WHY MARRIAGE IS SCARY FOR YOU

Well, being busy with my own sister’s marriage. I took such a long break from Blogging. Saying, A loud Hellllooooooo to all my lovely readers, I missed you too.

Let’s begin ,

When someone asks you about marriage and your heart starts thumping. You get scared and marriage becomes scary to you. The issue is global, psychological,social, emotional and with all other aspects.Let’s together, dissect this  fear and try to overcome it.As, I always say,”Trying is Winning”.So, let’s know more about this intense fear of marriage called ,”Gamophobia”.

Gamophobia: The Fear of Marriage and Commitment

Why the idea of “forever” can be so scary

For some people, the thought of marriage evokes feelings of excitement, romance, stability, and shared dreams. For others, it can be a source of anxiety, dread, or even downright panic. This intense fear of marriage and commitment is known as gamophobia.

While it’s sometimes dismissed as just having “cold feet” or a fear of settling down, it’s actually much more than that. It’s characterized by feelings of excessive and persistent fear of being in a relationship, making a commitment, or getting married. This fear can make it incredibly difficult to form relationships with other people—and it can even interfere with a person’s ability to function normally in their daily life.

Like other types of phobias, gamophobia is marked by fear that is out of proportion to the actual danger or threat. Such symptoms are persistent and last for six months or longer.

Recognize the Signs of Gamophobia

Some symptoms that a person might experience include immediate feelings of anxiety, fear, or panic. It is also common for people to take steps to avoid committing such as distancing themselves from others, breaking up with the person they are dating, or avoiding dating altogether.

A person who has gamophobia might also experience physical symptoms such as:

•Chest pain
•Choking sensations
•Dizziness
•Feelings of impending doom
•Hyperventilating
•Rapid heart rates of breath
•Sweating
•Trembling

People who have this condition are often capable of getting into relationships, but when things start to become serious, they often begin to exhibit signs of fear and anxiety. In other cases, some people are so afraid of commitment that they will avoid relationships altogether. Either way, it can be a recipe for loneliness and isolation.

What Causes Gamophobia?

Repercussions of women’s gamophobia.Based on Research.

No one know exactly why some people develop gamophobia. Like other types of phobias, several different factors typically play a role. Some research suggests that anxiety about financial obligations and other social demands associated with relationships can contribute to the fear of commitment and marriage.

One study of gamophobia among Chinese women found that the nine primary factors contributing to this fear were:

•Increased independent consciousness
•Witnessing unhappy marriages
•Anxiety about unfamiliar family relationships
•Existing family issues
•The desire to pursue personal and professional development
•Shifting perceptions of aging
•Media influences
•Parenthood concerns
•Criteria for a life partner

Negative Experiences
For some people, negative or traumatic experiences in the past can contribute to an intense fear of commitment. Children who grew up in households with parents who were unhappy, always fighting, or who experienced domestic violence may fear getting into the same situation when they are adults.

Past relationships can also contribute to the onset of gamophobia. Toxic relationships, previous divorce, and infidelity can contribute to a fear of getting too deep into a new relationship

Insecure Attachment Styles

Children raised by responsive caregivers are more likely to form secure attachment styles, while children who don’t have their needs met are more likely to develop an insecure style. People with insecure attachment styles often have a difficult time forming relationships, feel less secure in relationships, struggle with fears of being abandoned, or may fear or reject the idea of commitment.

Genetics and Family Influences

Research also suggests that genetics plays a part in the onset of phobias and other anxiety conditions.

Studies suggest that phobias among adults are approximately 30% to 40% heritable. However, research also suggests that the interaction of genetic and environmental variables often plays the largest role.

Inherited traits may make a person more prone to this fear, but attitudes learned through family influences might also play a part.

Coping With Gamophobia

Once you recognize that you have this intense fear of commitment, you can begin to take steps to address it. In addition to talking to a therapist, some strategies that may help include the following:

•Consider your history: Spend some time thinking about your relationship history. How has your fear of commitment affected your relationships in the past? Have you repeatedly walked away from relationships? Do you push people away? Or do you engage in self-sabotage when a relationship is going well?

•Think about your needs: Consider whether your fear is keeping you from what you really want. You might not necessarily want or be ready for a serious, long-term, committed relationship. But if you feel like you are missing out on what you really want, it is important to take steps to address your fear so that you can form a healthy, loving, and lasting relationship with another person.

•Keep a journal: Expressing your thoughts and fears in writing can often be a helpful way to explore what you are feeling. It can be a great way to explore patterns in your thoughts and behaviors that might be contributing to your feelings of fear.

•Try relaxation techniques: Begin practicing relaxation strategies such as deep breathing, meditation, yoga, or mindfulness. When you begin to experience feelings of fear, you can then draw on these techniques to calm your mind and body.

Gamophobia can have a serious impact on a person’s ability to form and maintain relationships. It can harm a person’s existing relationships with other people, but it can also impair their ability to reach out to others and form new relationships. Ultimately, this can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness, which can take a serious toll on a person’s mental and physical well-being.

CONCLUSION

Yes, Marriages are scary when your experiences make it so or all those news roaming on social media about failed marriages but it’s equally scary how it’s affecting your mental health and it’s not only you are scared ,both ties are equally scared. Remember,It’s just the beginning of all the important decisions which you are going to take for your future,when you decide to get married, The important question should be ,with whom you are getting married.Do you really trust them? If Yes, then no matter how scary it seems ,You can hold hands together and walk millions of miles whereas if there is lack of trust then it will end up in the worsening of your gamophobia.

Professionally , I have told you what you can do to get over it. Personally I will say, Marriages aren’t scary ,the scariest thing is the blurry future with all the other levels of anxieties together, haunting us.If someone is there to hold your hand tight and wants to face all the ups and downs,then you should hold that hand tighter for their immense courage they putting in for you because as I said already, both are equally scared. It depends,you want to face it or put your feet back.I always say , “Trying is Winning” adding on trying together is one more step closer to winning all the fears you have “alone”.Best Wishes to you and proud of you for being courageous to address ,hoping for your best future .💞

–by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

WHY AND WHEN YOU LOSE CONTACT WITH REALITY

Long Time ,No Seeeee.Apologies to all my dear readers for publishing late, I was going through some emotional turmoil but now I’m back and we will together investigate and research, To all my lovely readers ,Let’s beginnnnn💗

We all have gone through some of the difficult phases in life and while dealing with them ,we found ourselves on the verge of getting stuck in dreams,if’s, imaginations and deny the realities for a while till we don’t settle right.But what if these denials of reality become,”A Forever thing” and now you don’t have sense of reality,you lost all the contact with reality then comes psychological term called,”Psychosis“. Psychosis is very vast topic and to understand that needs lots of focus and attention,Thus, my intelligent readers get ready for the readers’ ride with me…..

What is psychosis?

Psychosis refers to a loss of contact with reality. Hallucinations and delusions are its most common symptoms. Psychosis is present in many conditions, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

People with psychosis may experience disruptions in their thoughts and perceptions, causing them to see their world differently. It is a common symptom in many medical and neurologic conditions.

Psychosis can affect anyone. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), 100,000 young people in the United States experience psychosis every year. At the same time, up to 3 in 100 people will have an episode in their lifetime. According to IJP in India,The study found a lifetime prevalence of schizophrenia spectrum disorders at 1.41%, with a current prevalence of 0.42%. A substantial treatment gap of 72% existed for current cases, rising to 83.3% in urban non-metro areas. The penalized logistic regression revealed that the age group category of 30–49 years, unemployed status, and lower education level had higher odds of association with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Psychosis, a person’s thoughts and perceptions. It alters how they process information, making it difficult to determine what is real from what is not.

Psychosis feels or appears real to a person. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) states that a person may not be aware that they have psychosis. It can be overwhelming and confusing.

People with psychosis may hear, see, smell, taste, or feel things that are not there. They can also hold strong beliefs or bizarre ideas, such as that someone is out to get them or that someone is monitoring their activities when these are not the case.

Sometimes, the symptoms can cause the person to harm themselves. In rare cases, they may hurt another person.

Psychosis is one of the key symptoms of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. According to the DSM-5, it also co-occurs with many mood and substance use disorders.

Symptoms of psychosis

Depending on the cause, psychosis can appear quickly or cause slow, gradual changes in a person’s thoughts and perceptions. It can also be mild or severe.

In some cases, it may be mild when it first appears but become more intense over time. While psychosis includes a range of symptoms, it often involves one of two significant experiences.

The below sections explore the early signs of psychosis and two common symptoms in more detail.

Early signs

Early or first-episode psychosis (FEP) is the period when a person first begins to experience psychosis. The symptoms can be difficult to distinguish from typical behavior. These include:

• a significant drop in job performance or school grade
• difficulty concentrating or thinking clearly
• uneasiness or suspiciousness around others
• lacking emotions or having strong, inappropriate ones
• social withdrawal
• sudden decline in self-care or personal hygiene

The DSM-5 states that psychosis involves abnormalities in one of the following categories or domains:

• Hallucinations: Experiences a person perceives to be real despite the lack of stimulus to cause them.
• Delusions: False beliefs that a person holds despite a lack of evidence or proof.
• Disorganized thought: Having thoughts that are not logical, unrelated, or loosely connected. A person’s thought process may drift away from the topic. Their speech may make no sense to others.
• Catatonia: The person may become unresponsive or oppose stimuli (negativism) or present with unintentional movements or activities that lack purpose (catatonic excitement).
• Disorganized behavior: Unpredictable or inappropriate emotional responses that are not in line with the situation.
• Negative symptoms: A decline in emotions, words, movements, or motivation (anhedonia).

Hallucinations

Hallucinations may cause a person to see, hear, feel, taste, or smell something that is not there. Of these, auditory hallucinations appear to be the most common.

A person with auditory hallucinations hears things and believes them to be real when they do not exist.

A person may  incoherent sounds or distinct voices. They can perceive them to come through the ears, anywhere external to them, or in their mind.

Hearing voices may be very distressing, especially when they are commanding, derogatory, haunting, or threatening. It can affect a person’s actions and cause them to harm themselves or others. It may also cause a person to attempt suicide.

Delusions

A person may also experience delusions during a psychotic episode. The most commonly encountered types of delusions include:

• Erotomanic delusions: The belief that another person is in love with them.
• Delusions of grandeur: A strong belief that the person has a special power or authority.
• Thought broadcasting: The belief that the person is broadcasting their thoughts and that others can perceive them.

A person may also experience:

• depression
• anxiety
• social withdrawal
• lack of motivation
• overall difficulty functioning
• difficulty focusing
• sleep problems

How long can psychosis last?

Psychosis is not an illness in and of itself. It is often a symptom of another condition. To determine what may be causing the psychosis, a doctor will perform a thorough history.

This includes understanding the person’s personal, family, medical, cultural, social, and religious history. They will also ask about the person’s psychotic symptoms, including their course, duration, and severity.

The doctor will conduct a physical examination, including a mental and neurological exam.

If the signs and symptoms suggest an underlying medical condition, a doctor may request tests, including:

• complete blood count
• metabolic profile
• thyroid function tests
• urine toxicology testing
• measurement of parathyroid hormone, calcium, niacin, vitamin B12, and folate

The doctor may also consider testing for HIV and syphilis. Brain imaging is often not necessary except when the person presents with a new, severe headache, a history of recent significant head trauma, or focal neurological deficits.

They may also do tests to rule out other factors, including:

• the use of drugs or other substances
• a head injury
• other medical conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) or a brain tumor

If the signs indicate a psychiatric cause, the doctor will refer to criteria from the DSM-5 to make a diagnosis.

Causes of psychosis

Psychosis can happen due to several factors. It may be a symptom of a mental condition. Psychotic disorders such as delusional disorder and schizotypical disorder share psychosis as a symptom.

Studies show that a combination of genetic and environmental factors can lead to psychosis. Certain environmental factors may increase a person’s risk for psychosis, including:

• maternal infections and obstetric complications
• maternal stress and malnutrition
• child abuse
• head injury during childhood
• migration
• drug misuse

Other causes of psychosis include:

• brain changes
• alcohol and substance misuse
• general medical conditions
• certain psychiatric and neurological conditions
• certain prescription drugs
• sex hormones
• lack of sleep

Traumatic events such as war, sexual assault, or death can also trigger a psychotic episode.

What happens in the brain?

The mechanisms by which psychosis occurs are not entirely clear, but many studies point to imbalances in the brain’s chemicals.

The positive symptoms of psychosis are associated with excess dopamine activity (a neurotransmitter related to mood), as well as a decrease in the activity of receptors for glutamate (another neurotransmitter).

Some studies also point to imbalances in the activity of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and acetylcholine.

Types of psychosis

Treatments for psychosis

CONCLUSION

This is often said,”when difficult times arrive ,even our own shadow gets lost”. Thus, when your loved ones are losing contact with reality ,you become their roadmap for the roads which leads to their real self. If Psychosis can blurrs the reality then your kind support and compassion becomes the key for your loved ones to be in real world. Hold those hands very tight and make them believe you exist and they exist too.❤️

–by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

Why few people stalk, what’s inside the brain of stalker and how it impacts You as Victim of Stalking

We all love attention of our loved ones and want them to do , unconventional things for us to make us feel special.In love people say ,”there are no wrong or right, it’s just love”, this statement itself is false. Love or any emotion has it’s own boundaries and most importantly consent. Without consent you cannot make someone feel any of the emotion which they don’t allow in their spaces.

We all have felt those enormous feelings and what we shouldn’t feel is extreme fear, heart throbbing and that blackmailing,surprise attack which comes with ,”stalking”. Those who have gone through this knows how scary and dangerous it is and how it should be not normalised and how it makes life hell. Let’s unwind with me the insights of ,”stalking” how a stalker’s brain works, and how we can get out of this associated extreme nail biting fear.Just save yourself like we have done and read, find out with me ,let’s dig deeper together….

STALKING

Stalking is the ongoing pursuit of a specific person without their consent. Examples of stalking behavior include following someone, waiting outside their house, and spying on their activities.

Stalking is when a perpetrator pursues or watches someone without their consent, Even if a person is not aware of the stalking, or they have not explicitly told the perpetrator to stop, the behavior is still stalking. This is because it is still taking place without consent, which makes it abusive.

Some examples of stalking behavior include:

• Love obsessional: In this type of stalking, the perpetrator is a stranger or casual acquaintance and starts using stalking behavior to get someone to notice them.
• Erotomania: This mental health condition causes a person to incorrectly believe someone is in love with them. They may be convinced the relationship is “meant to be,” which leads to stalking.
• False victimization: This is a rare cause of stalking in which a person believes someone has been targeting them, but they are actually the perpetrator doing the stalking.

• following a person as they go about their daily tasks
• waiting for them outside their house
• visiting places they often go to spy on them
• attempting to get into their home or workplace

Stalking can occur with or without harassment. Harassment is repeated and unwanted attempts to contact a person. This could be via:

• in-person threats, bullying, or intimidation
• texts or phone calls
• email or social media
• letters or notes
• unwanted gifts
• unscheduled visits

Stalking and harassment can escalate to physical violence.

TYPES OF STALKING

There are different ways to categorize stalking. One way is to classify it by motivation.

According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, simple obsessional stalking is the most common form of stalking. It is when a person stalks an ex-partner or ex-employer. Often, this is because they feel wronged or rejected.

Some other motivations for stalking include:

Different legal systems can also categorize stalking in different ways, such as how it manifests or its severity

The signs of stalking

Some signs a person may be experiencing stalking include:

• repeatedly noticing a person hanging around outside the home or workplace
• seeing them take undue interest in what is going on inside, such as by peering through windows or taking photos
• being followed or watched by someone in their car
• noticing the person or their car in other places, such as en route to work or at the grocery store
• receiving mail that has already been opened
• receiving notifications that another person has tried to access online accounts or reset passwords
• observing signs that someone has tried to break into the home
• personal items or trash going missing

In some cases, a person who is stalking an individual may also stalk friends, family, or neighbors to gain more information. It may be worth asking if anyone else has noticed these signs.

Warning signs

Some potential early warning signs of stalking in relationships include:

• knowing personal information about someone without having to ask for it
• trying to read a person’s texts or emails
• asking a lot of questions about a person’s whereabouts, who they spend time with, and their relationships
• frequently messaging, emailing, or phoning them
• trying to flirt or pursue a romantic relationship even though the person has said no
• turning up unannounced

Some people may view these behaviors as romantic, but they reflect a lack of regard for consent, which can be problematic. In some cases, these behaviors may be a precursor to controlling or abusive behavior.

Impact of stalking

In terms of the effects, the nonprofit Action Against Stalking states stalking can:

• make a person feel on edge or anxious
• cause low mood or depression
• cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• affect a person’s ability to concentrate
• make them late for work or school
• cause insomnia, headaches, or other physical symptoms
• affect finances due to expensive upgrades in security
• cause them to relocate to feel safe

Impacts :

Who does stalking affect?

Stalking disproportionately affects women. A 2022 study found that most stalking perpetrators are men, while most who report stalking are women.

Researchers also found that one-third of people who stalk eventually assault their victim. Among women whose ex-partner is stalking them, this increases to half.

Is stalking a crime?

Stalking is a federal crime when a person crosses state lines, enters or leaves Native American land, or stalks on federal property.

Individual states have their own laws about stalking that takes place within the state. The exact definition of stalking can vary, though. Some states may require that:

• the perpetrator has specific motivations or intent
• the person experiencing stalking has a certain level of emotional distress
• the person experiencing stalking is in physical danger

People may benefit from speaking with a victim support organization or a lawyer to understand local legislation.

A single unwanted contact is not stalking. However, it could be another crime. For example, opening or destroying mail for someone else is a crime, as is:

• trespassing
• breaking and entering
• theft
• harassment

Some people report having difficulty getting the police to act. Police may sometimes underestimate the impact or danger of stalking.

Sexism can play a role in people not taking stalking seriously. A 2020 study with college students found that people who had sexist beliefs were more likely to minimize the impact of stalking and to blame the victim.

What to do about stalking

The priority for people experiencing stalking is their safety.

If a person is currently safe, they can then begin taking steps to increase security, such as:

• stopping all contact with the perpetrator
• always locking doors, windows, and cars
• installing deadbolts, home alarms, or motion sensor security cameras
• telling trusted friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers about the stalking
• notifying the security department of a person’s place of work
• if children live in the house, notifying their school
• avoiding walking or going places alone
• removing addresses and phone numbers from directories
• using an answering machine to screen calls and record any messages

When telling others about the stalking, it is a good idea to provide the perpetrator’s name, a physical description, and a photo of them, if possible. Tell the person what to do if they show up or try to make contact.

For digital security, people can also:

• update all passwords on all devices
• use two-step authentication whenever possible
• set all online accounts to private
• remove and block the perpetrator on social media
• only allow followers they personally know to see their posts
• uninstall any unfamiliar apps or software
• remove phone numbers from directories

Documenting the stalking is also advisable. It shows how frequent and how serious the behavior is. People can:

• keep a diary of the stalking with dates and times
• take photographs, as long as it is safe to do so
• save security camera footage
• take screenshots of conversations
• save letters or voice notes

Causes of Stalking

The Psychology of the stalker

A series based on Stalking on Netflix.

To understand the Psychology behind a stalker , I recommend above series ,though it’s a fiction series but you can get an insight how a stalker thinks of himself and how we fall for them. (You can watch it just to get an insight it’s not entirely true for a stalker in ther series but an idea for the same)

Anyone has the potential to become a victim. Although superstars like Madonna and David Letterman are more likely to make headlines when they are harassed by deranged strangers, the great majority of victims are regular individuals who knew their stalkers, typically as lovers or spouses.

The majority of stalkers have severe personality disorders. The most common one among stalkers is narcissistic personality disorder, which gives stalkers an exaggerated feeling of self-worth and an obsessive desire for other people to admire and revere them.

Extreme dependence, in which a person needs constant help, attention, and acceptance from others, and borderline personality disorder, in which a person has unpredictable emotions and a high sensitivity to rejection and abandonment, are two more personality disorders that experts often see in stalkers.

According to Cupach & Spitzberg (2004), there are eight clusters of distinguishable stalking behaviors:

Hyper intimacy,
Cyber stalking,
interactional contacts,
surveillance,
invasion,
harassment and intimidation,
coercion and threat,
aggression

HOW STALKERS USE MANIPULATION TO FEED THEIR OBSESSION

Manipulation is one of the best ways for a stalker to get what they want, especially when dealing with an ex-partner. Some typical techniques a stalker could use to draw you back are described below.

They will  use guilt or create a crisis to get you to feel sorry for them. Such as, “Why are you doing this to me?” How could you not worry about me?

They make empty promises to keep in contact. Example: “This is the last time, I swear.” I just need closure. “

They will resort to blackmail. Here’s an example: “I’ll let your employer know about that time you called in sick.”

They play on your vulnerabilities  and make unfounded accusations. For instance  “You don’t care about anyone but yourself.”

They will distort what you say to fit their purposes. “I know that your friends are only trying to brainwash you against me because I know that you truly do love me.”

They will offer extravagant or costly presents with strings attached. “After all I’ve done for you…or how can you treat me this way after I have been so kind to you”

CONCLUSION

How difficult it is to survive this, but YOU CAN and there are just two options to get over this either to struggle with it and follow the lead of stalker in a loop and cry alone or be courageous to get out of it fully and communicate with someone who can help you and understand your perspective and fight back against it. Save others too for becoming a prey for stalker. More power to you 🙌🙌🙌We are in this together,you are not alone.You can cry and you can have this grief and trauma but still you can fight and WIN ,always 🌟

– by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

WHY YOU FALL FOR FICTIONAL characters AND WHEN IT BECOMES A CONDITION

We all love fictional characters and hope that they exist for real every then and now.Kids are really fascinated towards superheroes and cartoons. All the age groups at any point have felt that their favourite character should exist for a better life. If Doraemon could have exist ,we would have an easy access to the world with it’s any where door and so on. We love them but what if we become obsessed with them to a level when it’s not just limited to a fandom but becomes a realtime thing for some then we called the condition as ,”Fictophilia“.Let’s dig in this, with me holding on to my forever love for Anime and keeping that on hold writing this for all my readers and YES LONG TIME NO SEE, as I’m writing this blog after such a long time. As life in Shikamaru’s words,”WHAT A DRAG…”.Let’s begin with all my research on this condition.

Fictophilia: Are You in Love With a Fictional Character?

• Fictophiles are aware that the characters they love are not real, but they still yearn for them deeply.
• There are three main signs that you are a fictophile, including you experience the “fictophilia paradox.”
• It is the idea that you know your character is not real, but you still love them anyway.

Fictophilia,” “fictosexuality,” and “fictoromance” refer to the intense and enduring emotional attachment, love, infatuation, or desire that individuals experience for fictional characters.

Many individuals, or “fictophiles,” who experience this wonder if it’s normal or healthy, often facing social stigma, shame and confusion about their strong feelings for these characters.

 To better understand this phenomenon, here are three signs that you are a fictophile, according to a 2021 study.

1. You Face the Fictophilia Paradox

The researchers differentiate between mental disorders, such as erotomania and fictophilia. Erotomania is characterized by a delusional belief that someone, often a public figure or someone of higher social status, is in love with the affected individual despite a lack of real evidence or reciprocity.

However, fictophiles may have fantasies of the character returning their feelings and consider them a real source of social support. The researchers suggest that the emotional confusion resulting from the fictophilia paradox is logical, as prior research shows that individuals who form parasocial romantic relationships perceive them as having similar benefits to real-life connections.

2. You Engage Deeply With Fictional Characters

In contrast, the “fictophilia paradox” refers to the idea that fictophiles are highly aware that the character they love is not real, yet continue to yearn for them deeply. They can differentiate between fiction and objective reality and acknowledge the parasocial nature of their feelings. The genuine emotions they develop for these characters can create sadness and discomfort due to the obvious lack of any possible reciprocation.

If you have ever come across an interesting and particularly vivid piece of fanfiction, it may have been written by a fictophile. According to the 2021 study, similar to a devoted fan, fictophiles enhance their connection with a beloved fictional character by engaging in daydreams and fantasies, cosplaying, creating fan art or writing fan fiction centered around the character.

Fictophiles may also get character-related tattoos, clothing, jewelry, or other merchandise, serving as a tangible representation of their deep admiration and attachment. They often experience strong emotional reactions to events in the fictional world involving their characters, becoming deeply affected by character developments, relationships, or storylines.

Another study in 2021 further explains the appeal of engaging with these characters based on one’s attachment style. It found that higher attachment anxiety leads to forming stronger parasocial emotional bonds with fictional characters, especially those who appear more nurturing and, therefore, soothing to connect with.

Conversely, individuals with more avoidant attachment styles gravitate toward characters who have traits they value, such as autonomy and independence, which reaffirms their own behavior

3. You Prefer Fictional People To Real Ones

Research shows that individuals connect to fictional characters by judging if they are ethical, attractive, realistic, and personally relevant to them, even if they evoke mixed emotions. For instance, one may be fascinated by a character who has committed crimes they do not condone, simultaneously feeling attracted to them or even sorry for them.

35-year-old Japanese man to marry a hologram of a virtual singer

Often, fictional characters can be preferred over any human counterpart due to their perceived superior emotional qualities and conventionally attractive physical appearance. Many fictophiles report that loving fictional characters feels safer than being in real relationships, as these characters cannot hurt, betray or reject them.

Fictophiles also have a high degree of control over their interactions with fictional characters, engaging with them when they choose and being able to rely on their predictability, which can be comforting to individuals who may have experienced instability in real-life relationships.

It is essential to remember that these behaviors are not inherently problematic or unusual and often serve as a genuine source of comfort and support. A strong attachment to fictional characters can be a healthy and enjoyable part of a fictophile’s life.

However, it is important to maintain a balance between one’s affection for fictional characters and one’s engagement in real-world relationships, as genuine human connection is essential for emotional well-being and personal growth

CONCLUSION

Fictophiles navigate the complex intersection of fiction and reality with their love for fictional characters. Fictophilia provides an opportunity for emotional connection, even if it remains unreciprocated, as individuals find solace in these beings that may be lacking elsewhere. While these experiences are valid, maintaining a balance between deep fictional attachments and real-world relationships remains essential.

Thus loving a fictional character isn’t anything but when you go beyond reality and make your reality according to them fictional characters or want them badly in your life despite of having that fact they aren’t real, then find the connection with reality.Rest you enjoy whatever you love.

-by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

WHY SOME OF US CAN’T REMEMBER OR RETRACE ROUTES, LOCATIONS OR DIRECTIONS

It has been a related story in which we lost our ways and unable to move to our specific destination because of taking a wrong turn or getting confused with the similar, unpracticed routes and it’s normal when this occurs sometimes. What if it becomes a hurdle for life and you are comparatively worse in remembering and retracing path which your aged people can easily do and you struggle a lot then comes the difficulty or difficulties which is related to Psychology,So, let’s find out with me, Possible reasons of Why and How…..Follow me in right and then left and if you are getting confused in this ,then just read below …

Why Some People Have Such a Poor Sense of Direction

Current research on the 3 types of navigators.

Plenty of men are bad at directions, and plenty of women navigate without difficulty.

In fact, we need both kinds of navigational strategies:

• Mental-map navigation is useful for familiar terrain that you traverse frequently. You probably have a good mental map of your neighborhood, and you can go to the supermarket, drop off the dry cleaning, stop by the pharmacy, and get your hair done without first returning home and then departing for each new destination.
• Route-landmark navigation is convenient when you frequently travel back and forth between the same two points. Your commute to work is a good example. The route becomes so familiar that you don’t even need to think about how to navigate it, driving as if on autopilot

In a research review, psychologists Steven Weisberg and Nora Newcombe explored individual differences in navigational abilities. To test people’s abilities to create mental maps of new locations, they had previously asked research participants to navigate through a virtual reality scene resembling a small college campus, with crisscrossing pathways and various buildings scattered about.

In fact, their participants clustered into three distinct groups, which they called integrators, non-integrators, and imprecise navigators:

• Integrators were good at both within-route and between-route learning. In other words, they were familiar with the landmarks along the routes they traveled, and they also had a good understanding of the general layout of the terrain.
• Non-integrators were good at within-route learning, but not between-route. That is to say, they remembered the landmarks along the two main routes they traveled, but they didn’t see how these two routes were connected. This meant they had little understanding of how a building on one route was related to a building on the other route.
• Imprecise navigators performed poorly on both tasks. They clearly had no mental map connecting the routes and buildings. But they also performed poorly on the routes they were familiar with. Their within-route performance was still above chance, however, indicating that they did learn something.

POSSIBLE OTHER REASONS WHICH MAKES YOU LOST TRACKS

Two brain areas team up to make mental maps

If this brain were in a person’s head, they would be facing the left side of the picture. The curved structure in red is the hippocampus. This brain area plays an important role in memory.

Traveling twosome

Two particular brain areas had been active in this pathfinding. The first was the right hippocampus. Each brain has two of these structures — one on either side of the head. Each forms a coil that curves up and back behind the ears. Hippocampi are important. Without them, new memories cannot form.

The study especially helps to show how the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex work together when a person enters a new space, he notes. And it’s not just about finding our way, he adds. These brain areas also may be important for how our memories function.

Directional Dyslexia

Quick facts about directional dyslexia:

• Not an actual kind of dyslexia, more of a symptom of other types of dyslexia or a different kind of disability all together
• Sometimes called spatial or geographic dyslexia
• Distinguished by left-right confusion and a tendency to become disoriented or lost
• May be related to difficulty remembering sequences and short term memory deficits

Extreme difficulty distinguishing right from left and following a sequence of directions or retracing a path.

While very real and very frustrating for those affected, the term directional dyslexia is problematic.  Those turning right not left out of the elevator have a Dys (difficulty) but not with Lexia (words). A better name for this problem would be something like Dysorienta.  Admittedly, dyslexics are notorious for mixing left and right (“no, the other right”) so there is some ‘comorbidity’ there, meaning that problems with direction and words often go together

Directional Dyslexia Strategies

There aren’t formal treatments for directional dyslexia, but there are some strategies that can help:

1) For left-right confusion

• Wear a watch on the left hand to provide a point of orientation
• visualize something you always do with the right hand such as write or shoot a basketball
• The index and thumb of the left hand can form an L when held in front of the face

Being told,’ just go back the same way’, or ‘I’m sure you will find your way’ can be terrifying to someone with a very weak sense of direction.

While getting lost can be funny or even educational, usually it’s not. Keep this in mind when you discover a friend or family member is directionally challenged.

2) For poor sense of direction

• Write down the steps to your destination and try to memorize them
• Try to walk the journey in your mind, in both directions while describing the route out loud: “I will walk toward our corner store then turn right at the first intersection where the statue is, I can see the bronze bust…”
• Study maps. Dyslexics are often superior visual learners, so understanding the directions visually may be the key for you
• Ask for directions when you really need them
• Purchase a dedicated GPS for your car. And remember your phone is a GPS too! 
• Always try to travel with family or a friend. Life is better together
• Worst case, leave breadcrumbs

Neuroscience may one day illuminate exactly why some people have more problems with direction than others, but until then, extra planning and prudent use of technology can help all of us get from A to B successfully.

CONCLUSION

There are wide individual differences in how well people can make and use mental maps. Those who are good at navigating to novel locations shouldn’t just assume everyone is like them. Likewise, those who easily get lost need to understand that there’s nothing wrong with them and that there are plenty of people like them. And if these imprecise navigators can just stop worrying about getting lost, they may find they’re better at navigation.

So, if you are lost in directions believe in yourself and make use of technology and most importantly do practice the daily routes with permanent visual places which starts from one corner to another because in mid between will be most difficult to remember and manage it accordingly. You are not alone ,We all have this small or big and GPS has made almost everyone crippled for the same. So, You are HERO don’t be embarassed ,You can manage it better than all.✊

–by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

WHY YOUR KID REPEATS EVERYTHING,LIKE AN ECHO INSTEAD OF RESPONDING ACCORDING TO THE QUESTIONS ASKED

We often call kids as ,“Monkeys” as they copy everything we do or say. It is quiet evident from their words and actions after us.But what if it , doesn’t go away and they keep repeating everything you say ,instead of replying an answer to a question,You ask them ,”How are You?” and they respond,”How are You?” in return everytime being at the age of 5,6,7 or more.Then there is a difficulty and it’s a symptom of neurodevelopmental condition and other symptoms may join too ,we recognise this ,here in neuropsychology as “Autism Spectrum Disorder”.

ASD describes a group of neurodevelopmental conditions that become evident during early childhood. Certain genetic and environmental factors can contribute to its development.

What is autism?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or autism, is a broad term used to describe a group of neurodevelopmental conditions.

These conditions are characterized by differences in communication and social interaction. People with ASD often demonstrate restricted and repetitive interests or patterns of behavior.

ASD is found in people around the world, regardless of race and ethnicity, culture, or economic background.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ASD is diagnosed more often in boys than in girls. A study of 8-year-olds in 11 locations throughout the United States found a 4.3-to-1, boy-to-girl ratio in 2016. About 1 in 54 of the study participants had ASD.

There are indications that instances of autism are on the rise. Some attribute this increase to environmental factors. However, experts debate whether there’s an actual increase in cases or just more frequent diagnoses. Compare autism rates in different U.S. states

What are the symptoms of autism?

Symptoms of ASD typically become clearly evident during early childhood, between ages 12 and 24 months. However, symptoms may also appear earlier or later.

Early symptoms may include a marked delay in language or social development.

The DSM-5 divides symptoms of ASD into two categories:

• problems with communication and social interaction
• restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior or activities

To be diagnosed with autism, a person must experience symptoms in both of these categories.

Problems with communication and social interaction

ASD can involve a range of issues with communication, many of which appear before age 5.

Here’s a general timeline of what this might look like:

• From birth: trouble maintaining eye contact
• By 9 months: not responding to their name
• By 9 months: not displaying facial expressions reflective of their emotions (like surprise or anger)
• By 12 months: not engaging in basic interactive games, like peek-a-boo or pat-a-cake
• By 12 months: not using (or only using a few) hand gestures, like hand-waving
• By 15 months: not sharing their interests with others (by showing someone a favorite toy, for example)
• By 18 months: not pointing or looking where others point
• By 24 months: not noticing when others appear sad or hurt
• By 30 months: not engaging in “pretend play,” like caring for a baby doll or playing with figurines
• By 60 months of age: not playing turn-taking games, like duck-duck goose

Additionally, autistic children might have trouble expressing their feelings or understanding those of others starting at 36 months.

As they age, they might have difficulty talking or very limited speaking skills. Other autistic children might develop language skills at an uneven pace. If there’s a particular topic that’s very interesting to them, for example, they might develop a very strong vocabulary for talking about that one topic. But they might have difficulty communicating about other things.

As autistic children begin talking, they might also talk in an unusual tone that can range from high-pitched and “sing-songy” to robotic or flat.

They might also show signs of hyperlexia, which involves reading beyond what’s expected of their age. Children on the autism spectrum might learn to read earlier than their neurotypical peers, sometimes as early as age 2. But they tend to not comprehend what they’re reading.

While hyperlexia does not always accompany autism, research suggests nearly 84 percent of children with hyperlexia are on the spectrum.

As they interact with others, autistic children might have difficulty sharing their emotions and interests with others or find it hard to maintain back-and-forth conversation. Nonverbal communication, like maintaining eye contact or body language, might also remain difficult.

These challenges with communication can persist throughout adulthood.

Restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior or activities

In addition to the communication and social issues mentioned above, autism also includes symptoms related to body movements and behaviors.

These can include:

• repetitive movements, like rocking, flapping their arms, spinning, or running back and forth
• lining objects, like toys, up in strict order and getting upset when that order is disturbed
• attachment to strict routines, like those around bedtime or getting to school
• repeating words or phrases they hear someone say over and over again
• getting upset over minor changes
• focusing intently on parts of objects, like the wheel of a toy truck or the hair of a doll
• unusual reactions to sensory input, like sounds, smells, and tastes
• obsessive interests
• exceptional abilities, like musical talent or memory capabilities

Other characteristics

Some autistic people might experience additional symptoms, including:

• delayed movement, language, or cognitive skills
• seizures
• gastrointestinal symptoms, like constipation or diarrhea
• excessive worry or stress
• unusual levels of fear (either higher or lower than expected)
• hyperactive, inattentive, or impulsive behaviors
• unexpected emotional reactions
• unusual eating habits or preferences
• unusual sleep patterns

What is stimming?

“Stimming” is a term used to describe self-stimulating behaviors, often involving repetitive motions or speech.

For example, someone might clap their hands, rub an object, or repeat a phrase. It’s typically associated with autistic people, but nearly everyone does some form of stimming, whether that’s rubbing their hands together or biting their nails.

For autistic people, stimming can sometimes get in the way of daily life or cause physical harm. But it can also serve as a helpful coping mechanism for dealing with sensory overload or navigating uncomfortable situations, among other things.

What are the different types of autism?

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Clinicians use it to diagnose a variety of psychiatric disorders.

The most recent fifth edition of the DSM was released in 2013. The DSM-5 currently recognizes five different ASD subtypes, or specifiers. They are:

• with or without accompanying intellectual impairment
• with or without accompanying language impairment
• associated with a known medical or genetic condition or environmental factor
• associated with another neurodevelopmental, mental, or behavioral disorder
• with catatonia

Someone can receive a diagnosis of one or more specifiers.

Before the DSM-5, autistic people may have received a diagnosis of:

• autistic disorder
• Asperger’s syndrome
• pervasive development disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS)
• childhood disintegrative disorder

It’s important to note that a person who received one of these earlier diagnoses has not lost their diagnosis and will not need to be reevaluated.

According to the DSM-5, the broader diagnosis of ASD encompasses conditions such as Asperger’s syndrome. 

What causes autism?

The exact cause of ASD is unknown. The most current research demonstrates there’s no single cause.

Some suspected risk factors for ASD include:

• having an immediate family member who’s autistic
• certain genetic mutations
• fragile X syndrome and other genetic disorders
• being born to older parents
• low birth weight
• metabolic imbalances
• exposure to heavy metals and environmental toxins
• a maternal history of viral infections
• fetal exposure to the medications valproic acid or thalidomide (Thalomid)

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), both genetics and environment may determine whether a person develops ASD.

A controversial 1998 study proposed a link between autism and the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. However, that study has been debunked by other research and was eventually retracted in 2010. 

How does autism affect girls?

Portrait of sad little girl sitting isolated on blue studio background. How it feels to be autist. Modern problems, new vision of social issues. Concept of autism, childhood, healthcare, medicine.

Because of its greater rate in boys, ASD is often stereotyped as a “boys’ disease.”

According to a 2020 study of 11 regions throughout the United States, ASD is 4.3 times more common in 8-year-old boys than in 8-year-old girls. The research was based on data from 2016.

A 2017 literature review concluded that the male-to-female ratio for autistic youth was actually closer to 3 to 1.

Either way, this does not mean that ASD doesn’t occur in girls. ASD may simply present differently in girls and in women.

In comparison to recent decades, ASD is now being tested earlier and more often. This leads to higher reported rates in both boys and girls.

Why is autism awareness important?

Autism and ADHD are sometimes confused with one another.

Children with an ADHD diagnosis consistently have issues with fidgeting, concentrating, and maintaining eye contact with others. These symptoms are also seen in some autistic people.

Despite some similarities, ADHD is not considered a spectrum disorder. One major difference between the two is that people with ADHD do not tend to lack socio-communicative skills.

If you think your child may be hyperactive, talk with their doctor about possible ADHD testing. Getting a clear diagnosis is essential to ensure that your child is receiving the right support.

It’s also possible for a person to have both autism and ADHD. Explore the relationship between autism and ADHD.

What is the outlook for autistic people?

The most effective therapies involve early and intensive behavioral support. The earlier a child is enrolled in these programs, the better their outlook will be.

Remember, ASD is complex. It takes time for an autistic person — whether a child or adult — to find the support program best suited for them.

CONCLUSION

Kids are vulnerable for abuse and bully when they remain undiagnosed, Parents have to understand that timely diagnosis and interventions are only solution for kids ,so they can grow and develop with their identity and acceptance towards it ,is the first step. EVERY KID COUNTS AND KIDS ARE ALWAYS SPECIAL,LOVE THEM FOR THEIR INNOCENCE AND BE PROUD OF EACH STEP THEY TAKE ,BE WITH THEM IN EVERY IMPORTANT PART OF THEIR LIFE.♥️

–by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

WHY YOU LIE, MANIPULATE, EXPLOIT OTHERS AND DISREGARD SOCIAL RULES

It might have been many times,when you felt like not following rules and regulations which have got you in trouble but what if it becomes your behavioural pattern for life. When you don’t distinguish between right and wrong , perform action via your perception only. You hardly feel empathetic for anyone ,lie , manipulate and even exploit people for your satisfaction and never felt guilty about it. This in Psychology we call it ,”Anti Social Personality Disorder” , Let’s explore with me everything about it……

What Is Antisocial Personality Disorder?

Every personality is unique. In some cases, a person’s way of thinking and behaving can be destructive — both to others and to themselves. People with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) have a mental health condition that causes patterns of manipulation and violation of others around them. This condition overwhelms their personality.

ASPD typically begins during childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood. People with ASPD display a long-term pattern of:

• disregarding the law
• violating the rights of others
• manipulating and exploiting others

People with the disorder commonly don’t care if they break the law. They may lie and place others at risk without feeling any remorse.

A study in Alcohol Research and Health states that about 3 percent of men and 1 percent of women have ASPD. The condition is much more common in men than in women.

What Causes Antisocial Personality Disorder?

The exact cause of ASPD is unknown. Genetic and environmental factors may play a role. You may be at greater risk of developing the disorder if you’re male and you:

• were abused as a child
• grew up with parents who had ASPD
• grew up with alcoholic parents

What Are the Symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder?

Children with ASPD tend to be cruel to animals and set fires illegally. Some symptoms in adults include:

• being angry often
• being arrogant
• manipulating others
• acting witty and charming to get what they want
• lying frequently
• stealing
• acting aggressively and fighting often
• breaking the law
• not caring about personal safety or the safety of others
• not showing guilt or remorse for actions

People who have ASPD have a higher risk of substance abuse. Research has linked alcohol use to increased aggression in people with ASPD.

How Is Antisocial Personality Disorder Treated?

ASPD is very difficult to treat. Typically, your doctor will try a combination of psychotherapy and medication. It’s hard to assess how effective the available treatments are in dealing with ASPD’s symptoms.

Psychotherapy

Your psychologist may recommend different types of psychotherapy based on the your situation.

Cognitive behavioral therapy can help reveal negative thoughts and behaviors. It can also teach ways of replacing them with positive ones.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy can increase awareness of negative, unconscious thoughts and behaviors. This can help the person change them.

Medications

No medications are specifically approved for the treatment of ASPD. Your doctor may prescribe:

• antidepressants
• mood stabilizers
• antianxiety medications
• antipsychotic medications

Your doctor may also recommend a stay in a mental health hospital where you can receive intensive treatment.

CONCLUSION

There are lot of people who needs just an honest ear and an empathetic approach to resolve their issues ,BE THE ONE 💫💕

–By Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

WHY LAUGHING AT Workplace IS BEST idea, WHY EVEN WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM SUPPORTS FOR AND HOW IT INCREASES productivity

There are always two ways to do your work , either you do it in stress or by enjoying it with laughter. The later one is an approach I use and recommend to all the workers. When you love your work and know how exactly it should be done , being in that makes you stress free but when you are conscious about that work constantly being overstressed and then doing it, it surrounds you with a circle of negative vibes which can make a workplace totally hell for everyone,but when you laugh together forming bonds,it increases productivity, performance and passion towards your work, you don’t get tired of being over worked rather you want to do it more.All of this being said, you might be thinking it’s just my opinion and it’s not for real. So, get along with me laughing and let me unveil all the scientific researches, case studies and proved studies for the same…… maintain that smile all through my article, you gonna love it…….

How laughter makes you a better worker

So what is laughter? In the past two decades, probably the most work to understand this has been done by American neuroscientist Robert Provine, a professor of psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He reminds us that laughter is akin to our animal call sign, saying in his 2001 book Laughter: A Scientific Investigation: “Laughter is the quintessential human social signal. Laughter is about relationships.”

We are 30 times more likely to laugh when we are with other people than when we’re alone

Cheerful people laughing in office and having a short break , bonding

Laughter is a subconscious signal that we’re in a state of relaxation and safety, says professor Sophie Scott from University College London. For instance, many mammals exhibit laughter-type reactions – but that they can be stopped by certain emotional states.

In other words, if a group is laughing together, then it suggests that our protective guard is down.

This matters because there’s research to suggest that when our brains are relaxed, we more easily achieve free idea association, which can lead to creativity.

Flashes of inspiration

John Kounios at Drexel University and Mark Beeman from Northwestern University wanted to see whether laughter could help people solve tricky logic puzzles.

They showed subjects Robin Williams delivering comedy zingers in a stand-up routine and then asked them test questions. They were interested to see whether laughter would facilitate more flashes of inspiration in the superior anterior temporal gyrus (a part of the brain just above your right ear which is associated with connecting distantly-connected ideas).

The Neuroscience of Laughter, and How to Inspire More of It at Work

The neuroscience of laughter

Laughing swaps the cortisol in our bloodstream with highly sought after chemicals in the brain: dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins. Dopamine can enhance learning, motivation, and attention.

Oxytocin is considered the “empathy hormone” and the “bonding chemical,” and when it enters the bloodstream it creates feelings of relatedness. Endorphins trigger feelings of pleasure; people can endure 15% more pain simply by laughing for a few minutes beforehand. Other health benefits: improved immune functioning, stress relief, improved cardiovascular health, reduced anxiety, sense of safety, and improved mood.

Laughter also works as a reappraisal technique, reducing the limbic response associated with “fight-or-flight” reactions. In other words, when feeling stressed the physiological act of laughter can decrease heart rate and blood pressure and relax muscle tension. Just a moment of laughter allows us to think more clearly and creatively and raises relatedness with our colleagues.

Laughter in the Workplace

Studies have shown laughter can decrease stress hormones in the blood, as well as increase our “feel-good” chemicals, endorphins. It could even have a positive effect on the immune system. Via an article from World Economic Forum.

And in addition to any potential health benefits of laughter in the workplace, it also plays an underrated role in strengthening workplace bonds.

• By your mid-20s you’ve started laughing a lot less than you used to.
• Laughter helps people bond, promotes inclusiveness and fosters creativity.
• You don’t have to be a comedian; just being open to laughter in the workplace is enough.

The health benefits

Several studies suggest that laughter may improve certain aspects of physical or mental health.

Scientists used to think laughter was a unique human behavior, perhaps even one of the things that separate humans from nonhuman animals. However, research now proves this is not true. A 2021 study found that laughter occurs in at least 65 nonhuman animal species.

Some evidence suggests laughter may improve mental health.

For example, in a 2018 systematic review of group-based laughter yoga that included six prior studies, researchers found that laughter yoga improved depression symptoms over the short term in two studies. The study’s authors say that laughter yoga is a potentially helpful intervention, but there is not yet enough evidence to prove that it works.

A 2019 systematic review and meta-analysis also cautions there is insufficient current evidence to support laughter therapies, but it found preliminary evidence that laughter may improve mental health. The analysis also found some evidence that laughter could improve depression, anxiety, and stress levels. Additionally, the researchers reported that induced, simulated laughter was more effective than spontaneous, humorous laughter.

Lead With Laughter: How Humor Can Positively Transform A Work Environment

The reality is humor gives our brains a break — a break from worrying about what’s next. It’s also the closest connection between two people. When you’re laughing, you aren’t worrying or focusing on what may or may not happen. You are in the moment, and that mental moment helps you feel refreshed.

Researchers have learned that humor can help people recover from stressful situations. While there is no lack of stressful or political situations at work, there is a lack of solutions to stress.

CONCLUSION

In my experience, people fear humor in the workplace because of the common belief that if you’re laughing, you aren’t learning or working and you are not serious for your work. That’s just not true. You can laugh and learn, and maybe even learn more because people are open. It’s a balance of focusing on what needs to be done and encouraging fun.

So, laugh your heart out , it’s good for your beautiful heart❤️

– by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

DIVE WITH ME IN THE MOST RICH , PURE ,VIBRANT AND COLOURFUL,CUSTOMS, CULTURES AND RITUALS OF INDIA

https://wp.me/pe1Tnl-9L

Happy Republic Day 🇮🇳✊✊💫

ME V/S ME : BIPOLAR DISORDER

Pic Courtesy: Lil gaz album poster

We all have seen ,ups and downs in life and we have reacted to those situations in requisite way.If we are happy we laugh,If we are sad we cry too.All of this , is part of our life ,basic emotions and it is very important to show true emotions of us. This sounds fine but what if we have an elevated mood in a particular situation and then a drop down of emotions just after that elevation of mood ,which is uncontrollable too. Lots of people are struggling with this ,in which they are failing to deliver their emotions right and it’s okay to be in learning of that process and overcoming those emotional battles but what if ,it becomes a constant thing and it’s always highs and lows then comes this disorder ,what we call as ,”Bipolar Disorder”, Be with me ,to identify this emotional journey of emotions which battles inside you, We will conquer it for sure…….

What to know about bipolar disorder

A person with bipolar disorder will experience changes in mood, energy, and activity levels that can make day-to-day living difficult.

Bipolar disorder can cause severe disruption to a person’s life, but the impact varies between individuals. With appropriate treatment and support, many people with this condition live a full and productive life.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), bipolar disorder affects over 10 million people in the United States or around 2.8% of the population.

Statistics show about 1 in 150 persons or 0.3 per cent of Indians live with bipolar disorder with 70 per cent of the remaining untreated.

This is as per India’s National Mental Health Survey 2016. An alarming situation if left unchecked, bipolar disorder is often mixed up with schizophrenia (a different disease).

On average, a person will receive a diagnosis around the age of 25 years, but symptoms can appear during the teenage years or later in life. It affects males and females equally.

What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder that causes changes in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function. People with bipolar disorder experience intense emotional states that typically occur during distinct periods of days to weeks, called mood episodes. These mood episodes are categorized as manic/hypomanic (abnormally happy or irritable mood) or depressive (sad mood). People with bipolar disorder generally have periods of neutral mood as well. When treated, people with bipolar disorder can lead full and productive lives.

People without bipolar disorder experience mood fluctuations as well. However, these mood changes typically last hours rather than days. Also, these changes are not usually accompanied by the extreme degree of behavior change or difficulty with daily routines and social interactions that people with bipolar disorder demonstrate during mood episodes. Bipolar disorder can disrupt a person’s relationships with loved ones and cause difficulty in working or going to school.

Bipolar disorder is a category that includes three different diagnoses: bipolar I, bipolar II, and cyclothymic disorder.

Bipolar disorder commonly runs in families: 80 to 90 percent of individuals with bipolar disorder have a relative with bipolar disorder or depression. Environmental factors such as stress, sleep disruption, and drugs and alcohol may trigger mood episodes in vulnerable people. Though the specific causes of bipolar disorder within the brain are unclear, an imbalance of brain chemicals is believed to lead to dysregulated brain activity. The average age of onset is 25 years old.

People with bipolar I disorder frequently have other mental disorders such as anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The risk of suicide is significantly higher among people with bipolar I disorder than among the general population.

Bipolar I Disorder

Bipolar I disorder is diagnosed when a person experiences a manic episode. During a manic episode, people with bipolar I disorder experience an extreme increase in energy and may feel on top of the world or uncomfortably irritable in mood. Some people with bipolar I disorder also experience depressive or hypomanic episodes, and most people with bipolar I disorder also have periods of neutral mood.

Symptoms of Bipolar I Disorder
Manic Episode

Manic Episode

A manic episode is a period of at least one week when a person is extremely high-spirited or irritable most of the day for most days, possesses more energy than usual, and experiences at least three of the following changes in behavior:

• Decreased need for sleep (e.g., feeling energetic despite significantly less sleep than usual
• Increased or faster speech
• Uncontrollable racing thoughts or quickly changing ideas or topics when speaking
• Distractibility
• Increased activity (e.g., restlessness, working on several projects at once)
• Increased risky behavior (e.g., reckless driving, spending sprees)

These behaviors must represent a change from the person’s usual behavior and be clear to friends and family. Symptoms must be severe enough to cause dysfunction in work, family, or social activities and responsibilities. Symptoms of a manic episode commonly require a person to receive hospital care to stay safe.

Some people experiencing manic episodes also experience disorganized thinking, false beliefs, and/or hallucinations, known as psychotic features.

Hypomanic Episode

A hypomanic episode is characterized by less severe manic symptoms that need to last only four days in a row rather than a week. Hypomanic symptoms do not lead to the major problems in daily functioning that manic symptoms commonly cause.

Major Depressive Episode

A major depressive episode is a period of at least two weeks in which a person has at least five of the following symptoms (including at least one of the first two symptoms):

• Intense sadness or despair
• Loss of interest in activities the person once enjoyed
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
• Fatigue
• Increased or decreased sleep
• Increased or decreased appetite
• Restlessness (e.g., pacing) or slowed speech or movement
• Difficulty concentrating
• Frequent thoughts of death or suicide

Bipolar II Disorder

A diagnosis of bipolar II disorder requires someone to have at least one major depressive episode and at least one hypomanic episode (see above). People return to their usual functioning between episodes. People with bipolar II disorder often first seek treatment as a result of their first depressive episode, since hypomanic episodes often feel pleasurable and can even increase performance at work or school.

People with bipolar II disorder frequently have other mental illnesses such as an anxiety disorder or substance use disorder, the latter of which can exacerbate symptoms of depression or hypomania.

Cyclothymic Disorder

Cyclothymic disorder is a milder form of bipolar disorder involving many “mood swings,” with hypomania and depressive symptoms that occur frequently. People with cyclothymia experience emotional ups and downs but with less severe symptoms than bipolar I or II disorder.

Cyclothymic disorder symptoms include the following:

• For at least two years, many periods of hypomanic and depressive symptoms, but the symptoms do not meet the criteria for hypomanic or depressive episode.
• During the two-year period, the symptoms (mood swings) have lasted for at least half the time and have never stopped for more than two months.

Celebrities and Eminent Personalities With Bipolar Disorder

Bebe Rexha :The singer, who was nominated for a Grammy with Florida Georgia Line for “Meant to Be” and co-wrote Eminem’s “The Monster,” opened up about her diagnosis via Twitter. She posted, “I’m bipolar and I’m not ashamed anymore.”

Ernest Hemingway: This Nobel Prize-winning author was prone to manic-depressive behavior throughout his life, a family trait shared by his parents, his son, and his granddaughter Margaux. Despite his larger-than-life personality and novels like A Farewell to Arms and For Whom The Bell Tolls, Hemingway had bouts of depression and paranoia. Obsessed with death, he eventually shot himself in the head in 1961. 

Winston Churchill: As first lord of the admiralty at the start of World War I and British prime minister in World War II, Churchill rallied people with stirring speeches and radio broadcasts to encourage resistance against Germany. However, he battled his own war against depression, suicidal thoughts, and lack of sleep. He called it his “black dog.” Despite his condition, he authored 43 books and earned a Nobel Prize in Literature. He died in 1965 at 90. 

There is no going back, and no one is immune to this disorder.The important thing is you should be inspiring for those who are struggling,if not ,your journey and story goes a long way to people so that they can relate and speak out and not be ashamed of it.It can happen and we can survive this too ,so be vocal about it , don’t suffer remaining silent and alone.They alongwith all of us are with you 💫✊

Treatment

Bipolar disorder symptoms commonly improve with treatment. Medication is the cornerstone of bipolar disorder treatment, though talk therapy (psychotherapy) can help many patients learn about their illness and adhere to medications, preventing future mood episodes.

Medications known as “mood stabilizers” (e.g., lithium) are the most commonly prescribed type of medications for bipolar disorder. These medications are believed to correct imbalanced brain signaling. Because bipolar disorder is a chronic illness in which mood episodes typically recur, ongoing preventive treatment is recommended. Bipolar disorder treatment is individualized; people with bipolar disorder may need to try different medications before finding what works best for them.

In some cases, when medication and psychotherapy have not helped, an effective treatment known as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may be used. ECT involves several rounds of a brief electrical current applied to the scalp while the patient is under anesthesia, leading to a short, controlled seizure. ECT-induced seizures are believed to remodel brain signaling pathways.

Since bipolar disorder can cause serious disruptions in a person’s daily life and create a stressful family situation, family members may also benefit from professional resources, particularly mental health advocacy and support groups. From these sources, families can learn strategies for coping, participating actively in the treatment, and obtaining support

CONCLUSION

It is very difficult to go through this phase in a constant darkness of mixed emotions and to get out of it ,seems impossible. Perhaps, it is not that everyone can feel but at some point of life , everyone has witnessed that wave of emotions which left us alone and shattered,So ,we should be very humble and patient ,those who are facing it and if you and I’m the person going through this ,should also show immense courage to seek for help. If we can get it ,there is always a way to get out , We are always there for you ,in every darkness we will be together and fight those monsters of head ,to conquer ourselves.lots of love and courage, YOU ARE HERO FOR SURVIVING THIS , PROUD OF YOU♥️✊💫

–by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

WHY YOU WANT TO RESIGN FROM YOUR WORK DAILY

It has been a relatable story that we tend to lose our focus at workplace due to enormous pressure and approaching deadline, ultimately we feel like resigning the workplace almost daily. The high-grade stress which we go through make us feel exhausted, and we might feel like giving up everything and so at the edge. We call it,“Burnout Syndrome”. Let’s explore more with me…..Keep aside from workplace and just read the underlying of all time stress at workplace.

Burnout syndrome: Sud­denly it was all too much

Burnout can happen to anyone routinely exposed to high levels of stress, whether work-related or not. It can cause symptoms of exhaustion, depression, and isolation.

What is burnout?

Coined by the psychologist, Herbert Freudenberger in the 1970s, burnout describes a severe stress condition that leads to severe physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion.

Much worse than ordinary fatigue, burnout makes it challenging for people to cope with stress and handle day-to-day responsibilities.

People experiencing burnout often feel like they have nothing left to give and may dread getting out of bed each morning. They may even adopt a pessimistic outlook toward life and feel hopeless.

Burnout doesn’t go away on its own and, if left untreated, it can lead to serious physical and psychological illnesses like depression, heart disease, and diabetes.

Who gets burnout?

Anyone who’s continually exposed to high levels of stress can experience burnout. Helping professionals, such as first responders, doctors, and nurses are especially vulnerable to this health condition.

Along with career-induced burnout, people caring for children can also have this type of extreme exhaustion. A recent study found that, just like doctors and business executives, mothers and fathers can also burn out.

Personality characteristics like needing to be in control, perfectionism, and being “Type A” can also increase your risk of burnout.

What are signs of burnout?

Worried that you may be experiencing burnout but unsure of the signs? We’ve compiled a list of symptoms that you can use as a guide.

• Exhaustion. Feeling physically and emotionally depleted. Physical symptoms may include headaches, stomachaches, and appetite or sleeping changes.
• Isolation. People with burnout tend to feel overwhelmed. As a result, they may stop socializing and confiding in friends, family members, and co-workers.
• Escape fantasies. Dissatisfied with the never-ending demands of their jobs, people with burnout may fantasize about running away or going on a solo-vacation. In extreme cases, they may turn to drugs, alcohol, or food as a way to numb their emotional pain.
• Irritability. Burnout can cause people to lose their cool with friends, co-workers, and family members more easily. Coping with normal stressors like preparing for a work meeting, driving kids to school, and tending to household tasks also may start to feel insurmountable, especially when things don’t go as planned.
• Frequent illnesses. Burnout, like other long-term stress, can lower your immune system, making you more susceptible to colds, the flu, and insomnia. Burnout can also lead to mental health concerns like depression and anxiety.

The 12 stages of burnout

Unlike a cold or the flu, burnout doesn’t hit all at once.

Psychologists Herbert Freudenberger and Gail North have outlined the 12 phases of this stress syndrome:

1. Excessive drive/ambition. Common for people starting a new job or undertaking a novel task, too much ambition can lead to burnout.
2. Pushing yourself to work harder. Ambition pushes you to work harder.
3. Neglecting your own needs. You begin to sacrifice self-care like sleep, exercise, and eating well.
4. Displacement of conflict. Instead of acknowledging that you’re pushing yourself to the max, you blame your boss, the demands of your job, or colleagues for your troubles.
5. No time for nonwork-related needs. Your values are revised. Work becomes the sole focus at the expense of family, friends, and hobbies, which now seem irrelevant.
6. Denial. Impatience with those around you mounts. Instead of taking responsibility for your behaviors, you blame others, seeing them as incompetent, lazy, and overbearing.
7. Withdrawal. You begin to withdraw from family and friends. You lack direction and are cynical. Social invitations to parties, movies, and dinner dates start to feel burdensome instead of enjoyable.
8. Behavioral changes. Those on the road to burnout may become more aggressive and snap at loved ones for no reason.
9. Depersonalization. Feeling detached from your life and your ability to control your life.
10. Inner emptiness or anxiety. Feeling empty or anxious. You may turn to thrill seeking behaviors to cope with this emotion, such as substance use, gambling, or overeating.
11. Depression. Life loses its meaning and you begin to feel hopeless.
12. Mental or physical collapse. This can impact your ability to cope. Mental health or medical attention may be necessary.

How to prevent burnout

Stress may be unavoidable, but burnout is preventable. Following these steps may help you thwart stress from getting the best of you:

Exercise

Not only is exercise good for our physical health, but it can also give us an emotional boost.

Stretched for time? You don’t need to spend hours at the gym to reap these benefits. Mini-workouts and short walks are convenient ways to make exercise a daily habit.

Eat a balanced diet

Eating a healthy diet filled with omega-3 fatty acids can be a natural antidepressant. Adding foods rich in omega-3s like flaxseed oil, walnuts, and fish may help give your mood a boost.

Practice good sleep habits

Our bodies need time to rest and reset, which is why healthy sleep habits are essential for our well-being.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, avoiding caffeine before bedtime, establishing a relaxing bedtime ritual, and banning smartphones from the bedroom can help promote sound sleep hygiene.

Ask for help

During stressful times, it’s important to reach out for help. If asking for assistance feels difficult, consider developing a self-care “check-in” with close friends and family members so that you can take care of each other during trying times.

How to help friends or family members

How can you help someone experiencing burnout? While you can’t take away someone’s stress, offering support can help lighten their emotional load.

Listen

Before jumping into “fixing” mode, offer to listen to your friend or family member’s difficulties.

Having someone to talk to can make a world of difference. Often people need someone to witness their stress and suffering, and listening can go a long way.

Validate feelings and concerns

When friends and family members are feeling the effects of burnout, saying It doesn’t sound that bad or I’m sure things will get better — while meant to offer reassurance — can feel invalidating if someone is really feeling low and hopeless.

Instead, offer validation by saying, “You’ve been working so hard, I can understand why you feel depleted.”

Offer specific types of help

Individuals who are burnt out are often too tired to think of ways that others can help them. Instead of asking, “How can I help?” offer to drop off a meal, pick up dry cleaning, or do a load of laundry.

Kind gestures

Sending flowers, a thoughtful text message, or a written card can remind friends and family members that they’re not alone.

Because they’re often working long hours, people with burnout can feel lonely and underappreciated. But small gestures of kindness can be nurturing.

Research resources

If friends or family members need additional support, like childcare, a house cleaner, or a psychotherapist, offer to research and crowdsource for specific resources to help ease the stress.

CONCLUSION

Being human , we have lot of shades of our mood and to manage them is not an easy task but it’s not impossible as well.Be vigilant and cautious of yourself. Grip in all your moods ,be responsible for your behaviour,come out as what you are and how you want to be, it’s always in your hand. Whenever feel like you can’t do it, we are there ,”do visit mental health care professional” for better understanding and coping mechanism. Take Care and Kill the stress before it kills your peace of mind ✊

-by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN LOVE HAPPENS AND CAN YOU CONTROL TO NOT FALL IN LOVE

Most of us have gone through this feeling of love which apparently gives butterflies in stomach,slow motion, imagination, cravings,feelings,songs and much more in that specific period of time.But not most of us know what happens actually,when Love happens psychologically and science behind it.Knowing about it ,will give you a clear picture of love and insights of it and most curious question,Can we control in falling love.So, let’s unveil this with me….. let’s attack on love in a lovely way….

The Psychology of Love

Love has fascinated researchers for decades. So, let’s unlock what it has inside.

Love is a powerful, complex emotional experience that involves changes in your body chemistry, including your neurotransmitters (brain chemicals). It impacts your social relationships in varied ways, affecting how you relate to others around you.

There are many types — like the love you share with your partner, family, and friends — and each version you feel is unique. It can fill you with emotions ranging from joy to heartbreak.

What is love?

Love is an emotion of strong affection, tenderness, or devotion toward a subject or object. When you love a person you experience pleasurable sensations in their presence and are sensitive about their reactions to you.

Research from 2016 points to neuropeptides and neurotransmitters as the source of love. Feelings of love help us form social bonds with others. As social creatures, these natural chemicals developed to help us survive by encouraging:

• mutual support
• reproduction
• cooperation

It seems like so much more, though. Calling love an interaction of brain chemicals doesn’t quite describe how it can warm your heart and captivate your soul.

The psychology of love 

Attachment is a component of love. Strong attachment bonds set mammals apart from many other types of animals, though other groups — including fish and birds — also form strong social connections to help them survive.

A 2017 review describes four types of mammalian attachment bonds as:

• pair bonds, where individuals form a close, long-term social connection
• bonds between parents and their infants
• bonds between peers
• conspecific bonds, or bonds between individuals of the same species

Most instances of human love fall into one of these categories. For example, the love you feel for a close friend could be classed as a peer bond.

A romantic relationship is a type of pair bond. It can start as mutual attraction and evolve into love over time.When you like someone, you enjoy their companionship and care about their well-being. When you love them, those feelings are unconditional.

Physical effects of love

Love can do more than help you bond with another person. It can even impact your physical health.

Love may affect your immune system. A 2019 study found that falling in love resulted in immune system changes similar to protective viral infection responses.

It might also safeguard against cancer, according to a 2021 study that found tissue from pair-bonded mice was less likely to grow tumors than tissue from mice with disruptions to their pair bonds.

The triangular theory of love

American psychologist Dr. Robert Sternberg theorizes that love is based on three domains:

• intimacy (emotional)
• commitment (cognitive)
• passion (physical)

Each domain represents a triangle corner in Sternberg’s triangular theory of love. The theory accounts for seven different kinds of love, based on which domains are involved. We look at these types of love below.

Types of love

The seven kinds of love in Sternberg’s triangular theory cover a range of relationship types:

• Liking. You share emotional intimacy, but there’s no physical passion or commitment. Friendship falls under this category.
• Infatuation. Passion is the key component of infatuation. If you’re physically attracted to another person but haven’t developed emotional intimacy or established a commitment, this is infatuation.
• Empty. What Sternberg calls “empty love” is a committed relationship that lacks passion or intimacy. Examples include an arranged marriage or a previously emotional or physical relationship that’s lost its spark.
• Romantic. When you’re romantically involved with another person, you share physical passion and emotional intimacy, but you haven’t made any long-term plans or commitments.
• Companionate. You are committed and emotionally connected, such as best friends or family. Marriages can also be companionate if the passion is gone, but you still share the commitment and emotional bond.
• Fatuous. If you’ve been swept up by passion into an engagement or marriage without emotional intimacy, this is fatuous love.
• Consummate. Consummate love is the goal for many when they envision marriage or a spousal partnership. This kind of love includes commitment, passion, and emotional intimacy.

Can you control whether you fall in love?

You might feel like you have no control over the love you feel, but research says otherwise. Love is like an emotion that you can regulate by generating new feelings or changing the intensity of the feelings you have.

Emotional regulation strategies include:

• Situation selection: avoiding or seeking situations based on how they make you feel.
• Distraction: engaging in another activity to reduce the strength of your feelings.
• Expression suppression: hiding how you feel.
• Cognitive reappraisal: changing your thoughts so that your feelings can change.

So, if you’re disappointed because the love you feel isn’t reciprocated, you may be able to take your mind off it.

CONCLUSION

Love might be tricky nowadays, but one simple strategy to get who loves you is , Just Match the Words with Actions. It never can happen , those who love you, leave you in your worst, so, those who stick to you when you are at your worst, are your love. The definition of love has never changed and never can be , it’s always “you before me”. If your priorities differ from the person or thing you love then you love your that priority.So, stay with your loved ones no matter what, If this world can go somewhere, LOVE HAS THE POWER TO MAKE EVERYTHING FALL IN PLACE.❤️

-by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

WHY YOU KEEP COLLECTING THINGS ALL THE TIME

It has been a regular thing when we love to collect our favourite books and make our personal library, we fill our wardrobe with our best collection of clothes of latest evolving fashion. It is all normal to do so, but what if collect things to such a level that ,we didn’t even realise ,we have created a mountain of it. Then comes into play our psychological term called ,“Hoarding” and excessive of it causes “Hoarding Disorder”.

What is hoarding disorder?

Hoarding disorder is a condition that makes it difficult for people to throw things away, regardless of their value. There are a range of treatment options available.

Hoarding disorder can have a significant negative emotional, social, financial, and legal impact.

Symptoms

People with hoarding disorder may find it difficult or stressful to throw away items that others view as worthless or of little value.

Unlike collectors — who choose to collect a specific type of item — people with hoarding disorder tend to acquire various items. These may include piles of clothes, old magazines, food wrappers, and childhood trinkets.

Over time, they may run out of room to store these things, so they may have to display their belongings chaotically.

Some people with hoarding disorder might even start to acquire living things, including companion or farm animals. This can endanger both human and animal welfare due to factors such as overcrowding, unhygienic conditions, and a possible lack of veterinary care.

Other symptoms that people with hoarding disorder may experience include:

• emotional distress, such as being overwhelmed or embarrassed by their possessions or living situation
• suspicion or fear of other people touching their items
• obsessive fears and actions, such as checking trashcans for discarded items or a fear of needing an item in the future
• feeling responsible for objects, and sometimes thinking of inanimate objects as having feelings

People with hoarding disorder also tend to experience associated issues with:

• indecisiveness
• disorganization
• distractibility
• procrastination

Typically, the symptoms of hoarding disorder will begin during a person’s early teenage years, with the average age of onset being 13 years old.

Complications

Hoarders often live with their collected items at the expense of their own needs. For example, they may forego using their refrigerator because their kitchen space has become blocked with items. Or they may choose to live with a broken appliance or without heat rather than let someone into their home to repair the problem.

People who may be more vulnerable to hoarding include those who:

• live alone
• grew up in a disorganized space
• had a difficult, deprived childhood

HD is also associated with other mental health conditions. Some of these include:

• anxiety
• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• depression
• dementia
• obsessive compulsive disorder
• obsessive compulsive personality disorder
• schizophrenia

Research indicates that HD may also be associated with a lack of executive functioning ability. Deficiencies in this area include, among other symptoms, an inability to:

• pay attention
• make decisions
• categorize things

Executive functioning deficits are often linked with ADHD in childhood.

How to treat HD

Diagnosis and treatment of HD is possible. However, it may be difficult to persuade a person with HD to recognize the condition. Loved ones or outsiders may recognize signs and symptoms of HD long before the person with the condition comes to terms with it.

Treatment for HD must focus on the individual and not solely on the spaces that have become overrun with clutter. A person must first be receptive to treatment options in order to change their hoarding behavior.

CONCLUSION

Hoarding disorder is a diagnosable condition that requires the help of a medical professional. With professional help and time, a person may be able to move on from their hoarding behaviors and reduce dangerous and tension-inducing clutter in their personal space.

-by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

WHY YOUR SLEEP GIVES YOU CHILLS AND GOOSEBUMPS

We all have gone through those sleeping experiences in which ,while we sleep,we are in a deadly situation and we wanted to scream,shout out loud but we aren’t even able to move.Sometimes we felt that thrust and drop that we are falling down in a deep canyon while we are just sleeping in bed.We also felt those horrifying, sweating shadows we feel nearby us in sleep but what we feel most is FEAR…. all of this ,I’m going to unveil in this blog, So if you are feeling right now that a creepy creature is behind you, Hold on your breath and just go through this article to get the right reason for all your if why,what and how… Let’s dig our Sleep more with me and about “Parasomnia”

Parasomnia

Parasomnias include several different disorders that disrupt sleep or reduce sleep quality. These disorders usually affect children but can also occur in adults.

What are parasomnias?

The term parasomnia refers to unusual and undesirable behaviors that occur during sleep. Parasomnias can happen during any sleep stage. Sleep stages include non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM), rapid eye movement sleep (REM), and the transitions between wakefulness and sleeping.

Parasomnias are more common during childhood and become less frequent during adulthood. However, parasomnias affect about 4% of the adult population.

Causes

The following factors may increase the risk of parasomnias:

• genetics and having a first-degree relative with a parasomnia
• restless legs syndrome (RLS)
• periodic limb movements
• sleep apnea
• insomnia
• sleep deprivation
• chronic pain conditions
• mental health conditions
• certain medications, such as sedatives
• alcohol use disorder
• substance abuse (addiction) or withdrawal

Types

Parasomnias include a wide range of abnormal behaviors, such as walking or talking during sleep. Parasomnias can occur during any sleep stage.

There are two general sleep phases:

• NREM sleep, consisting of three different stages
• REM sleep

The body usually cycles through these sleep stages 4–6 times during the night. Each sleep phase involves different types of brain wave activity and physiological changes.

NREM sleep

NREM sleep, also known as quiescent sleep, has three stages:

Stage 1: This includes the transition from wakefulness to sleep. Brain wave activity begins slowing down during this sleep stage.

Stage 2: This is a period of light sleep in which a person’s heart rate and breathing slow down, their body temperature drops, their muscles relax, and their eye movements stop.

Stage 3: This involves deep, restorative sleep. This sleep phase occurs during the first half of the night.

REM sleep

REM sleep begins about one and a half hours after a person falls asleep. The REM sleep phase involves rapid side-to-side eye movements, increased brain wave activity, and irregular breathing.

NREM parasomnias

Movie recommendation for Parasomnia

Examples of parasomnias that occur in the first sleep phase include:

Sleepwalking

Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism, is an arousal disorder in which a person gets up and walks around while asleep. Sleepwalking can also involve sleep talking or performing routine activities, such as preparing food or driving.

If a person wakes up in the middle of a sleepwalking episode, they may appear confused or disoriented.

Sleep bruxism

Sleep bruxism is a type of movement disorder that involves clenching or grinding the teeth during sleep. About 13% of adults have sleep bruxism.

Over time, bruxism can lead to headaches, earaches, jaw pain, and abnormal tooth wear.

Confusional arousal

Confusional arousal happens when a person wakes up in a state of confusion. The individual may not know where they are or what they are doing. Other symptoms of confusional arousal include:

• screaming or thrashing around
• rapid heartbeat
• abnormally fast breathing
• dilated pupils
• sweating
• speaking slower than usual
• slower reaction time
• crying
• shouting
• poor memory
• poor coordination

Confusion arousal occurs in about 17% of children. Episodes can last anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.

Sleep terrors

Sleep, or night, terrors are when a person experiences intense feelings of panic or fear during the first third of the night. Sleep terrors occur most often in children between the ages of 3–7 years old.

Sleep terror symptoms include:

Episodes last between 10–20 minutes. Most children return to sleep afterward and do not remember having a sleep terror.

REM parasomnias

REM parasomnias occur during the last sleep stage, which involves heightened brain activity, muscle paralysis, and increased heart rate and breathing.

REM sleep behavior disorder

REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) occurs when a person physically acts out vivid dreams. Under normal circumstances, the body enters a temporary state of paralysis during REM sleep. However, people with RBD have incomplete or absent paralysis.

RBD does not necessarily occur every night, but an exceptionally realistic, violent, or frightening dream can trigger symptoms. Multiple RBD episodes may occur throughout the night with each REM phase.

A person with RBD may exhibit the following symptoms while sleeping:

• talking, shouting, or screaming
• kicking, punching, or thrashing
• waking up easily
• clearly remembering dreams

Although RBD does not usually affect a person’s sleep, it can increase a person’s risk of injury.

RBD most commonly affects males over the age of 50. RBDs also have associations with neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia.

Nightmares

Nightmares are vivid and disturbing dreams that can cause feelings of anxiety, fear, or terror. A person who frequently experiences nightmares or nightmares that significantly affect their sleep may have a nightmare disorder.

Sleep paralysis

The body’s muscles relax as a person falls asleep. During REM sleep, the muscles relax even further and become still. Doctors know this as atonia. Sleep paralysis occurs when muscle atonia happens while a person is still awake.

A person may experience muscle paralysis or the inability to speak while falling asleep or upon waking. A person with sleep paralysis may also experience vivid, waking dreams, or hallucinations, during an episode.

Sleep paralysis episodes last seconds or minutes. Episodes usually resolve spontaneously, but a person can end an episode if they force themselves to move

Other parasomnias

• Bedwetting or sleep enuresis refers to involuntary urination that happens during sleep. Most children wet the bed occasionally. Controlling bladder function during sleep is one of the final stages of toilet training. Doctors do not consider frequent bedwetting to be a parasomnia unless the child is over 5 years old.
• Exploding head syndrome (EHS) is a condition in which an individual imagines a loud noise, similar to an explosion, just before they drift off to sleep.
• Sleep-related hallucinations are unreal visual, auditory, or tactile experiences that occur during the transition between sleeping and waking.

Treatment

Treatments also vary according to the type, frequency, and severity of a person’s symptoms.

In the first instance, a doctor must identify any underlying health conditions or sleep disorders. Treating an existing condition may also treat the resulting parasomnia.

Talk therapy, CBT, and hypnosis may help relieve the symptoms associated with NREM parasomnias.

Tranquilizers, such as benzodiazepines, are useful for treating arousal parasomnias, such as sleepwalking and RBD.

People who live with someone who has a movement-related parasomnia, such as RBD or sleepwalking, may need to sleep in a separate bed. It is also helpful to create a safe environment by removing sharp objects and padding the bedroom furniture.

CONCLUSION

It might gives you chill but it’s all repairable,manageable and can be treated.Stay in contact with your Mental Health Expert and Have a Sound Sleep 😴💤

–by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

WHY SOME PEOPLE EAT SOIL,HAIR,Chalk AND ALL NON EATABLES Abnormally

We all enjoy eating different dishes around the corners.We love eating delicious meals ,be ,it needs how many cheat days we are totally fine with some guilty pleasure.Food is priority any day for me too.But what if I tell you, some people are equally finding some unconventional food like , delicious earth,hairs,wools,nuts, dirt,iron,stones,chalks,paint,soaps etc.They eat such non eatables ,in such a comforting way , like we eat food items. This might be giving you a shock but in psychology,we call it as ,”Pica”. Let’s find out more together, so just be near to your plate full of your favourite food and get insights ……

Everything You Need to Know About Pica

Pica is a condition that mostly affects pregnant people and children. People with the disorder feel compelled to eat non-food items. Sometimes they may consume things that are dangerous, and be unable to stop.

People with the disorder pica compulsively eat items that have no nutritional value. A person with pica might eat relatively harmless items, such as ice. Or they might eat potentially dangerous items, likes flakes of dried paint or pieces of metal.

In the latter case, the disorder can lead to serious consequences, such as lead poisoning.

This disorder occurs most often in children and pregnant women. It’s usually temporary. See your doctor right away if you or your child can’t help but eat nonfood items. Treatment can help you avoid potentially serious side effects.

The word “pica” is Latin for magpie—a bird known for eating almost anything. Therefore, the pica eating disorder causes individuals to consume non-food items.

Featured on TV shows such as My Strange Addiction and The Woman Who Ate a House, pica is an alarming and dangerous disorder. Moreover, pica disorder can result in serious medical conditions, such as anemia, intestinal blockages, and other life-threatening issues.

Most often, pica often manifests in individuals with other mental health conditions. In fact, 10 to 15 percent of people with mental disabilities and developmental issues also have pica.

Furthermore, pregnancy sometimes causes pica cravings.

Pica also occurs in people who have intellectual disabilities. It’s often more severe and long-lasting in people with severe developmental disabilities.

What Is The Pica Eating Disorder?

Pica is an eating disorder that involves eating items that are not considered edible. Moreover, these items do not contain significant nutritional value. (However, eating foods or drinks that have little or no nutritional value is not a symptom of pica.)

A person with pica may experience cravings for any of the following non-food items:

• Hair
• Dirt and sand
• Paint chips
• Paper
• Plastic
• Pencil erasers
• Soap and laundry starch
• Cloth
• String
• Chalk
• Metal and wire
• Pebbles and stones
• Burnt matches
• Cigarette butts
• Coffee grounds
• Feces, including animal droppings
• and more…

Pica can affect children, teens, and adults. In children, it affects boys and girls equally. Worldwide, 20 percent of cases involve pregnant women.

Moreover, small children represent 25 to 33 percent of all pica cases. But doctors don’t diagnose pica in children younger than two years old. That’s because attempting to eat non-food items is a normal part of childhood development among infants and babies.

Diagnosing Pica

Once an expert detects pica symptoms, the next step is diagnosis. However, no laboratory tests for pica currently exist. Therefore, healthcare professionals apply the following criteria listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.

Behavior lasts for one month: The individual persistently consumes substances that are not food and do not provide nutritional value for a time period of at least one month.

Ingestion of non-food objects is not part of the person’s culture: Some cultures promote the consumption of non-food substances. For example, among Australian aborigines, young women were traditionally encouraged to eat clay to enhance their fertility. Therefore, this practice is considered normal within that society. In fact, geophagia (deliberate consumption of earth, soil or clay) is common pica among many tribe-oriented societies. However, such behaviors have diminished with increased health education and access to medical care.

Pica is developmentally inappropriate: As stated above, young children tend to put non-food items in their mouth as a normal part of development. Such behavior is a way for children to explore their world and their senses. As a result, they may ingest inedible material. However, this does not mean that they have pica.

What Causes Pica?

Iron-deficiency anemia and malnutrition are two of the most common pica causes. Thus, pica cravings are signs that the body is seeking additional nutrients. In these cases, vitamins, supplements, and a healthy diet can therefore correct pica.

However, when no nutritional deficiency exists, it’s harder to pin down the causes of pica. Often, people with pica also have other mental health disorders, including schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In addition, pica symptoms sometimes increase when an individual is experiencing extreme stress and anxiety.

Many pica eating disorders begin in childhood and relate to childhood experiences. As the person ages, they choose to eat non-food items that are connected to their childhood and their childhood home. Experts theorize that this type of pica may be caused by childhood trauma. Thus, the person strives to find a way back to the childhood that they lost due to their traumatic experiences.

Moreover, experts have found a link between pica and decreased activity of the dopamine system in the brain. Hence, some researchers believe that abnormally low levels of dopamine in the brain can cause pica.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter—a chemical that helps to relay nerve impulses from one cell to another.

Pica and Mental Health Disorders 

Individuals with pica often have mental health disorders that result in impaired functioning. These disorders include developmental disabilities, brain damage, autism spectrum disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and schizophrenia. Hence, these co-occurring conditions can make treatment for pica more difficult.

In addition, pica is associated with trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder) and excoriation (skin-picking) disorder. Furthermore, people with epilepsy may be more likely to have pica.

As a result, up to 26 percent of institutionalized individuals may have pica, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. In addition, as many as one in five children who are admitted to mental health clinics in the United States have pica disorder.

RELATED CASE STUDIES

Treatment for Pica

First, people diagnosed with pica need medical care to correct any nutritional deficits or other physical issues caused by the condition. Moreover, surgery may be necessary to remove metal objects from a patient’s digestive tract or to repair other injuries.

In the best-case scenario, pica symptoms will disappear after the individual receives nutritional treatment. However, sometimes the pica behaviors are not caused by malnutrition and don’t stop after nutritional treatment. Therefore, behavioral interventions are the next step.

This treatment is especially effective with children. Hence, children with pica are taught which foods are edible and which foods cannot be eaten through the use of positive reinforcement.

Moreover, this approach can work well for those with autism spectrum disorder. For example, treatment would include directing the person’s attention away from the desired object. In addition, they would receive a reward for discarding the non-food item.

Fortunately, pica improves by itself in most young children and pregnant women. However, untreated pica can persist for many years, particularly for individuals with developmental disabilities.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, greater awareness is needed around pica eating disorder and its symptoms, causes, and treatment. Hence, more people can be protected from the harmful side effects of this condition, and set off on the path to healing.

-by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

Trying is Winning by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

https://wp.me/paEl1x-1v0

I GOT PUBLISHED AGAIN

Thankyou all of you ,for believing in me.

Special Thanks to https://masticadoresindia.wordpress.com/

Do Read my Writing Piece there ,which is on Depression.

-by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

WHY YOU DON’T EAT , THINKING YOU ARE TOO FAT

Everyone wants to be fit , healthy, in shape and free from diseases. Physical fitness is very important in order to be healthy but what if your physical fitness becomes an intense journey towards reaching unrealistic ideal body images in which you start ending your meal, stop eating even food, start yourself starving , Then comes this condition which we call,“Anorexia Nervosa”. Let’s discover with me more about it and ways to cope with this Psychological condition for your own good…..

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia means a loss of appetite or the inability to eat, and it can be a symptom of various diseases. When a person has anorexia nervosa, they intentionally restrict their food as part of a serious and potentially life threatening mental health disorder. This often involves emotional challenges, an unrealistic body image, and an exaggerated fear of gaining weight.

A person with anorexia nervosa will intentionally restrict their food intake as a way to lose weight or avoid gaining weight. A person with anorexia nervosa will often have an intense fear of weight gain, even if they have severely low body weight.

Dietary restrictions can lead to nutritional deficiencies, which can severely affect overall health and result in potentially life threatening complications.

The emotional and psychological challenges of anorexia nervosa can be hard for a person to overcome.Therapy includes counseling, nutritional advice, and medical care. Some people may need treatment in the hospital.There are many myths about eating disorders. These can lead to false assumptions and affect a person’s chances of seeking and getting help.

Anorexia nervosa symptoms

Anorexia nervosa is a complex condition. The main sign is significant weight loss or low body weight. In atypical anorexia nervosa, the person may still have a moderate weight despite substantial weight loss.

A lack of nutrients may lead to other physical signs and symptoms, including:

• severe loss of muscle mass
• listlessness, fatigue, or exhaustion
• low blood pressure
• lightheadedness or dizziness
• low body temperature with cold hands and feet or, possibly, hypothermia
• bloated or upset stomach
• dry skin
• swollen hands and feet
• hair loss
• loss of menstruation or less frequent periods
• infertility
• insomnia
• loss of bone density, increasing the risk of fractures
• brittle nails
• constipation
• irregular or abnormal heart rhythms
• lanugo, which is fine downy hair on the body
• increased facial hair
• bad breath and tooth decay in people who vomit frequently
• limiting their overall food intake or the range of foods they consume
• showing excessive concern with weight, body size, dieting, calories, and food
• exercising a lot, taking laxatives, or inducing vomiting
• assessing their body weight and size frequently
• talking about being “fat” or having overweight
• denying feeling hungry or avoiding mealtimes
• developing food rituals, such as eating foods in a specific order
• cooking for others
• without eating
• withdrawing from friends and social interaction
• showing signs of depression

The person may also demonstrate certain behaviors, such as:

The person may associate food and eating with guilt. They may seem unaware that anything is wrong or be unwilling to recognize their issues around eating.Not everyone with the condition will behave in the same way, and some individuals may experience atypical anorexia nervosa, meaning that they will not have low body weight.

Causes

Concerns about body weight and shape are often features of anorexia nervosa, but they may not be the main cause. Experts do not know exactly why the condition occurs, but genetic, environmental, biological, and other factors may play a role.

For some people, anorexia nervosa also develops as a way of gaining control over an aspect of their life. As the person exerts control over their food intake, this feels like success, and so, the behavior continues.

Risk factors

Several factors can increase a person’s risk for developing anorexia nervosa, including:

• past criticism about their eating habits, weight, or body shape
• a history of teasing or bullying, especially about weight or body shape
• a sense of pressure from society or their profession to be slim
• low self-esteem
• anxiety
• having a personality that tends toward obsession or perfectionism
• sexual abuse
• a history of dieting
• pressure to fit in with cultural norms that are not their own
• historical trauma, such as racism

Biological and genetic factors

A person may also have a higher of developing an eating disorder if:

• a close relative has had a similar disorder
• there is a family history of depression or other mental health issues
• they have type 1 diabetes

In 2015, researchers found that people with anorexia nervosa may have different gut microbial communities than those without the condition. This could contribute to anxiety, depression, and further weight loss.

Anorexia nervosa vs. bulimia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are both eating disorders and sometimes share certain symptoms, such as an intense fear of gaining weight or a distorted body image.However, people with anorexia often restrict food intake, exercise excessively, or adopt extreme diet patterns to lose weight.On the other hand, bulimia nervosa is characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating or eating large amounts of food, followed by compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting, excessive exercising, consuming laxatives, or fasting.

This cycle can also be present in people diagnosed with the binge-eating/purging subtype of anorexia nervosa.However, unlike bulimia, anorexia nervosa is also characterised by the significant restriction of energy intake, leading to significantly low body weight for a person’s age, sex, and overall health

CONCLUSION

With therapy and medication, recovery is possible. Some people tend to relapse even after years of therapy. However, a 2001 study demonstrated a full recovery even after 21 years of chronic severe anorexia nervosa. If the patient follows a nutritious diet it is possible to avoid other illnesses associated with this disorder and protect themselves from irreversible damage. With self-determination and family support, it is possible to avoid relapse and lead a healthy life.

Social Media, Unrealistic ideal body images shown and females getting obsessed with plays a great role in it, So, beware of it , Your body need fitness not starving , eat healthy ,stay healthy.💫

-by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

WHY YOU THINK DIFFERENT PEOPLE ARE INFACT A SINGLE PERSON WHO just CHANGES their Appearance

This above poster is just a glimpse of what we are going to discover in this article.

The above poster is a film ,“Anomalisa” which depicts about the associated psychological condition,“Fregoli Syndrome” which I’m going to unveil in today’s post.

WHAT IS FREGOLI SYNDROME

The Fregoli delusion, or the delusion of doubles, is a rare disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that different people are in fact a single person who changes appearance or is in disguise. The syndrome may be related to a brain lesionand is often of a paranoid nature; with the delusional person believing themselves persecuted by the person they believe is in disguise.

A person with the Fregoli delusion can also inaccuratelyreplicate places, objects, and events. This disorder can be explained by “associative nodes.” The associative nodes serve as a biological link of information about other people with a particular familiar face (to the patient) This means that for any face that is similar to a recognizable face to the patient, the patient will recall that face as the person they know.

CAUSES

Levodopa treatment: Levodopa, also known as L-DOPA, is the precursor to several catecholamine, specifically of dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine. It is clinically used to treat Parkinson’s disease and dopamine-responsive dystonia. Clinical studies have shown that the use of levodopa can lead to visual hallucinations and delusions. In most patients, delusions were more salient than hallucinations. Over prolonged use of levodopa, the delusions almost occupy all of a patient’s attention. In experimental studies, when the concentration of levodopa decreases, the number of reported delusions decreases as well. It has been concluded that delusions related to antiparkinsonian medications are one of the leading causes of Fregoli syndrome.

Traumatic brain injury: Injury to the right frontal and left temporo-parietal areas can cause Fregoli syndrome. Research by Feinberg, et al. has shown that significant deficits in executive and memory functions follow shortly after damage in the right frontal or left temporoparietal areas. Tests performed on patients that have suffered from a brain injury revealed that basic attention ability and visuomotor processing speed are typically normal. However, these patients made many errors when they were called to participate in detailed attention tasks. Selective attention tests involving auditory targets were also performed, and brain-injured patients had many errors; this meant that they were deficient in their response regulation and inhibition.

SYMPTOMS

The symptoms of a Fregoli delusion are numerous:

• Delusions and hallucinatory episodes
• Lack of visual memory
• Unable to properly monitor oneself
• Lack of self awareness
• Inability to properly control behavior and perform abstract thought
• A record of seizures
• Epileptogenic episodes

TREATMENT

Treatments do exist for Fregoli disorder, and mostly utilize the antipsychotic type of drugs as well as antidepressant medication. At one time, tricyclic antidepressants were used, though following the discovery of their negative side effects treatment more often involves trifluperazine and modern antidepressants such as venlafaxine and fluoxetine. In addition to these, an anticonvulsant medication is sometimes prescribed.

CONCLUSION

The study of DMS currently remains controversial they are often coupled with many psychological disorders (i.e. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, etc.). Although there is a plethora of information on DMS, there are still many mysteries of the physiological and anatomical details of DMS. An accurate semi logical analysis of higher visual anomalies and their corresponding topographic sites may help elucidate the etiology of Fregoli’s and other misidentification disorders.

So, When you are going through this , Believe it ,you can get over it and If you are someone who is witnessing that person in hardship.Try with them to be able to get over it , together ,there is no going back from our loved ones.♥️💕

–by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

WHY SOME HUMANS Transforms Themselves INTO WOLVES AND Psychology BEHIND IT

Actor who performed as Wolverine belongs to weasel family and have resemblance of human turning wolf.

As the above picture shows and movies have shown in regular intervals of time ,the development of human into wolves seemingly superheroes. Either be it , Twilight or Vampire Diaries, We all have witnessed Wolf like teeth and seen human turning into wolf. In movies , that has been shown as an imaginary character but what if we see that in real life ,when a person starts thinking like he/she can turn into wolf ,then comes a psychiatric condition and we call it ,”Clinical Lycanthropy” , It might be giving you shock but it is a real psychological disorder. Let’s find more with me about it……

What Is Clinical Lycanthropy?

Clinical lycanthropy may be caused or affected by neuropsychiatric disorders, cultural and social factors, and physical issues. Experts think causes vary from case to case.Its name comes from Greek words meaning “wolf” and “human being.”The concept of humans shape-shifting into wolves exists throughout history in mythology and in different cultures. In recent years, popular movies have shown people transforming into wolves.

Some experts think those with this disorder see wolves as a delusional representation of evil. In some cases, those with this disorder report believing they’re under demonic possession and being punished. But some think wolves are strong and noble.

What Causes Clinical Lycanthropy?

Some experts think it’s caused by delusional misidentification syndromes (DMS). That’s a group of disorders where people don’t recognize familiar objects, or they believe objects are transformed. Other experts say clinical lycanthropy may involve a culture-bound syndrome, which is a mental illness or unusual behaviors shaped by cultural norms or surroundings.

DMS can happen if you have:

• Drug intoxication and withdrawal
• Cerebrovascular disease
• Traumatic brain injury
• Dementia
• Delirium
• Seizures

Those who have clinical lycanthropy seem to have other things in common, too. They may have major mental illness such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or psychotic depression. They may take hallucinogenic drugs, drink alcohol, or have epilepsy.

Research suggests it may be triggered by a mismatch in your brain and your self-image.

More studies are needed to understand how other conditons may be linked to clinical lycanthrophy. Some possible ones include:

• Feelings and sensations that are medically unexplainable (called cenesthopathy), such as thinking there are wires in your mouth or feeling tightening in parts of your body
• Trouble processing information received through your senses
• Abnormalities in the right half of your brain
• Sleep apnea
• Disrupted circadian rhythms or lunar cycles

What Are the Symptoms of Clinical Lycanthropy?

Signs may include:

• Claiming to see physical changes in your body when looking in the mirror (like your teeth lengthening, claws, or your hair growing)
• Making growling or howling noises, or other animal sounds
• Craving or eating raw meat
• Walking on all fours

Some people who’ve experienced clinical lycanthropy say they had moments when they recognized they were human but could look back and recall feeling like an animal.

One person reported changing into other animals (not just a wolf) before realizing they were human. In other cases, those with this disorder believe people around them are also being transformed into animals or creatures.

Who’s at Risk for Clinical Lycanthropy?

A recent study looked at 43 cases of clinical lycanthropy and kynanthropy reported between 1852 and 2020. (Kynanthropy is a related condition when people think they can or have become dogs. Clinical lycanthropy and kynanthropy are forms of zoanthropy, which is when a person thinks they’re an animal.)

Researchers say clinical lyncanthropy can happen during a younger person’s first psychiatric episode or in those with chronic psychosis. But not all cases are linked to mental health disorders. Some who’ve experienced it had epilepsy, while others took hallucinogenic drugs or drank alcohol.

In that study, the researchers looked at cases of clinical lycanthropy reported in the U.S., Western Europe, Turkey, Iran, and India. They found It can affect people anywhere in the world. They also found that how you perceive wolves can play a role in whether you develop it.

How’s It Treated?

Clinical lycanthropy is treated on a case-by-case basis. Doctors might give you antidepressants or mood-regulating medications if you also have depression or mania. They might give you antipsychotic medications. Symptoms usually get better or go away over time.

A study linking the disorder with obstructive sleep apnea concluded that doctors should look for underlying neurologic issues in those with lycanthropy symptoms. But more research is needed to know if treating other medical issues can prevent or improve it.

CONCLUSION

Nowadays people live most of the time living with watching movies on the topics which are rare and more of unrealistic but when those situations got a bit reality in a totally different way , they tend to behave irrational about things so, if you think you might have clinical lycanthropy, talk to your doctor or behavioral health professional or Mental Health Expert.

–by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)

World Mental Health Day

World Mental Health Day

WHY YOU THINK YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES AROUND YOU ARE CLONES OR IMPOSTORS

Capgras is a Spanish movie in which Alberto takes psychiatric sessions to help his wife Noelia with her pathology, Capgras syndrome, for which she suffers from a delusion in which she believes her daughter, Carla, has been replaced by an identical impostor. Alberto dives into unconventional therapies to try to help his wife.

If we want to understand something real and quick ,we can watch it or see in practical that’s give easiest and clear insight. So, above is the poster of a Spanish movie which is based on today’s article i.e. “Capgras Syndrome“. So, it has been a regular feeling that you might feel your loved ones has changed due to situations and their changed behaviour but What if , it will take a whole 360° turn and you start thinking that they are not even real instead they are clones and impostors of them. This might give you goosebumps that due to this Syndrome people have murdered their real loved ones thinking, they are impostors. Let’s find out with me , what this rare syndrome is all about……..

What Is Capgras Syndrome?

People who experience Capgras syndrome may have an irrational belief that an imposter has replaced someone they know or recognise.

What is Capgras syndrome?

Capgras syndrome (CS) is a psychological condition also known as the delusion of doubles. It is a misidentification syndrome also known as “imposter syndrome” or “Capgras delusion.”

Sometimes, the person experiencing the delusion may believe an animal, object, or even a home is an imposter. CS can affect anyone, but it’s more common in people assigned female at birth. In rare cases, it can also affect children.

People with this syndrome may, for example, accuse a spouse of being an imposter of their actual spouse. This can be upsetting for both the person experiencing the delusion and the person accused of being an imposter.

Causes of Capgras syndrome

There are several theories on what causes the syndrome.

The syndrome may occur after structural changes in the brain, such as:

• atrophy
• lesions
• dysfunction
• injury

CS can be caused by brain or neurological damage. It may also occur due to another condition affecting the brain, particularly those that affect how the brain perceives or processes information or stores and retrieves memories.

It may occur alongside a combination of physical and cognitive changes.

There isn’t a single cause of CS, and since the condition is so rare, there is still more to learn about how it affects the brain.

Brain injury

The brain is a complex organ and traumatic brain injury (TBI) can lead to changes in brain function. It may affect your mood, balance, and memory, as well as other processes regulated by your brain, such as perceiving what your eyes see or listening and speaking. Some changes can be temporary and others permanent.

When the temporal cortex experiences damage, you can lose the ability to recognize familiar faces visually.

TBI and concussion can lead to CS. This may be due to a disconnect between the temporal cortex and the limbic system, which regulates your emotions.

Prosopagnosia

People can also experience facial blindness, a condition known as prosopagnosia. Some experts suggest that the delusions of Capgas syndrome may occur because those with the condition cannot recognize familiar faces.

However, other researchers disagree that prosopagnosia is a cause of CS, according to a 2019 review of literature. This is mainly because not recognizing a person doesn’t necessarily make one think they are taken over by an imposter.

Neurological conditions

CS may occur with degenerative neurological conditions in which people experience dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Lewy body dementia. These conditions can affect memory and can alter the person’s sense of reality.

Other neurological disorders associated with CS can include:

• epilepsy
• stroke
• brain tumor
• advanced Parkinson’s disease

Schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders

Example of Delusion

Schizophrenia, especially paranoid hallucinatory schizophrenia, can cause episodes of CS. Schizophrenia can also affect your sense of reality and can cause delusions. The same recent 2019 review also found that of 258 people diagnosed with Capgas syndrome, 32% had also been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

CS can also occur in those with schizoaffective disorders. These are mental health disorders in which a person primarily experiences symptoms of schizophrenia in addition to symptoms of mood disorders, such as depression or bipolar disorder.

The researchers also identified other conditions that co-occurred with CS. These conditions included:

• psychosis
• transient psychotic episodes
• psychotic depression
• obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Symptoms

The primary symptom of CS is the delusion that familiar people have been replaced by identical doubles or imposters.

Other symptoms can include being aggressive with the person suspected as the imposter. A minority of people with CS may become violent, and research has shown a connection between CS and homicide.

Depending on the underlying cause, such as a neurological disease or schizophrenia, people with CS may experience other symptoms of the contributing condition.

Risk factors

CS occurs more frequently in people assigned female at birth than in people assigned male at birth.

Having conditions such as paranoid schizophrenia or neurodegenerative disorders can also put you at a higher risk of developing CS.

Treatment

Currently, there is no prescribed treatment plan for people with CS. More research on the syndrome is needed. But treatment options may help relieve symptoms.

But few Therapies and aligned treatment lies:

These treatments may include:

• medications like cholinesterase inhibitors, which boost neurotransmitters involved in memory and judgment, for dementia and AD
• antipsychotics and therapy for people with schizophrenia
• surgery or rehabilitation, if possible, for brain lesions or head trauma

Reality orientation therapy

Reality orientation is a treatment for dementia that involves continuously orienting a person with dementia in the reality of their environment. This includes the time, place, and the people around them. This therapy may help people with dementia better understand their surroundings and feel less anxiety.

For family and caregivers, practitioners recommend that if people undergoing reality orientation therapy express delusions, they should avoid arguing or correcting them. Instead, they suggest bringing the person back to the positive things in their environment to help them stay emotionally connected.

According to a 2017 review, reality orientation can help with cognition and has behavioral benefits for those with dementia.

Behavior therapy

To help people with CS overcome their delusions, mental health therapists may gently discuss the false beliefs while pointing out the evidence in favor of and against them.

In addition, the ABC model in cognitive behavioral therapy is often used to help those affected overcome their delusions. It works by challenging delusional thoughts and beliefs to change how a person responds to them.

Caring for someone with CS can be emotionally demanding, especially if you’re the one they perceive as an imposter. To help someone with CS, here are some strategies to try:

• Enter their realm of reality when possible. It can help if you try to understand how terrifying it must be.
• Avoid arguing with them or trying to correct them.
• Help them feel safe. If you’re unsure what to do, you can ask the person what they need or talk with a healthcare professional.
• Acknowledge their feelings.
• If possible, have the “imposter” leave the room. If this is you and you’re the caregiver, let someone else take over until the episode is over.
• Rely on sound. If you know someone is prone to CS, you can make sure the first way they register your appearance is with sound. Greet them out loud before you see them when possible.

CASE STUDIES

A Cornell University doctoral student from New Zealand who said to have a mental disorder made him think his wife had been replaced by an impostor was convicted of murder for slashing her throat on a park trail in central New York and torching their home to destroy evidence

CONCLUSION

There are lot more psychotic disorders which gives goosebumps and makes us shiver ,how to tackle our people if they got it. Simple strategy is to be aware of the initial symptoms and always take help of mental health expert instead of getting along and getting it delayed , thinking it’s something which can go on their own , timely identification, acknowledgement and then treatment always mandatory. Be strong and Be aware, keep updating your knowledge.🧠

–by Cheenu Singh Sisodiya

(Psychologist)