WOMEN NEED TO CONSIDER HER MENTAL ILLNESS

ratna sarswat 26-Mar-2018 Image Source

No wonder a woman goes through several changes between her 20s & 30s. This age comes with a lot of hormonal changes which in turn results in anxieties, stress & depression. Even some may experience symptoms of mental disorders. The day to day life has become so tactic and busy that women find it difficult to get time for themselves. They are much concerned about their family, dependants, children but rarely bother about themselves. Mental health is something one should really be cautious about.

1. Determinants of mental health

Determinants of mental health and disorders don't include only Individual attributes such as being proactive, emotional intelligence, behaviours and interactions with others but also include environment, surroundings, society and culture, economic environment such as the education basis, working conditions, financial stability, safety and security, living standards etc.

2. Symptoms of mental illness

Fatigue, Sleeplessness or sleeping too much, Stress, Headaches, Loneliness, Loss of interest or pleasure, Suicide thoughts, Â poor concentration, Difficulty in making decisions, Not only do 56 million Indians -- or 4.5% of India's population -- suffer from depression at this moment, another 38 million Indians suffer from anxiety disorders.

3. DEPRESSION

It generally starts between ages 15 and 30.The feeling of sadness, loneliness, low interest in daily routine life, being unhappy, mood swings etc are the symptoms of depression which lasts for 6-8 months. It leads to low appetite, insomnia or hypersomnia,Â thoughts of suicide.Â This can be genetic or biological or environmental or psychological. Treatments involve psychotherapy, support or drug treatments.

4. RELATIONSHIP STRESS

Relationship stress between couples can lead to a major health issue which should be concerned. Overthinking may be the one reason, that questions session regarding your relationship may burst you up like, Will the relationship continue? Or if my partner really likes me? If he/she want me in his/her life anymore? Do I have the autonomy in this relation? The daily unusual fights may be because of any reason, or not sharing the little things with your partner are all the reasons to stress in a relationship.Couples usually increases the stress by not discussing the problems instead assuming that they know their partner very well which lead to problems. There are plenty of solutions to resolve the problem like Prepare their favourite food, gift him/her usually, turn their mood on, stop complaining, talk to each other, never let the 3rd person to influence your relationship, don't cry, don't provoke, try to make plans for outing and start listening first , and think before you speak, share your day to day activities and don't hide anything too. The relationship is based on Trust if T gets out, relation gets Rust.

5. EATING DISORDERS

Eating disturbances may be either inadequate eating or excessive eating than what is required.The most common forms of eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder. These may be the results of thoughts that come to one's mind like fear of gaining weight, or an unrealistic perception of body image. Such type of Anorexia Nervosa disorder may lead to brain damage, heart difficulty, bone loss, infertility. Forced vomiting, excessive exercise, or extreme use of laxatives or diuretics result in Bulimia Nervosa which ultimately lead the sufferers to fear about weight gain or feel constant unhappiness with their body size and shape. In such, one overeats and lead to gastrointestinal problems, severe dehydration & heart difficulties. Binge Eating Disorder suffering people frequently lose control over their eating then may also experience intense feelings of guilt, distress. The treatment of Eating disorder involves Medical Care and Monitoring, therapy, medications regarding mood swings.

6. PERSONALITY DISORDER

It's a kind mental disorder in which an individual thinking and behaving patterns are unhealthy. One has trouble perceiving and relating to situations and people. Cluster A personality disorder involve odd or eccentric thinking. One has a problem in trusting others with the thought that everyone wants to harm him, can't develop confidence in others, angry reactions over insults, hold grudges, lack of interest in social relationships, inability to take pleasure, limited range of emotional expression, Social anxiety. Cluster B personality disorder involve dramatic, overly emotional or unpredictable thinking or behavior, disregarding others' feelings, Persistent lying, stealing, Impulsive behavior, Suicidal behavior, Intense fear, fragile self-image, Constantly seeking attention, Excessive concern with physical appearance, provocative to gain attention, Belief of being special than others, Fantasies about power, Arrogance, Envy of others, Exaggeration of achievements. Cluster C personality disorder involves anxious, fearful thinking or behavior, too sensitive to face rejection, Feeling inferior, Extreme shyness, Excessive dependence on others, feel urgent to go into a new relationship when the very closest got ended, Difficulty disagreeing with other, Lack of self-confidence, Extreme perfectionism, Neglect of friends and enjoyable activities because of excessive commitment to work or a project, Rigid and stubborn. Causes of Personality disorder are either your genes or your environment.

7. ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD)

It is a brain disorder resulting to inattention, extremely restlessness or impulsivity. Such behaviours are more severe and occur more often. It is predominately in school children. This is the resultant of Genes, Cigarette smoking, alcohol use, or drug use during pregnancy, Exposure to environmental toxins during pregnancy, Low birth weight and Brain injuries. Treatments are drug medications, talk therapy.

8. SCHIZOPHRENIA

Schizophrenia strikes between the ages of 16 and 30. It affects 1% of the total adult population. Symptoms could be Positive like delusions(false beliefs or extra power thoughts) and hallucinations(hearing noise, smelling, tasting things which are not there), Negative like absence of facial expressions or lack of motivation, Cognitive like poor concentration(doesn't get what's happening, loosing the ability to plan), or Emotional like blunted emotions. The reasons may be Genetic inheritance, Chemical imbalance in the brain, family relationships or environmental factors. Treatments involve medication, psychological counseling, self-help resources

9. POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)

The PTSD is a disorder that develops in those people who all have experienced a shocking or scary event like the sudden, unexpected death of a loved one. Symptoms usually begin early, within 3 months of the traumatic incident. The flashback reliving the trauma over and over or bad dreams, having angry outburst, or facing problem in sleeping, feeling tensed, loss of interest in enjoyable activities, feeling of guilt etc. One should avoid going to scary places, or the event reminder place, should engage themselves in logical activities. The treatments include psychotherapy, talk therapy, medications etc.Â

10. PREMENSTRUAL DISORDER

This disorder happens due to hormonal dis-balance that occurs five to ten days before the period.Estrogen levels rise and you experience a lack of ability to keep your emotions under control leading mood swings, fatigue, Breast enlargement due to excessive estrogen in the body, breast tenderness, Acne, food cravings, depression, Abdominal cramps, Migraines. Women should intake adequate amount of nutritions, calcium and iron, vitamin D for bones. They should inculcate the habit of meditation to control over mood swings. The correct food habits are required.

11. DEMENTIA

A kind of decline in mental ability where memory loss is one of the cases. People struggling with dementia deal with short-term memory loss, forgetting where did they put their wallet, so they keep a track of their food plans, outings, day to day activities. If one is impaired in any of two then he is dealing with dementia - Memory, Communication and language, Ability to focus and pay attention, Reasoning and judgment, Visual perception. When dementia is caused due to Depression, Medication side effects, Excess use of alcohol, Thyroid problems, Vitamin deficiencies can be improved but if other factors then it gets worse. Dementia is caused by damage to brain cells.The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer's.