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SLEEP PATTERNS: SLEEP DISTURBANCE AND ILLNESS

admin — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 14:24:23 +0000

Our basic circadian cycle of sleeping and waking is built into our systems as a product of our genetic inheritance. The actual rhythm of the cycle is not established until sometime after birth, when the central nervous system is more fully developed. This sleep-wake cycle is the result of a number of processes that must work together in close harmony.With such intricate mechanisms involved, it is perhaps not surprising that so many of us suffer from occasional inability to sleep. In fact, an entire class of sleep disorders, known as disorders of the sleep-wake schedule, all involve misalignment between people’s daily routines and their internal circadian rhythm. Circadian disruption is a likely suspect in those cases where a patient has an erratic sleep schedule or complains of inability to fall asleep. Such people often describe themselves as night owls.Moreover, the sleep-wake cycle itself affects a number of processes, and some researchers believe that it may be connected to the onset and intensity of disorders such as anxiety or depression. For example, studies have linked the abnormal EEG tracings of depressed people to disturbances in the biological rhythms. These rhythms apparently occur earlier than normal in the cycles of depressed patients.*102\226\8*

STRESS BREAKDOWN: THE SYMPTOMS OF STAGE TWO

admin — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:42:06 +0000

It is important to realize that the symptoms of stage two are the symptoms of stage one plus the symptoms of emotional lability and inability to motivate the self. The person suffering from stage two stress breakdown will therefore experience the jumpiness, muscle tension, sleeplessness and churned-up feelings in the stomach of stage one, plus the tendency to lose control of the emotions and an inability to motivate oneself.
An important aspect of the loss of emotional control in stage two is that it is not just the tendency to break into tears easily. This symptom can occur with depression. The emotional lability of stage two is an inability to control displays of any emotion. Thus the person may burst into tears and a moment later be laughing. We tend to recognize the symptom of suddenly bursting into tears very easily as stress-related, but the symptom of laughing too loudly, too readily, is also a symptom. Sometimes the first sign of stage two breakdown in a person under stress is that he or she might laugh a little too loudly at someone’s corny, usually unfunny, jokes.
I wonder if the reader can identify with the woman in stage two stress breakdown who accidentally dropped a jar of honey on the kitchen floor, and then just sat there for half an hour looking at the broken glass and the sticky mess? This loss of the ability to motivate oneself feels to the person at the time as if there is no energy left to force the self to do anything.

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SIGNS OF DEPRESSION: PUTTING YOURSELF DOWN

admin — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:46:22 +0000

Self-criticism is part of the way we regulate the quality of our performance in the various aspects of our lives – our work, our relationships and even our pastimes. We are constantly judging ourselves. This often begins first thing in the morning when we look in the mirror. How do I look today? Are there bags under my eyes? Is my hair OK? Do these clothes fit properly? Do they suit me? Or when we step on the bathroom scales. Have I gained a pound or two? Did I overeat last night? Or drink too much? Either the question is answered or the answer is deferred. And so it goes on, for most people, throughout the day.

At the office, you might ask: How did I handle that last meeting? Did I say the right thing in the right way? How did it go over with the boss, the client, the organization? Was the product up to my usual standard? A parent may ask, ‘Is my child doing OK and, if not, am I to blame?’ A homemaker may ask, Am I keeping up with the housework or taking care of the home properly?’ In our relationships we may ask, ‘Am I a good enough wife, husband or lover?’ or ‘Am I getting the love or attention I want and need?’ And so it goes. We ask, we judge, we reach conclusions. This is an important ongoing process because it is a feedback loop by which we calibrate the quality of our lives and the basis for making changes or corrections so that our needs are met and we feel good about ourselves and the way things are going.

In depression, though, this whole process is disturbed. We see ourselves through a distorting lens. In the extreme case, the depressed person feels ugly and a failure in all areas that matter. Such judgements are made more confusing by the fact that the disorder itself causes us to fail in many ways, as I describe below. Even so, it is typical of a depressed person to exaggerate these failures far beyond what is reasonable and accurate. And it is this tendency to extreme exaggeration that is the major tell-tale sign. The conclusions reached by a depressed person, far from being an accurate take on reality, are in fact yet another manifestation of this multifaceted disorder. T am a terrible housewife, nothing I ever do turns out right/ or ‘I’m a terrible mother; my children would be better off without me,’ are common laments. ‘I’m no good at all at what I do, I deserve to be given the sack.’ The distortions may be projected into the future, as in ‘I’ll never amount to anything,’ and T have fooled people into believing I’m competent and sooner or later I’ll be found out.’ Sometimes the distortions are so gross that they would almost seem comical were it not for the pain and distress of the person experiencing them. For example, one colleague quotes a patient of his as saying, T am the most unimportant person in the world.’

Whenever you find yourself using exaggerated phraseology in connection with yourself, such as ‘the most,’ ‘the worst’ or ‘the least,’ you should suspect yourself of being the victim of distorted perceptions and very possibly suffering from depression. Such distortions have been a focus of one of the most successful forms of psychotherapy for depression, namely cognitive therapy, in which the distortions are systematically challenged and subjected to scrutiny, using the patient’s capacity to reason, which is often intact in depression. Cognitive therapists have actually shown that such rigorous challenging of aberrant perceptions and ideas can correct not only the distorted thinking of the depressed person but can also result in a beneficial effect on the person’s mood.

If you are in the habit of putting yourself down or constantly seeing yourself in the worst possible light and this has been going on for more than a few weeks, consider the possibility that you may be clinically depressed.

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