Blog Entries - April 2009

British Asian and depressed?

test3@uticopa.com — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

No-one can really understand how difficult it is to move into our British culture until we listen to those who have tried it. Sometimes life can be so overwhelming that mental health issues can crop up where there were none before - even in the relatively young.

Read the following story and let us know if it ‘rings any bells' with you. Have you experienced anything similar in your life?

Anawara, 39, a British Asian, has had periods of feeling sad and tired throug [...]

Mental health is no bar to achievement

test3@uticopa.com — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

My father once said to me: to be famous you need to say the right thing at the right time to the right person. How difficult this must be if, added to this, you also suffer from a mental health problem.

I Dreamed a Dream

Watching the YouTube video of Susan Boyle - from the ‘Britain's Got Talent' TV show - brought this home to me. Here was a middle-aged woman, who walked in front of an audience and got the typical reaction: laughter. How dare someone so old, plain and o [...]

Mental health - time to ‘Come Out'

editor@uticopa.com — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

A few years ago, during an otherwise normal working week, businessman Jonathan Naess was very publicly sectioned under the Mental Health Act. It was a humiliating experience. Naess was a successful corporate financier with a long career in the City.

He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder (manic depression) and placed in a locked ward in a psychiatric hospital.

While hospitalised, he had an interesting discussion with a psychiatrist about how prevalent it was for businessmen [...]

Mental health problem? - Take the lead

editor@uticopa.com — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

There is new pressure for psychiatric 'assistance dogs' to have the same rights and status as those used by blind or deaf people

A dog is man's best friend. It's a heartening sight, throughout the world, to see blind and deaf people with specially-trained dogs at their side. More recently, it's now recognised that dogs have an important role to play in care homes and hospital wards, where patients are encouraged to stroke the dogs in an attempt to bring down patient heart- [...]

Is men's mental health better than women's?

editor@uticopa.com — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

The Daily Mail recently discussed the notorious issue of whether men's mental health was better than women's. I say ‘notorious' because ever since the beginning of time men have claimed ‘superior' mental skills. After all, if their brains are bigger and better, as they claim, then their mental state is bound to be healthier too, isn't it?

Let's divide the issue up into Brain, Sleep, Depression and Stress.

Brain

It is indeed true that men's br [...]

Don't overwork your brain in your youth!?

editor@uticopa.com — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Scientists are now saying that some of us will develop Alzheimer's disease in old age because our brains worked too hard when we were younger.

A study has found that in young people genetically predisposed to the degenerative disease, the brain's memory hub is hyperactive. This raises the possibility that some develop Alzheimer's because their memory is simply worn out.

The brain activity of young people with the common gene APOE4 - that can greatly increase the odds of Alz [...]

Anger - how to deal with it?

editor@uticopa.com — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

How do we show our anger?

Here are two people arguing during a political protest. Both protesters became angry and aggressive, as evidenced by their body language and facial expressions. Their faces are flushed, the brow muscles have moved inward and downward, fixing a hard stare on the [...]

Anger - a normal emotion

editor@uticopa.com — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

We all think we understand what anger is. However, today's society produces so many frightening situations triggering our anger - whether it be terrorism on a global scale, or the burgeoning effects of too-many people trying to live in too-small a space - that it's worth ‘unpacking' exactly what anger is so t [...]

What's a Mum to do?

editor@uticopa.com — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Divorce is a stressful time for all-concerned. Depending on the personalities involved, the transition can move along on co-operative lines, via angry skirmishes or by plain suffering and doubt on all sides.

In a so-called ‘co-operative' divorce, both parents work together to restructure their own relationship and their family to allow the children as normal a relationship with each of them as possible. This means co-operating with each other as to finances, logistics and fami [...]

Anger - how to control it?

editor@uticopa.com — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

"Anger is a great force. If you control it, it can be transmuted into a power which can move the whole world." William Shenstone (Scottish writer, 1714-63)

Change the way you think

Angry people tend to swear or speak in highly colourful language that reflects their inner thoughts. Try replacing these thoughts with more rational ones. For instance, instead of telling yourself "oh, everything's ruined," tell yourself "it's frustrating but it's no [...]

The Facts About OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)

editor@uticopa.com — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Notable celebrities with OCD

David Beckham - footballer

Samuel Johnson - lexicographer

Howard Hughes - inventor, businessman, recluse

Typical symptoms

Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses or intrusive images that are irrational and not generally relating to real-life problems. They cause marked anxiety or distress.

Attempts to ignore or suppress these symptoms or to neutralize them with some other thought o [...]