Psychiatry and Society

Anger induced electrical changes in the heart Anger management can save your life . Anger can place you at high risk for developing  electrical abnormalities in the heart tissue. These electrical abnormalities are strongly associated with subsequent heart attacks. The chances of surviving an out-of-hospital heart attack are not good. Anger control can save your life by reducing the risk of an out-of-hospital heart attack (Rashba, Lampert 2009). Why we need the emotion of anger Charles Darwin was the first to note the universality of anger and other facial expressions of emotion. He viewed this as evidence that emotional signals like anger have been stamped by evolution into the central nervous system. Anger has an essential survival function. Anger needs to be controlled or managed for it to be effective. Anger management strategies These are strategies to change your attitude to the expression of anger, as also immediate and long term behaviours to control anger. Focus a...

Cross-dressing is associated with problems in parenting and may be preventable. Recently a male student in Pune was found dead with a wig and female articles of clothing lying about his room. Types of cross-dressing Cross-dressers in society are psychologically indistinguishable from non-cross-dressing men (Brown 1996). Fetishistic transvestism Almost three percent of men and 0.4% of women have had at least one episode of transvestic fetishism (sexual arousal from cross-dressing) (langstrom 2005). However, these 'nuclear' transvestites  are less likely to venture out dressed in public. Transvestism 'Marginal’ transvestites experience non-sexual pleasure from cross-dressing and are more likely to appear in public while cross-dressed. They are probably a separate group and more likely to be homosexual. Transsexualism Cross-dressers could also be transsexuals who desire surgical sex reassignment . Cross-dressing in Asians is one of the earliest signs of transexua...

Whitener (correction fluid) inhalation caused the death of a Pune student recently. Whitener is abused as an inhalant in India. Whitener exerts its effects through trichloroethane , a volatile solvent. Inhalants  include other substances such as petrol and toluene. These substances are cheap, accessible and readily available to children and adolescents. Epidemiology Solvent abuse is prevalent among street children and working kids . Teenagers start using solvents to gain entry into a gang, and occasionally as experimentation. Its use in a college student is unusual. But this may be a developing pattern indicating spread of the habit into middle class homes. (Kumar S 2008). Most adolescents are one-time or short-term users. Those who abuse inhalants persistently usually have conduct disorders. Methods of inhalant abuse Sniffing - direct inhalation from a container or piece of clothing sprayed with the substance. Huffing - holding a soaked cloth over the nose o...

In a jealous rage a Pune immigrant murdered his family - wife and two daughters - with an axe. He then attempted suicide. He suspected his wife of infidelity. Evolution of jealousy As with socio-sexuality , jealousy has an evolutionary basis that arises out of natural selection (Harris, 2003). Sexual jealousy drives males to guard against cuckoldry thereby ensuring that a rivals genes are not passed on through their mate. Emotional jealousy drives females to ensure her mates continued investment in her own offspring. Psychodynamics of jealousy, rage and murder Freud showed morbid jealousy to be the deepest form of paranoia . His analysis indicated use of the defense mechansims of denial and projection to protect against threatening homosexual impulses - I do not love him—she (a wife, lover) loves him . Othello struggled with jealousy until he murdered Desdemona and then committed suicide. Murder or homicide can be understood as rage directed externally while suicide is rage d...

The 'truth' might set us free Permission for narcoanalysis on a spy was refused by the Pune courts a few days ago. The investigating authorities have perceived this as a setback in arriving at the ‘truth’. Method In a clinical settting narocoanalysis and narcotherapy are conducted in a treatment room. The patient lies quietly with an iv line in place. While the psychiatrist recapitulates the patients history in a low monotone a nursing assistant injects thiopentone sodium to terse instructions of “push 50” or “25 slow”. Thiopentone sodium is no rare drug. It is used everyday to induce general anaesthesia. At lower doses in willing patients it produces a state of relaxation. You have to be careful the patient does not doze off or start slurring in speech. At the start of the narcoanalysis attention has to be paid to the patient's posture and eye movement. Horizontal eye movements indicate a state of sufficient relaxation to proceed with the deeper probing interview....

Stressed youths relaxing Academic stress is a significant aspect of youth. Youth is the developmental phase between puberty and working adulthood. It is a period of continuing student-hood. This is a distinctive feature of youth - it exists only for those who undergo post-secondary education. This is for the privileged few who do not join the workforce full-time after schooling. Youth is a valuable time for serious experimentation. The young person is not fettered by long-term commitments. In contrast to adolescence, youth is a period of independence - the peer group is no longer a dominant influence. There is greater freedom to develop as an individual. The young person evolves a personal perspective on life and develops a sense of direction before tackling the duties of adulthood. However this stage of life is by no means stress-free. By definition youth is associated with academics. Academic demands are perceived as significant stressors by youths (Rao 2000, Goff 2011). The...

Effective study skills are essential learning habits for students. Some students have a knack of learning much in a short time. Others study for hours without much progress. An important differentiating factor is the method of study. Effective study habits can be learned (Barry L. Richardson and Murray Saffran 1985, D F Alexander 1985). The good student must not rely on “study drugs” as these are associated with addiction, panic reactions, confusion, and medical complications including heart attack and stroke (Steve Sussman and colleagues, 2006). Habit No 1: Apply book learning to daily life Those who learn rapidly apply their imagination freely to their studies. They see that every subject of study deals with something vital in the affairs of the world, and probably of personal relevance. Allow the knowledge you are acquiring to become an active part of your daily life, with some bearing on normal activities. Thinking about studies in this way will help build greater interest and...