Types Of Depression And Anxiety Disorders

2008-07-02T11:02:00.001-07:00

An estimated 6 percent of Americans suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression, and an additional 14 percent experience a milder form of the disorder known as the winter blues. SAD strikes during the winter months and is associated with reduced exposure to sunlight. People with SAD suffer from irritability, apathy, carbohydrate craving and weight gain, increases in sleep time, and general sadness. Researchers believe that SAD is caused by a malfunction in the hypothalamus, the gland responsible for regulating responses to external stimuli. Stress may also playa role in SAD. Certain factors seem to put people at risk for SAD. Women are four times more likely to suffer from SAD than are men. Although SAD occurs in people of all ages, those between 20 and 40 appear to be most vulnerable. Certain families appear to be at risk. And people living in northern states in the United States are more at risk than are those living in southern states. During the winter, there are fewer hours of sunlight in northern regions than in southern areas. An estimated 10 percent of the population in northern states such as Maine, Minnesota, and Wisconsin experience SAD, whereas fewer than 2 percent of those living in southern states such as Florida and New Mexico suffer from the disorder.

There are some simple but effective therapies for SAD. The most beneficial appears to be light therapy, in which a patient is exposed to lamps that mimic sunlight. After being exposed to this lighting each day, 80 percent of patients experience relief from their symptoms within four days. Other forms of treatment for SAD are diet change(eating more foods high in complex carbohydrates), increased exercise, stress management techniques, sleep restriction(limiting the number of hours slept in a 24-hour period), psychotherapy, and antidepressants.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

Approximately 5 million Americans suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorders. An obsessive-compulsive disorder(OCD) is an illness in which people have obsessive thoughts or perform habitual behaviors that they cannot control. People with obsessions have recurring ideas or thoughts that they cannot control. People with compulsions feel forced to engage in a repetitive behavior, almost as if the behavior controls them. Feeling an obsessive need for cleanliness and washing one's hands 20 times before eating, counting to a certain number while using the toilet, and checking and rechecking all the light switches in the house before leaving or going to bed are examples of compulsive behaviors. OCD may be considered one type of depression.

Many people suffers from seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression.

Get More Playful To Achieve Work Life Balance

2008-07-01T13:32:00.001-07:00

Day to day life can be full of ups and downs. If only it were as carefree as the days when I used to play on the see-saw in the park you may think. I know you will tell me about the stress and pressure you experience on a daily basis, struggling to fit all the activities of your ever increasing daily demands whilst you try to fight feeling totally wiped out.

As a coach I constantly hear my female clients telling me the same message on a daily basis. Not enough time to do everything you feel you should and how guilty you feel when you cannot support those around you.

My advice on this matter- and this comes from the voice of experience! Put yourself first, learn to become utterly selfish! Now I know some of you are shuddering at this thought, but listen on.....

If you are ok in your world, you are more likely to be in a fit state to help those around you better; starting to make sense now isn't it?

I encourage you to say No more often to more people - and mean it when you say it! Delegate wherever possible, find other experts in their field who take on tasks you don't have time or skill for! Set boundaries around your own time and then allocate time for work, family, social and community activity.

Do the things you love most. Then your energy remains high and you can build your own internal coping mechanism for the tasks you are not so keen on (and haven't managed to delegate to others!)

So how come I am the expert on this topic? Well it was a number of years ago, I found myself in a job I hated, spent little or no time with people I loved or liked and sat on the M25 motorway, on the outskirts of London, pondering the meaning of life in a traffic jam one too many times. I did not take good care of myself, ate junk food, got too little sleep and spent too much time driving, worrying and trying to please everyone except myself! I ignored all the warning signals and as a result my health suffered!

My life was stupidly busy, full of activity that drained my energy and my inner faith, so I took a break from the job that exhausted me, I resisted the need to please everyone around me and feel I became a better person as a result.

Now those around me whether at work or at home say what an improvement in my mood and appearance they have witnessed. I am better to be around. Gone is the snappy person, the one who looked constantly tired, complained all the time and didn't smile enough. Why because I spend less time either on the ground struggling or up in the air on my real life see saw ' except when I choose, it can be fun sometimes to raise yourself to new heights! But for me finding the right balance is the key.

How can you find more balance in each day, so that you have more time to play on life's see saw?

Jacqui Tillyard is a qualified NLP coach and stress management therapist. She specialises in working with people in high pressure careers and businesses and helps them find solution to their work life balance dilemmas visit http://www.careercasualty.co.uk for more details

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Types Of Depression And Anxiety Disorders

Get More Playful To Achieve Work Life Balance