Mathematics Disorder and Its effects on Children

Mathematics Disorder

This disorder is also known as arithmetic disorder. The first of these terms is used in DSM-IV; is used in ICD-10. It contains difficulty with arithmetic is probably the second most common specific disorder. Problems include failure to understand simple mathematical concepts, failure to recognize numerical symbols or mathematical signs, difficulty in carrying out arithmetic manipulations, and inability to learn mathematical tables.

These problems are not due simply to lack of opportunities to learn and are evident from the time of the child’s first attempts to learn mathematics. There has been no study of its epidemiology, although it is thought to be quite common. Although it causes less severe handicap in everyday life than reading difficulties, it can lead to secondary emotional difficulties when the child is at school.

The causes are uncertain. Dyscalculia occurs in some adults with parietal lobe lesions, but no brain damage has been found in children with specific arithmetic disorder. It seems unlikely that there is a single cause. Assessment is usually based on the arithmetic subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and on specific tests. Treatment is by remedial teaching but it is not known whether it is effective.

Tai Chi can improve Depression

Tai Chi can improve Depression and its Symptoms

The psychological benefits of physical exercise have been very well documented, but very few studies have checked and researched the possible mental health benefits of Tai Chi.  There has been a recent study which analyzed the effects of Tai Chi on emotional well-being.

The popularity of Tai Chi has spread worldwide over the past two decades. It is a slow motion moving meditative exercise for relaxation, health and self-defense.

According to the research conducted, Tai Chi may be associated with improvements in psychological well-being including reduced stress, anxiety, depression and mood disturbance, and increased self-esteem” among individuals with chronic physical illnesses as well as healthy individuals. There are certain populations which experienced the specific benefits of Tai Chi.

In the study conducted, there were several groups of individuals which included healthy individuals, elderly individuals with cardiovascular disease risk factors, adolescents with ADHD, obese women, and healthy adults, reported mood improvements associated with the practice of Tai Chi.  All the healthy elderly participants reported improved self-esteem. The team does not recommended that Tai chi has more benefits compared to other forms of exercise and mindfulness training.

Benefits of Tai Chi

  1. Practicing the precise movements also reduced stress and anxiety, researchers found.
  2. Millions of people practice Tai Chi every morning, and lot of people gets physical and mental health benefits.
  3. It is designed to promote relaxation and improve balance, strength and suppleness.

What is Tai Chi?

  1. Tai Chi refers to a set of 20 movements, learned over 8 weeks, that are a form of mindful exercise.
  2. The beneficial effects of Tai Chi Chih include lowering blood pressure and weight.
  3. “Chi” refers to the intrinsic universal energy present in all individuals.
  4. It is derived from Chinese martial art used both for exercise and for health benefits.

Support For Cancer Patients

Support for Cancer Patients is Available and it is Effective

Cancer is a disease which is often scary, life threatening and often causes people to become anxious. People if diagnosed with cancer often need assistance and support from all sorts of support groups including family and neighbors.

There are many Cancer Support helplines available which has licensed counselors to provide guidance, resources and support to callers with a variety of needs from getting information about cancer, identifying a local support group or just finding someone who is willing to listen.

Additional Cancer Support Helpline Services

  1. Connecting callers to local or national resources, including support groups, transportation services and other programs
  2. Short-term cancer counseling and emotional assistance
  3. Treatment decision planning
  4. Financial counseling regarding the costs of cancer and its treatments
  5. Specialized information on genetic counseling and pediatric oncology
  6. Access to an online distress screening program, CancerSupportSource
  7. General information about the Cancer Support Community

Most Cancer Council support services are provided at a local level in each and every country and state. Each state and territory Cancer Council offers a range of patient support facilities. They provide services such as:

  • counseling services
  • support groups and networks
  • education groups, programs and information
  • practical assistance
  • accommodation

When you need assistance or advice on cancer-related topics, many organizations will offer their expertise at no charge.

Multiple Sclerosis and Depression Patients

Multiple Sclerosis and Depression Effects on Each other

According to Mental Health America, if you are suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, whether you have depression or not can be judged by asking yourself following two questions:

  1. During the past two weeks, have you often felt down, depressed or hopeless?
  2. During the past two weeks, have you had little interest or pleasure in doing things?

If you have answered “yes” to either or both of above questions, you might be having depression which is one of the common symptoms of MS.

If you answered “no” to above these, but constantly have low mood, you may be experiencing normal grieving or other changes. Grief is generally time-limited and resolves on its own..

Many people with MS focus only on their physical health and neglect their emotional health — which is an essential component of overall health and wellness.

The Link between MS and Depression

Anyone having too much stress or a tough situation may suffer from depression. Hence it is easy to postulate the effects of MS can cause mood changes and hence depression.

  1. MS itself might also cause depression. The disease may destroy the protective coating around nerves that helps the brain send signals that affect mood.
  2. Depression is also a side-effect of some the drugs that treat multiple sclerosis, such as steroids and interferon.

Depression and other MS symptoms

There are many similarities when it comes about the symptoms of depression and MS. At times, when these conditions coexist what is causing what symptom is often misjudged. For example, fatigue can be related to depression, or may be a direct result of MS, or a combination.

There is no link established on the running length of one symptom being present due to depression and its severity direct impact of another.  For example, someone who is recently diagnosed can be as depressed as someone who has had MS for many years.

Nerve damage and depression in MS

Research has been done to see if depression can be directly linked to MS-related damage in particular areas of the brain. Some studies have suggested that there is a link, though they also suggest that MS-related nerve damage is only part of the equation.

Mental State of Moms Influenced Kids’ Health

Mental State of Mothers deeply Influence Kids’ Well Being

The children of mentally ill parents especially mothers have a higher risk of developing mental illnesses themselves over the course of their lives. This known risk must be taken into account in the practical provision of health care.

The increased psychiatric risk for children of mentally ill parents is due partly to genetic influences and partly to an impairment of the parent-child interaction because of the parent’s illness. Furthermore, adverse factors are more frequent in these families, as well as a higher risk for child abuse. Genetic and psychosocial factors interact with one another. For example, genetic factors moderate environmental effects; that is, the effect of adverse environmental factors depends on the genetic substrate.

Infancy and early childhood

The following alterations of parental behavior affect the child during infancy and early childhood:

  • Depression reduces maternal empathy and emotional availability.
  • The mother’s ability to perceive the child’s signals, interpret them correctly, and respond promptly and appropriately is limited.
  • Maternal eye contact, smiling, speaking, imitating, caressing, and interactive games are all reduced compared to the normal situation.

The kindergarten and elementary school years

The following alterations of parental behavior commonly affect the child in this developmental phase:

  • Mothers tend to perceive their children as being more than normally difficult.
  • Verbal communication is reduced.
  • In the context of new developmental tasks, mothers find it difficult to control their children’s behavior and to set boundaries.
  • Mothers sometimes react with excessive anxiety and restrict their children’s expansive tendencies too much (vacillation between permissive and controlling child-rearing styles).
  • Positive comments that reinforce the child’s self-esteem are more rarely expressed.

Preventive measures

Time and again, one sees children who are able to overcome these stresses without any apparent damage, even under the least favorable environmental circumstances. The concept of resilience indicates that many individuals undergo a relatively good mental development even though they have been exposed to risk factors that can often cause serious illness. The goal of resilience research is to identify the mechanisms that explain this variability of developmental course, and thereby to point the way to effective preventive strategies.

Preventive strategies for the risk group that consists of the children of mentally ill parents must involve reducing the psychosocial stresses to which they are frequently subject, as well as reinforcing individual and societal protective factors in order to enable normal development. To date, however, there are very few preventive strategies for this risk group whose effectiveness has been tested in randomized, controlled studies

Depression increases risk of Dementia

Is Depression Known to Increase risk of Dementia Multifold?

Lot of things has been researched and studied in the field of mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease and other form of dementia. One of the very interesting areas of research is depression and its connection with dementia.  Depression is known to create impact in people with dementia in following two different ways.

  1. Individuals who have significant depression are at higher risk of developing dementia.
  2. People who are having dementia have depression too which if left untreated worsen confusion and forgetfulness further disrupting the quality of life.

Contribution from Studies on Connection of Depression and Dementia

Dementia and depression are mental health problems that are commonly encountered in neuropsychiatric practice in the elderly. Approximately, half of the patients with late-onset depression have cognitive impairment. The prevalence of depression in dementias has been reported to be between 9 and 68%. Depression has been both proposed to be a risk factor for dementia as well as a prodrome of dementia. The relationship between the two disorders is far from conclusive.

The relationship between depression and dementia is far from clear with the existing body of evidence pointing to a complex interaction. There is a need to sort out several methodological limitations that hinder us from elucidating the relationship. Some of these may include use of uniformed criteria for cognitive impairment, operationalizing, and validating criteria for depression in dementia, using better instruments to measure depression and cognitive impairment when they coexist. This area has enormous public health implications considering our growing elder population, and there is a need to understand the mechanisms involved in the association of these two disorders.

Relationship between these two major illnesses

There are several ways in which depression could be related to dementia and cognitive impairment. First, both being common conditions, they could occur together in the same individual by chance alone. Second, in some individuals, cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms could both be manifestations of the same brain disease. Third, individuals experiencing cognitive deficits could become depressed as a reaction to recognizing their losses and poor prognosis. Fourth, depression might unmask a dementia which had until then remained undetected. Fifth, depression itself could be an independent risk factor for the future development of dementia; this seems a more plausible explanation when the individual has had early-onset recurrent or chronic depression than if the depression occurs for the first time shortly before the dementia is manifested. Finally, these are not mutually exclusive possibilities.

Depression Affects The Body

Effects of depression on the body and its well being

Depression and stress are closely related. Stress hormones are known to increase the heart rate and make blood vessels tighten. This puts the body in a permanent state of urgency and emergency. This can cause heart diseases in the long run.

There has been many studies and in particular a study from Harvard Medical School which proved that the patients who are suffering from depression when hospitalized for heart diseases, are two to five times likelier to have severe chest pain, stroke, attack over the course of 1-2 years.  Cardiovascular problems recurrence is more closely linked to depression as compared to conventionally thought diseases like smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol. Heart disease on another angle can also cause depression.

Depression and Blood Glucose

Depression and hyperglycemia are known to be a recurring condition. In hyperglycemia the body is not able to tolerate glucose and it can lead to kidney diseases and type 2 Diabetes.

Weaker Immune System

Recognizing the symptoms of depression early on is important since it slowly weakens the immune system of the body. The T-cells of the body are impaired by depression which can lead to conditions such as asthma, heart conditions, osteoarthritis and autoimmune disorders.

Depression can cause physical symptoms and may worsen certain physical illnesses or conditions.

Depression Causes Physical Symptoms

Depression is known to effect and worsen many physical conditions such as:

  1. Increased aches and pains,
  2. Chronic fatigue
  3. Decreased interest in sex
  4. Decreased appetite
  5. Insomnia, lack of deep sleep, or oversleeping

Depression can in another way affect the weight, diet patter and appetite leading to diseases like obesity-related illnesses, type 2 diabetes, etc. Many other people lose their appetite, others might have stomachaches, cramps, constipation, or malnutrition.

Competition Leads to Depression In Girls

Competition Leads to Depression In Girls – Truth and facts

Competition is everywhere and almost inevitable in the current times. All people whether small or big are exposed it to it. It is both good as well as bad. Competing to win is very important for girls’ social relationships and it may cause depression if they lose or do not come first. The scenario for boys is completely different. According to the study performed by Dr. David Hibbard from California State University and Dr. Duane Buhrmester from the University of Texas The consequences of this completion on psychological well-being and social role in adolescents depends on both the type of competitiveness and the teenager’s gender.

In a competing world, one is set to win and others are set to lose. If the spirit of competition is taken far from just winning and losing, it may lead to selfishness and lack of compassion. It can affect people socially and emotionally. People of different genders have different effects of these changes.

Teenage Girls leading to depression

 

  1. Lack of fun – study days are mix of the cycle – Learn. Revise. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. This makes some students crumble under pressure and go deep in depression. The fun need to be there and has to be mixed just well with studies.
  2. Relationships and commitments are important. We all need care and affection and this is what girls need when they are in college or school. Knowing what they are going through is a sure shot way to take early pointers for any problem areas.
  3. Dying dreams – Know what the girls are really looking to do in their life. The competition is fierce. If the child is working towards something which is not their dream – half of their battle is lost. So know their dream or build one for them.

Sickening competition – this has been the issue with every one of us. The ever increasing population has made everyone run faster than other to take the limited fruits hanging in the future.  You’re a dancer? That’s not enough. You have to be an excellent dancer. You’re a coder? Watch her code in Python. She’s better than you.  You’re a singer? See she has a higher pitch than yours.

Teen Suicide Facts

Real and Shocking Teen Suicide Facts – Youth Suicide Statistics

Teen Suicide has been a nightmare situation in the US. Currently there is thousands of teen’s suicide each year in the United States. Shockingly, it is the third leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds in the US.

Almost 1 teen among 5 thinks of suicide as an option annually. According to the earlier statistics, there are about 1 million teens who attempted suicide out of which 300000 needed/received medical attentions whereas 1700 died. Currently, the most effective suicide prevention programs equip mental health professionals and other community educators and leaders with sufficient resources to recognize who is at risk and who has access to mental health care.

Some Shocking facts about Suicide in Teens

  1. Nearly 30,000 Americans commit suicide every year.
  2. Spring time is the time when there is maximum number of suicides.
  3. On an average, there is a suicide committed every 16.2 minutes.
  4. More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, COMBINED.
  5. Almost all the kids or teens who have tried to commit suicide have given clear warning signs.
  6. The risk of suicide increases dramatically when kids and teens have access to guns or firearms at home.
  7. 60% of all suicides in the United States are committed with a gun.

Checking on the method of Suicide

The first way of suicide in teens is by the guns or firearms at home. Next method is overdose using over-the-counter, prescription, and non-prescription medicine. Suicide rates and attempt rates differ between boys and girls a lot. While more girls attempt suicide, boys tend to die twice as much as girls due to suicide. The reason is girls think about suicide, but use drug overdose or cutting the wrist as the method, whereas boys think less but take a lethal method like guns, hanging, etc.

Suicide cases in 90% of teens who kill themselves have some type of mental health problem, such as depression, anxiety, drug or alcohol abuse, or a behavior problem. Some of the teens will be victim of physical or sexual abuse causing them to take extreme step.

Possible warning signs

  1. Talking About Dying — any mention of dying, disappearing, jumping, etc.
  2. Recent Loss — divorce, separation, broken relationship, self-confidence, self-esteem, loss of interest in friends, hobbies, etc.
  3. Change in Personality – becoming more sad, withdrawn, irritable, anxious, tired, etc.
  4. Change in Behavior – sudden poor performance on school, work, routine, etc.
  5. Change in Sleep Patterns
  6. Change in Eating Habits — loss of appetite and weight,
  7. Fear of losing control – acting erratically, harming self or others
  8. Low self esteem — feeling worthless and shameful

How to tackle World which is filled with Sadness?

Can you tackle World which is filled with Sadness without getting effected?

Here are many top tips to help you on Sadness coming from the external world around us. The world is a crazy place, where several crazy things happen daily. You need to learn to tackle the world and the upcoming sadness from this. Here are few of the tips to help cut down the stress and take the path ahead.

Avoid the mainstream news

Every day in the morning you will read many racist, fear-mongering headlines which will not do any good to your day and your mood. Promise yourself a full month of media fast every year and you can see the results of it on your mood. The negative energy we have for the world is always better spent on positive thought and action. In addition there are various reasons you cannot trust the honest account of current happening in the world. Remember, news gathering and news creation both has been proven innumerable times earlier.

Channelize your frustration in some Creative thing

Getting mad and hysteric is not going to take you anywhere. It will just add complication. So do not stress yourself, but be poetic and start writing, drawing, painting, vlogging or blogging, playing a musical instrument, etc. Remember, creativity is a wonderful antidote to depression. You do not have to learn to perform, but to spend the good amount of time doing something constructive.

Disconnect All your Devices (to reconnect with life!)

Break from Social media and phone can relax you a lot more than you can think of. According to a study from Denmark, we’d all feel much happier if we had a break from social media. The study also found that people who quit using phones, tablets, laptop, etc., interacted lot more with real-life human beings.

Take control of your mind

Forget about past, Live in Present and Plan for Future is what you should be reminding yourself to live in the present moment is a very effective way to eliminate worrying and get some perspective. Participate in global group meditations which can help you visualize world peace.

Remember: millions of people feel the same as you!

You are not alone in this feeling. You need to realize that you are not the only one facing this issue. Just remember the millions of people around the world who are campaigning for change. Surround yourself with like-minded people, and never underestimate the importance of a hug.