Archives for June 2013

There are a variety of mental illnesses that have inflicted people all over the world. Mental illnesses come to pass due to different reasons. The rise in mental illnesses as being witnessed all over the world today is essentially due to the stressful nature of the lives that we lead. Technology has made things a lot easier although it has also placed a lot of pressure on individuals to succeed due to the immense amount of competition that is present.

Conversion disorder is quite a serious mental illness that primarily forces the emotional distress that an individual feels to be revealed in the form of physical manifestations. However, like any other mental malady, it is difficult to recognize especially during its early stages. There are a number of factors that can allow the onset of this disease to be recognized in a timely manner.

Important Factors to Consider

The first factor to take note of is whether the person that you suspect of having conversion disorder is actually going through an extremely stressful event in his or her life. Stressful events can be categorized as pressure at work or the loss of a loved one. If you have realized that a person is going through a considerable amount of emotional trauma, you have to keep on the lookout for physical manifestations. Read more if you feel you need to contact a professional.

The primary impact of conversion disorder is on a person’s motor skills. Therefore, you should keep an eye out for problems such as loss of balance or sensitivity to touch or pain. Paralysis is also another form of physical manifestation that is associated with conversion disorder. Others who concoct this particular disease have shown a variety of symptoms such as consistent vomiting, trembling and the inability to swallow food properly.

On the other hand, the above mentioned negative manifestations related to a person’s motor skills are not the only symptoms that you should be on the lookout for. Other symptoms may or may not include blurred vision, sudden loss of voice as well as hallucinations combined with seizures and convulsions.

Before you can actually convince yourself of whether a person is suffering from conversion disorder or not, you should consider whether the individual has a family history of conversion disorder problems. The link between conversion disorder and the genetic makeup of a person plays a significant role. If you have witnessed the above mentioned symptoms and are aware of conversion disorder family history, it is important for you to get in touch with a proper physician as soon as possible.

As much as we may try to avoid the subject, stress is a natural part of life and has to be deal with accordingly. Historical evidence collected over the years has indicated that the number of people who are burdened with massive amounts of stress in today’s day and age is much greater than what it was about fifteen years ago. The reason behind this significant increase can be attributed to a number of distinct factors. However, one of the most important causes of the rise in stress is associated with competition at work that forces people to push themselves beyond their limits in attempts to succeed.

Regardless of the reasons behind why people feel stress, it is important to ensure that you recognize that you are stressed out and are aware of the ways via which you can end up dealing with it. Other than the fact that stress can lead to emotional trauma, it can also negatively impact a person’s physical health. If you think you need some assistance then click here and give us a call!

Common Causes of Stress

Career

For the most part, stress is linked to pressure at work. In today’s day and age, globalization and technology has led to a significant increase in competition. Job shortages as well as the decline of economic activity all over the world has resulted in forcing people to fight for ways to acquire consistent income for themselves to support their families. Therefore, the average individual now remains in constant fear of not being able to perform well at work which would eventually result in his or her lay-off.

Money

On the other hand, individuals also feel stressed out because of the burden of debt that they have accumulated over the years as well as monthly expenses. The more you earn, the more extravagant your lifestyle will become which will eventually mean that you are going to have to work extra hard to ensure that you are able to maintain your source of income. Also, loans and lines of credit are quite common which means that many individuals are continuously anxious about debt servicing.

Major Life Changes

Lastly, stress can also be attributed to changes in lifestyle and relationships. The loss of a loved one can be extremely hard to bear whereas ending a long relationship or going through a divorce can also have the same sort of negative impact. Even the loss of a job can lead to stress. Any major changes in your life that are not accepted positively can lead to stress.

Due to the fast-paced nature of the lives that we lead today, stress has become quite common in people around the world. Stress can be attributed to a number of different reasons. There are people who feel stressed because of the pressure they have to bear in terms of their jobs whereas personal relationships can also lead to a lot of stress. However, there are different ways to deal with stress. Most notably, the use of psychology when stressed is considered to be one of the best ways to ensure that you are going to be able to manage the problems in your life and not have them affect your day to day functionality.

Here are a couple of steps that you can take in order to ensure that you are on the right path towards managing the stress in your life.

Focus on the right things

The first step towards managing stress proactively is to make a list of the things in your life that you have control over. Normally, a person who is stressed out is going to want to control everything in order to fix all of the things that are going wrong. However, not everything is under your control which is why it is important to focus on the things that you can actually do something about.

Take care of your physical health

Next, you have to make sure that you are taking care of your physical health. If you are under pressure in terms of both physical and mental functionality then you are definitely going to find yourself at a disadvantage. Although the use of psychology when stressed will be a good option, there are lots of other changes that you can make in your life to improve your mental health. Therefore, stop smoking and drinking. You should also avoid overeating because all of these things can lead to problems in the long term as well as the short term.

Start exercising

Another way to combat stress is to start exercising. Exercise allows you to vent out your frustrations and also provides you with a viable outlet for your emotions. This does not mean that you actually have to go to the gym and start lifting weights. If that is what you want to do then go ahead but you can also just try jogging or doing simple push-ups while at home. Although psychology when stressed may be the last option in many situations, these simple tips that I have explained above will definitely help you to manage the stress that you presently have in your life.

From an overall perspective, both psychologists as well as psychiatrists take different routes in determining the reasons behind maladies that have inflicted themselves upon their patients. Psychiatrists will tend to take into account various behavioral factors whereas psychologists will tend to take a medical approach. However, both have the right type of training to deal with a variety of psychological disorders.

On the other hand, both psychiatrists as well as psychologists will make use of psychological tests to determine the extent of their patient’s condition. These tests can also shed light upon a number of other connected factors by providing the medical examiner with detailed insight into a person’s life. These tests are essentially divided into different categories because each deals with a different part of the personality of a person. If you have any psychological testing NYC questions please contact us today.

Intelligence Tests

From a psychological perspective, the exact definition of intelligence is defined as a person’s ability to adapt to changes quickly as well as the capacity present within a human being to learn from various experiences. Therefore, Intelligence tests are designed to shed light upon how well a person is going to be able to handle changing scenarios within his or her life.

Projective Tests

Psychological disorders can also be determined by using projective tests that are specifically designed to gauge the actual measure of a person’s personality. There are two types of tests that are quite common; the Rorshach as well as the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). The basis of these tests is to identify the sort of feelings and emotions that a person projects while attempting to analyze his or her surroundings.

Self-Reports

This is yet another test that is designed to reveal a variety of important information concerning the personality of an individual. However, since this test is more structured and objective, the insight that it reveals within the personality of any human being is considered to be more reliable as compared to the results put forth by the projective tests. Self-Reports commonly make use of a test known as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) which was developed in 1943 and then revised in 1989.

Mental Status Exam

On the other hand, psychologists as well as psychiatrists tend to use the MSE to determine psychological disorders. The purpose of this particular test is to determine how well a person is going to function in terms of his or her mental capabilities. Therefore, it can also be categorized as a test that allows the determination of a person’s overall psychological health.

In essence, there are a number of psychological disorders that can have an impact upon a person’s life. These psychological disorders differ in terms of intensity as well as the impact that they have upon a person’s life. Most of these disorders can be attributed to stress and anxiety. No matter what the illness may be, it is important to get psychological treatment as early as possible in order to mitigate the potentially disastrous affects it can have in the long term as well as the short term.

Schizophrenia

One of the most common psychological ailments in today’s world is schizophrenia. Although this particular malady has been publicized considerably, most people still are completely unaware of what people who are afflicted with this illness go through on a daily basis. There are numerous symptoms but the most common ones include hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia as well as hearing voices. Usually, the psychological treatment for this particular disease includes the use of antipsychotics. Patients are recommended to keep taking their regular dosage otherwise their condition can get worse leading to complete detachment from reality.

Bipolar Disorder

The other name for this particular illness is manic depression. A person afflicted with this illness will tend to suffer from rapid mood swings ranging from manic to depressive. During manic episodes, a person will be unable to sleep, think about a million different things at the same time and will be subject to an elevated mood. However, depressive episodes will involve suicidal thoughts, a depressed mood as well as a considerable lack of energy.Read More

A good answer to the question of what is a neuropsychologist would be this; a neuropsychologist is a medical professional who is trained in the arts of dealing with cognitive functions of the brain such as attention, language and memory. Although termed as medical professionals, these people do not perform any surgery nor do they prescribe any medication. If you think you are in need of one please click here.

Work Setting
Since neuropsychologists are experts of a field that is applicable in countless situations, they are able to contribute considerably in a number of different working environments. These individuals have different types of specialties. For instance, many neuropsychologists will tend to involve themselves in research or teach at universities as well as colleges. On the other hand, many of these individuals tend to place themselves in a clinical setting where they are able to offer their expertise in treating people with different types of cognitive disabilities. Also, neuropsychologists are considered to be adept at forensics because they can gauge the viability of witnesses and have the qualifications that allow them to provide testimonies within court based hearings. Read More