Psychiatry and Society

What is happiness?  Happiness is a state of subjective well-being which includes:  An affective component - A feeling of joy or pleasure A cognitive component - A sense of contentment and satisfaction of living a meaningful life The Ancient Greeks knew them by the terms hedonia and eudaimonia respectively, and though distinct, the two strongly correlate in people who report being happy. Happiness is, therefore, not about jumping from one joy to another, but also a deeper sense of fulfilment.  Each one of us is unique and is made happy by a different experience, yet some people tend to be happier than others even through hard times. Do happy people share some common traits? It does appear so. Those who report feeling happy are generally  Open to learning new things  Find joys in the small things in life.  Have healthy relationships.  Have fewer expectations and do not register small annoyances.  Tend to go with the flow.  Practice ...

Popularity is neither fame nor greatness - William Hazlitt Popularity is the quality of being well-liked , admired or supported by a number of people. But as we all know many popular people are not well-liked, and many well-liked people are not popular. Psychologists therefore define two types of popularity which are related but distinct. Sociometric popularity: is how well-liked an individual is. This is strongly determined by who a person is – their personality and pro-social behaviours – empathy, kindness and helpful attitude towards others. Perceived popularity: is closer to the commonly understood concept of popularity and is dependent on what a person is – their looks, wealth, possessions. It is related to status within the social group. Popularity also depends on the existing environment or social group one is currently a part of- a person can be popular among friends but not at work; at work among superiors but not among peers or subordinates. Why do we crav...

Covid-19 has changed the way children play, learn, and live. Children may become clingy, withdrawn, angry, or start bedwetting. What can parents do to help them cope? Respond to them supportively and listen to their concerns. Give them plenty of love and attention. Make extra time with them and remember to listen. Speak kindly and reassure them.  Make opportunities to relax and play.  Keep children in touch with their teachers, friends, and extended family. If hospitalization occurs ensure contact by phone or video. Reassure them.  Regular routines and schedules are required. Create new routines for learning, playing, relaxing and sleeping. Parents of younger children can implement a reward system to help kids stick with their new routine. Praise them whenever possible when they are doing the right thing.  Provide facts about what has happened and explain what is going on. Give clear information about what to do to stay safe in words they can understand. ...

Is schizophrenia bound to human evolution? Schizophrenia is a neuro-developmental disorder characterised by delusions, hallucinations, and bizarre behaviours. No other animal displays these symptoms. Depression, addiction, anxiety are all found in other animal species, but not schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is not even found in chimpanzees our most recent evolutionary ancestors. It is inheritable, and highly disadvantageous to survival of the affected person. Given this, schizophrenia should be almost non-existent. Yet it continues to affect a massive 1% of the global population. Something is pushing for the persistence of this disorder and its spontaneous manifestation in humans. Human evolution separated from the chimpanzees 5.5 million years ago when we walked upright and then acquired language abilities. Language ability developed after 'lateralisation', the separation of brain functions into the left (sequential) and right (parallel processing) hemispheres. The pecu...

How do we define creativity? Creativity is the ability of individuals to develop novel and useful products. Novelty, originality, innovation, ingenuity are some of the words often used to define creativity. But originality is just one component of creativity. There is another essential aspect of creativity – the idea should be effective, useful or productive.  Creativity exists in many domains and is not just limited to the arts, as most people seem to think. Creativity is at work behind most scientific inventions, innovative gadgets, health technologies and economic theories which have changed the world. Individuals differ in their propensity and capacity to be creative. Many of us are creative in small ways - in ways we find solutions to problems of everyday life. Only a few are highly creative and leave their mark on the world. What does it take to be creative? Creative individuals tend to possess some qualities or traits that may contribute to or are associa...

Prehistoric human skull with trepanations (Monte Albán, Mexico) Six to seven millenia ago in the Neolithic age it was understood that abnormal behaviours originated in the brain. However, the cause was ascribed to 'confined demons' and holes were drilled in the skull (trepanation) to let them out (Faria 2015). Later, the ancient Greeks and Egyptians developed an illness model of abnormal moods and behaviours, though they believed it was the heart and not the brain that controlled them. Texts that survive indicate formal psychiatric history taking and evaluation, prescription physical therapies like sleep, fever, and music alongside what would fit in with present day supportive and lifestyle and stress management therapies (Lambrini K, 2018). This care was confined to religious temple complexes some of which specialised in treatment of mental health disorders. The 1st Millennium Organised medical care in hospitals originated in the near and middle eastern regions. T...

Almost half of all couples divorcing have a child under the age of 16 years. Parental separation results in a major upheaval in the life of a child. Apart from the loss created by the absence of one parent, there are usually major changes in living conditions, home, neighbourhood and school. Added to this are the psychological hazards of insecurity, loss of trust, anxiety, guilt and fear. Psychological impact of divorce on the child The psychological impact of divorce on the child is a complex issue. Several factors such as the manner in which the parents separated; the age and maturity of the child, socio-economic factors and support of family members determine the effect of the separation on the child. Emotional and behavioural problems in children have been found to occur more often when the separation has been hostile and accompanied by much unpleasantness. A little sensitivity, a great deal of love and understanding and reassurance goes a long way in preventing emotional and ...

People with a serious psychiatric ailment  fall ill, just like anyone else does. They develop colds and coughs, fevers and stomach ailments. They may sprain their ankles, have headaches, develop indigestion after having too good a meal, rashes after trying a new cosmetic and food poisoning after eating some unhygienic street food. Like anyone else, they do one of two things: they buy an OTC medicine; or they consult a general physician. Precautions with other prescriptions Be careful with OTC preparations . Not all OTC medications are benign or free from side effects. Avoid drug combinations. Cough syrups (even ‘safe’ herbal ones) usually have a combination of many ingredients, including substances which are highly addictive. It is usually better and safer to go for option two – visit your GP . It is a good idea to establish a trusted professional relationship with one particular GP who knows your medical history thoroughly. However, this may not always be possible. Very ...

World Mental Health Day World Mental Health Day is observed every year on the 10th of October to take awareness of mental health issues into the community. The theme for 2018 was  Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World [1] . Pathfinder Clinic WMHD2018 Event On World Mental Health Day 2018 Pathfinder Clinic psychologists manned a desk for the day in the atrium at Magarpatta City, Pune. They used a short mental health quiz to pique the interest of anyone entering the shopping complex and rewarded all participants with an origami patronus! They were also administered a test of their current resilience. Our psychologists engaged in over-the-counter discussions on what constituted mental health issues. People brought out their own family and interpersonal problems, and to many it was an eye-opener that mental health issues could be contributory. Why focus on young people? Young people don't vote. They often don't have a voice and depend upon others to champ...

Adolescence is a time of transition . Most parents find themselves bewildered by the changes in their previously affectionate and obedient children. Mood changes, withdrawal, monosyllabic answers and arguments find most parents asking, “What have we done wrong?” Adolescence is marked by profound changes brought about by the hormonal surge at puberty. The physical changes are accompanied by emotional, behavioural and intellectual changes to which the child has to adapt rapidly. “As their bodies, brains and worlds rearrange themselves, you (parents) will need to do your own reshuffling.” Changing role of parenting adolescents The need for autonomy, independence and a search for one’s own unique identity is an essential part of adolescence. Often, this is achieved by questioning and testing existing rules and norms. Make space for this quest. Handle an occasional error of judgement with explanations rather than with accusations and confrontation. The essentials of parenting ...

Self-cutting in adolescents is the strongest predictor for subsequent suicide attempts. It is a clear signal of severe psychological pain being released physically by the act of self-cutting. However, relief is only temporary, and if ignored self-cutting can progress to suicide. Self-cutting and Suicide Repeated self-cutting in adolescents is the strongest predictor of attempted suicide. 70% of those who self-cut will attempt suicide at least once. The number of suicide attempts increases with the number of years engaged in self-cutting (Nock 2006). The risk of attempted suicide is higher than with any other psychiatric disorder including depression and borderline personality disorder. Self-cutting may be a uniquely important risk factor for suicide because its presence is associated with both increased desire and capability for suicide (Klonsky 2013). Ms LM, 15 years old, was brought by her parents for counselling after a suicide attempt. She subsequently revealed repeated se...

Effect of Anger on your Child Anger has a silent but permanent effect on your child . Anger can affect your professional life, harm relationships, and has significant health implications. But quite apart from how it affects you personally, it affects your children. Children of angry adults have been seen to be more aggressive, oppositional and non-compliant. They are also less empathetic; and display poor overall social adjustment. Delinquency and anti-social behaviour are also more common in such children. Is anger hereditary or learned? A child experiences emotions from birth , but how he/she handles emotions is largely determined by learning. While a child may have an irritable temperament, no child is born with temper tantrums. A child learns that throwing a temper tantrum is rewarding (gets attention or gets him what he wants). From infancy onward, children learn by imitation . As parents, we are the first role models. Our children watch us; and then model their behavi...

We all get angry at times. But some of us get angry often and what is worse, we do not seem to be able to control it. We lash out verbally and sometimes physically at objects and people around us. Can we do something about our anger or is it something over which we have no control? Let us seek to understand the evolutionary basis of anger and what happens inside our brains when we are angry. Anger is usually provoked by a threat; either real or perceived. Our ancestors had to react (and react immediately) to survive; or to protect themselves or their resources. To take time to think would be to lose valuable time. So the brain evolved a mechanism for immediate action. An almond-shaped area of grey matter deep within our brains - the amygdala perceives threat and generates the emotions of anger and fear. It raises an alarm, and kick-starts the body responses which we collectively know as “arousal”. Our heart beats faster to pump blood to our muscles, the muscles tense for acti...

Skin Picking, Hair Pulling & other Impulse Control Disorders Impulse control disorders are a treatable group of disorders which share a common feature. This is the failure to resist an impulse or temptation to do something harmful, either to oneself or to others. The person usually senses increasing tension or arousal prior to the act; and pleasure, gratification or relief following the act. Common Impulse Control Disorders Trichotillomania or Compulsive Hair Pulling Dermatillomania or Skin Picking Disorder Kleptomania Compulsive Buying Disorder Pathological Gambling Internet Addiction Trichotillomania in simple terms is compulsive hair pulling . There is a recurrent or persistent urge to pull out hair leading to noticeable hair loss – usually from the scalp but sometimes from the eyelashes and eyebrows. It occurs more often in females and starts in adolescence. Sometimes the person may do it consciously, but mostly she is unaware of it, doing it when she is alone; ...

Diet and Depression Depression diets were   first described in the 2nd millennium BCE. Special diets (including donkey’s milk!) were prescribed in ancient Greece and Rome; and nutritionists have since been looking for possible links between diet and depression. With 350 million sufferers globally; the search for effective treatment and prevention of depression is still on.  Link between diet and depression Many people with moderate and severe depression are known to consume food of poor nutritional quality. This is often due to the symptoms of depression itself; such as the loss of appetite; lack of interest in day to day activities; and lack of motivation for self-care. Age, living alone, irregular and hectic work schedules, socio-economic status, cultural and religious taboos may further affect the quality of the diet. The food we eat is broken down to its simplest forms in the intestines. The nutrients are then used to provide energy for the body and brain; and...