Showing posts with label Depression. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Depression. Show all posts

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Some People Born to It Always Negative Thinking

Motivating someone to be more optimistic in life is sometimes very difficult. Not because a less reliable motivator, because some people are genetically born to be always so negative and pessimistic.
People who always have a negative view of life is usually prone to depression and other psychiatric disorders. Such people can not appreciate what they have and tend to feel his life was never happy.
A study at the University of Michigan revealed that individuals with a pessimistic personality are genetically different than the average person. The difference lies in the protein component, called neuropeptide Y (NPY).
NPY is a protein which is one of the constituent components deoxyribonucleid chain (DNA). In a pessimistic person, NPY levels lower than the average person.
Research conducted by Dr. Brian Mickey was conducted with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Scanning with this technology is to observe the activity of the prefrontal cortex, part of the brain which controls emotion and psychiatric status.
When listening to the words that describe a negative situation such as 'murder', volunteers with low NPY levels have increased activity of the prefrontal cortex. This increase indicates that the person concerned to be more anxious and upset than other volunteers.
In subsequent experiments, researchers injected saline solution to evoke pain of moderate intensity. Compared with normal participants, participants with low NPY carrying more complaining about feeling uncomfortable due to the injection.
"We hope this research can be developed to detect individual risk of depression and anxiety-related disorders," said Dr. Mickey as quoted by the Telegraph, Tuesday (08/01/2011).
Results were published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Getting anxious over Anxiety Depression?

A lot of people who are exerting too much of their brain power usually exhaust not only their physical strength when engaging in various multi-tasking activities, they also tend to over extend their brains up to the point when it plainly needs some good old time for relaxation. A lot of busy people who seem to cannot fathom the idea of relaxing and taking time of from work, as well as their worries, tend to actually start having nervous breakdowns, anxiety depression and all sorts of mental illnesses that can cause a person's sanity to go haywire, fortunately, if you're one of those poor unfortunate ones who are unable to distress and is constantly worried and fussing over things, there are actually available cures and various treatments for treating anxiety depression.

Anxiety depression is actually characterized by all sorts of irregularities and erratic behavior from the person who is suffering from it, this is usuallu due to certain stress triggers that may tend to easily cause a person undue jitters and stress. Also, a lot of people who tend to get easily nervous over stressful activities are actually prone to having anxiety depression, its just a matter of being strong-willed when it comes to facing difficult and stress-prone activities. It may be pretty hard to overcome at first, but trying to be calm and cool in times of extreme pressure is what'll actually save your mental health from going totally downward spiral.

When it comes to effectively curing one's self from a mental illness, one must keep in mind that you have to be actually honest with yourself and assess what kind of depression or mental illness you actually have, go to reputable psychiatrist to get yourself diagnosed correctly as well as be able to get the right depression treatment for yourself. Here are the various types of depression:

Manic or Bipolar depression - characterized by sudden and extreme changes in one's mood wherein one minute he or she is in an elevated state of euphoria while the
next minute (day or week) he or she is feeling to be in a personal hell.

Postpartum depression - characterized by a prolonged sadness and a feeling of emptiness by a new mother wherein physical stress during child birth, an uncertain sense of responsibility towards the new born baby can be just some of the possible factors why some new mother go through this.

Dysthimia - characterized by a slight similarity with depression, although this time, it's been proven to be a lot less severe, but of course with any case, should be treated immediately.

Cyclothemia - characterized by a slight similarity with Manic or Bipolar depression wherein the individual suffering from this mental illness may occasionally suffer from severe changes in one's moods.

Seasonal Affective Disorder - characterized by falling in a rut only during specific seasons (i.e. Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall) studies however, prove that more people
actually fall in to a rut more during the Winter and Fall seasons and lastly, Mood swings, wherein a person's mood may shift from happy to sad to angry in just a short time. 

But the type of depression that has actually been proven to be quite common among people is anxiety depression, which is actually characterized by the state of being overly anxious about things. Anxiety, a supposedly normal behavior that'll actually help a person adjust more to a certain stressful activity like first date jitters or a grueling exam the following day. Anxiety actually helps you get psyched up towards facing certain "difficult situations"; anxiety therefore is actually a good thing. Anxiety depression however, is simply the opposite, not to be easily dismissed as a "case of the nerves"; Anxiety depression is in actuality an illness that can be caused from the biological makeup of an individual, or in other words, a hereditary illness.

Also, there are actually various types of Anxiety depression, each having its own unique characteristics. Take for example Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD, this kind of Anxiety depression is a lot more complicated than the average Anxiety depression, in spite of possibly being a day-to-day habit for those who suffer this kind of Anxiety depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder actually makes the individual quite more paranoid than usual, anxiety attacks are more frequent, even absurd at times. They can even be anxious even when there's no apparent reason that calls for them to behave in such a way. People suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder actually shows a lot of symptoms, from lack of sleep, to being unable to relax, getting tired easily, cannot concentrate on what they're doing and even suffering from depression.  This kind of Anxiety depression is still curable; just a little work will actually do the trick.

Consult a reputable cognitive behavior therapist who'll help give the individual the therapy that he or she needs to help him or her loosen up, also prescribed medicines are sort of a must to help these individuals battle anxiety attacks, help them calm down and relax.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Storms


Speckled and freckled beneath the waves of his sun bleached hair, is a five-year-old boy who's "all growed up." The sun has stained his cheeks to a rosy shade of pink, but he takes little notice of this, as he's only particular about his adorable wavy blond hair. This new obsession of his has led to the fact that Mommy's brush is MIA most every day.

I can't bring myself to cut it, nor can I stop myself from brushing my lips against the softness every chance I get. So I do--unless he runs. Last night he ran.

I chased the giggling boy around the coffee table, through the dining room, out of the kitchen, and into his bedroom, until he was cornered. Smothering him with hugs and kisses, I savored the scent of his freshly washed hair, while feeling the soft wave of feathers against my nose and my cheek.

While crossing his arms, his bottom lip slipped forward in defiance. "What's your problem?" asked his sister, who was watching this all from the hallway.

"I wanted to try going to sleep without hugs and kisses tonight!" he huffed, once again releasing the lip that marked his desire for independence.

With little assistance, he tucked himself in, and waved me off into the night--his crown of curls encircling his rosy red cheeks on the pillow. I let out a yawn, and slipped off to bed myself.

About four hours later, we awoke to the clap of thunder, a flash of lightening, and the little man standing at the foot of our bed, hoping to crawl in beside me.

"I'm scared," he announced, then he slipped in beside me and pulled the covers up to his neck. For a while, I watched his young silhouette rise and fall with each breath he took. I smiled knowing that this little man was not "growed up" at all. He still needed his momma, and together we needed the storm.

I got to thinking about the storms of life that shake us, bringing us down to our knees. Perhaps it's financial, or a matter of health; perhaps it's losing the trust of someone you've grown accustomed to leaning on. Maybe it's shaking your faith, but hopefully it's doing the opposite--drawing you closer to the arms of the one who protects.

We need the storms. For without them we wouldn't see that we have need for Christ. We are all sinners, and we all walk the same soil that trips us up from time to time leaving us feeling alone in the storm. But like my son who wants so desperately to stand on his own, we aren't alone and shouldn't be. I praise God that He is there to comfort me, to cleanse me, and to shelter me under His wing. I need my Father, and because of Him, I can weather the storm.

Drawn from my archives

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