Dr. Naazneen Ladak

Feeling sad is one thing, but a persistent feeling of sadness can overtake your life, and is anything but healthy. Depression is not something to be ashamed of. It is a common condition, that can be treated if identified early. 

Treatment of depression usually involves a combination of medication and psychotherapy. The effects of depression vary from person to person, but some symptoms are commonly experienced in all cases. These symptoms can be categorised as physical changes, behavioural changes, cognitive changes and emotional changes. 

1. Physical symptoms of depression: Feeling tired all the time is one of the most common symptoms of depression. The person may also have persistent headaches and sporadic muscle pains. Insomnia or sleep troubles are often associated with depression. This can further lead to significant fatigue, and a vicious cycle ensues. Sleep troubles can also lead to the formation of dark circles under the eyes, and make the patient’s skin look dull. Patients suffering from depression often find themselves losing weight due to a significant loss of appetite, or find themselves snacking excessively, and hence, putting on weight. 
2. Behavioural symptoms of depression: Depression can make a person withdraw from his or her friends and family and become a recluse. A loss of interest in activities that would usually excite the person is another characteristic symptom of depression. This condition can make a person unable to concentrate or focus on work and other activities, and hence, may affect productivity in school or the workplace. Depression can also make a person rely heavily on alcohol, sedatives etc. 
3. Cognitive symptoms of depression: Depression can make a person feel worthless, and leave them with a bleak outlook on life. A depressed person will often find himself or herself criticising themselves harshly for things that may or may not be their fault. This can make them increasingly more agitated or irritable. Depressed people may also turn to violence and trigger reckless behaviour such as gambling, substance abuse, reckless driving or taking up a rash sport. 
4. Emotional symptoms of depression: Feeling sad for no reason characterises depression. This sadness can overwhelm a person and make them feel guilty about indulging in anything that could make them happier. It can also make the person lose confidence in himself/herself, thus making him/her indecisive about simple decisions. Other emotions that are commonly experienced by depressed people include irritability, frustration, guilt, and disappointment. 

A frequent but ignored symptom is thoughts of self-harm or suicide, leading to deliberate self-harm/suicide attempts. If you or someone you know suffers from any of the above symptoms, you may need help! Visit your Psychiatrist at the earliest to have yourself evaluated, and started on an appropriate course of management.

Marriages in our country usually last a lifetime and require effort from both parties involved to make them work. Often, marriages end because of boredom, as the partners begin to believe that the spark is gone. But there are many ways couples can perk up their marriage. 

While it is true that many people are short on precious time in today’s day and age, what is also true is that a marriage is well worth some prioritisation. 

Leaving dirty dishes in the sink for a little while longer does make good sense, if it means that the time is well-used to bond with one’s significant other. Leisure time spent between couples is crucial for the success of a marriage. Many couples do not make it a habit of listening to each other and this really does work to their detriment. Paying close attention to what the other one says and providing a response may not need a lot of effort but the dividends are rich in the form of the partner feeling good. 

Intimacy is a valued feeling of being wanted and it has a big part to play in the success of a marriage. Over the long term, many couples do not make the required effort and the overall quality of their bond is reduced, as a result. While reinitiating contact may be as simple as holding the other’s hand, many people do not do this as they feel their partner should be the one to do so. Intimacy does not only equate to sexual intimacy, but can even simply be looking into one’s partners eyes with love. 

Laughter is said to be the best medicine, and this happens to be true in the case of a marriage, as well. It has been found that couples who laugh about their past experiences are happier and get along a lot more amicably than those who do not. Recalling together where the couple first met and started seeing each other also has a positive impact as it makes both partners feel valued and thankful about what they have. 

Below, are tips that don’t require much—if any—money, time or even hard work! 

1. Engage in a new activity with your partner. Doing novel activities with your partner enables you to re-experience the original emotional state at the beginning of your marriage. In other words, trying something new sparks excitement, producing passion. You can do anything from deep-sea fishing to salsa dancing to hiking a mountain to eating at a different restaurant. 
2. Add the element of mystery or surprise. Both mystery and surprise also mimic the emotional state of a new romance. But it doesn’t mean whisking your wife away to the Mediterranean or surprising your husband with expensive dinners. Here, little gestures also go a long way. Examples include, surprising your wife at work and whisking her away for lunch, or sending a greeting card in the mail. 
3. Do something that kicks up your adrenaline and arousal. Young marriages start out with an adrenaline rush. Your heart races, you get giddy, you’re alert, awake and excited. Arousal-generating activities can include exercising, going on a vigorous hike, and even watching a scary movie. So it’s almost like fooling your brain that the arousal produced to this scary movie (or any other arousing activity) is really due to your marriage, and this helps to perk up the passion. 
4. Take a mini-vacation — just the two of you. Get out of the house for at least one night and two days, somewhere that interests both of you and creates new memories together. You don’t have to go far from home or spend a lot of money. The key is to spend quality time together away from home. Studies show that for women, in particular, getting away is important. They feel more passionate when they’re away from the pressures of their lives. At home, women have a tough time compartmentalizing things. They’re thinking about the laundry, lunch, paying the bills, cleaning the house, and checking things off their mental to-do list. 
5. Touch more often. Touch produces arousal, comfort and support both physiologically and psychologically, and it doesn’t have to be much of a touch. Holding hands on a walk, making sure you give a hug or kiss or embrace daily reminds you that you’re physiologically bonded. When reigniting your relationship, the key is to shake things up consistently. Good luck!

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

Severe mental disorders that affect the mind and cause abnormal thinking are referred to as psychotic disorders. These disorders make it hard for a person to communicate with others, make good judgements, understand the difference between reality and imagination and behave appropriately. There are many different types of psychotic disorders. Some of the more common psychotic disorders are:

Schizophrenia
This is the most common psychotic disorder. People suffering from this disease suffer from delusions and hallucinations that last for longer than 6 months at a time. There are three types of symptoms associated with this disease:

1. Psychotic symptoms that affect the person’s thinking such as hallucinations, trouble organizing thoughts and ideas, delusions and strange movements
2. Negative symptoms that make the person seem depressed and do not allow him or her to function normally and show emotions.
3. Cognitive symptoms that affect how the person thinks.
4. Schizophrenia cannot be cured, but can be treated and managed with a combination of medication and psychotherapy.

Brief Psychotic Disorder

People who suddenly show psychotic symptoms that last for a maximum of a month and then resolve themselves are said to be suffering from a Brief Psychotic Disorder. Some of its symptoms are:

1. Hallucinations
2. Delusions
3. Chaotic thinking
4. Inappropriate behaviour and dressing
5. Senseless babbling
6. Memory loss
7. Disorientation
8. Change in eating and sleeping habits
9. Weight loss

Treatment for this condition may involve hospitalisation if the symptoms are severe or if the person is a threat to himself or herself. Usually medication, psychotherapy or a combination of the two are used to treat this condition. In extremely rare cases, this condition may recur.

Delusional Disorder
This disorder refers to a condition where the person has a delusion or false belief involving a real life situation such as being followed, deceived, poisoned, sick etc. In order to be diagnosed as delusional, the person must show no other symptoms of schizophrenia. These delusions should also not be the result of any type of medication or intoxicant. Treatment for this disorder is challenging and needs to be tailored to the patient’s needs. In most cases, medication and cognitive therapy are used to improve the patient’s quality of life and social functioning.

Shared psychotic disorder
Sometimes, if one person in a long term relationship suffers from a psychotic disorder, his or her partner may also start believing in the same hallucinations or delusions. In most cases, apart from this, they show no other symptoms of psychotic disorders. This condition is rare and usually treated with psychotherapy.

Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder, which is also known as maniac depression, which and is related to extream and unusal mood shifts, frequent changes in brain activity level along with energy. It is commonly of 4 types, namely Bipolar I disorder, Bipolar II disporder, Cyclothymic disorder and other unspecified disorders. People suffering from bipolar disorder often suffer from 'mood episodes', which is further of two types one is manic episode and depressive episode.  In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Obsessive compulsive disorder is a condition, which is characterized by a constant occurrence of compulsive behavior and obsessive thoughts. People across all ages are affected by this condition; in some cases, it might start early whereas, in others, it develops around the early years of childhood. This is a very distressing condition as it can cause significant interference in your daily life. It is recommended to get it treated at the earliest to manage its symptoms effectively.

Symptoms

Obsessive compulsive disorder causes an obsession about an unwanted (forbidden or unfounded) thought, urge or an image. This obsession may result in disgust, unease and feelings of anxiety. A compulsion is defined as a certain behavior that is usually repetitive, something that you tend to do over and over again to get rid of the constant anxiety. An example would be to constantly check the windows of the house resulting from an uncorroborated fear that the house may be burgled.

The causes of obsessive compulsive disorder are:

1. Chemical imbalances in the brain marked by low serotonin levels
2. Family history of OCD
3. People who are meticulous, neat and methodical might develop OCD
4. Certain traumatic events such as having been bullied or abused can also cause OCD

Treatment

There are multiple treatment options. The aim of the treatments is to manage the symptoms and improve the quality of life. The treatments are:

1. Medications: Certain antidepressants that alter the chemical imbalance in the brain can treat OCD.
2. Psychological therapy: Counselling or cognitive behavioral therapy is very effective in treating OCD. Cognitive behavioral therapy aims to modify one’s thinking pattern and get rid of unnecessary fears and thoughts.

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

Hello! This Dr. Nazneen Ladak. I m a Psychiatrist.

Now I’m gonna talk really in detail about the different causes or conditions which we come across Psychiatry. Generally I’m going to talk about the myths, the common myths you people have questioned about.

First, going to the psychiatrist means you are mad. Second that it is all in your head try to improve on yourself why do you need to be on medicine. Third, these medicines are addictive. Fourth, are these medicines safe? Well let me tell you going to a psychiatrist doesn’t mean that we deal with mad people.

We deal with people who are open minded , who have understood the concept and who are broad and who seek help because they cannot function in their day to day activities. Now it’s all in your head, no! It’s not all in your head - it happens when there is a chemical imbalance. Chemical imbalance can be intrinsic or extrinsic i.e. due to circumstances.

Now e.g. thyroid, it is a medical condition where you take thyroid hormones because your body cannot produce thyroid. Similarly your brain cannot produce chemicals and that’s why you are taking this medicine.

When you can take medicines for thyroid, for diabetes for blood pressure, what is wrong in taking medicines for your brain? Isn’t the brain part of your body? These medicines are FDA approved, approved by the government so how can they be harmful. Some people say addiction ho jati hai. No! It is not addictive. We taper it and we stop it. You don’t get hooked on to it lifelong. Well it depends from case to case.

If there are more than 2 relapses in the sense we put you on medicines, we taper the dose and then you are off medicines. But if you relapse twice or thrice , then you have to take the medicines for lifelong. Just like you take your thyroid medicines, your B.P. medicines, your diabetes medicines, and if they are harmful then why are you taking such medicines also.

So the whole concept is like these medicines are not harmful and they you are being monitored by your professional by a healthcare professional, a psychiatrist. For instance vitamin hai, vitamin is very good, supplement is very good for everybody. You take 1 , it works wonders but if you take the whole bottle what happens? You develop vitamin toxicity. If you have a capacity to have 4 chappatis and you have 20 chappatis then chappatis are also harmful. Food is also harmful if it is taken in more than the quantity.

Similar way if everything is in moderation and guided by a professional , it is fine - you need not sweat about it. If these medicines are helping you to function on a normal basis to cope up with your personal relationship, your work relationship and your friendships , then I don’t think there is any harm to it.

If you are feeling happy, if you are feeling normal then why don’t you take help and take these medicines. It is simple as such, not that I’m promoting medicines, we give medicines only if it is required that’s why you are come to us and if they helping you out you should take it.

If you have any other question or you want to seek an appointment then you can go through Lybrate.com. Thank you!

There is a distinct relationship between sleeping disorders and your emotional health, both influence each other. Insomnia is a common sleeping disorder, which is generally caused due to stress and tension. Depression and anxiety also account for insomnia. It has been proven by research that people who experience sleeplessness or cases of insomnia are at a higher risk of depression and similar psychiatric disorders.

Insomnia is an important factor which causes depression and many people affected by it commit suicide. Researchers have found dysfunctional activity in the area of the brain where emotions are processed and regulated, among people with insomnia. Their study explains the mechanism by which insomnia affects and influences emotions in people, which leads to depression and other disorders.

Ways in which insomnia affects your emotions

1. There is a clear difference in the brain activities of people with insomnia when compared with normal people who get good sleep. There is usually a great difference between the activities of the amygdala, which are neurons in the temporal lobe of the brain. The amygdala is very important in regulation and processing of emotions.
2. Insomnia disrupts the ability of the brain to process negative emotions.
3. Neural change and problems with regulating emotions are also caused because of insomnia.
4. Insomnia disables the ability of judging or sensing any kind of emotion by looking at the face of a person. It is difficult to judge emotions such as anger and sadness in people suffering from insomnia. This impairment occurs more in women.
5. Insomnia and similar sleeping disorders affect our inhibition and disrupt our impulse control mechanism. An insomniac person is likely to develop increased impulsiveness to negative stimulus.
6. People suffering from insomnia develop a perception towards negative stuff and perceive most things in a negative way, rather than looking at the bright side which a normal person tends to do. People affected by insomnia are characterized by a negative mood and are pessimists in nature.
7. A sleep deprived or insomniac patient shows greater activity around the limbic area of the brain. This is the area where major emotional regulation and processing are undertaken.
8. A person suffering from insomnia develops a cranky personality. The patient is in an irritable mood and is triggered by the slightest and pettiest of circumstances. An insomniac patient is also characterized by swinging moods, high temper and general fatigue, which result due to lack of sleep.

Insomnia is a sleeping disorder which directly affects a person's emotions and the processing and regulation of emotions. There is a direct and important link between insomnia and emotional disorders. 

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

With age, most body organs begin to deteriorate in their function. This happens to the brain also, thereby reducing the overall speed of functioning of most organs. While slowing of bodily movement is visible, the internal organs functioning also slows down, which is not that obvious. Memory loss or dementia is one of the main manifestations of this degeneration of the brain.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, and the associated symptoms includes reduced reasoning abilities and cognitive defects. Though it is seen only in the elderly, not all elderly people will have Alzheimer’s. The overall quality of life of the affected person is reduced with difficulty remembering things that were recently learned. It is a progressive disease and as it gets more severe, a full-time caretaker may be required.

Causes: The brain cells are affected by protein masses known as plaques and tangles. These hamper the way communication between the brain cells happens as well as affect nutrition from reaching all parts of the brain. This leads to shrinking of the brain, eventually leading to memory loss and other problems. There is also a strong genetic linkage, as most people with Alzheimer’s have the lipoprotein A gene.

Symptoms: Though memory loss is the most common symptom, there are other symptoms:

1. Being confused about places, people, and times
2. Inability to find the right words during conversations
3. Regular objects are misplaced
4. Becoming irritable, (in someone who was not so previously)
5. Mood swings
6. Personality changes
7. Inability to organise thoughts
8. Not able to make the right decisions
9. Repetitive talks and actions
10. Forgetfulness (not something the person always does)
11. Difficulty with numbers (again, not something calculations
12. Difficulty managing everyday tasks and minor problems
13. Suspicion of others (like immediate family members and friends)

Risk factors: While age is definitely a risk factor, the fact that not all aged people develop Alzheimer’s is to be borne in mind. Other risk factors include the history of stroke, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, obesity, and poor lifestyle choices.

Diagnosis: While there is no definitive way to diagnose Alzheimer’s, symptoms along with brain scans and neuropsychological function testing are useful ways to confirm the diagnosis.

Treatment: This is aimed at two things reducing the rate of disease progression and treat (or reverse) symptoms if possible.

Cholinesterase inhibitors improve cellular communication in the brain and also manage depression and agitation. Memantine is used to slow the pace of disease progression.
In people with the disease, small changes are useful to help them with the symptoms. These include keeping essential things like keys and wallet in the same place, keep a daily diary to help them remember things, keep pictures of friends and family within visible distance.

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

Brain is just like other muscles in the body; stimulation of the brain cells on a continuous basis will lead to a well-functioning brain. In fact, exercising your brain through various brain exercises helps in forming new neural pathways inside it. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change and adapt when it is stimulated.

The various methods you can adopt to improve your mental health are:

1. Learn a musical instrument: Start taking music classes to learn an instrument such as guitar or piano as it helps in improving mental health. It also helps in delaying age related problems such as Alzheimer's disease.
2. Do math exercises in your head: Try figuring out various mathematical sums inside your head, as this will keep your brain sharp. It has also been known to improve intelligence quotient.
3. Try to Recall Past Events: When you try to recall past events, the section of the brain dealing with memory is stimulated and thus, leads to stronger neural connections.
4. Learning a New Language: Learning a new language is good for the brain as well because it helps in delaying the process of decline of cognitive functions. Chances of being affected by mental health disorders decrease significantly.
5. Aerobic Exercises: You should follow a regular exercise regimen consisting of aerobic exercises and cardiovascular exercises as they help in improving your blood circulation. Apart from keeping you fitter and lean, it also improves your overall wellbeing.
6. Improve your Hand-eye Coordination: Do activities such as painting, knitting or solving puzzles as they help in improving your hand eye coordination. It fine tunes your motor skills and keeps you mentally sharp.
7. Cooking: Learning to cook helps in activating various parts of the brain such as sight, smell and taste. This is related to different parts of the brain resulting in an overall development.

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

Depression is a serious yet common mental health problem that can affect all age groups ranging from young children to the elderly. It is found to be more common among women when compared to men. It can take a toll over one’s peace of mind, physical health, interpersonal relationships as well as job performance (or academic performance). What is deceiving is, the person can also be functioning well, in which case, it can go unnoticed, leading to grave consequences. The good news is that depression is treatable and individuals are able to function much better with treatment. Affected individuals feel sad most of the time. He/she loses the ability to enjoy/be happy. 

As a result of this, the daily activities that he/she participates in do not seem to appeal to him/her anymore. This is especially true in the case of socialising. The affected person will just seem to drop out of social circles. This can be said to be ironic because it is times like these when the individual with depression is in need of friends the most! 

The individual seems to have an overriding belief that the status quo will not be altered by anything and he or she will be stuck in a rut in perpetuity. In other words, depressed people experience a perennial feeling of helplessness. Negative thoughts can also drive one to commit suicide. 

A lot of people who have depression tend to experience a loss of energy. As a matter of fact, this is quite the case with men who enter a phase of depression, as the symptoms which are displayed by them can contrast sharply to those displayed by women. One of the reasons for men tending to report a higher chance of this than women is the fact that they are less likely to express feelings of self loathing. Rather, they usually talk about sleep problems and a loss of interest in things that once they might have found to be interesting or even captivating. They also gradually get quite irritable.

When it comes to women, guilt is quite likely to be felt. They may also sleep a lot longer than what is considered to be normal. Eating habits are a better indication of the presence or absence of depression than most people would realise. Overeating is one of the prime signs, especially in the case of women who are depressed. This leads to them putting on weight, as the rise in the intake of food is compounded by a drop in the amount of healthy physical activity. On the other hand, many may also experience loss of appetite, which over a period of time can even lead to weight loss. Some women who are depressed also complain of aches and pains in the body.

A few individuals who are depressed also complain of weird experiences, like being able to hear voices calling out to them, abusing them in dirty language, asking them to hurt themselves (hallucinations). Some may be found to be extremely suspicious about people around them.

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