No 1 is Psychologically 'Normal' so just chill dont give stress to your mind

How Does Depression Start and What are Its negative Effects 

It  is common in human nature to react to bad things happening i their lives by becoming sad, and of course this sadness can be profound which results in grief, lesser failure which leads to process called “reactive depression “in relation to this “clinical depression” is described a condition in which people feel extremely depressed. The characteristic symptoms of this kind of depression are: fatigue, headache, loss of sex drive, appetite changes, and waking early in the morning but not being able to get back to sleep. In clinical depression a person becomes locked into distinctively vicious cycle of negative thinking and hopelessness, especially about themselves, well in some cases people feel reactively depressed at some point in their life when something goes wrong , they are still able to articulate exactly why they are sad .

There is another kind of depression called “teenage sadness” they go through lots of mood swings. This mood changes takes place in second decade of life when the outside world becomes more horrible during adolescence, also the bodily changes at puberty brings changes in teenager’s behavior. Teenage sadness is such a distinctive and profound thing that it must result from changes taking place within the brain itself. Teenage mood alters as the teenage brain alters. Many normal teenagers exhibit symptoms that would be considered evidence of mental illness in adult .thus teenagers are good ammunition for those who claim that no one can ever be psychologically “normal”.

Symptoms of Depressed teenagers: Depressed teenagers are often irritable, whereas depressed adults are usually melancholy. Also adolescence is a time of characteristically dramatic mood swings for reason which may relate to anatomical reorganization of brain circuit controlling emotion. Due to this teenage sadness is often expressed loudly for the world to hear. It shows strong links to anxiety, suicide, drug use, eating disorders, promiscuity, teenage pregnancy and failure at school, signs of anxiety disorders thus depressed teenagers miss out so many things that they have to do and this depression very often continues long into adulthood. The social consequence of teenage depression is that sufferers can appear to become inward-looking to the point of selfishness and other teenagers can find it hard to sympathize with them .Negativity is a thread which runs through depression. We must learn to deal with bad things happening to us, often by putting them in perspective so we can bypass them in some way. People with depression focus on adverse events, and indeed their memory for positive events is measurably impaired. They react to these events with negative emotions. Teenagers with depression often draw unreasonably negative inferences about events. They think they are hopeless, and they find it difficult to escape from this thought. The worst of all is they interpret adverse events as a sign of their own inadequacy and weakness. If we believe that everything bad happens because you are incurably worthless, then it is hard to see way out .

Depressed people often think in all-or-nothing way, in which phenomena are either “good” or “bad”, which reinforces a sense of hopelessness when so many things fall into the “bad” category. It involves tendencies to jump to conclusions and over-generalize depressed teenagers often think that happiness comes from material possessions and social acceptance, whereas other teenagers are more  likely to value their own attitudes and goals .

If we want to stop teenagers entering life long struggle with depression, we must first work out why depression so often start at this particular phase of human life-plan. The answer to this is teenage body undergoes many unnerving and distressing changes during puberty, and this leads to teenage depression. The body is unstoppably and very publicly becoming sexualised in ways that can be embarrassing and occasionally disfiguring. Adolescence is a time when glandular fever and post-viral fatigue syndromes often take hold. These may cause depression directly or indirectly by depriving teenagers of contact with their developing social world. Depression is built into the fabric of growing up. Depression like most mental illness is an abnormal functioning of the mental abilities that define us as human. As we acquire most of those human abilities ring adolescence, depression starts when they reach teenage years. Teenage depression exposes a frightening instability in the human mind.

Self Esteem is another cause of teenage depression, as teenagers worry so much about how other see them, it is easy to understand why early symptoms of depression can weaken their self confidence so much that their self esteem falls even more. Social failure reduces self-esteem which breeds yet more social failure and the cycle is complete .The teenagers must  develop its self-esteem And learn to articulate its emotions and cope with adversity, all at a time when the very fabric of the brain is being rebuilt this psychological development is essential to becoming fully human, but it even exposes brain to own failing ,reason why depression start during adolescence is that this is the first time when the brain has sufficient  cognitive abilities to be able to suffer it .

We have already mentioned about “clinical depression ‘and the effect of this depression is that it even causes suicide, because an individual’s suicide has been argued to be evolutionary desirable if it frees resources from its surviving kin. Clinical depression is often effectively treated by drugs called” selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors “these drugs increase the amount of the neurotransmitter serotonin available in the brain and their effectiveness has been claimed quite reasonably , to suggest that something is wrong with the brains serotonin system during depression. Abnormal serotonin is the actual cause of depression. Thus the medicine mentioned above helps to remove much of the stigma of depression. The brain reacts to these drugs with a complex rebalancing of its neurotransmitter system, and maybe it is this rebalancing which “cures” depression. Well it will be wrong to say that just because this drugs work to cure depression but it does not ea that it strikes very root of the disease, and Thus it is ourselves which can cure this depression problem, even we have control in our mind and think everything positively and don’t take life seriously then we are out of depression. 

Analyzing your own self is one of the key to Human Success

PSYCHOTHERAPY

Psychotherapy is a valid approach to the teenage mental illness though there are other kinds of treatment for this problem but psychotherapy is the most effective treatment .Let us ask you a Question “How do teenagers learn to deal with themselves?”

Well common experience tells us that teenagers have to develop ways to understand, evaluate and accept themselves. This sense of self is hugely import-essential for every other part of mental well being. Without this we would be blindly reacting to the world around us without any reference to who we are. There are two important elements of sense of self which are important for teenagers: self-analysis and autonomy. Children’s are self –analytical from time to time .They learn the difference between what is going on in the world and what is going on in their head. At first ten years of life elapse, children’s occasionally refer to how they see themselves and how they think others see them, but these flickering of self-analysis are interspersed with long period of endearing ignorance of the self.

The changes takes place when we are adolescence .not only do teenagers spend more time looking inwards, but it starts to become an obsession. Early-teens may sit for long period mulling over their own hopes, fear, abilities and defects. This new found self-obsession is of course entirely normal .it s a sign that teenagers are doing what they evolved to do. One of the key to human success is that we are able to analyse ourselves-both as individuals and as a entire species we self-criticize, solve problems and adapt ourselves until we can achieve what we want. compared to children’s , children’s are poor at self –analysis, preferring instead for an adult to show them the correct way to do things, adolescents are the complete opposite .this is why they sometimes aggressively reject outside advice-thus they can learn how to modify their own thoughts.

Dramatic reconfiguration of the brain takes place exactly at the time when teenagers are becoming self-analytical. Self –analysis gives human immense mental flexibility, and it is teenagers who first see the advantage of that flexibility. They can strip apart and reassemble their own mental processes until they find a way to succeed. They learn the power of being able to solve their own problems to develop their own code of belief’s, to learn how to cope with adversity, to calm themselves and to enjoy self-reliance. Self awareness opens u a whole new world of mental possibilities- and a new mature, teenage, personality.

Self analysis brings its own problems. With it comes the opportunity for excessive, damaging self – criticism. Teenagers are more prone to self-criticism than adults, perhaps because they are still cognitively immature, socially inexperienced and often belittled by the adults around them. Many therapists worry that psychiatrist’s disorders often stem from a failure to construct a viable, coherent sense of self in the teenage years. The requirement for teenagers to set their own mental agenda means that, inevitably, some of them get it wrong. And as a result they can spend the rest of their lives locked in futile, obsessive attempts at trying to come to terms with themselves. Many troubled teenagers criticize about themselves to pieces. They are bright, charming, attractive people who seem to have no way to view themselves in positive light. They have a self image that they find it painful to live with, but cannot seem to change .they may not show symptoms severe enough to be diagnosed as mentally ill, but the flawed relationship they formed with themselves could stay with them forever.

Now we will speak about Autonomy .Autonomy cannot develop without self-analysis, and the converse is also probably true. During early adolescence, teenagers with-draw from their parents both mentally and emotionally. Although they still need them for occasional material and emotional support, they start to actively exclude their parents from their lives-a painful process but is nonetheless entirely normal .if a teenager is ever to be able to function as normal adult, it is thought that they must pass through this stage of self-determination to a state where they can stand alone as an emotional autonomous being. This voluntary act of dislocation from parents is itself empowering, and by leaving teenagers precariously isolated, it forces a radical review of their self-image . Maybe this is why parental support is so valuable for teenagers. The rewards of a teenager’s proclamation of autonomy are enormous a more profound state of consciousness which was not possible when they where child. They can glide from childish self interest to teenager’s desire for social approval to an adult sense of altruism and self sacrifice, gathering the beliefs and behaviour that will define them as individuals; slowly they start to develop the confidence to maintain their inner emotional stability without demanding support from others. They like to experiment with emotional independence and dependence. When people strikes the wrong balance between emotional attachment and disatachment during adolescence it leads to emotional turmoil .Most of the time it is seen that a large number of people react to relationship problem by trying harder and harder to fight their way into other’s affection, when the best thing may actually stand back and be an independent person that others find so attractive.

Thus autonomy has positive side as well; it is a good example of how conflict and upheaval are a healthy part of teenage life. Active rejection of parents opens up adult choices about independence and emotional relationships. It reveals a central emotional dichotomy built deep into human brain. According to this the right side of the brain accumulated the machinery of emotions, positivity and attachment, whereas the left side  acquired analysis, negativity and autonomy, as a result the right side is prone to social obsession and anxiety, while the left side is withdrawn and antisocial. And this tension between the two sides is claimed to have reached its pinnacle in humans-the master manipulator of social context, inquisitiveness and communication.

Thus we can say that self-analysis and autonomy are the two tools teenagers must develop to create a sense of self that will support them for the rest of their lives. People can change the way they see themselves later in life, but it can be incredibly difficult to repair the failing sense of self so often formed in adolescence. Self –analysis and autonomy is the cornerstone of teenage development, they can also cause one of the major psychological problems of adolescence: depression. Depression is one of the burden some illness in the world, and this is almost certainly the case in the developed world where it affects perhaps a fifth of population. This mainly happens during teenage years .

Two different mentality

Parents Mentality VS Their Child's mentality

Few days back I met a girl I assume her age to be between 18-19 years, I met her while i was travelling in a train, she was looking very depressed, as usual i wanted to know the reason behind her silent tears, once I had started speaking to her we both have become very friendly and I asked her the reason behind her depressed mood. “ family “ and “ parents “, “ society”  these three words where mentioned  by her as a answer  , when we further moved on with this conversation I came to know  more about her problem with “family” , “ parents” “ friends” and society .

Maximum of the students they face the problem of  communication gap between their “ parents” and “ family” and this  problem arises more with parents when parents don’t change themselves with the changing society and become liberal , as because parents only belief that they are in high position they have seen world  more and far better than what their children’s do in this way they underestimate their children that they don’t know what world and real life is and so they should do whatever their parents say them as “ parents are right and children’s are wrong “ – according to parents .Due to this reason children’s builds up a irritating nature towards their parents by not listening to them and doing whatever they feel like thus until and unless parents try to view the situation according to their children’s view this communication will not end keep on increasing .

Whatever a child desires to do is either supported my most parents but in maximum cases parents forces their children to choose such a career option which a child does not like and afterwards when they do bad results parents blame their child for their results and compares them with other child and demoralizes them , which gives rise to negative feeling in child’s mind and slowly they start assuming their parents as their as they had created all the problem in their life , the same  was the problem with this girl .in this modern generation if parents keep up with their conserved nature towards children then it becomes problem , in some family I have seen that parents use slang language  to their child if they find their child speaking late night , coming home late , wearing western clothes , or speaking to boys , now this kind of nature bring a kind of irritation in the mind of teenagers ,a s they live in the modern era there is no pint of making such kind of restriction in life as in any work area , or in  group of friends its very common speaking to boys , going out with them , coming  to home late night due to burden of work , as the children’s find that children’s are not being able to understand them properly they stop sharing anything relating to their personal life with their parents and keeps hiding situation and fights with the problem within themselves , which sometimes leads to depression .

Sometimes “family problem” like there is no compatibility between father and mother , or more attention is given to the elder sibling than younger one builds up a gap between children’s and families and thus in this situation children’s prefer spending most of the time outside house , they like to stay alone and speak less to anyone in the family and sometimes parents have problem with these even and start making their own imagination behind this kind of children’s nature , which make them more depressive .

When does a child starts hiding things with their parents:

-          When they notice that their mentality does not match with their parents mentality

-          When they notice that their parents have the habit of putting restriction in whatever they do

-          When they notice that their  parents have negative view of whatever they do , some families are so conservative that they have restriction in what kind of dress they wear , where they go ,  why they go to parties , why they are roaming around with boy in case of girls and girls in case of boys

-          If parents are not liberal and open minded then children’s does not like to discuss their personal life with their parents as they know that their parents will make their own imaginative conclusion and will raise question on the character of their child and use slang languages.

-sometimes it is seen that boys/ girls gets into habit of drinking and smoking firstly some do this to just enjoy their life, some do it because of excess career pressure and some do it just to show that they have a cool nature and others gets into this habit as when they see that their parents have a habit of blaming them for bad things even if they live a simple life then children’s think that it’s better to get indulged in this habits.

How parents and children’s should should handle this situation:

-parents should not force their child to choose a stream, career which they do not want to ,once a child reaches the age of 18 he / she has the whole right to make their own choice and decision and choose their career , at the age of 18 this becomes their legal right and they are well matured to understand what is right and wrong or them . moreover parents should be more liberal and open mind with their children’s and try to understand their children’s mentality rather than comparing them with someone else child , parents should not apply excess control over their children’s as this arouse negative feeling in child’s mind , moreover parents do not give birth to child to fulfil  their dreams but every child is born with their own new dreams and thus their dreams and their parents are different so parents should not force their child to fulfil  the dream what their parents want , applying to much restriction in child’s life make a children’s enemy towards their parents .and moreover boys/ girls if they have self confidence in themselves then they won’t rely o the decision of their parents or think about what others will think about them , f u have self confidence then without bothering anything they will complete their aim in life .

Girls and Boys React in Different Ways

ADOLESCENT GIRLS AND BOYS COMMUNICATE IN DIFFERENT WAYS
It is often seen that adolescent girls and boys communicate in different ways . Girls often talk to each others heads is to share their feelings and experiences directly. Teenage boys tend to study their peers more indirectly, by discussing opinions of more abstract phenomena, like sports or music. it is  also tempting to speculate that linguistic differences also affect  how teenagers interact with their parents.

when parents impose some heinous new restriction on their teenage offspring's liberty, girls react with long articulate arguments challenging the perceived injustice,whereas boys express their rebellion by simply defying the new restriction and then mutely accepting any resulting parental retribution and then mutely accepting any resulting parental retribution.Maybe the screams and sulks of adolescence should be see fossil evidence of our species quest for superiority .adolescence is not only elaborate and protracted set of bodily changes, but even more importantly it is most crucial phase in the ponderous and demanding development of the huge human brain. adolescent brain are special because it is site of spectacular restructuring. the emotional, cognitive and linguistic changes of adolescence make it the central part of human life plan-this is the cerebral crossroads at which all the aspects of our mental life meet .
 However Teenagers change so fast that their life can become precarious balancing act-and we see that this makes them intrinsically unstable when confronted with drugs, relationships and sex.Many of the things teenagers do are just harmless investigation of the world around them, but others can be repercussions that will live with them rest of their lives.in many developed countries the most common causes of teenage death are accidents,homicide and suicide.clearly things can go very wrong . teenagers can pay an enormous price for being the pinnacle of human evolution .

Complexity in life gone through by Teenagers

   TEENAGE YEARS ARE THE COMPLEX YEARS 

  If there is one thing society expects teenagers to do, it is to develop their mental skills. We human cherish our advanced thought processes for good reason: we have created a world in which our success is often determined not by crude physical effort, but by our ability to solve intellectual practical and social problems. Considering how much importance we attach to higher mental function in teenagers, teenagers think differently from children; and teenagers body mature faster than their brains.

 Defining intelligence is almost impossible .Many people’s intelligence lies in their ability to analyse themselves, capitalize on their strengths, remedy their weakness and interact with others. This has led to more general theories of intelligence, emphasizing things such as ability to succeed in ones social context or in one’s own opinion. And for us too, it might be best to take a very flexible approach to intelligence in teenagers. For sake of argument intelligence is the end product of cognition- our mental ability to approach and solve problems, but teenagers do start to tackle many mental tasks that children’s simply cannot attempt. They can create and manipulate abstract concepts, cope with shades OF grey in arguments, generate novel argument based on initial assumption, approach task methodically and set themselves distant goal. They also do powerful  feat of analysing their own thought processes-generating their own ideals, criticising and improving their own thinking and analysing their own worth, they develop strong social dimension to their thinking, analyse relationship verbally articulate all their new thoughts to others and metalize-create mental models about how other people think .

we do not become fully mentally human until we are teenagers  because powers of self-analysis and metallization develop during adolescence, it is tempting to suggest that they are characteristics which humans could evolve only once  we had evolved teenagers, several thousand years ago . Self analysis and metallization can come to obsess teenagers to a point at which they can no longer function in society, the teenagers develop many of their cognitive abilities like the ability to ignore irrelevant information and process salient data reaches adult-like levels early in the teenage years; but not until nineteen or so do we fully develop our ability to hold many competing , interacting concepts  in our mind once, also the speed at which we can interpret the emotions expressed in the human face is actually lower in the early teens than in either children’s or adults.

Teenagers become fluent in the ‘formal operations’ of physical entities before they can do the same for analysing social relationships, raising the fascinating possibility that scientists may become intellectually mature before artists do. Establishing cognition is important, establishing goals and the satisfaction of achieving them are very important in human cognition and more important is the ability to change tack: once a goal is set, we retain the ability to set it aside temporarily and work towards other goals if necessary. For example, injury of the prefrontal cortex can lead to a tendency to persevere excessively with tasks, when sensible things do is   to disengage and concentrate on something else for a while .teenagers learns to separate wanted and unwanted ideas and focus on their work. It seems teenagers mind are often more creatively free than adults and this may explain their creative leaps in fields as diverse as mathematics and popular music’s.

The teenage years are time of beautiful mental experiments, when many of us decide who we are and where we are going. And working memory which allows teenagers to achieve this. An important feature of teenage language is the ability to linguistically manipulate other people, and the new found ability to metalize means that this manipulation is often mutual and consensual. Teenagers starts to gossip and tease and they soon learn the difference between doing these things with affection and with malice. Humor and manipulation become teenagers favorite way of getting inside other peoples head –testing the boundaries of what others peoples will or will not accept. and of course flirting is the most delightfully elaborate form of teenage communication one is which all the post –childhoods skills are brought to bear- humor, teasing, tone, style astounding feats of circumlocution. Another striking adolescent linguistic change relates to the way that teenagers start to communicate less with their families and more with their peers. They develop novel form of communication for different social situations. The most important of these is the language they use in social group with other teenagers –like slang, idioms, in –joke and codes. So teenagers are not learning language, but they are learning how to use it. Human language is complex-as complex as the human brain can comprehend-and adolescence is where that complexity starts, one effect of this is that abnormalities of language such as dyslexia starts to become more apparent in teenagers , even if they were ‘ hidden’ during childhood. Thus we can conclude that teenage years goes through very complex stage which can bring complexity in both physical , mental and emotional condition of a person thus it is the stage when we should not become too hyper when this changes are taking place instead we should keep ourselves calm and let these changes happen and take it i a positive way  and take necessary steps to bring improvement in us in next stage .

How will you look to your future with confidence

GOALS FOR FUTURE

 If you have a stable mood and you have no immediate goals you wish to work on, then would you give up self help? The answer would be no. However you may be able to tailor the use of the techniques to fit in with your preferences. There are two elements to this strategy.

-          Don’t stop self – regulation or any key approach that has really been of benefit. Try to identify the minimum number of techniques you are prepared to continue using, and then push yourself to keep them going. This is important as you need to feel able to increase the use of these or similar techniques in response to change. lack of practice may reduce your confidence in using the technique when under stress

-          Awareness of the key features of your mood swings and the associated symptoms and problems.

-          Recognizing your relapse signature or when your problems are escalating

-          Taking early action to deal with problems or potential relapses , including seeking help from others

-          Try not to panic or castastrophize; stay as a calm as you can, and reflect on what has happened

-          Try to answer the following questions :

: What negative automatic thoughts may be contributing to how you are feeling?

: can you write down any automatic thoughts, and can you challenge the most powerful thoughts?

: What underlying beliefs may have been activated?

: write down the techniques that you might use at the moment like activity scheduling, calming activities, and problem-solving.

: are there any behavioral or cognitive strategies that you could use to help you cope with this situation?

Dealing with any negative thoughts and feelings is particularly important, as this may clarify what the real issues are and allow you to work out what steps you need to take next.

HOW WILL YOU LOOK TO FUTURE WITH CONFIDENCE?

: overcoming low self –esteem through

-developing a realistic appraisal of your strengths and weakness

Reducing self criticism

-reducing reliance on the views of others

Testing out alternative views of yourself

Overcoming poor self image that arises as a consequence of mood swings by trauma minimization –applying personal first aid to deal with like, grief and loss, guilt and shame, stigma. Developing strong relationships through clear communication, asserting yourself, sharing responsibility if you choose. Developing life goals that are specific and realistic, clearly defined in terms of steps or sub-goals, recorded on a time schedule, having awareness of mood swings, recognizing symptoms and problems, taking early action, setting up therapy session with yourself, dealing effectively with setbacks. 

FEAR OF REJECTION

STIGMA

Many individuals feel that their status in society is undermined by the negative views about mental health problems expressed by the public at large. Alas, these prejudices do impact on the lives of many people and will not be removed overnight. But, as you cannot control what others believe or how they view mental health problems, it is unhelpful to target all your energies in them, but the first action that is required is to focus on whether you hold any prejudices against yourself. If you are a perfectionist, do you now see yourself as ‘defective’? Does this fear of rejection turn from sadness into anger? If these ideas are operating, you may need to review your own belief and think about how to tackle the disappointment you feel about yourself, anger often arises as a secondary reaction, you may need to work on the primary emotion, which may be hurt or sadness.

RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER

Relationship problem takes place due to following reason

-          Communication problem

-           Assertion

-           - sharing responsibility , including working with professionals

COMMUNICATION

It is important to understand the process of our interaction with other people particularly if you wish to pre-empt problems in relationship. Methods of tackling inter-personal problems

-          Take time to think about what you need to say and what issues you are trying to get across

-          Avoid placing all the responsibility on the other person. it may lead to the other person defending themselves aghast a perceived criticism , or angrily suggesting that you ‘ sort yourself out ‘

-          ‘Always’ and ‘never’ are key words to ban from the conversation. Other unhelpful statement include ‘if you loved me you would ...’ or ‘if you cared about me you wouldn’t ‘.

-          Try to develop a shared view of the problem. If you don’t agree n the problem, you will never agree on the solution.

-          Be a good listener. Don’t interrupt people and don’t tell them they’re wrong. remember they are expressing their opinions or feelings

-          Retain your perspective. if the conversation is getting heated , be prepared to negotiate some time out so that both of you can review where the conversation is going and can start it back on track

-           Try to take a step-by-step approach to any agreed action, and set a time when you can both discuss the progress you have made.

-          Be prepared to play an active role in finding the solution, even if this means giving some-thing up. don’t expect the other person to ‘ give to get’ or to do all the giving

-          Be willing to try a solution suggested by someone else; don’t simply push the other person to follow your proposed course of action.

-          Lastly don’t be afraid to suggest that you jointly seek help. a third party can often help keep a situation calm and help you focus on expressing your views in a constructive way , rather than falling into trap of attacking the views expressed by someone else .

ASSERTION

It is one aspect of clear communication. expressing yourself through anger is unlikely to help you get your need met , on the other hand it is equally true that you can end up feeling very frustrated or unhappy if you find yourself doing things you did not wish to because you failed to speak up and state what your needs were . Expressing your views either too forcefully or too meekly leads to problems, learn to express your preferences clearly and calmly, and to negotiate with others effectively.

 How to assert?

-          Have respect for yourself and recognize your own needs

-          Be prepared to ask for what you want

-           When expressing your opinion or feeling, always use ‘I’ statement

-          If you are unsure about a proposal, ask for time to think it through; avoid being pressured into instant decision

-          Remember that you can change your mind but if you do, try to give people clear warning and an explanation.

-          Recognize that you cannot completely control those of other  adults

-          Respect that other people have the right to apply the same rules of assertion to their own situations.

Try to work on your problem with professionals

-sharing responsibility relates to how you work with health care professionals, it means you are both clear about the aims of treatment and are both working towards the same goals. In this relationship you are entitled to respect, information and choice.  In return you must try to respect the other person’s opinion and the advice they offer. Have depth knowledge about your own special circumstances that it would be hard for anyone else to attain. sharing the knowledge you both have and then coming to an informed decision is worthwhile , but can be very hard work for both parties.

TRAUMA MINIMIZATION

GRIEF AND LOSS
When individual experience mood swings it disrupt their functioning so gravely that they are no longer able to complete college courses or carry on in their employment. This unexpected restriction not only affects their immediate activities, but also changes their career prospect and the future course of their lives. Many who have had such an experience feel they have become different people, and grieve for their lost selves, the people they used to be .This is both common and understandable. This experience can be compared with bereavement, and are compounded by the very real losses that can be associated with having a significant mental health problem, such as loss of income and status. Others find that there are major tensions in their personal lives, sometimes leading to the breakup of important relationships. 

If these things happen to you, there is no benefit in trying to underplay the difficulties created by your recurrent mood swings. You will need time to recover from your disappointments. To adjust to your new situation, and to move forward. 

KEY STEPS WILL HELP YOU TO BEGIN WITH COPING PROCESS 

- Try to be clear about which problems are genuinely related to mood swings. As with any grief reaction, the real losses will take time to come to terms with. Don't complicate the process by over generalizing and attributing every negative event in your life to your mood disorder. 

- Avoid focusing on the “unfairness" of life. Life certainly is unfair in many ways , but it is unhelpful to spend too much time concentrating on something you can't change . Preoccupation with what has already occurred may simply feed your anger and prevent you implementing strategies that help you move forward 

- Don’t pretend it hasn't happened. Avoidance of this kind is likely simply to store up problems for the kind is likely simply to store up problems for the future. At some point you will have examine what has happened, and what you can do to improve your situation. The problems will not disappear if you ignore them 

- Another way of avoiding the reality is to label yourself as the “illness”. For example, avoid introducing yourself as “I am a manic depressive". Don’t deny the problem, but try to remember that there is more to your identity than a mood disorder. Sometimes you will need to remind yourself of this, and it is important to make others aware of it as well 

It is important to replace an unrealistic existence with a realistic one. However like an addiction to a drug, your highs will not be easy to give up simply because it seems as a sensible idea. You might try to reduce your dependency on highs by using a step- by – step approach similar to  “ human reduction “ programme , making a gradual change to the degree of  upswing in your mood that are acceptable or the agreed boundary between your normal or abnormal state . You have give attention to how to compensate for the loss of this experience from your life. Like what action you should take that will give you positive feeling about yourself? Try to ask question within yourself and you will get all the answers to your question within your mind.

shame and guilt leads to downfall of your self confidencev

SHAME AND GUILT

Common reason why individuals struggle to move forward is that they feel guilty about the way they used to behave or are ashamed of themselves; guilt and shame are closely linked emotions. Both are usually associated with a belief that we have violated our own rules about how individuals should behave , that we have failed to live up to our own standards or have been disgraced in the eyes of others , coping with this thoughts and emotions are difficult , the starting point is to acknowledge to yourself what  has occurred and then to evaluate the facts of the situation.

Try to give yourself some positive feedback for choosing to face the problem and not avoiding it. When bad things happen it is easy to understand why the last thing you want to do is think about them .however it is equally unhelpful to let any negative thoughts go around and around in your mind. try to take problem solving approach and focus on what you need to do about what happened, then record on a piece of paper exactly what occurred, what was the event that makes you feel guilty or ashamed, list everything and everybody who contributed or might have contributed to this outcome .put yourself at the bottom of the list next draw a big circle on the paper. Starting at the top of the list, divide the circle up into segments of different sizes according to the degree of responsibility that should be attributed to each circumstances and each person involved, The greater the responsibility the bigger the piece of the pie. Once you start asking questions to yourself, your intuition gives you the answer and relief you from the emotional disturbance. Rewind your thoughts to your experience, Is there anything that you can learn from your experience, or anything that you can do to overcome any difficulties that have occurred? Even if you think that the responsibility is at your shoulder then try asking yourself these questions.

-          -How serious was the incident? Does your assessment concur with that of other people?

-          -When you had acted in that way. Where you aware of the consequences?

-          -What did you learn and how can you avoid similar incident in future?

-         - How can you repair the damages?

-        -  In longer terms will this incidents be important?

-          -What strategies can you apply to help yourself cope up from it if they are finding hard to forgive you?

But remember don’t fall into the trap of becoming more and more negative about yourself. If this starts to happen , you can try to tackle your automatic thoughts; alternatively , try to focus on a ‘ task-orientating ‘statement such as ‘ doing a bad thing does not prove that i am bad person ‘ or ‘ having done  bad thing in the past does not mean i cannot change how I act in the future’. You may wish to talk through with a trusted confidant any action you think might repair the damage. Getting feedback in this stage may increase your chances of achieving successful outcome.

Your Self Esteem

Looking To Your Future 

When you feel down, it is common to have negative automatic thoughts about yourself .However some individual report that they never feel totally at ease with themselves. This is how self esteem or lack of self confidence may be lifelong characteristic, predating any mood swings; or it may have arisen as a consequence of repeated severe mood swings and difficulties in coming to terms with behaviour during these episodes. In reality many individuals mood disorder have a long - standing fragile self esteem that is further undermined by experiencing mood swings. There are number of approaches to overcoming low level self -esteem. 

HELPFUL STRATEGIES 

-To Develop Realistic view yourself

-To reduce your over-dependency on other's opinions

-To try to build a positive self -image 

Try to clarify in your own mind where any negative feelings come from, and how accurate any negative thoughts are, it is helpful to draw up a list of your personal strengths and weakness. Like - What do you like/dislike about yourself?

- What positive/ negative qualities do you possess?

- What do other people like or dislike in other people?

Try to avoid global labels such as “i am a terrible mother” or " I am useless”. Even if you have such negative thoughts try to be specific about why you have made this statement. This means exploring the Evidence 

UNHELPFUL STRATEGIES 

-trying to avoid thinking about what happened 

- trying to externalize the responsibility for the way you feel 

-  trying to convince yourself that being slightly high will overcome your negative view of yourself 

AVOID SELF CRITICISM 

it is helpful to look at how you assess yourself day - day basis . By all means set yourself realistic and acceptable standards, and by all means assess whether you have lived up to your expectation. Try not to be overly self critical as self criticism motivates people. It does the opposite .individuals who constantly find fault with their own actions become demoralized and find it hard to keep going in face of increased stress. Making constructive and encouraging self-statements, on the other hand, can help you achieve your goals. To overcome self - criticism, see if you can reframe your criticism into more helpful statements that encourage you, rather than demand that you do certain things. If your internal critical voice is very powerful, imagine that it is a parrot sitting in your shoulder that is making this criticism. The way of dealing this parrot is either to make it fly away or kill it. Silence is the internal critic. 

 DON'T BE OVERDEPENDENT ON THE VIEWS OF OTHER 

  Some individuals, rather than experiencing persistent low self esteem, say that their self - image varies purely on the basis of the feedback they get from other people . Fluctuating self-esteem is an damaging as continuously low self - esteem, as it makes you vulnerable to more extreme mood swings. While you should not ignore all feedback from other , it is important to see these comments in context . ask yourself these  question 

- on scale 0-100 how sensitive you are  to the views of other 

- how critical are others of you 

- do you give equal attention to positive and negative feedback 

if you explore your answers to these questions , you may be able to judge whether you are too vulnerable  to other people's opinion, particularly critical comments . if you are sufficiently clear in your own mind about your strengths and weakness and your sensitivity to criticism, you will be better able to evaluate the comments other make about you . Positive feedback will confirm  your good points and negative feedback , although painful to hear , should not be too much of shock . Remember that it is important  to keep a balanced realistic view . Dont overemphasize positive comments , by all means be pleased , but keep your feet on the ground . Getting to carried away could simply set you on the path to  a high . don't castastrophize about negative comments , even if presented in critical way and are difficult to accept , try to work out what the person is trying to tell you . is there a grain of truth in their comments that you can learn from ? lastly remember your reaction to others comment will be largely detached by your automatic thoughts. 

Agree to explore the alternative views  eg if yo hold the belief that " i am unlovable ', rewrite as " i am lovable '.having  reframed the statement thus rate 0-100 scale how strongly you subscribe to this new beliefs . the likelihood is that you will give this alternative belief a very low rating . this is understandable  for throughout your whole life so far you have unwillingly collected information  to support your old views . however from today you have to  try to collect and record any piece of information , no matter how small , that supports the new belief . don't bother with the evidence against your new idea ; you have been attending to that for years , and could fill a textbook with it . 

The whole point is to  raise awareness of any information in the environment that starts to support your alternative belief and also remember you are not aiming for perfection . it is unlikely that you will feel 100% " i am lovable" however you may conclude that some individuals find you lovable most of the time . likewise, being totally competent is unrealistic , try to aim for a acceptable and reasonable level of competency 

what is Hopelessness

 HOPELESSNESS 
If you are depressed you may get thoughts that make you feel hopeless . Unfortunately , some individuals who feel intensely hopeless about their future begin to think that they cannot carry on . In order to keep yourself safe through these difficult times, it is important to remember that the automatic thoughts that are making you feel hopeless can be tackled through the same techniques as those used for anxiety or depression . What evidence is there for thoughts ? What alternative ways of viewing your situation are there ? What activities could you undertake right now to alleviate these feelings, even for a short time ?
If you really cannot overcome your hopelessness it is important to talk to someone else . This becomes vital if you have any associated idea about harming yourself . If these thoughts flood your mind and you are felling too down to tackle them alone , please seek help .
KEEP GOING AND SEEKING HELP 
Even with practice , there will be times when it is very difficult to use the techniques , you may find it hard  to focus on thoughts , to write things down , or to take action . It does take an enormous effort to start using these approaches .
 If you are struggling  to implement these strategies , can anyone offer you support in your efforts? Even someone offering encouragement to try  self- management approaches may help you get started . Other approaches to the management of depression , such as professional input from mental health  and self medication with anti - depressants , are also important .

THOUGHTS IN YOUR MIND

 MODIFY UNHELPFUL OR DYSFUNCTIONAL THOUGHTS 
The most common automatic  thoughts that accompany a downswing are negative thoughts about yourself , your world and your future ( sometimes called negative cognitive trial ) which is associated with depressed mood , although the negative prediction about the future are also associated with anxiety . Irritability is also a prominent emotion in highs and lows , particularly in response to perceived criticism of what you do . Negative mood states can be alleviated temporarily by distracting yourself from the thoughts . However , to achieve lasting reduction in your depression and anxiety , it helps to be able to recognize and record , review and respond to your unhelpful automatic thoughts.
RECOGNIZE AND RECORD AUTOMATIC THOUGHTS 
it is not easy to identify thoughts immediately as they run through your mind , and it will take some practice .The two key elements that will help are to note down exactly what you were doing when you noticed that your mood changed, then to record how depressed or anxious you felt on 0 - 100 scale . it is difficult to to describe what your where doing throughout the day , what thoughts where gong inside your mind . try closing your eyes and recreating the scene in your imagination . Ask yourself the following questions :
- what thoughts , memories , images do I have ?
-What thoughts do I have about other people ?
-What thoughts am I predicting they have about me ?
-What do any of these thoughts say about me or my situation ? And about other people
- If it were true, what does this idea mean about me ? Or about others ?
-What am I afraid of right now ?what bad events or outcomes am I predicting
Now fr this list try identifying what are the useless thoughts that  go through your mind rate them from 0- 100 . after rating pause and remind yourself that just because this is the first idea that came into your mind or the one you believe the most .before moving to explore your thoughts it is helpful to make sure  they accurately reflect  your immediate reaction to the situation . you may be tempted to be tone down  a statement  to make it less painful . unfortunately , techniques for modifying dysfunctional thoughts are probably more effective  if you deal with raw  rather than the polite version . for example " i am bad {or " i am no good " are clear negative automatic thoughts that would make you feel down , whereas " i began to think i wasn't very nice " or " i thought i did not do that  very well " do not convey the reality  of thoughts or depth of feeling .
REVIEW YOUR AUTOMATIC THOUGHTS 
Try selecting the one that you believe most strongly , or the most extreme idea , and then review it is detail by working through the following stages . EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE : Stick with factual evidence , not feelings , intuition , or hearsay . Next , write down all the evidence that does not support your automatic thoughts . To get started note anything that contradicts your thoughts , no matter how small . if you are still struggling , think about what you would say to someone else if they asked for your views of the evidence for and against the idea . You  could also think whether you have any past experience that support or refute your idea . having collected evidence for and against  your automatic thought, is there any room for doubt that it is right ? if you are still not sure , identify any additional source that will help you reach a conclusion ? what could you experiment  to test out the idea yourself ?
THE ALTERNATIVES 
 Questions that may include :
- what other views could i take of the situation ?
- would i view the situation differently if I felt better ?
- have I any experience of similar situation ?
- what might someone else think in this situation , particularly someone who is not depressed ?
ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES
Question to yourself like :
- Are there any advantages to holding this views ? Are there any disadvantages ?
-Can I identify any particular pattern of thinking errors , e.g. overgeneralize
- Am I talking all the responsibility for a situation ? Can I take more balanced view , where I take some but not all of the responsibility  for what has occurred ?
- Finally , if my original idea an accurate reflection of the situation , what is the most constructive  and helpful action I can take ?
RESPONDING TO YOUR AUTOMATIC THOUGHTS
 - re - rate the intensity of your emotional  response ? It is unlikely  that your depression will have disappeared , but you may be able to rate your  feeling less negatively . Finally review the outcome of working through this process . What have you learned ? Is there any other action you can now take to help your future in modifying this thought ?
- if there is no change in your mood state , consider whether there is any other powerful thoughts operating that you have not yet examined . If so . it is worth rating the process , targeting the new thoughts.
-lastly , it is important to use these cognitive techniques alongside the practical techniques outlined in the previous section . The combination is likely to improve your mod state more than either approach alone .

The preliminary stage to get rid of depression is to first identify the symptoms of depression

SELF MANAGEMENT OF DEPRESSIVE EPISODES

If depression is not dealt in preliminary stage then it  can lead to massive  problems , t solve this problem first we have to identify the problems as in what activities lead to depression and what are the symptoms by which we can identify depression 
The key unhelpful activities of individual depression are :
- avoidance , particularly of activities that give them a sense  of pleasure or achievement
-withdrawal 'particularly from social situation that may offer support
-procrastination - being unable to start or complete tasks , or solve problems
It is easy to understand how these difficulties increase individuals negative views of themselves and further depress them . However it  is  often to break this cycle . Fortunately building on previously learned techniques  is a useful way to start . there are two main approaches - activity scheduling ( including social interaction )
- step by step approaches to tasks  and problems
UNABLE TO FACE ANYONE
individuals who are depressed frequently say that they doubt whether other people like them or want to send time with them . Negative thoughts such as ' i am boring ' or ' they wouldn't want to be with me if they knew what I WAS REALLY LIKE' ARE COMMON . THESE thoughts are powerful and not easy to challenge . when they are combined with low activity levels . it is easy to understand how  individuals become socially isolated however it is necessary to try to retain contacts  with outside world . keeping in touch with people offer you a important SOURCE OF SUPPORT , OFTEN PROVIDES valuable external feedback  and reinforcement at a time when you are finding it hard to see yourself in a positive light .it is not easy to make social contacts if you fear being judged by others , or worry about letting people down by not being good company . but you can control the frequency  of social contacts and the pace of change . perhaps you could try to include one social interaction each day for the first few days , and then gradually as you begin to gain confidence .
- first , can you  generate a list of social contacts that you have previously enjoyed or that you think you might enjoy
- next can you note the name of anyone who usually MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF
- FINALLY has anyone actually contacted you recently to arrange a social activity ?
the next step is to recognize the list in order , with the least stressful social contact  at the top list and the most challenging social event or engagement at the bottom  . for example the  top  part  of you list may look something like this
- buy a newspaper  and try to hold a brief conversation with the shopkeeper
- call Jane and have chat on telephone
- accept rosemary's  invitation to go to coffee
- take flowers round to Jackie who is at home recovering from flu
To help in early stages you could plan in advance ( as in third option here ) to set a time limit for the interaction ' as knowing the end point sometime helps reduce any associated STRESS . YOU COULD ALSO  REHEARSE SOME TOPICS OF CONVERSATION OR QUESTION YOU COULD ASK PEOPLE SO THAT YOU DON'T FEEL AT A LOSS FOR THE   WORDS WHEN YOU FIRST MEET
 some individuals prefer to recommence their social interactions by talking to people they don't know well and by keeping the conversation light ( talking about the weather , the news )
Other ;prefer to start by talking with or meeting people  trust and who know them well . there is no ' best approach' . Begin with social contacts that you feel most confident ( despite your depression )  you can undertake . as with other activity ' experiment', review your  progress , examine any changes in mood , and gradually work you way through  the list you have developed . 

What kind of depression you have and how to get rid of depression , Read it and find a solution to your problem

PSYCHOSIS : 

in any case whether depression or mania, a person may lose touch with reality and psychotic symptoms . this may include experiencing unusual sensations called hallucination such as hearing voices when no one is around or seeing things that no one else can see . the individual may develop abnormal belief  about themselves or their worlds termed delusion . the content of delusion is usually influenced by the individual mood state . in mania people frequently believe that they are special and have the power to change the world (e.g . they are special and have power to change the world  , they have special skills and they should fly to NewYork to negotiate world peace )in depression people have a very negative outlook , often holding the conviction that they are evil and are responsible for many of the injustices in society .psychotic symptoms usually subside as the individual moods  returns to normal . although relatively rare , these symptoms can cause great concern, especially if the person is unable to recognize accept that their abnormal beliefs are a product of their mental state and not a reflection of reality. in such extreme situations, treatment in an impatient setting is frequently recommended .
Treatment
physical treatment : it means to use  medication , although it also include techniques such as electro convulsive technique . acute treatment aims to reduce the intensity of current symptoms , and the longer term phase , when the aim is to prevent recurrent episodes of mood swings
medication for depression are almost same but in case of  hypo mania respond to lower doses .
Admission to hospital 
if a person experiences an episodes of mania that is totally out of control and unresponsive to treatment , or a severe depression accompanied by psychotic symptoms or intense suicidal ideas they are almost need to be admitted to hospital 
Electro-convulsive therapy 
a small proportion of those individual admitted to hospital may be so unwell that they also need treatment with ECT .A longer term treatment is prescribed  with mood stabilizer to reduce the severity or frequency of mood swings . the commonly used mood stabilizer are lithium,valporate .
No treatment option :
if you do not want to go through any kind of medication then here is a solution to no treatment , it is important to take the decision in coll mind rather than in depressive mood the first and most important is to view the treatment - free period as an experiment . this has many advantages , not least that it keeps the door open for a return to treatment without such decision being viewed by you or anyone else as a ersonal failure . also try to know how and when will you know whether it is a no treatment experiment has been successful or not .self assessment is necessary
Important 
-review your decision by making a list of the advantages and disadvantages of this choice 
- carefully consider if there is anything that someone might do that would change your mind , if so , go to talk to them 
- talk to people who know you , and ask for their views on the advantages or disadvantages of hat you propose 
 - if you cannot talk to someone you know well . seek advice or support from a self-help organization for individual with manic depression 
-try to identify someone you trust with whom you  would be prepared to speak regularly to review your mood state ad how you are copying 
-try to regularize your day to day pattern activity and keep a record of your mood and any other symptoms you experience so that you can assess your progress 
- avoid non- prescription drugs , excess consumption of alcohol , caffeine or other stimulants 
-read about manic depression and try to assess how like you are experience a long symptoms free period and what will protect you against relapse 
- agree on  a plan with the person about what you will do if the experiment is unsuccessful things are going badly , or you experience a recurrence of symptoms  best of all write down the plan in details and both keep a copy .

MOOD SWINGS

MOOD SWINGS

The problematic mood swings are unpredictable , frequently fluctuating but without obvious precipitants , uncontrollable, emotional responses that seems inappropriate reactions to event and are beyond your control ; exyreme , with mood always experienced as intense highs or lows ; excessive , with very frequent ups and downs occurring for  many years

Extensive, marked changes of mood that last long time

Accompanied by associated changes, in your thoughts, the way they behave, and possibly in the biological system that impact on day to day functioning

Distruptive to lives, causing significant problems for the individual experiencing them and / or for others

Different Types of Mood Disorders

If your mood swings have most of these characteristics it is possible that you have mood disorders. the major difference between mood disorder and other forms of mood swings is that mood disorders tend to show a consistent pattern of symptoms that occur together whenever a significant mood disturbance occurs . Also the changes persist for prolonged periods of time. The most common mood disorders are: dysthymia (chromic minor depression)

Major depressive disorder (unipolar disorder)

Manic – depressive disorder (also called bipolar disorder)

Dysthymia and major depressive disorder are characterised by a depressed mood with ‘highs’. The depression interspersed with periods of normal moods. It has less severe symptoms than major depressions, but there are relatively few periods of normal moods. Furthermore the feeling of sadness is very persistent, occurring virtually every day for two or more years. Not surprisingly, individuals with dysthymia frequently report a lack of self confidence and low self esteem. The term manic depression ecompasses a number of syndromes characterised by both downswings and up swings. I individual with bipolar 1 disorder experiences episodes of major depression and mania and dysphonic mania, person are high but also irritable, impatient and agitated

How to find Depression and Mania

Depression

Depressed moods or loss of interest or pleasure in this you used to enjoy

 This must last at least 14 days. This change should be accompanied by 5 of the flowing symptoms:

 Reduced interest, fatigue, or agitation

Insomnia or increased sleep (hypersomia)

 Significant weight loss or gain

 Reduced or increased appetite

 Reduced ability to think or concentrate or indecisiveness

 Feeling of worthlessness, recurrent thoughts of death

The symptoms cause significant distress and / or impair social, occupational or other important areas of functioning

Mania

Distinctly abnormal and persistently elevated expansive or irritable mood.

 This must last at least 7 days. This change should be accompanied by 3 of the following symptoms;

Increased in goal directed activity

 Excessive investment in pleasurable activities

Reduced need for sleep

More talkative than usual with a pressure to keep talking, subjective experience of thoughts racing

Increased self-esteem

Grandiose idea these symptoms should substantially impair functioning or require that the person is hospitalized.

You can even contact the following for assistance

British Psychological Society

Division of clinical psychology

St Andrews House

48 princess road east

Leicester LEI 7DR

Uk

Tel no: 01162549568

Email:enquiries@bps.org.uk

Depression Alliance

212spitfire Studios 63-71 Collier Street London N1 9BE uk

 Tel no: 08451232320 , email : information@depressionalliance.org