Bipolar Disorder: The Shared Mental Illness of a Mother and Daughter

Last Updated on Sunday, 16 October 2011 01:21 Written by Natural Health Team Sunday, 16 October 2011 01:21

Health Information about Bipolar Disorder: The Shared Mental Illness of a Mother and Daughter

“Annette’s” struggles began at age 14, when she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It was at this time, that her mother, also suffering from this illness, committed suicide. When she needed friends the most, she was ostracized by her schoolmates once they learned of her illness. Throughout her life she had the loving support of her father and sisters.

Annette’s 26 year struggle to take control of her illness was sidelined numerous times due to repeated hospitalizations. For this reason, it took her 10 years to earn her Bachelor’s Degree. Her efforts to be independent were also impacted by her illness costing her to lose employment several times.

In 2001, Annette sought help at a community mental health organization. As she started to manage her symptoms, her work hours and responsibilities were increased. She was doing well until 2003 when she relapsed and was hospitalized four times in an eight month period. It was during this period that she learned self-help techniques to gain control of her illness–and she’s never looked back.

Once back at work, she worked part time in the mental health center’s outpatient and day treatment program. Now that she has her life on track, she shares her personal experience with clients and works hard with them to help them understand that they too can gain control of their illness.

In just five years, she went from consumer to a full time mental health worker (case manager) at the community mental health organization. She has been struggling with bipolar disorder for 26 years yet she never gave up hope. Her compassionate and heartfelt message to others with mental illness is, “If I can do it, you can do it too.”

Bipolar disorder is a disorder of the brain that can result in drastic changes in mood and personality. Nearly 6 million adults, roughly 2 and 1/2 percent of the population, suffer from bipolar disorder. Although there is currently no cure for bipolar disorder, it can be treated and individuals suffering from bipolar disorder can lead relatively normal adult lives under the proper care.

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Is Intermittent Explosive Disorder Mostly a Mens Mental Issue

Last Updated on Friday, 14 October 2011 01:21 Written by Natural Health Team Friday, 14 October 2011 01:21

Health Information about Is Intermittent Explosive Disorder Mostly a Mens Mental Issue

But one of the gravest disorders in this world is mental disorder which affects the mental health of a person. The sufferers experience a feeling of gratification from their bizarre ordeal. An impulse control disorder is defined as the failure to control an impulsive act or behavior which may cause harm to self or others.

The following is the list of such psychological disorder: Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Kleptomania, Pyromania, Pathological Gambling, Trichotillomania, and Dermatillomania.

Let us discuss about some of these impulse control disorders in detail. Pyromania is not linked to other such behaviors like setting of fire due to Bipolar disorder or Schizophrenia. Impulse control disorder is also one of them. Such people stop coming out of their house to avoid embarrassment as the wounds are quite visible.

Numerous psychological problems are marked by the loss or lack of control over a person’s emotions in specific situations. People are diagnosed for such disorders only if they have mental health issues, as it may happen to anyone. This disorder is typically found in women rather than men.

Pathological Gambling:

Maladaptive gambling which is life-threatening for a person is called Pathological gambling. In these cases, people do not take the ownership of their loss of control and start blaming others for their aggressive outburst. This is a rare type of disorder and occurs infrequently. It is a very painful process though it relieves stress and gives immense satisfaction.

The key characteristic of such disorder is that the person loses his cool and starts destroying property or starts assaulting others. Such gamblers tend to increases their risks and frequently gamble to stay involved. Such type of disorder is experienced both by men and women but men develop the problem in their teens and women seem to develop this disorder when they are older. They type to stop it, but return to gambling to curb their depression. The aggression is always blown out of proportion and is destructive.

This leads to the sufferers committing crimes to cover up their financial losses, leads to serious financial problems and even bankruptcy. There are numerous disorders which a person experiences in his life span. They start telling lies about the extent of their gambling as it starts affecting their job and family relationships.

Intermittent Explosive Disorder:

This kind of disorder can be typically seen in men who have legal problems and are assaulted with some charges.

Pyromania:

Mental health problems such as pyromania are dangerous as they make the person set fires just for the sake of pleasure. In such cases, the mental health of a person is affected such that person craves for the feeling of tension before stealing and sense of pleasure after the theft. Disorders like poor vision, handicap, and obesity are common.

Kleptomania:

This type of rare disorder is typically seen in women. The person experiences uncontrolled anger and this affects the mental health of that person. Sufferers of mental health problems like these, experience a compulsive urge to pick their skin to counter tension, anxiety and stress and feel relieved by skin-picking. People suffering from this disorder engage themselves in compulsive stealing, but not for its monetary value, neither to express anger.

It is one of a kind of mental health problems which involves the lack of control over gambling than the amount of money gambled. Such individuals have a significant fascination towards fire and they do not behave in such a manner for any gain or express anger. The person suffering from kleptomania does not have the intention of stealing a particular thing and feel guilty about it. It involves impulsive behavior which is not premeditated and on which the person doesn’t have any control. There are several such disorders which are characterized by the loss of control over emotions.

Dermatillomania:

This type of impulse control disorder is a form of self-injury marked by repeated urge to pick one’s own skin and damage it. Face, back, scalp, stomach and in some extreme cases, arms, feet and hands are the regions most affected. It is just for the fact that they experience a sense of satisfaction in their deeds.

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Mental Disorder What are You Waiting for

Last Updated on Tuesday, 11 October 2011 04:21 Written by Natural Health Team Tuesday, 11 October 2011 04:21

Health Information about Mental Disorder What are You Waiting for

Mental disorders are very common worldwide, despite medication and therapy is appropriate for their care, 90% of those affected do not seek specialized help. This may be due in part to the continuing discrimination against these conditions.

No desire to be sarcastic, it seems that the world’s mental health walk “upside down” to such an extent that very soon the neurological, psychiatric and behavior will be among the most prevalent in all nations of the globe and However, there is still very low rate of patient care such as only 1 in 10 patients receiving specialized help.

True, scientific progress has been invaluable to know the causes of this group of diseases and how to address them on the couch, remembering that the pharmacological support has contributed to periods of hospitalization is reduced and the patient successfully reintegrated their daily activities.

However, despite the optimism inspired by these facts, reality slaps us every time we analyze the situation of a society and finds that, in general, mental health infrastructure is far much to comply with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).

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Data provided by the agency show that about 500 million people worldwide suffer from some mental disorder, most of them are unable to perform their daily tasks and live with great suffering.

The latter is particularly serious because the drugs for mental disorders are so specific that it is almost impossible to solve a problem of depression, schizophrenia (difficulty distinguishing between real and imaginary experiences, think logically and behaving normally) or bipolar disorder (periods of excitability or mania that alternate with depression) without the medication has been prescribed by a psychiatrist.

Having a mental illness and treatment the patient will a “dead end” because the victim is exposed to social rejection, stigma (this will label), discrimination and lack of employment opportunities, which is clear, it is difficult to bear.

The impact does not end there, because the patient’s family also feels the emotional burden of having to take care if it is disabled. In addition, a challenge that does not speak much, but it is the sight of all is the maintenance costs of treatment, i.e. cover the costs generated consultation, medication, hospitalization and eventual transportation centers.

Often this responsibility is so difficult to face the family experienced many emotional problems that can result in symptoms of depression or abuse alcohol and drugs, which makes the problem becomes more complicated.

Moreover, that a large proportion of the affected population is outside the specialized care because the infrastructure of mental health services is limited, especially in developing countries, where finance public are not as transparent. To all this must be added that the demand for care far exceeds the number of specialists and mental health, which leaves little room to maneuver.

Many people with mental disorder never receive any psychiatric help, and still far from establishing an early diagnosis to prevent disease progression and to achieve successful recovery. For example, many cases of schizophrenia are not treated professionally until after two years of its first manifestations.

The scholars predict that mental disorders will increase due to rapid urbanization, but also because of macroeconomic changes, natural disasters, wars and poverty that forced much of the population to fight for survival this obviously creates a bleak picture for the future.

To this must be added problems of today’s society: unemployment, lack of opportunities, insecurity and hopelessness, that is, a set of problems that suggest the need for all human beings, without exception, receive guidance and emotional treatment.

The scenario is complicated, especially considering that just over a quarter of the world’s countries have no specific budget for mental health care.

Nevertheless, the recommendation at hand is to find reliable guidance through print and electronic media, and when there is suspicion of a disease like this, do everything possible to delay to consult a mental health specialist.

In this sense, “necessity is the mother of invention,” so it would be an idea to consider, for example, that a community is organized to engage the services of a psychiatrist or therapist that is convenient or profitable to serve a large number of patients with low unit cost.

According to the World Health Organization, mental disorders or behavior are characterized by disturbed intellectual activity, mood or behavior of individuals regarding the beliefs and cultural norms of their environment.

Are not known with certainty the causes of many, but is believed to depend on a combination of biological, psychological and social. Its main symptoms can be included in:
    * Physical. Mainly, pain and sleep disorders.
    * Affective. Sorrow, fear and anxiety.
    * Cognitive. Difficulty thinking clearly abnormal ideas or memory disturbances.
    * Behavior. Aggressive behavior, inability to perform everyday tasks and substance abuse.
    * Significantly altered. Visual or auditory perception of things that other people do not see or hear.

It is recommended that anyone with one or more of these symptoms and because of them live with pain or difficulty to perform their daily tasks, contact a professional (psychologist, psychiatrist or neurologist).

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Mental Health And Bipolar Disorder – Trastorno Bipolar Unleashed?

Last Updated on Saturday, 8 October 2011 07:21 Written by Natural Health Team Saturday, 8 October 2011 07:21

Health Information about Mental Health And Bipolar Disorder – Trastorno Bipolar Unleashed?

Bipolar disorder goes by many names: manic depression, manic-depressive disorder, manic-depressive illness, bipolar mood disorder, and bipolar affective disorder are medical terms for the same condition.

Bipolar disorder affects both men and women. For many people, the first symptoms show up in their early twenties. However, research has shown that the first episode of bipolar disorder is occurring earlier: It often shows up in adolescence, and even children can have the disorder.

Recent research suggests that kids and teens with bipolar disorder don’t always have the same behavioural patterns that adults with bipolar disorder do. For example, kids who have bipolar disorder may experience particularly rapid mood changes and may have some of the other mood-related symptoms listed below, such as irritability and high levels of anxiety. But they may not show other symptoms that are more commonly seen in adults.

Because brain function is involved, the ways people with bipolar disorder think, act, and feel are all affected. This can make it especially difficult for other people to understand their condition. It can be incredibly frustrating if other people act as though someone with bipolar disorder should just “snap out of it,” as if a person who is sick can become well simply by wanting to. Bipolar disorder isn’t a sign of weakness or a character flaw; it’s a serious medical condition that requires treatment, just like any other condition.

A person with bipolar disorder experiences alternating “highs” and “lows”. Both the manic and depressive periods can be brief, from just a few hours to a few days, or longer, lasting up to several weeks or even months. The periods of mania and depression range from person to person — many people may only experience very brief periods of these intense moods, and may not even be aware that they have bipolar disorder.

A manic episode is characterized by extreme happiness, hyperactivity, little need for sleep and racing thoughts, which may lead to rapid speech. A depressive episode is characterized by extreme sadness, a lack of energy or interest in things, an inability to enjoy normally pleasurable activities and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. On average, someone with bipolar disorder may have up to three years of normal mood between episodes of mania or depression.

Bipolar disorder is recurrent, meaning that more than 90% of the individuals who have a single manic episode will go on to experience future episodes. Roughly 70% of manic episodes in bipolar disorder occur immediately before or after a depressive episode. Treatment seeks to reduce the feelings of mania and depression associated with the disorder, and restore balance to the person’s mood.

With treatment, the outlook for bipolar disorder is favourable. Most people respond to a medication and or combination of medications. Approximately 50 percent of people will respond to lithium alone. An additional 20 to 30 percent will respond to another medication or combination of medications. Ten to 20 percent will have chronic (unresolved) mood symptoms despite treatment. Approximately 10 percent of bipolar patients will be very difficult to treat and have frequent episodes with little response to treatment. On average, a person is free of symptoms for about five years between the first and second episodes. As time goes on, the interval between episodes may shorten, especially in cases in which treatment is discontinued too soon. It is estimated that a person with bipolar disorder will have an average of eight to nine mood episodes during his or her lifetime.

However, one thing to be kept in mind is that there should be support from family and friends so that the affected person may feel more optimistic and secure.

chipmunkapublishing.co.uk A very special Seminar on living with mental illness and sharing £129.00 A very special seminar on living with mental illness and sharing your experiences with the world On Wednesday November 16th 2011 Spend a day with Chipmunkapublishing, the Mental Health Publisher and get ready to become a published author A whole day devoted to mental health empowerment At this seminar, you’ll learn… • The power of writing and how it can transform your life • An introduction to mental health empowerment technology • Techniques and exercises for cultivating a positive attitude • An introduction to Neuro-linguistic Programming techniques • Advice on how to submit your own manuscript to Chipmunka “Chipmunkapublishing is an invaluable service to so many. Being able to ‘tell my story’ and be respected for my work as well as have my experiences validated has been an integral and instrumental part of my own healing process. Thank you for helping so many find their wings and fly.” Clare Wilson You’ll leave the seminar equipped with exciting new techniques for managing your own mental illness and taking of advantage of all the opportunities life has to offer. You’ll also get an opportunity to connect with your fellow guests and share your mental health experiences. Best of all, you’ll be all set to write a book of your own experiences and submit it to Chipmunka for publication. Let the Mental Health Publisher help you tell your story I can personally attest to the …
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Womens Health: Eating Disorder in Women and its Treatment

Last Updated on Saturday, 1 October 2011 01:28 Written by Natural Health Team Saturday, 1 October 2011 01:28

Health Information about Womens Health: Eating Disorder in Women and its Treatment

is one of the most common  that women witness.  Teenagers are more prone to eating disorders, however it does not limit to teenagers only, women in their 20′s and 30′s also suffer from eating disorder.

and are the two common eating disorder that women experience, leading to 

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Millions of girls and women suffer from eating disorder,  since long. Girls especially want theand hence avoid eating to ensure that they remain slim, resulting in starving their body. The main cause of eating disorder is not known but it, the lifestyle these days has made it . But people fail to understand that if they don’t love their body and accept their body shape as it is, and then working over it to shape it, they will fall victim of eating disorders. Parents and guardians play a very important role in making their wards realize about eating habits.

Tips and Treatment for Eating Disorder
1. Love Your Body

Understand you body, take your height and weight into consideration, as one needs to have his body weight in proportion to their height. Accept you body as it is, avoid negative thoughts for your body.

2. Be Informed

Learn about anorexia and bulimia, this will clear you doubts on eating disorder.

3. Medical Assistance

Seek advice of a nutritionist if you love your body, proper medical care help you take a balanced diet and also monitor your eating habits.

4. Do Not Compare

Do not ever compare yourself to those super models and movie stars, You can also take help of nutritionist to design a diet plan for yourself

5. Yoga & Mediation

Practicing Yoga helps to keep body in shape,  can help you lose weight and maintain blood flow in your body.

Hope people understand the value of their body and learn to love it…now go grab some food and enjoy 

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