July 2009

Life’s Highs and Lows

Everywhere you turn someone says- “Don’t worry, be happy,” or “You’re too blessed to stressed.” Well it is time to really say how you feel-I’m working on overload or I just can’t take anymore. In today’s world, most women are searching for balance in their lives. We work really hard to meet the demands of our families and careers. We try to remember to include ourselves and attempt to maintain some type of balance in our mental and physical health. While there a number of women who find they are able to juggle everything and keep it together, there are a larger number of women who cannot and may ultimately develop some form of mental health problem. For purposes of this discussion we will address anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression as the more common types of mental health problems that women may find themselves dealing with.

Anxiety disorders- common responses to stress certainly can be physical signs of sweating, palpitations and shortness of breath along with feelings of anxiety and panic. However, frequent episodes or disruptions to your everyday living can indicate a possible anxiety disorder.

a. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) means that you worry excessively about any and every thing along with not knowing exactly why.

b. Panic disorder means that you experience unexpected episodes of intense fear along with physical symptoms.

c. Social anxiety disorder or social phobia means that you have abnormal feelings of being humiliated or embarrassed in social situations.

Post-traumatic stress disorder- we all will experience a distressing or life-threatening event and most of us will recover without needing help. But for women, who are particularly at risk, such an event is a trauma that disrupts daily life. These traumatic events can keep you in a state of constant edginess, or cause flashbacks eliciting the original fear experienced at the time of the event.

Depression- feeling down or sad sometimes is common, however if these ‘blue’ feelings persist and are so bad that it interferes with daily living, this can be a sign of depression. Clinical depression is a more serious form of depression that manifests with feelings of intense sadness, hopelessness, and loss in interest in life with significant negative impacts on your life. These feelings are deeper, more disruptive, and last longer than common situations of being down or sad.

Mental health disorders have long been looked upon as being disgraceful, or punishment for bad things that you must have done, and often have a negative stigma attached to them. Family and friends will speak to you in hushed tones or make excuses not to interact with you at all. But the good news is that these disorders are treatable and people are becoming better educated about that fact that into each life a little rain must fall. It is important to know your family mental health history and to seek professional medical help whenever you experience unusual or abnormal symptoms such as those mentioned above.