amounts of sleep can make the anxiety even worse. Dancing, swimming or cycling can be highly effective.
6. Try not to stay alone. Anxiety levels and the chances of a panic attack are high when you are alone. If you feel that you do not have anyone to go to or turn to, try to explore ways to meet and build supportive relationships.
7. Go to a therapist or a psychologist to vent out your feelings and anxieties. This can help you by giving you a cathartic release and get over your pent up emotions.

If someone is suffering from a panic disorder, make sure that you do not let it go unnoticed because people who suffer from this condition usually like to keep it to themselves. This smothers them even further and leaves them at a great risk and vulnerability. Those who have this condition should try to seek medical or psychological help in order to feel better.

Panic disorders are very dangerous and unpredictable. These can mess with your work and performance. In order to avoid that, keep noticing the signs and symptoms and reach for the correct type of medical or clinical attention. Ignoring such a condition can hamper your future and lead to a lot of other allied health problems. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can ask a free question.

Social anxiety disorder is a chronic mental health condition in which a person has excessive and unreasonable fear of certain social situations. Anxiety and self-consciousness arise from a fear of being scrutinized, embarrassed or judged by others. The fear may be made worse by a lack of social skills or experience in social situations. This persistent anxiety can build into a panic attack, and the affected person may start avoiding social situations under extreme distress. People with social anxiety disorder also suffer anticipatory anxiety, which is the fear of a situation even before it happens. In many cases, the person is aware that the fear is unreasonable and overblown, yet is unable to overcome it.

Like many other mental health conditions, social anxiety disorder arises from a complex interaction of environment and genes. The possible causes are:

1. Inherited traits - Genetic factors may contribute to the development of social anxiety disorder if it is present in a first-degree relative (parents, siblings or child).
2. Brain structure - Nuclei shaped part of the brain called amygdala may play a role in controlling the fear response. People with overactive amygdala may have a heightened fear response, increasing anxiety in social situations.
3. Environmental factors - Social anxiety disorder may be a learned behavior. You may develop the condition after witnessing the anxious behavior of others. Also, there may be an association between social anxiety disorder and overprotective parents wanting to control their children.

Social anxiety disorder is the second most common type of anxiety disorder, which most often surfaces in adolescence or early adulthood. It is more common in women than in men. There is no way to predict what will cause social anxiety disorder, but some steps can be taken to reduce the impact of symptoms by getting help early instead of delaying, managing stress in daily life and avoiding unhealthy substances like alcohol, drugs and caffeine.

Delusional disorder refers to the condition in which an individual experiences non-bizarre delusions that are beliefs in things that aren't actually true. The delusions involve situations that take place in real life like being deceived or stalked, conspired against, etc but in actuality, these situations may be highly exaggerated or not true at all as they involve the misinterpretation of experiences or observations. This health problem tends to take place during the middle or later part of your life and is said to affect women more than men.

What are the symptoms associated with this condition?

There are certain signs that you can look out for to easily identify this condition and there are:

1. Delusional thoughts lasting one month and above
2. Lack of schizophrenia symptoms except delusions associated with the olfactory and tactile systems
3. One's behavior and normal functioning doesn't witness any kind of impairment
4. Duration of mood symptoms is short compared to the length of the delusions
5. Disorder is not brought on by the use of substances or any medical condition
6. Commencement of the disorder can vary from teenage years to later part of adulthood

What causes it to happen?
The root cause of the disorder is still not known, but experts are of the opinion that a variety of biological, genetic, environmental and psychological factors can cause it to occur. 

Some of these causes include: 

• Genetics: It's said that this disorder can be passed on from parents to children. Additionally, it's more common in individuals whose family members suffer from schizophrenia or one of its types.
• Psychological/ environmental: In addition to drug and alcohol abuse, delusional disorder can also be set off by stress.
• Biological: Abnormalities in certain parts of the brain can lead to this problem. Areas of brain associated with thinking and perception have been found to be connected to delusional symptoms. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Psychiatrist.

The risk of a mental illness increases, if one or more of your family members have a mental disorder, but this increased risk doesn't guarantee that you will develop a mental illness. Not only have some mental illnesses been found to be hereditary in nature, but certain studies have found that some major mental illnesses can be traced to the same genetic variations.

Some hereditary psychiatric disorders are:

1. Obsessive compulsive disorder: Obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD is a disorder of the brain and behavior. A person suffering from OCD has uncontrollable, recurring thoughts and behaviors they cannot stop repeating. Ocd also causes severe anxiety in such people. In 2000, a study conducted by researchers in Washington d. C. And Baltimore concluded that having one or more ocd family member (s) may increase the chances of you developing it too. In 2010, a study tracked down possible chromosomes that may be responsible for OCD.
2. Schizophrenia: Schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness that affects and dictates how a person feels, thinks and behaves. Those suffering from schizophrenia may lose touch with reality and experience delusions, hallucinations, thought disorders and movement disorders. It has been seen that people who have an identical twin with schizophrenia are 50% more likely to develop the disorder and those who have one parent suffering from schizophrenia are 18% more likely to inherit the illness.
3. Depression: Major depression or clinical depression is a common though severe mood disorder. It is characterized by an episode of sadness or apathy along with other symptoms that last at least for two consecutive weeks. Those suffering from depression may feel helpless and worthless, lose all interest in daily activities or activities they used to enjoy and feel unable to take part in normal day-to-day activities. Other symptoms of depression also include sleep pattern and appetite changes, chronic fatigue, concentration or focus problems and physical discomfort. Some patients with depression may become suicidal.

In 2011, a study pinned down a specific chromosome that may trigger depression development. Research on the hereditary properties of depression within families shows that some people are more prone to develop the disorder than others. If you have a parent or sibling that suffers from depression, you might be 1.5 to 3 times more likely to develop depression than those who do not have a close family member suffering from this condition. You are also more prone to developing bipolar disorder in such a scenario. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Psychiatrist.

When you're under fire at work, juggling multiple responsibilities at home, or going through a difficult time emotionally, these are the foods you should reach for. 

You should strive to eat these foods regularly (not just in times of stress) to help maintain mental, emotional, and physical balance in your body.

1. Dark chocolate

• If you're one of these individuals who get a nice mood boost whenever you sink your teeth into a bar of pure, unadulterated chocolate, it is not happenstance.
• There's actually a chemical reason called anandamide, a neurotransmitter produced in your brain that temporarily blocks feelings of pain and depression.
• It's a derivative of the sanskrit word" bliss" and one of the great things about chocolate is that it not only produces this compound, it also contains other chemicals that prolong the" feel-good" aspects of anandamide. Chocolate has even been referred to as" the new anti-anxiety drug"
• One study in the journal of psychopharmacology2 also revealed that people who drank an antioxidant-rich chocolate drink equal to about 1.5 ounces of dark chocolate daily felt calmer than those who did not.

2. Protein

A small amount of high-quality source of protein – like organic eggs, a piece of gouda cheese, or a handful of macadamia nuts or pecans – helps keep your blood sugar levels steady for enhanced energy and mood.

3. Bananas

Bananas contain dopamine, a natural reward chemical that boosts your mood. They're also rich in b vitamins, including vitamin b6, which help soothe your nervous system, and magnesium, another nutrient associated with positive mood.

4. Coffee

Coffee appears to affect a number of neurotransmitters related to mood control, so drinking a morning cup could have an effect on your general sense of wellbeing. Research has also shown that coffee triggers a mechanism in your brain that releases bdnf, which activates your brain stem cells to produce new neurons, thereby improving your brain health.

Interestingly enough, research also suggests that low bdnf levels may play a significant role in depression, and that increasing neurogenesis has an antidepressant effect! 3

5. Turmeric (curcumin)

Curcumin, the pigment that gives the spice turmeric its yellow-orange color, is thought to be responsible for many of its medicinal effects. Among them, curcumin has neuroprotective properties and may enhance mood and possibly help with depression. 4

6. Purple berries

Anthocyanins are the pigments that give berries like blueberries and blackberries their deep color. These antioxidants aid your brain in the production of dopamine, a chemical that is critical to coordination, memory function, and your mood.

7. Omega-3 fats

Found in salmon or supplement form, such as krill oil, the omega-3 fats epa and dha play a role in your emotional well-being. One study in brain behavior and immunity5 showed a dramatic 20 percent reduction in anxiety among medical students taking omega-3, while past research has shown omega-3 fats work just as well as antidepressants6 in preventing the signs of depression, but without any of the side effects.

8. Oolong tea

Sipping oolong tea might help you feel calm, as it contains high levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (gaba), an amino acid that helps inhibit the firing of neurons in your brain for an overall calming, anti-anxiety effect.

9. Fermented foods

• Fermented foods like fermented vegetables and kefir are rich in beneficial bacteria that have a marked impact on your gut health, which in turn impacts your mood. Your gut is literally your second brain – created from the identical tissue as your brain during gestation – and contains larger amounts of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is associated with mood control.
• Beneficial bacteria have a direct effect on brain chemistry, transmitting mood- and behavior-regulating signals to your brain via your vagus nerve. For instance, the probiotic lactobacillus rhamnosus was found to have a marked effect on gaba levels in certain brain regions and lowered the stress-induced hormone corticosterone, resulting in reduced anxiety- and depression-related behavior.

10. Kiwifruit

One kiwifruit contains more than 85 percent of the daily recommended amount of vitamin c, and that's good news for your stress levels. Vitamin c actually helps reduce your body's production of stress hormones8 while boosting your immune function (so much the better for warding off stress-induced illness)

All individuals get nervous or anxious at some point of time or the other due to a plethora of reasons. But for some individuals, anxiety becomes so frequent and forceful, that it overpower their lives. Normal anxiety is often short lived, but the feeling may last for few hours. However, an anxiety problem becomes an anxiety disorder when anxious feelings are very intense and last for weeks or months. Anxiety disorder exists in different forms like panic attacks, social anxiety and phobia.

The most common form of anxiety is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) during which an individual worries too much about everyday things and situations, both large and small. The person in this condition has persistent anxious thoughts on most days of the week, for six months. Moreover, the anxiety is so overpowering that it interferes with daily life and is coupled by noticeable symptoms like fatigue. The anxiety level goes to such an extent that causes a lot of dysfunction and suffering. If a person suffers from sleep problems and finds himself regularly awake and agitated or worried, then it is a tell-tale sign of generalized anxiety disorder. This is followed by a situation when one wakes up overstimulated with mind racing and one is unable to calm down.

When the anxiety is tied to a specific situation and the fear is overwhelming and out of proportion to the actual risks then the condition is phobia. This can be due to anything ranging from crowd, animals to flying in an aeroplane or using an escalator. Muscle tension like clenching of jaw or fists or flexing of muscles though out the body always accompanies anxiety disorders. Regular exercise can help keep muscle tension under control, but the tension may get triggered up if an injury or other unforeseen event disrupts a person's workout habits. Panic disorder is repeated, unexpected panic attacks where one encounters panic in a situation where most people wouldn’t be afraid. Anxiety also leads to chronic digestive problems like cramping and bloating of stomach.

Social phobia or social anxiety disorder occurs when one develops an intense fear of being judged or embarrassed in public. People with social anxiety disorder have a tendency to worry for weeks leading to an event or situation. When and if they manage it, they tend to be deeply uncomfortable and are always judgemental about it. In case of social anxiety disorder, the anxiety is triggered by everyday situations like one-on-one conversation at a get-together, or eating and drinking in front of small group. The person feels that everybody is watching him and experiences profuse sweating, trembling, nausea and person becomes tongue-tied. These disruptions make it hard for the person to meet new people and maintain relationships.

Panic disorder causes terrifying panic attacks when the person experiences a sudden gripping feeling of fear and helplessness which lasts for several minutes. It is generally accompanied with scary symptoms like breathing problems, a pounding heart, numb hands and sweating.

Excessive fear of being separated from home or a loved one is separation anxiety disorder. Post -traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder in which the patient relives a disturbing or traumatic event like a violent encounter, the sudden death of a loved one.

An anxiety disorder affects the thinking, feelings as well as behaviour of a normal person. It’s important to seek professional help if one see any of the warning signs of anxiety disorders in an individual.

A close relationship enhances the happiness in our lives. One may feel at some point of time that things are not working well as one would like them to, but with minor tweaks here and there gets things back on the regular track. By identifying problems early enough in a relationship, allows us to overcome challenges before the problems take on overwhelming proportions.

1. Taking one’s partner for granted: With the maturity of relationships, a tendency creeps up to assume that it’s fine to let the normal details of life slip and slide. It becomes very easy to dismiss the people one is closest to because one expects them to be there in all circumstances. One must reflect on what life would be like without one’s partner to avoid this situation.
2. Constant worry whether partner cares for you: If a person constantly worries about whether partner really cares about him or her,it is counterproductive. It is important to give space to both individuals else the excessive need for affection and reassurance will drive the partner away. After a person and the partner establish commitment to each other, it should not be necessary for one to keep questioning and wondering whether one’s partner honestly cares.
3. Slippage of boundaries slip around relationship: There are bound to be secrets within a close relationship and letting others into one’s private world erodes partner’s feelings of trust in relationship. If the partner finds out, he or she will feel betrayed or humiliated.
4. Complaining about your partner to everyone except him: Sharing one’s unhappiness with anyone who will listen except the partner is counter-productive
5. Turning on the passive-aggressive switch: One may think it’s safer not to out rightly object to a request or disagree with something one’s partner says but by not letting partner know how one really feel, one is closing a door of communication
6. Constantly questioning your relationship: Questioning one’s relationship means that one has a doubt that the relationship will last, and therefore may be less likely to feel comfortable about commitments one make about the future.
7. Giving up on one’s partner: Everyone goes through challenges of losing a job, health problems, or dealing with an addiction. It’s at those difficult times one’s partner needs a good cheer and support, but those times also makes one stressed. One’s confidence and support will help ease partner’s pain, but may be just what’s needed to help partner summon up the resources to overcome the challenge.