Psychology

       Defense mechanisms are psychological strategies that are consciously used to protect a person from anxiety arising from unacceptable thoughts or feelings. Why do we need Ego defenses? We use defence mechanisms to protect ourselves from feelings of anxiety or guilt, which arise because we feel threatened or because our Id or superego becomes too demanding. Defence mechanisms operate at an unconscious level and help ward off unpleasant feelings i.e. anxiety or make good things feel better for the individual.  Ego-defensive mechanisms are natural and normal. when they get out of proportion, neuroses develop, such as anxiety states, phobias, obsessions or hysteria. Common defense mechanisms are:

  Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a mental illness that brings severe high  and low moods and changes in sleep, energy, thinking and behaviour. People who have bipolar disorder can have periods in which they feel overly happy and energized and other periods of feeling very sad, hopeless and sluggish. Bipolar Disorder types: Bipolar 1 disorder: with this type you have extreme erratic behaviour, with manic up periods that last at least a week or are so severe that you need medical care. there are also usually extreme "down" periods that last at least 2 weeks. Bipolar 2 disorder: With this type, you also have erratic highs and lows, but it isnt as extreme as bipolar 1. Cyclothymic disorder: this type involves periods of manic and depressive behaviour  that last at least 2 years in adults or 1 year in children and teens. the symptoms arent as intense as bipolar disorder 1 or bipolar disorder 2. Risk Factors of bipolar Disorder: 1) Having a family member w...

  Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a disorder in which people have recurring, unwanted thoughts, ideas or sensations (obsessions) that make them feel driven to do something repetitively (compulsions). The repetitive behaviour such as hand washing, checking on things or cleaning, can significantly interfere with a persons daily activities and social interactions. Typical obsessions: 1) fear of getting contaminated by people or environment 2) disturbing sexual thoughts or images. 3) fear of blurting out obscenities or insults 4) extreme concern with order, symmetry or precision 5) Recurrent intrusive thoughts of sounds, images, words or numbers 6) fear of losing or discarding something important.     Typical compulsions: 1) Excessive or ritualized hand washing, showering, brushing teeth or toileting 2) repeated cleaning of house hold objects. 3) ordering or arranging things in a particular way. 4) repeatedly checking locks, switches or appliances. 5) constantly seeking appr...

  The language acquisition device is a controversial claim from language acquisition research proposed by Noam Chomsky in the 1960s. The LAD concept is purported instinctive mental capacity which enables an infant to acquire and produce language. it is a component of the nativist   theory of language. How it works: lets go into a little more detail on the LAD. chomsky proposed that every child was born with LAD that holds the fundamental rules for language., in other words children are born with an understanding of the rules of language, they simply need to acquire the vocabulary. Chomsky posed that language is fundamentally similar across all of humanity.for instance, every language has something like a noun, and a verb and every language has the ability to make things positive or negative. chomsky also discovered that when children are learning to speak, they dont make the errors you would expect., children seem to understand that all sentence should have the structure ...

  Cognitive impairment is when a person has trouble remembering, learning new things, concentrating, or making decisions that affect their everyday life. Cognitive Impairment ranges from mild to severe.  mild cognitive impairment may increase your risk of later developing dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease or other neurological conditions. but some people with mild cognitjve impairment never get worse and a few eventually get better. Symptoms: Your brain, like the rest of your body changes as you get older. Many people notice gradually increasing forgetfulness as they age, it may take longer to think of a word or to recall a person's name. Here are some of the symptoms: 1) you forget things more often. 2) you forget important events such as appointments or social engagements, you lose your train of thought or the thread of conversations, books or movies; 4) you feel increasingly overwhelmed of making decisions 5) you start to have trouble finding your way around famil...

  Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. it can come from any event, or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry or nervous. stress is your body's reaction to a challenge or demand. in short bursts, stress can be positive, such as when it helps you avoid danger or meet a deadline. But when stress lasts for a long time, it may harm your health. stress is a normal feeling. there are two main types of stress: 1) Acute Stress: this is short term stress that goes away quickly. it helps you manage dangerous situations. it also occurs when you do something new or exciting. all people have acute stress at one time or another. Chronic Stress: this is stress that lasts for a longer period of time. you may have chronic stress if you have money problems, an unhappy marriage or trouble at work. any type of stress that goes on for weeks or months is chronic stress. Stress and your body: your body reacts to stress by releasing hormones. these hormones make your brain more aler...

  Anxiety is a normal emotion. it's your brain's way of reacting to stress and alerting you of potential danger ahead. everyone feels anxious now and then. For example you may feel anxious when faced with problem with work, before taking a test or before making an important decision. occasional anxiety is okay, but anxiety disorder are different. they are a group of mental diseases that cause constant and overwhelming anxiety and fear. the excessive anxiety can make you avoid work, school, family get togethers and other social situations that might trigger or worsen your symptoms. Types of Anxiety disorders:   1) Generalised Anxiety disorder: you feel excessive, unrealistic worry and tension with little or no reason. 2) Panic disorder: You feel sudden, intense fear that brings on a panic attack. 3) Social anxiety disorder: Also called social phobia, this is when you feel overwhelming worry and self consciousness about everyday social situations. 4) Specific phobias: you feel i...

    We all have times when we lack confidence and do not feel good about ourselves.  But when low self esteem becomes a long term problem, it can have harm ful effect on our mental health and our day to day lives. when our self esteem is low, we tend to see ourselves and our life in a more negative and critical light. we also feel less able to take on the challenges that life throws at us. Causes of low self esteem: Low self esteem begins in child hood. our teachers, friends, siblings, parents and even the media send us positive and negative messages about ourselves. For some reason, the message that you are not good enough is the one that stays with you. perhaps you found it difficult to live up to other people's expectations of you or to your own expectations. stress and difficult life events such as serious illness or bereavement, can have a negative effect of self esteem. personality can also pay a part. Some people are just prone to negative thinking, while others se...

Depression ( major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. fortunately it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and / or a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. it can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease your ability to function at work and at home. Depression symptoms can vary from mild to severe and can include: 1) feeling sad or having a depressed mood 2) loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed. 3) changes in appetite-weight loss or gain  unrelated to dieting 4) trouble sleeping or sleeping too much 5) loss of energy or increased fatigue 6) increase in purposeless physical activity for example inability to sit still, pacing or, hand wringing or slowed movements or speech 7) feeling worthless or guilty 8) difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions 9) thoughts of death or suicide. Risk Factors of d...

 Schizophrenia is a mental disease in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may result in some combinations of hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behaviour that impairs  daily functioning and can be disabling.  People with Schizophrenia require life long treatment and it's symptoms will stay in the patient's life for ever. Early treatment may help to get symptoms under control before serious complications develop and may help improve the long term out look. Symptoms may include: Delusions: these are false beliefs that are not based on reality.  Hallucinations: these usually involve seeing or hearing things that dont exist. yet for the person with schizophrenia they feel it as a normal experience. Disorganized thinking: Effective communications can be impaired and answer to questions can be unrelated. Extremely disorganized or  abnormal motor behaviour: This may show in childlike silliness to unpredictable agitatio...