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January 1, 2015 admin

New Year Old You?

Is change important?

Change is the only constant in the world. Seasons change, moods change, our bodies are not the same as they were yesterday and neither are the promises made by our political idols. The earth is transforming, planets shifting their atmospheric climate and satellites altering their paths. And yet we are the same? We still hold grudges, maintain resentment, dislike green leafy vegetables and abhor physical activity. We complain about bosses and teachers, gossip about friends behind their back and litter the roads of our beautiful cities. We plan great ‘New Year’ parties and yet we are the ‘same old’ people we were yesterday or three or five or ten years ago. We have scope to be better, to grow in mind, heart and and spirit; but we choose not to. We want to stay who we are. We don’t want to change (even for the better).

New year resolution

World over, New Year resolutions have gained prominence. A resolve to exercise, donate to charity, speak respectfully to parents or improve ones grades. And for many these fizzle out within a few days or weeks of the year. The impetus to change gets fed by enthusiasm from friends, family and colleagues at the time of making a resolution; but the momentum required to see it through is frequently lacking. What is the reason for obsession with making resolutions and sharing them with the world, tweeting them, and placing them as status updates on Facebook? Change matters when it is implemented. Actions speak louder than words. It’s quintessential to know the difference between the new resolve versus the new person we become owing to that resolve.

How many of these apply to you?

  • You feel you need to stop smoking
  • You are lagging behind at work
  • You are unable to make new friends
  • You can’t bring yourself to exercise
  • You worry about things all the time
  • You end up hurting people you love
  • You procrastinate and delay action
  • You hold back because you’re unsure
  • You don’t tell others how you feel

If even a single one applied to you, you know you need to change something. And who better than you knows that it is not going to be easy. The road to self-betterment is not an automated conveyor belt that can transport you without human effort. It is a long and winding path that requires endurance, willpower and fortitude. Identifying a problem is the first step towards its correction. Realizing and accepting shortcomings is the only way to developing an effective plan to overcome them…

test

Case Study: Schizophrenia
BackgroundAnupama (name changed for anonymity) 27 year old unmarried female, working as a helper in an office was brought to the clinic by her family members for evaluation of abnormal behavior that they had been noticing in her over the past few months.

Symptoms

Off late Anupama had stopped talking much to her family (parents and sister) and seemed to be lost in her own world. She stayed awake in the night because she believed the neighbors were plotting against her family and were keeping a watch on their moves so she stayed up at night in the fear that they’d break into the house. She kept windows locked and always suspected that she was being watched and reacted with tremendous fear and apprehension.

Loss of reality

Anupama could constantly hear the voices of neighbors as a running commentary 24 hours a day. (This was not real, the neighbors were not talking to her; it was imagined.) She also believed there were invisible video cameras installed in her house with which they kept constant vigilance over her family. At one instance she also tried to hammer the wall to break the imaginary camera that had been installed within it by the neighbors (so she suspected)

Effect on her life overall

She refused to eat food, as she believed these persecutors (neighbors) had poisoned it. She survived on biscuit and wafer packs which she would open by herself, to make sure that it was not tampered with, or poisoned by her perceived tormentors, of whom she was extremely fearful. Anupama received a memo from her workplace since she couldn’t take orders or instructions well. She was always sitting by herself and gesticulating as if she was talking continuously to some unknown invisible person around her. When questioned by someone, she would invariably look away and pretend as if nothing had happened.

Management

Anupama had frank delusions and hallucinations. Her suspiciousness was coloring her functioning and performance in all areas. She was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and started on medication. Cognitive techniques were used a while after some suspiciousness had gone down. This was targeted at breaking her false belief about the neighbors. The family and friends were getting very worked up, hence they were given psycho-education that this was not pretense or a supernatural force; it was a mental illness which could be treated.

Progress and recovery

Anupama took her medication regularly. She showed some improvement within a month’s time and the hallucinatory behavior stopped. She stopped suspecting the neighbors although the thought crossed her mind sometimes. She resumed work and is now on regular medication. She does get stressed at times but it is within her logical control and she is in touch with reality now.
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