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DEPRESSION: New Year
Blues.
Christmas is an emotional time
of year. It is a time for family, friends and faith; for
celebration and joy. But, it can also be a very
stressful time. Sometimes, we feel sad when we remember
those who are no longer with us. Or we can find it hard
to cope with the pressure and strain that the
festivities themselves can bring. Christmas is different
for everyone.
Short-lived feelings of
sadness can be expected this time of year for numerous
reasons. They may be just New Year blues! However, one
in every five individuals will suffer from depression
sometime in their lives. Depression is the most common
mental illness and is effecting more that 300,000 Irish
people at this moment. Depression can be described as an
overwhelming feeling which dulls thinking, impairs
concentration, saps energy and interest in everyday
activities. It can disrupt sleep. Depression rather than
blues would usually last longer than two weeks. With
proper care, either a talk therapy or medication can
help depression.
LIFE AND LIVING : Mind the Gap
As human beings, we all have a
drive to grow and improve. Experts just differ as to
what is a healthy approach to fulfilling this cycle of
life.
Some say that is important to
have a realistic concept of self, i.e. each of us doing
as much or as well as we are capable of, therefore
matching our expectations to our capabilities. In this
model, by accepting our limitations, we are free to
reach our true potential as individuals.
Others suggest that having an
optimistic outlook is the main characteristic of a fully
functioning individual. This necessitates perhaps having
an overly positive self-perception, attitude and sense
of control. These illusions can in fact make life
easier, goal setting will be less stressful and
therefore more achievable. It is even possible that this
partly self-delusional value system can in itself create
self-fulfilling prophecies.
So which is the best way to
harness our innate desire to grow and improve? Having a
strong hold on reality or having healthy illusions?
Whichever model we live by it is important to be aware
of that gap between reality and expectations, between
being overly optimistic or overly pessimistic.
Perhaps a middle ground
provides the best solution: being aware of our own
limitations whilst always taking the time to appreciate
and congratulate ourselves on our achievements, no
matter how small.
FEELINGS, Nothing more than feelings.
Feelings or emotions are a
very complex part of our make up as human beings. A
feeling can be described as an involuntary physical
response brought about by chemical changes in the body.
An event happens, we interpret it, then release
hormones, experience further physical sensations and
then we react. In particular situations, what we need to
ask ourselves is whether our reaction is appropriate or
not?
Inappropriate feelings can
cause difficulties in relationships. This is when
feelings from the past (often from childhood) are
triggered by similar events in the present. Because of
this unconscious memory our reactions may be
inappropriate to the event that has just occurred.
While it is always important
to trust our own true experience i.e. what feels right
to each of us in the moment: it is equally important to
be able to re-evaluate these feelings. It is always in
our power to change the way we feel about something.
Ability to communicate how we
feel, especially in close relationships, is important.
Rather than allow these emotions to build up and become
overwhelming, it is always good to talk. Therapy also
helps people to become more aware of what they are
feeling, it can help them find the language and enable
them to express these feelings. Feelings, wouldn't life
be dull without them?
Why Do We Worry?
Each one of us reacts
differently to certain circumstances. We are
biologically geared to fight or flee when under pressure
or stress. When one person feels fear and responds with
the need to fight, another person may see fleeing as the
only option. But what about normal circumstances? Why
will one individual worry over nothing whereas another
person remains oblivious. Why does one person worry and
not another?
When we worry, the emotional
response we are talking about is anxiety. All humans and
animals experience anxiety as it is a survival
mechanism, it can help keep us safe. However when the
danger is no longer present, sometimes we are left
feeling anxious rather than fearful. Experts believe
that anxiety is a like a breakdown in the brain
circuitry. When we are under threat, we panic and feel
fear. However when the threat is gone, some brain
hardwiring does not go back to normal. This is a
lingering feeling that can be hard to switch off. It can
keep us awake at night with sweaty palms and racing
heart. This is when anxiety becomes a problem and
interferes with our general well being.
So, is anxiety in our genes?
Like most instances, our genes determine our general
vulnerability, so it could be described as genetic. But
then our up bringing and experiences can play a
significant role in triggering it.
Anxiety can manifest itself in
several disorders such as panic disorder, phobias,
obsessive compulsive, post traumatic distress and
generalised anxiety disorder, to name a few. Everybody
has experienced anxiety sometime in his or her life. It
may be an appropriate response to a particular
situation, however if it is not and it is interfering
with your quality of life, then you may need to contact
your GP.
Are You Afraid of Your Shadow?
Halloween is a very symbolic
festival. Historically, it is a pagan festival
representing the end of the summer and the harvest. In
Celtic folklore it was a time when the boundaries
between the living world and the spirit world were thin.
Then, in the ninth century, the Vatican moved the
Christian festival of All Saints to November 1st and the
two festivals overlapped.
Nowadays for Halloween
children go out in the dark dressed as ghosts and
witches and try to scare each other. Halloween is about
embracing life with death, good with bad, dark with
light, trick or treat. In psychological terms it could
be considered a safe way to experience the dark side or
the shadow.
We all have a dark side or
shadow side to our personalities. In our persona, we are
not always aware of our dark side and it can manifest in
different behaviours including destructive behaviours
such as drink and drug abuse.
Sometimes the shadow, is the
part of us that buries a memory so thoroughly that it
cannot be recalled at all. Sometimes it’s the part of us
that has a bad feeling and attributes it on another.
'They must think that I am....' Or maybe its when we try
to suppress bad feelings that when they eventually
emerge, they come out opposite.
The therapeutic goal then
would be to befriend the shadow. Let opposites attract.
Light with dark. Interpreting our dreams can help. These
are considered messages from our unconscious. What is
your dream about? What is your hidden unconscious trying
to tell you? What can you learn from the dream or are
you afraid of your shadow?
Always look on the Bright side of Life.
At the moment, there is no doubt we are living in
uncertain times. This is a considerable change by
comparison to recent years when the country experienced
the growth of the Celtic Tiger etc. There are always
people living with uncertainty in their lives but more
and more people are experiencing this while they try to
cope with anxiety in relation to the current economic
crisis. Could it be that the current lack of economic
confidence equates to a similar drop in our emotional
well?
Whilst there is a reality about the current economic
climate and how it is impacting on our lives, it is
important to challenge negative thoughts and beliefs if
only to bolster our capacity to get through these
difficult times. A long established therapeutic model to
use for this purpose is known as cognitive behavioural
therapy. The core theory of which is that our thoughts
can act as a block that prevents us seeing events or
ourselves in a positive light. This will then undermine
our way of living and quality of life irrespective of
our circumstances.
Examples of distorted thinking include: Black & white
thinking which means seeing the world in extremes for
example: them or us, out or in, good or bad. Each of
these options are extreme with no middle ground and
rarely reflect reality. Catastrophising: this is when
faced with certain difficulties they become impossible
and usually our fear of the worst possible scenario
happening becomes a reality, when the fear prevents us
from taking action. And most commonly…jumping to
conclusions by making irrational assumptions that then
blur our judgement. All of these thought processes can
bring us down.
The first step to overcoming this way of thinking would
be to realise that we all can be susceptible to it some
time in our lives, some of us more than others but
nobody is immune to it no matter how hard we try to
avoid it.
Then it is possible to challenge this way of thinking.
You can ask pertinent questions that may produce another
reaction. For example: could there be other ways of
interpreting this event? What is the evidence that
supports and or refutes the negative conclusion? Is the
glass half empty? Is it just me, today?
ADDICTION: Under Construction
EATING DISORDER: Under
Construction
STRESS: Under Construction
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