Psychology & Mental Health Disorders
Depression Numbness
Irregardless of what social media and the internet depicts, depression has more than just one face.
Depression that is commonly exposed in the media reflects those that are upset, breaking down, and present an overall demeanor of despair. Irregardless of what social media and the internet depicts, depression has more than just one face.
One of the common faces is numbness. Being emotionally numb is the essential lack of feeling, which can even make it difficult for the individual to merely recognize that they are struggling with depression. The numbness can sprout in a physical form as well, where the derealization and depersonalization of depression kicks in. Individuals can feel an utter detatchment from their bodies and surroundings; as if everything and everyone around them is a complete void. Of course, this may not be true, but to the individual it completely is. In short, the emotional numbness drives one to feel as if they are living like a robot rather than a human.
Many various things can trigger depression numbness, as it is not something that mentally healthy individuals go through. Some of the triggers include:
- Depressive Episodes
- Anxiety Attacks
- Trauma
- Grief
- Stress leading to overwhelming feelings
- Drug abuse
- Panic Attacks
Of course this is only. a fraction of the possible triggers — depression, as I once said, comes in many different faces.
The path of recovery from any mental disorder, including depression, is anything but facile. The accountenance of a professional is always helpful, and reaching out for that help is hard but worth it in the long run. Learning to express and feel emotions is imperative for mental health, as depression numbest can disconnect an individual from daily menial tasks. Small changes to the daily routine could also spark a feeling such as going out with friends or taking a different route to school. Prioritizing yourself and your mind is what allows yourself to begin to feel and heal. Links to help with substance abuse, mental health disorders, and more is linked down below.
Links:
https://www.rehab.com/mental-health/helpline
https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline
https://www.help.org/drug-abuse-hotline/
https://www.mentalhealth.org/basics/
Depersonalization vs Derealization
The feeling of being detached from yourself, just like watching yourself as an outsider.
The word may sound depictable, but derealization is essentially the experience of feeling detached from your environments, as if they aren’t real. This is a common yet unobserved symptom of OCD and anxiety. People and objects and all other things seem dreamlike, but you yourself are completely in realization that this state is not normal. Depersonalization falls under this same concept, the persistent feeling that you are watching yourself from outside of your body. Everything feels unreal. Depersonalization-derealization disorder can be extensively stringent and can hamper relationships, work, and everyday life.
Symptoms of this disorder can be identified. For instance, depersonalization can come in multiple ways. Some of the symptoms comprise of:
- Feeling like an outsider to your mind
- Feeling as if you are interdicted from your actions
- Feeling the sense that your body is awry or distorted
- Feeling that your memories are short of emotions and affection
On the other hand, derealization can consist of:
- Feeling alone in your own environment
- Feeling a distortion in time, distance, and certain objects around you
This disorder can often feel like you are removed from who you are and the sole purpose behind your life and surroundings. Episodes can last for hours, weeks, and in some harsh cases, months.
Often times, derealization/depersonalization order develops after stress or traumatic experiences regarding those around you. However, there are instances where sleep deprivation or constant fatigue can play into the development of this disorder.
Many people may be unaware that this is a genuine disorder, or the severity of the disorder. It may just seem like a one time problem, but it is a real and very true experience that should not go unattended to or unnoticed.
Resources:
https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-depersonalization-derealization-disorder-dpdr-5202288
Productivity Anxiety: A Mental Crime
“You should take a break.” But it feels like a crime, why?
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you wake up? What is the last thing on your mind before you go to bed? For those with productivity anxiety, it is the thought of what you want to get done and the pure shame of how much you did not get done.
People may tell you, “You should really take a break. I think you need it.” But that statement, though it has been told more than the typical “how are you,” does not seem to shake off that productivity feeling. Taking off for merely a day feels like a crime. Where does this come from?
High-functioning anxiety in this particular sense relates to the stigma with resting bracketed with the burdening thought of productivity. It isn’t the fact that you are not able to take a break, because you can. It is the mental struggle of taking that break and the persistent and never-ending guilt that trips you as you take that break. The though that may travel through your mind is, “What did you to do deserve this break?” or “You should be working now.”
Our individuality and pride essentially depends on the labour that we yield rather than the ethics or pure ambitions that we attest to ourselves. Productivity anxiety leads one to feel happier the busier we are or the amount of work we pile on ourselves. This internal narrative is self-damaging not only to our mental health but to our physical bodies, wearing us down in a way like no other. Taking a break bears a hostility because of the mental battle of working versus relaxing.
Breaking this type of internalized habit is honestly a true interdisciplinary objective. One must realize that to “be ok” does not mean to have to complete every task that comes to mind in the morning. Laying down at night and getting rest should not feel pressuring because of how much you accomplished that day. Relaxing and taking the day off is part of healing but also rejuvenating ourselves mentally and physically for future tasks.
People all over the world indubitably struggle with this form of high functioning anxiety. Anxiety is not shown in one form, but rather multiple and unnoticed pathologies that can wear us down day by day without us even realizing.
Resources:
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-high-functioning-anxiety-4140198
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5451917/
https://www.stylist.co.uk/health/mental-health/productivity-anxiety-stress-burnout/595252
The Reality behind a Crisis Stabilization Unit
Recently I interviewed my cousin, Talieh Alavi, who works in the mental health field in a crisis stabilization unit. I took the time to ask her a few questions to acquire an in-depth understanding of what it is like to work with mentally ill patients! Down below are my questions and her answers!
Q: What encouraged you to take up a career as a specialist in a crisis stabilization unit?
A: “I got into crisis stabilization by chance. I knew I wanted to be in mental health since junior year of high school when I first took an intro to psych class. After I graduated with my masters degree, I worked in community mental health and addiction for several years, and also briefly tried private practice. Then, I was exploring job opportunities, and got a position at an acute psychiatric hospital for crisis stabilization, and I felt I found my niche. It felt like a perfect fit for my personality, interests, and what I was looking for. I just fell in love with the work and the environment, and I have been doing that ever since.”
Q: What is your speciality in working with mental health patients?
A: In my current position, I am the co-occuring specialist. So I work with patients who, in addition to mental health, also struggle with chemical dependency and addiction. My role is to educate them about addiction and how that may be impacting their lives and mental health, assess their motivation for recovery and sobriety, encourage them to think about recovery, and if they are interested, help connect them with recovery resources out in the community. I also work with them on relapse prevention, and support building. Basically everything addiction and recovery related, as long as they are open to it.
Q: What is it like to treat patients with bipolar disorder or depression?
A: Every patient is different, and symptoms of the same disorder can manifest differently in each patient. Depressed patients, or bipolar patients in a depressive episode are often at a very low point when they come to us. Most patients who come to a psych unit such as ours, get admitted because they are not able to be safe in a less restrictive environment. It takes a lot to get admitted to an acute psych unit. Most depressed patients who get admitted to our unit are either suicidal with a clear plan, intent to act on their plan, and unable to unwilling to contract for safety, or they have just had a serious suicide attempt. Our role is to keep them safe until the imminent danger passes, and they are no longer planning to immediately act on their suicidal thoughts. They may still have some suicidal thoughts by the time they are discharged from us, but they no longer plan to act on them or are willing to reach out for support if the thoughts get worse. For bipolar patients in a manic episode to get admitted to our unit, they have to be so manic that they are disruptive to the community, or dangerous to themselves or others. Sometimes people in a manic episode, if severe enough, can get psychotic and start behavior in dangerous and bizarre ways, they can get delusional, impulsive, or even violent. Again, mania can look different in every person. Our role is to get them stable enough for them to be able to keep themselves safe on their own and continue treatment in an outpatient setting.
Q: What are the most typical behaviors of patients with bipolar disorder or anxiety?
A: I’m not sure if there are any “typical” behaviors of bipolar or anxiety. Symptoms manifest differently in each person, especially anxiety. But as I mentioned, one has to meet very specific criteria to get admitted to an acute psychiatric unit. They have to be either a danger to themselves or others, so suicidal or homicidal, or they have to be so psychotic that they are unable to care for themselves and meet their basic needs. So, in our unit, with anxiety and bipolar depression, you will see a lot suicidal ideation and hopelessness. With anxiety, you might see a lot of pacing around the unit. You also see a lot of psychotic folks roaming about the unit, including manic psychosis. However, all of the mental health disorders out in the community will look very very different and much much less severe. Most people with mental health problems are very high functioning, and their symptoms are well managed. Not all anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorders are so severe and debilitating. So the populations that I work with are not always a fair representation of what the majority of the people with that diagnosis look like. I work with the most severe cases.
Q: How long does it normally take to stabilize a patient when they come to your unit?
A: The average stay in our unit is between 5 to 7 days. We do have some patients who stay a little longer, and some patients who may only stay 1 or 2 days. In some cases, when a patient is very severely mentally ill, they can get court committed, which means they are then court ordered to be in treatment, and their county is in charge of making their treatment decisions. In some of those cases, if the county is not able to find appropriate longer term placement for them (ie. State hospital, which is a longer term psychiatric hospital for the severely mentally ill, or groups homes/foster homes for the mentally ill), the patients can get stuck with us for a long time, sometimes 6-12 months. But those cases are very rare. The length of court commitment in the state of Oregon is 180 days.
Q: What does it mean for the patient to be “stabilized,” in other words, what goals would the patient have to reach before their stay with you ends?
A: For the purposes of our unit, “stabilized” means the patient is no longer an imminent danger to themselves or others, meaning they are no longer planning to immediately harm themselves or another person. If they were severely psychotic, stable would mean they have cleared up enough that they are connected to reality enough that they can now care for themselves and meet their basic needs (ie. feed themselves, bathe themselves, keep themselves safe).
Q: Would you have any advice for the viewers of this website, based on your first-hand experience with mental health disorders?
A: Speak up!! Break the stigma! Mental health is no different than physical health. Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not real! Mental health illnesses are just as real as any physical illness, and there is no shame about it! If you struggle with mental health, it does not mean you are “crazy”. It just means you are struggling with an illness. It is up to each and every one of us to break this stigma, so that those who are really struggling don’t feel shame to reach out for help. If you notice a friend acting “different”, reach out to them. Sometimes, people with mental health disorders really struggle with reaching out for help. Do not let anyone shame you for getting help for mental health. Do not let anyone shame you for taking mental health medication if that is what you need to be well! No one would ever tell you to manage diabetes without meds and with strong “will”. Mental health is no different than physical health! Take care of your mental health just as you take care of your physical health. If you eat well and exercise to keep your body healthy, do things to keep your mind healthy too, whatever that may be! Self care is important!! Self care is not selfish!!