Mindfulness

Awareness


Hey lovelies!

I am back with a Psychology/mental health related post after so long! Many of you may have heard the term ‘mindfulness’. But what does it mean? Mindfulness is consciously/deliberately being aware of something, but not thinking about it. It is being aware of what is happening and attending to whatever is happening. It involves paying attention to our own mind and body, being in equilibrium with the outside world. 

Mindfulness is developing this capacity of attention and awareness, as generally, we always focus on thoughts rather than awareness. An example: when you eat something, let’s use a raisin as an example, are you aware of the various sensations you experience? Or do you taste, chew and swallow without much thought? Being mindful when eating a raisin would involve being aware of the texture of the raisin, how it feels against your tongue, what bursts of flavour you experience, how heavy it is in your mouth.. etc. Often we work in ‘automatic pilot’, having our attention somewhere else and not attending to 'here and now'. For example, you could be doing the ironing but not have your full attention to the task as you are concentrating on what you might cook for dinner.

This is some delicious hot cookie dough. This photo was appropriate for this post because I was naturally very mindful while eating this because it tasted so good :P

Mindfulness can help you to skilfully let go of your worries and negative thoughts, but it requires practice and being done regularly. Mindfulness based therapeutic interventions are also used by Psychologists to help patients. It is a good technique to reduce stress. You can try some simple mindfulness techniques yourself to become more aware of yourself and of what you are currently doing.

1)      Breathing:
-           Pay attention to your breathing. Just focus on your breath. Allow the pressure from inside to leave and feel your breathing become calmer and relaxed. Be aware as you inhale, what happens inside your body (the air filling your lungs)/the physical sensation, how it feels, and as you exhale try to fully experience that sensation too.

2)      Activities – e.g. walking outside:
-           Focus your full attention on the experience of walking. Feel the ground in contact with your feet, feel the bend of your knee as you walk. What do you feel on the ground as you walk? Is the path smooth, is it uneven, and are there leaves you walk over? Feel the pressure of each foot as you change from left to right when you walk.

It may sound a bit exaggerated giving so much attention to daily tasks, but try it. You don’t have to share it with anyone. You don’t have to focus too much on it either. You just need to be more aware your experiences and sensations in the current moment.

That’s it for now! This was different post to usual, hope you enjoyed it.

Take lots of care!
Ayesha xxx

World Mental Health Day

Awareness
Hi beautiful people!

Today, 10th October, is World Mental Health Day, hosted by the World Federation for Mental Health. So, take a moment to think: how do you feel about mental health? Mental health (MH), by the way, does not only refer to MH disorders, but all aspects of MH - good and poor. But, as we live in a society where still there is a lot of stigma towards MH problems, I'm going to talk about that. I've talked about MH stigma previously too (it's a very important topic for me!), you can check that post out here and my poem on it.

Okay, now let me rephrase what I initially asked: how do you feel about poor mental health? When you think of someone suffering from a MH disorder, what thoughts come to mind? It is very likely that one of your loved ones or acquaintances is or has been suffering from a MH problem. MH problems are very common. And you know what? That's ok. It's ok to be going through MH issues. Some well-known MH disorders such as depression and anxiety are not unknown to most people, but other disorders such as schizophrenia result in a lot of speculation. Unfortunately the media tends to place a heavy bias on negative aspects of such disorders. News headlines seem to depict the 'worst' side of a mentally ill individual. This is not always the case. Yes, some people with severe MH problems can tend to behave in a dangerous way, but that can be said about 'normal' people too, right? For example, not all 'normal' people are criminals, yet 'normal' people do commit crimes. Similarly, not all mentally unwell people are criminals, but some do commit crimes and that's what the media likes to exaggerate. I'm mainly talking about schizophrenia here, which is a very misunderstood MH disorder.

As with any health problem, support is available. Physical health problems are rarely stigmatised against, at least not to the extent to MH problems. Society really needs to have a broader mind and be more receptive to such sensitive topics. Love and support people experiencing MH disorders. Be more understanding of what they are going through rather than becoming distant with them.

I have discussed MH problems in some of my previous blog posts which you can have a read if you wish: DEPRESSION, EATING DISORDERS, SCHIZOPHRENIA, ANXIETY. 

I have always been a promoter for MH awareness and volunteered a lot in the past for people experiencing poor mental health. I still aim to reduce MH stigma (or at least try) as I feel it is still a big concern. Luckily there are people out there who are also keen on providing support and are not judgemental towards friends/family members going through MH problems. Let's all share awareness for a positive MH outlook for everyone and provide support to those who need it. Thank you :)

Peace and love,
Ayesha xxx

Master of Science degree..? Tick!

degree
Hello beautiful people!

I HAVE COMPLETED MY MASTER'S DEGREE!!!! 

Yay :) That's the most recent and biggest life change for me at the moment. This is also why I've been terrible with blogging (I'm sorry!) but my degree was my priority and took up most of my time. I now have lots of time to myself before I embrace a new journey in my life. I miss university, my life there and all my friends, but I'm excited for the different challenges that are ahead of me.. Life goes on and things are always changing. As always I'm going to take each day as it comes and live in the present. There's no need for me to make big plans ahead of time!

Soooooo. Let me talk a little about my degree. I studied at The University of Manchester - a very prestigious university and one of the best in the UK and worldwide. It is well-known for its quality of research, something that was a major part of my degree. I studied Clinical and Health Psychology. This is studying how psychology affects our mental health, and how psychology affects our physical health. My research project was 1/3 of my degree. My project explored the effect of sleep on emotional wellbeing, by investigating emotional face recognition memory amongst good and poor sleepers. I will talk about my research specifically (what I did and what I found) in a future blog post. I am yet to find out my results and my degree classification.


It's crazy how fast this year has gone and it's even crazier how hard this year has been. It has really been a big roller coaster for me filled with lots of learning and change. I've definitely changed as a person - for the best in my opinion. I've matured a lot. Oh yes. I feel like I've come out a much stronger and wiser person, and most importantly, an adult. Experience in life is key to growth, and my year has been filled with plenty of this. My postgraduate year prepared me and developed me as a person in ways I didn't even expect, and certainly much more than my undergraduate degree. Not only is the academic part eye-opening, but you meet so many different people and see the world a bit differently because you're older now. 

Academically speaking, I am a much more capable person now. My Master's was 12 months long but it felt like I was doing my three year undergraduate degree in one year - that's how tough it was. I guess that explains why the course was so competitive to get onto and why it is valued so much. And at the end of the day, it is at a high standard university so they are bound to make us sweat.. Postgraduate level is a definite jump from Bachelor's, obviously, but you only realise that when you're there. You have be fully committed and focused. The workload is not only higher but more rigorous. The marking is stricter. You are required to be almost fully independent in everything (more so than compared to undergraduate level). Well, as much as I doubted myself at times and thought I'd never make it through, I did, and I cannot express the relief and contentment I felt when I saw my research project printed out in front of me. I made it through, and I'm proud of myself. I remember saying to my friends on submission day "never again!" But who knows what's in store for me in the future. 

I value education a lot and I don't think I will ever fully retire from studying. If any of you are looking at further education I suggest you follow your dream and go for it. It's worth it. It's life changing. 

Bye for now! Lots of love,
Ayesha xxx

Cognitive dissonance: difficulty making decisions?

Psychology
Hello people!

Do you ever find yourself having a little battle in your mind over the smallest or biggest decisions? For example, when you are out shopping and you know you shouldn't be buying 'those pair of shoes' but you can't convince yourself to let them go? What you are experiencing is known as 'cognitive dissonance'. 

Social psychologists have highlighted that humans like to have consistency between their beliefs, attitudes and behaviours. When these are out of balance, we are motivated to reduce the inconsistency. A Psychologist named Leon Festinger (1957) proposed cognitive dissonance theory. Cognitive dissonance occurs when our beliefs and attitudes are inconsistent with our behaviour, i.e. we do something that contradicts with what we believe in.

For example, a smoker may be constantly informed about the negative effects of smoking, yet they continue to smoke. This would create mental tension (cognitive dissonance) for the smoker, and they would be motivated to reduce this mental tension by modifying their attitudes to fit their perception of their behaviour.

This can be done by three different ways:
1.      Changing behaviour: the individual may stop smoking.
2.      Using rationalisations: “smoking isn’t that dangerous, the media just exaggerate it”.
3.      Adding a third cognition: “I’ll quit smoking at the end of this year”.

However, an individual may experience post-decisional dissonance, where they may feel they have made the wrong decision. This can be avoided by selective exposure to subsequent information. For example, a person who has quit smoking recently feels they should have continued smoking (for various reasons), they may indulge in information that elaborated the positive aspects of quitting, such as the beneficial impact on health, reduced chances of getting lung cancer, absence of the smell of smoke etc. 

So hopefully that will help explain why we often have a little battle in our heads when making a decision!

Lots of Social Psychology love,
Ayesha xxx


Online mental health support

Anxiety
Hello!

I just wanted to share this with you guys:
If any of you (only under 18 for the time being) are experiencing emotional and mental distress, or just going through a hard time, you can speak to someone. You can talk about your issues and anything that is bothering you, whether it's your friends/family/school or anything else, to a trained mentor/counsellor/mental health professional. Everything you disclose is confidential, with the exception if someone is at harm (of course). Mindfull UK offer emotional and mental wellbeing support for 11-17 year olds, but are expanding to age 25 very soon. Here is the link:

https://www.mindfull.org/
Remember, no one should have to go through a hard time alone. There is always help out there. This is a free service of course, don't forget!

And if you want to get involved and want to volunteer for them - you can apply for that too! Apply to be a mentor is you are under 18, or a life mentor if you are over 18. All training is provided! Let's spread awareness for this wonderful web support :)


Stay happy and blessed,
Ayesha xxx

Feelings of anxiety/anger/stress and simple techniques

anger
Hello! 

 Quick note: this post is not about generalised anxiety disorder as a clinical issue, but is about feelings of anxiety (and anger and stress) and simple ways to try and manage this.

Alright, so feelings of anxiety/anger/stress are natural responses that we all go through, but not all of us can get out of those feelings easily. Some people have anxiety so bad that they can experience a panic attack.

Such feelings are a result of what we go through in our mind. But, when our mind experiences something, our body likes to work in parallel, producing a physical response. You'll notice your heart beat faster, feel hot and sweaty, get a burst of energy, feel tense, breathe heavier.. and so on. That is because your body is releasing adrenaline and cortisol in preparation for the evolutionary fight or flight response. 

 What's that? Back in the day our ancestors would have to try harder to survive and may come across many different life threatening situations, for example, a wild bear. So what do they do? They get stressed/anxious about the situation and their body would respond to allow them to: fight the bear OR run away from the bear (flight). Of course, in the modern age we don't have many adaptive functions for this response as we typically don't fight or run away from our problems. For example, if you are stressed about an exam.. you can't fight it or run away from it (strictly speaking - I mean you could run out the exam hall if you really wanted to..)


http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/8347
Due to this, our stress response can seem like it lingers on and make us feel worse - because we aren't making use of our physical response the way evolution intended it to be done. This is why we might do stupid things in the heat of the moment. For example, making the rash decision to start an argument with someone, hurt someone's feelings, quit a job, throw things at a wall.. etc.
So, what can we do about this physical reaction our body is producing without being harmful for anyone? We can try to de-stress and calm down. Not only do we need to calm down in our mind, but our body too (which will automatically calm down your mind). They both work in sync, if you calm one the other will respond similarly.

 Three de-stressing techniques:

1) Breathing activity (helps clear your head and relax you):
Inhale from your nose for five seconds, and exhale from your mouth for ten seconds. Do this about three times and you’ll notice a great relief. You can also do this while picturing a relaxing scene in your mind (e.g. a quiet beach). You can especially do this when you feel extremely angry to help prevent you from making any hasty decisions. Doing this in other situations like before going into an exam, doing a presentation or going to a social event (if you face social anxiety) can help calm the nerves too.

2) Chocolate:
Have you ever heard the saying “chocolate makes you happy”? Well it’s true! Eating chocolate releases endorphins (a happy hormone) which elevate the mood. Therefore, eating some chocolate can also de-stress you. It’s one of the reasons people comfort eat! BUT, don’t use that as an excuse to binge out on chocolate! As with everything else, chocolate needs to be consumed within moderation (unfortunately).

3) Exercise:
There are other ways to release endorphins too, with one of them being exercise. Have you ever noticed how energetic and optimistic you feel after a work out? That is of course when you haven’t worked out to your maximum potential and feel drained! You’ll be surprised at the mental wellbeing benefits that exercise has, with de-stressing being one of them. You don't need to have a full training session at the gym; going for a quick jog or having a rave to music in your room is great. Just get your heart racing and feel yourself cheer up!

Long-term stress can suppress our immune system, so try to de-stress as often as you can. Remember that these feelings are in our heads.. meaning we are in control of them. If we learn to pick up on when we think we're going to reach our limit, we will be able to learn to counteract this and prevent ourselves from going through the nasty experience. Hope this helps any of you to relax those nerves!

Stay chilled like an ice-cube (yes, yes, I actually just said that),
Ayesha xxx

Poem on mental health stigma

Anorexia

Hello!

I have something special to share today. I wrote a poem on mental health stigma, a cause which I feel STRONGLY about. Here we are:
Mental Health Stigma

"He's hearing voices? What a freak", they say, judging a person when they have no right
"She's mad, stay away from her", they say, thinking she might violently pick up a fight
But schizophrenia is not something that should define who you are
The suffering and trouble you experience is already enough to scar


"Get a grip and be a man", they say, having no idea how suicidal you feel
"Other people have worse problems", they say, not knowing how you cope and deal
But depression isn't something to be taken so lightly
It's a time when it feels there is no light shining brightly


"Stop trying to lose weight, you're not fat", they say, without thinking that you don't perceive that to eat at ease
"I can see your ribs, that's disgusting", they say, having no clue that you don't see what they see
But anorexia isn't something that means you're selfish and vain
In fact, there's more to it, particularly a lot of pain


"Why are you so awkward and irritable at parties", they say, not understanding that social situations are tough
"Stop worrying so much and always being on edge", they say, failing to see that you’ve already had enough
But anxiety doesn't come with a manual on how to cope
Often you can't do much but sit around and mope


Because mental health problems cannot be paraded on your sleeve
They’re much more common than most of us believe
Discriminating against someone when you haven't walked in their shoes
Labelling them as 'weak' without knowing the cause for their blues


Do we think that's appropriate, would you like to be treated that way?
Each person is priceless, so let your negative thoughts go away
If our bodies can get sick, then why can't our mind?
Health is not only physical, it is social and mental combined


Stigma needs to be reduced, awareness needs to be spread
What if one day you suffer, have you thought that far ahead?
Support, love and care, may be all that they need
Be more accepting, that is all I plead


If they’re seeking treatment, shouldn't you be proud?
They have realised something is wrong, they just need help to be found
Mental health problems need to be further understood, isn't that true?
Learn to be more open-minded, that's the least you can do.

Ayesha Shahid

"Keep your head above the clouds, but your feet on the ground" - Photo taken in Tenerife


Thanks for reading. There's not much more that I want to say, other than that I hope I can help reduce stigma associated around these issues.

Take care lovely people!
Ayesha xxx 

Depression

Depression

Hello!

I will be discussing major depression and explaining briefly some causal theories. Depression is unfortunately much more common than we think and is increasing becoming a larger problem in the world, so I wanted to start off with this.

The DSM-IV-TR (the widely used diagnostic manual for mental disorders) defines an individual to have major depressive disorder if they present at least 5 of the following symptoms for at least 2 weeks (but not a result of a general medical condition):

-          Depressed mood
-          Loss of interest/pleasure
-          Significant weight loss/gain
-          Increase in or loss of appetite
-          Fatigue/loss of energy
-          Difficulty concentrating
-          Significant distress
-          Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
-          Physical agitation

Major depression is a mood disorder; the sufferer will generally feel low in all things related to them. They will not only feel negatively about themselves, but also have a pessimistic view on life and the future. They may be slow in their activities or speech, and spend a lot of time alone - social withdrawal is common. This social withdrawal can fuel their depression. They may spend a lot of time in bed as they don't want to face the world (including their loved ones). People who are depressed feel helpless and out of control of the situation, and in extreme cases can experience suicidal thoughts. Depressed people go through the ‘vicious circle’ which prevents them from coming out of their depression – I will explain this in detail in another post.

Depression in women is twice as likely compared to men. This may be because women are generally susceptible to being more emotionally unstable, and can think more negatively of themselves. Unfortunately in society, to some extent women have less ‘power’ than men which may lead them to develop depression. This varies across cultures, of course.

http://wallike.com/sad-puppy-face.html

Causes?
-          Biological explanation – serotonin
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter (chemical in the brain) which when present in low levels, is associated with depression. It may be that there is not enough serotonin, or it may be that there is low activity of serotonin. Serotonin is thought to regulate other neurotransmitter systems, and low levels may affect the way these systems act. Depression arises when low levels of serotonin promote low levels of noradrenaline.

-          Cognitive explanation (1) – learned helplessness (Seligman)
Depression is caused by an individual thinking they have no control over the reinforcements (rewards and punishments) in their lives, and that they are responsible for any helpless state they find themselves in, therefore, feel helpless in situations that can be changed.

-          Cognitive explanation (2) – the cognitive triad (Beck)
Depression is due to patterns of negative thinking. The cognitive triad consists of three components: depressed people have a negative view of themselves (e.g. ‘I am a bad person’), they have a negative view of the future (e.g. ‘things will not improve’) and they have a negative view of the world (e.g. ‘my life is terrible’).
Depressed people are prone to distort and misinterpret information from the world and make overly negative self-defeating thoughts. Common misinterpretations include: selective thinking- where an individual ignores the positive aspects and concentrates on the negative points (e.g. to see a glass as half empty, rather than half full), overgeneralisation- making exceeding conclusions based on a single incident (e.g. ‘she didn’t answer my phone, therefore she must hate me’), personalising- blaming oneself for all negative events (e.g. ‘the car broke down, and it’s my fault’).
Depressed people are likely to have developed a negative self-schema. Our self-schema contains all information about ourselves (beliefs, feelings etc), and if this is negative, then so will our view of ourselves be when in new situations.

-          Psychodynamic explanation - Freud
Sigmund Freud proposed the idea that after the loss of a loved one in childhood, a person is unable to overcome their mourning period, leading them to ‘melancholia’. They blame themselves for the loss as they cannot blame the loved one. Depression, therefore, can be seen as ‘delayed mourning’. Emotions and anger which are not expressed at the time (in childhood) become repressed and become an unconscious negative emotion which is released in adulthood as depression.

-          Sociological explanation
In life, not everyone is as lucky as some people. Some of these factors may affect a person so much that they can become depressed. These can include poverty, low status in society, social isolation, environmental stress (e.g. at work, housing problems). Certain life events can also a large negative impact on us (e.g. bereavement, going through a bad marriage).

Okay that’s it for now! I hope you found this first post easy to read and not too technical! Hopefully, this would have helped you understand depression better and understand those who experience it too. If you think you or anyone you know is going through this, please seek help! Depression can be cured and the dark clouds WILL go away one day! Depression is treatable!

Keep smiling,
Ayesha xxx