30Nov

Women Mental Health: Gender is a critical determinant of mental health, meaning that it plays an important role in defining susceptibility and exposure to a variety of mental health risks. Not only that, gender differences make help-seeking difficult and tiresome. To simplify our understanding of this vast subject, let us break it up into parts

1. RATE DIFFERENCES VIS A VIS MEN:    

Gender difference in depression is one of the most emphasizing findings in psychiatric epidemiology. Major depression occurs twice as often in women as compared to men, tends to be more persistent, and the female gender itself has been found to be a significant predictor of relapse. Also, wherein most studies have found that males have higher rates of completed suicide, it is actually the females who have a higher number of suicide attempts. Depression is mostly associated with various anxiety disorders like panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and OCD amongst others.

Even though other mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have not been found to have any significant gender differences in prevalence but the severity, duration, and functional impairment are much more prominent in women than men.

Also, stress-related mental disorders like adjustment disorder, acute stress reaction, and post-traumatic stress disorder have been found to be considerably higher in women than in men.

Another important but relatively unexpressed problem is the abuse of substances (drugs) by women. Contrary to what is generally believed about Indian women, studies have found that women substance users have been consistently rising in the past 10 years. The commonly used substances are alcohol, tobacco, heroin, and prescription medicines such as pain killers or sleeping pills.  Drug use in women is underreported due to societal disapproval, fear of exposure or stigma, and lack of support that limits treatment seeking.

2. DETERMINANTS OF WOMEN MENTAL HEALTH:  

 

A) Biological factors:

  • Hormonal factors like cyclical changes in estrogen and progesterone.
  • Variability in structural and functional brain related parameters.
  • Puberty, pregnancy, menopause associated hormonal changes.

B) Psychological factors

  • Higher negative, stressful life events
  • Societal expectations and roles
  • Stronger emotional vulnerability
  • Poor social and emotional support

C) Social factors

  • Marriage and moving to spousal home from parental home
  • Lower expected and perceived social rank
  • Gender roles of stress on passivity and submission
  • Lower occupational and economical independence

IMPACT OF WOMEN MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS

The above-mentioned difficulties are only the tip of an iceberg, they themselves pose new challenges, impair the already low help-seeking and further aggravate the illness and the effect on family and self is manifold.

IMPROVING WOMEN MENTAL HEALTH

Creating awareness – not to sweep such issues ‘under the carpet’, knowing and making others aware of the differences and difficulties faced by women in day-to-day life and its effect on mental health.

Identification – to recognize these symptoms in self and friends and family.

Acceptance – to qualify such as mental health disorders and difficulties

Help-seeking – to access help in any form – family, friends, counselor, family doctor, psychiatrist.

Role of family & society-  don’t ignore such issues, extend support, seek professional help!

DELHI MIND CLINIC

The vision of Delhi Mind Clinic Is to provide mental health care to all populations in its vicinity. Delhi Mind Clinic realizes the specific mental health needs of women and its endeavor is to help the women realize their potential through optimal physical and mental health.

Dr. Sugandha Gupta, the founder of Delhi Mind Clinic has always had a specific and keen interest in women’s mental health issues. In her over 9 years of clinical experience, she has gained the expertise of dealing with various mental health issues relating to women with a focus on strengthening coping, increasing resilience, and improving functioning with an eclectic mix of psychotherapy and medication.

22Sep

Understanding the Mental Health Scenario of Delhi State

Mental Health Scenario in Delhi: Delhi or Dilli as it is called fondly by its residents is known to be the heart of the country. Delhi is a leader in the field of Healthcare service providers across the nation and is known to attract residents not just from nearby states but from across the country and abroad as well. With a population of nearly 10 million which is rapidly increasing and expanding by the day, it may be estimated that one-fourth of the residents are in need of mental health care and Psychiatric Services. As is evident from the large numbers, the mental health of our city needs to be dealt with with utmost urgency and compassion. However being a large megalopolis, and one of the largest cities in the world the mental health needs of the State of Delhi are by themselves unique and need to be understood well to be able to attend to it.

Let us begin this task by gathering the factors which place Delhi uniquely in perspective of its Mental Health needs-

  • Stress and the daily pressures of living in the mega polis of Delhi

  • Changing lifestyles, sedentary habits, and dietary changes.

  • Increasing lifestyle disorders like Diabetes, Hypertension, Thyroid disorders, Lipid abnormalities, Obesity etc. which are strongly linked to metal illness.

  • Rapid urbanization and associated adversities

  • Shrinking families and reduced social support leading to isolation

  • Impact of westernization and changing value systems

  • Pollution and detrimental effects of environmental toxins

  • Economic hardships and uncertainties.

  • Merging of different cultures, religions and ethnicities creating a humdrum of difficulties and conflicts.

In the metropolis of Delhi, there is a very high level of stress in everyone, be it an 8-year child, 15-year-old adolescent, a struggling adult, lonely elderly, or even a housewife, the tolls are insurmountable. Even if full-fledged mental disorders are few, milder and nonsyndromic symptoms are significantly high and grossly disturbing. Some common examples of these are irritability, restlessness, anxiety, low mood, disinterest, reduced concentration, and lack of enjoyment. Frequent headaches and Easy tiredness can also be due to psychological reasons. In spite of all of the above, the mental health need issues of the residents of the state of Delhi have not received due attention to date.

The first and foremost reason for this is the lack of awareness about mental health and significant downplaying of one’s mental health needs due to both ignorance and related stigma or better to say still – low acceptance of the same.

Another important factor is the lack of knowledge about mental health resources available to the public in the wide and big city of Delhi.

Delhi caters to a very large and diverse population and accordingly has diverse means to provide mental health care to its residents. A no. of government hospitals like IHBAS in east Delhi, lady Hardinge and Ram Manohar Lohia in central Delhi provide mental health care at minimal rates. Many hospitals like Sir Ganga Ram, BL Kapoor, Apollo Hospital provide such in the private sector. But considering the enormous population of Delhi, with its growing requirements daily, even these sometimes fall short. Herein comes the role of Private clinics, which provide wider reach, easy accessibility, higher acceptance, and hence fill in the gaps of the mental health needs of Delhi.

Delhi Mind Clinic is one such attempt to provide easily available, conveniently accessible, and quality mental health care to people in need. Our aim is to spread awareness & improve acceptance of one’s mental health needs, to use an eclectic blend of therapy and medication to optimize one’s strengths and improve the functionality by removing the distress.

Hopefully, with time, Delhi will be in a more mentally healthy state.

 

22Sep

Stress management

Stress Management Delhi

In a metropolitan city like Delhi, it is a rule of thumb for an individual to feel stressed. The humdrum of the daily routine, fighting against the clock to be ahead of deadlines, the surrounding traffic, blaring of horns and even if not that, the rising swarm of people in the metro…to surpass that, we live in small houses, away from nature, eat unhealthy junk food and to exercise means only exercising our fingers on the keypads of our smartphones. And hence stress becomes the norm.

So how do we manage stress? Very simple things-

First, find time for yourself – relax, recreate, pause, enjoy.

Second, find time for your body to heal – a healthy diet, daily exercise, and a good night’s sleep.

Third, build and utilize your social support – relatives, friends, family – catch up, chat, laugh and smile.

Fourth – focus on the stressors – identify, change the stress or improve your ability to cope.

Fifth – counter the ill effects of stress- meditate, practice yoga, rejuvenate.

Last – spend time with nature and slow down.

22Sep
The Stigma In Psychiatry
The Stigma In Psychiatry

The Stigma In Psychiatry:

The oxford dictionary defines stigma as a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person. It has been classified into two types – first, a social stigma which is the society’s prejudicial attitude and discriminatory behavior towards persons with mental illness, and secondly, the perceived stigma which refers to the experiences of the mentally ill persons.

The reasons why mentally ill are stigmatized are not difficult to understand. It is often believed that mental illness results from a lack of strength of character, that somehow the mentally ill are themselves responsible for their fate. The mentally ill are considered to be dangerous, homicidal, less intelligent, and not at par with their counterparts. The role of media in propagating these false beliefs can also not be left without a mention.

The ways in which stigma affects the mentally ill are also very important to be understood before we can talk about managing the same. Stigma impairs the help-seeking of the mentally ill, further aggravating their illness besides the increased psychological stress they face which leads to reduced acceptance of the illness by patients and their family members. Even after recovery from their illness, stigma interferes with their occupational and social rehabilitation.

To reduce stigma against mental illness, we will first have to create awareness amongst the masses about these illnesses and remove the myths and negative stereotypes attached with the mental illness and mentally ill. This can be done by increasing our knowledge about mental illness, interacting with the ill without any prejudices and preconceived notions, and providing them equal opportunities as far as possible.

22Sep

Internet Addiction Disorder

Internet addiction disorder
A nerd guy who is addicted to graphic computer software. Point of view behind the screen.

Technology has without a doubt made our lives easier and more comfortable, but somewhere in the mad race to keep abreast with the latest technology, inventions, and gadgets, we have compromised on many other things such as personal intimacy in relationships, physical activity, and efforts in daily tasks and social involvement in general. It is not uncommon these days to see individuals walking on the road with a mobile in their hands and typing while crossing the road. Be it, young children, using their parent’s phones to play on preschool apps or adolescents fighting with their parents for the latest smartphone in the market, we are all too familiar with such scenarios. We do realize the physical ill effects of such, but the adverse effect of the internet on one’s mental health has yet to gain its due importance in our knowledge bank.

Excessive use of the internet is known to cause attentional impairments, poor anger control, anxiety, and depression. When children start using the internet at an early age, there is definite impairment in maintaining concentration and poor frustration tolerance. Adolescents these days interact more on social media than in a personal manner, this has been found to cause low confidence levels and hostility in relationships.

Even though viewing the internet as an addiction seems too farfetched, in reality, it is not so. It was firstly in the year 1996 that internet addiction was proposed to be a disorder by Kimberly Young Ph.D., and since then it has been an area of stringent research to the extent that its involvement in the classificatory systems of Psychiatry is being debated. It is said that individuals suffering from internet addiction disorder(IAD) have

  • Constant preoccupation with the internet,

  • use the internet for longer periods over time to achieve satisfaction,

  • made unsuccessful efforts to control or shut down internet use,

  • become restless, moody or irritable when attempting to cut down the use,

  • stayed online longer than intended to or necessary

  • have faced or risked the loss of a job, relationship, career or educational opportunity because of the internet use

  • lied to family about the extent of involvement with the internet.

Even though there has still not been official recognition of internet addiction as a psychiatric disorder, the field is widely expanding and more so in metropolises such as Delhi. What needs to be done is time-limited and balanced use of the internet and not at the expense of our relations and routines.

21Sep

The World Mental Health Day is celebrated each year on the 10th of October. It was celebrated for the first time in the year 1992, after which it gradually was picked up by more and more countries. The aim of celebrating this day is to generate public awareness about mental illness, bring out various mental health worker’s efforts and to further plan and implement the basic needs of mental health. Each year, a theme is picked up and remains the focus for the entire year such as schizophrenia, depression, mental health and the elderly.

For the year 2015, the theme is “Dignity in mental health”. It is well known that the mentally ill, have to struggle amidst the stream of adversities posed by their own illness as well as the society’s inability to respond appropriately. In the medieval times, the persons with mental illness were considered to be”possessed”, “devious”or of immoral character. The treatment considered best was segregation, discrimination, humiliation and exorcism which in some instances involved killing the person with mental illness. Gradually, with the herculean efforts of Psychiatrists like Pinel and Bassaglia more humane methods of treatment and inclusive approach by the society began to take shape.

Unfortunately, even in today’s times, the mentally ill continue to be ostracized and stripped off their dignity day in and day out. Stigmatization, discrimination, lack of acceptance make the suffering worse for a person who is already suffering from a mental illness. With the the focus on Dignity in Mental Health, the aim will be to raise awareness and acceptance about individuals suffering from mental illness, to provide such persons easy access to mental health services sans any negative intonation of perceived and displayed stigma along with providing these individuals a life of confidence, competence, independence and dignity.

Venue: Delhi Mind Clinic, Arcadi Super Speciality Centre,
J-354, New Rajinder Nagra, New Delhi