Spotting Teen Depression

Alternative Lifestyles
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There is a lot of talk these days about the stress that teenagers go through. For as much as the education system is struggling and their are issues in getting kids to be focused on the future, there is still an overwhelming amount of pressure on teens these days. Both academically and socially. Teens are expected to deal with a lot and they are expected to handle it well. Between sex, drugs, alternative lifestyles, grades, college, and the break down of the modern family teens are lucky they can make it through at all. This is why there is an alarming rate of teen depression in this country.

But how do you know when a teen truly has a problem with depression. It’s not uncommon to find a teen that is going through a tough time and can be a little down. Teens are experiencing constant change and sometimes this can bring about sad feelings. A heartbreak, for instance, will bring about crying and a generally sad disposition but this doesn’t necessarily constitute a general problem with depression.

So how do you know when your child has a real issue? The truth is that depression is most often spotted in the length or the severity as opposed to the appearance of it. If your child does suffer a heartbreak and they are in morning for several weeks where there appears to be no change in their mood then it might be time to question their mental health in dealing with this topic. If they are depressed to the point where there thoughts and drifting to doing harm to themselves or someone else, even if done in jest, then you might have to consider getting them in to speak with someone about it. It doesn’t mean that they are in for a life long battle but rather that they need help getting them through a tough event

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The Mind of The OCD Patient

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So what is OCD and how does it manifest inside a patient. This is a difficult question to answer and one that doesn’t always have a real firm answer. The degrees to which OCD is present in a person is dependent on the person. It’s not totally uncommon to have someone show signs of moderate OCD as a child but then show less signs of OCD as an adult. It’s difficult to determine the depths of a disease without a serious amount of counseling.

The truth be that there are many that function day in and day out without ever letting it harm their lives. The most severe cases of OCD will leave a patient confined to the house but more often than not it will keep them going through their lives with just bumps in the road.

Let’s look at a person who when they exit their car they have to do so with the help of a ritual. They must check their lights three times. They must check the doors three times. They have to say what they are doing out loud or they will not be able to continue on with the rest of their day. But as they walk away from their car they can’t remember doing the ritual for their lights. They remember saying it but they don’t recall seeing the switch turned to off. They have to go back and open the doors to do it again. Of course when this happens they are required to repeat the ritual over and over again.

So why do they care so much? The truth of the matter is that they imagine the worst case scenario of leaving the doors unlocked. The car getting stolen, or damaged, or in some strange way resulting in the harm of another person. This is how the mind of a person with OCD works.

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Examples of OCD

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There is a disease out there in the mental health field that is affected millions every day. Some in small ways and others in big ways but it’s making an impact. It can be as crippling as depression and leave it’s sufferers in a bind with no real way out. It’s obsessive compulsive disorder, known as OCD, and it’s a problem running rampant throughout the world.

At it’s base OCD is an anxiety disorder. It’s brought about by thoughts that can make the patient uneasy, fill them with apprehension and fear. It’s something that makes them feel weak and worried. In order to make these fears less worrisome they act out by repeating behaviors. It’s most classic example is the hand washer. In this instance they are worried about germs and so they get themselves so worked up about it that the only thing that will ease them is washing their hands. Of course this is only good for a short time because if the act is performed to perfection, if they haven’t realized that it is quelling their fears then they will have to do it all over again. If they were to walk outside the wash room and come in contact with a foreign substance, this could cause a chain reaction that would make them have to go back in and wash them again.

The problem isn’t that the hands aren’t getting clean and it isn’t that there is anything that will happen to them as a result but there is something in their brain that tell them that they have to wash again. The higher there anxiety level is the worse they are going to be about their repetitive behaviors. Even if the anxiety is about something else it will only serve to make their OCD more heightened. This is a problem all over the world and most of the time it goes untreated.

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What’s Normal When It Comes to Mental Health?

Unfortunately, when it comes to mental health, it’s hard to know what you’re experiencing is normal or from a mental illness. Some symptoms are obvious. It’s not normal to hear voices in your head or see things that aren’t there, but for some, the difference isn’t so obvious and as of yet, there is no medical test that can be given and then sent to a lab to see if it’s mental illness.

When it comes to diagnosing mental illness, professionals in the psychology and medical fields use four main areas to diagnose: behavior, feelings, unusual thoughts, and physical signs (such as sweating, hyperventilation, or racing heartbeat).

To work on a diagnosis, mental health professionals rely on what you can tell them about the symptoms you’re experiencing. By putting these symptoms together, it can create a picture of what’s going on and what is happening. This still doesn’t always lead to the right diagnosis because some illnesses have similar symptoms, but it can give you and your doctor a starting point.

Another tool that doctors use is talking to you about how you perceive things including your own thoughts and behaviors. These could include no longer wanting to do activities that you used to find enjoyable. Behaviors could include staying in bed and not being motivated to do anything.

It’s sometimes necessary to find others who can give insight to your behaviors as well such as a parent, friend, sibling, or spouse. For example, those with bipolar disorder may think that everything is fine, but for those around you, they can see that something is not right.

Typically, mental health professionals will use a book called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which outlines over 300 types of mental disorders and is published by the American Psychiatric Association. Having the most specific diagnosis possible can help get the right benefits for you as well as give you the right treatment. If you believe that you may be suffering from a mental, illness, seek help and get diagnosed. Doing so can improve your life with medication and treatments.

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Mental Illness Doesn’t Always Require Drug Treatment

The importance of physical health is obvious, but people often overlook the importance of mental health. It’s easy to see most physical sickness, but when someone is unwell mentally, the signs are not always visible, especially if the person attempts to hide the illness.

When people speak of mental illness, there is a stigma attached – it’s easy to assume that the person must be crazy or a danger to society, but this isn’t fair. There are milder forms of mental illness, such as depression, which do not mean psychosis but do affect the person’s quality of life and, if left untreated, might cause serious problems.

There are many reasons for mental unwellness. Discontent is an obvious cause. People who hate their job, are in a dysfunctional relationship or are in some other circumstances they don’t like, become stressed and miserable, often the more so if they try to hide what they’re going through.

Society has little tolerance for unhappiness, so those who are sick at heart often feel they have to hide it in order to be accepted. The misery they go through can become exacerbated by a mental issue, with serious consequences. Prolonged unhappiness can have a physical effect, causing people to waste away as they stop taking care of themselves and lose their motivation for action. Sometimes people turn to substance abuse for solace and may fall into a self-destructive spiral unless they get into drug treatment.

It’s not always possible to see when people are unwell mentally. The most important thing people can do is be vigilant. Friends and family are the best weapon against mental illness. Whether they talk someone out of depression or help that person seek medical treatment for a more serious condition, people are the only ones who can help other people, because often the sick are unable to help themselves.

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Aromatherapy and Depression

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Depression, especially manic depression, is a condition that millions of Americans suffer from each year that can be treated via medications, cognitive therapy, or aromatherapy. Aromatherapy is one of the most popular treatments because it uses natural oils that come from plants to treat the symptoms and assist in a healing process. Depression can be caused by a lack of sleep and aromatherapy can relax the mind and help patients suffering from depression get their sleep back on track. The oils used in aromatherapy can also help to brighten one’s mood, but should only be used as a complimentary treatment that is combined with a variety of other treatments.

Clary Sage essential oil is used to help treat insomnia, anxiety, and depression. Basil is used to help treat fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Rose essential oil is used to treat the nervous system and other disorders. Ylang-ylang is used to treat anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Sandalwood is used to treat depression and tension. Lavender is used to treat headaches, insomnia, migraines, nervous tension and stress related conditions. Jasmine essential oil is used to increase the beta waves in the front of the head which gives the patient a more alert and responsive state of mind.

The emotional centers in the brain are closely related to the sense of smell, which is why aromatherapy is so commonly used in treating depression. Smelling the scents listed above can easily help patients suffering from depression relax and remove tension from their bodies.

If anyone feels that they are experiencing depression they should consult their doctor as soon as possible before beginning an aromatherapy regimen because there could be other treatment options available including medication, cognitive therapy, and other treatments. When using aromatherapy patients can do perform aromatherapy on their own or they can go to a masseuse and receive a massage to help with their depression. If the patient does their aromatherapy on their own they can use candles, diffusers, and other scented items to help with their depression.

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Self Esteem And Mental Health

In today’s stressful world, maintaining good mental health is crucial. It’s the information age. Our ability to earn a living increasingly depends on how versatile and adaptable our minds are. As technology and globalization transform the workplace, the winners will be those who can reinvent themselves as needed. To handle this kind of reinvention, we need to trust our minds and firmly believe that we deserve happiness and prosperity. We need high self-esteem. But what is self-esteem? In the media, and in popular culture, self-esteem has become trivialized, with a blurred definition. Some view it as a “feel good” philosophy that entails praising or loving everyone. But real self-esteem is much more than that.

A Definition

To paraphrase Nathaniel Branden, a psychologist who has been writing about self-esteem for decades, self-esteem is the condition of trusting our minds and believing that we deserve happiness. Such a philosophy is perhaps innate, but for most people, it must be worked on, due to the negativity that most of us encounter as we grow up. Branden argues that we must practice what he calls the “pillars” of self-esteem in order to maintain and build it. These pillars include concepts like self-awareness, self-responsibility, assertiveness, and integrity. Working on these pillars allows a person to increase his self-esteem.

The Rewards Of Self-Esteem

The person with high self-esteem take pleasure in being alive. He trusts his mind, and is able to act quickly, learn easily, and adapt to a changing world. His belief that he is worthy of happiness makes it easy for him to find and experience joy. Such a person experiences good mental health as a natural consequence of his high self-esteem. And though no one is immune to the unpredictability of life, with a strong foundation of mental health, one can more easily handle life’s ups and downs.

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Tips For Increasing Your Mental Health

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Most of us think about our physical health a lot. We go to the gym, run, try to eat healthy, and get checkups at the doctor’s. But, how many of us take the same care with our mental health? Isn’t mental health just as important as physical health? Obviously, yes: the health of our minds makes a tremendous impact on our lives. Unfortunately, few people have a regimen for maintaining or increasing mental health. But there are many things we can do to improve our mental health if we accept that good mental health is not an automatic condition. We can take an active rather than a passive role towards our mental health, and set goals regarding it, just like we would set a running race goal.

Staying Positive

The power of thinking positively has been the subject (and even title) of many books because it is really an effective concept. If we keep our thoughts and words positive and avoid negativity and criticism, we really do make it more likely that good things will happen to us. If this idea seems doubtful, consider an archer aiming at the bulls-eye of a target that is several meters away. If the archer thinks positively, saying to himself something like “I’ll hit the bull-eye” or “this is a great shot for me” versus saying “I’m a bad shot”, which statement do you think will make it more likely that he’ll hit the target? This concept extends to all areas of life, not just athletics or games involving physical skill. It’s therefore helpful to try to catch ourselves if we’re indulging in “doom and gloom” thinking, and to replace such thinking with more affirmative thoughts. An additional benefit is that we feel better if we’re kinder to ourselves, and thinking positively versus criticizing ourselves is much kinder.

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Mental Health is a Vital Part of Life

When it comes to staying healthy, most people focus on the physical. They work out, they eat right, and they do all sorts of things that they feel are valuable to staying in shape. Unfortunately, they ignore their mental health. Not only do they not work on their mental abilities so they can continue to learn and grow, but they lose a lot of what they already know because they don’t use it. Some knowledge really doesn’t have much point. Some of the things a person learned in grade school, for example, aren’t really needed in later life. However, there are a lot of things that are learned and are very important and valuable. Letting them go and not being concerned about your mental health can leave you feeling lost, unintelligent, or like you’re losing your mind.

You can avoid those kinds of feelings and the problems that inevitably come with them by paying attention to your mental health. Keep learning and exploring your world. Don’t stop growing and creating, because it’s hard to get your momentum back once you lose it. That doesn’t mean you can’t get it back, but it does take more work than it would if you’d have kept up with your momentum the entire time, and never let it lapse. The way you improve upon your mental health and stay active can really vary based on the kinds of things you like to do.

Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box a little bit, and try something you’ve never done before. Maybe you could learn a new language, take a class in something unique and different, or study something that’s interested you for years but you’ve just not had time for. All of those are good ways for you to enjoy your learning time and keep your mind active. When you work toward both mental and physical health you’ll have a better chance of staying active on all fronts throughout your life. You’ll generally feel better, and staying mentally alert can help to prepare you to grow older more gracefully.

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Understand Lithium Side Effects

Many Americans face the challenges of mental illness and regularly take medications to control the effects of their illnesses. A commonly prescribed drug for manic-depressive disorder, or Bipolar disorder, is Lithium. The medication was first discovered to have mood-stabilizing effects in the late 19th century when doctors prescribed it for gout. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) didn’t allow widespread use of Lithium until around 1970.

Lithium is an element found in nature that can help doctors treat manic-depressive patients. A lithium deficiency will not create a Bipolar disorder, but it can help with the chemical imbalances that do cause the condition. Lithium is quite effective in treating this disorder, but has some noteworthy side effects.

A common Lithium side effect is an increase in urinary frequency. This occurs more in women than men and generally surfaces after two years of treatment. Sometimes you can lose bladder control, but not always. Increased thirst is another side effect, and drinking to quench thirst may lead to an increase in urination. Mild nausea and shaking hands are common. If any of these side effects are worrisome, contact your doctor.

Some lesser occurring side effects are an increase in acne and a rash on the skin. Some patients have reported feeling bloated or pressure on their stomachs along with twitching muscles. These symptoms should not alarm you, but if they are bothersome, contact your doctor.

Some Lithium side effects warrant an immediate call to the doctor: loss of appetite, weak muscles, slurred speech, widespread trembling, drowsiness, diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. Any of these could be early signs of Lithium toxicity, and you need to address them immediately. Taking Lithium can make a person struggling with bipolar disorder feel human again. While some side effects can be troublesome, they are not always present. Many people take Lithium and experience no side effects from it.

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