THE '22 TIMES

Mood disorders are a category of illnesses that describe a serious change in mood. Though many different subtypes are recognized, three major states of mood disorders exist: depressive, manic, and bipolar. Bipolar disorder previously referred to as manic depression is a multifactorial illness with uncertain aetiology. It is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs like depression and mania. The cycling between both depressed and manic moods is what characterises bipolar mood disorder. Epidemiology Epidemiological studies have suggested a lifetime prevalence of around 1% for bipolar type I in the general population. A large cross-sectional survey of 11 countries found the overall lifetime prevalence of bipolar spectrum disorders was 2.4%, with a prevalence of 0.6% for bipolar type I and 0.4% for bipolar type II. There are several types of bipolar and related disorders including cyclothymic disorder but the two types of bipo...

Feeling sad or anxious at certain times is a normal part of life. However when these feelings persist for more than two weeks, disrupting an individual’s relationships and daily routine, they could be considered as symptoms of depression (Pietrangelo et al., 2017). According to the World Health Organisation, about 300 million people around the world have depression (WHO, 2018). It is also estimated that 15% of the adult population will experience depression at some point in their life (Morin, 2019). These statistics therefore make depression one of the most common problems faced by populations worldwide. There are a lot of negative effects that depression has on the health of individuals. Research has documented many of these deleterious effects and this article will highlight a few of them. One major long term effect of depression is suicide. In the US, suicide is ranked as the 10th leading cause of death and the second cause of death among people ages 15-24 (Morin, 2019)....

There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds. - Laurell K. Hamilton, Mistral's Kiss That is all I want in life: for this pain to seem purposeful. - Elizabeth Wurtzel, Prozac Nation Are you happy? You wake up, survive the morning traffic, begrudgingly get to work, achieve things at work, gain more responsibility but are you any happier? You get yelled at by your boss, struggle to meet deadlines, you work harder, gain even more responsibility, get paid even more all while counting down the seconds till the clock strikes 5, dreading the struggle of the impending traffic on the commute home, you are annoyed, you want to vent out your frustrations but the local culture reveres the emotionless and stoic man, so you put up a brave front, unbeknownst to anyone that it is just a façade, a feeble attempt at masking the massive emotional bleed within you. Are you happy? Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common...

The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines grieving as the feeling or expression of great sadness, especially when someone dies. It is an emotional response as a result of bereavement. Kessler, D. (n.d.). refers to the American-Swiss psychiatrist, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, and her book “On Grief and Grieving”, when divid ing grieving into five stages. These stages are as follows: Stage 1: Denial This is where the person is in shock and disbelief, and wonders whether he/she can go on with life. The grieving person may show little emotion, and blatantly denies the occurrence of death. Denial is a natural adaptation strategy to help the individual cope with his/her loss. Stage 2: Anger At this stage, the grieving person becomes angry and blames others. Doctors and other health professionals as well as other family members may be blamed for the loss. Some people may even blame the deceased, and sometimes God. Anger also helps the individual to heal from the hurt of...

According to WHO, mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual recognizes his or her potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make contributions to his or her community. Research has shown that good mental health is associated with better social relationships, physical health and productivity amongst others. Poor mental health which results in mental health conditions like depression amongst others is associated with anhedonia, low productivity, isolation, loss of appetite and suicidal thoughts. Depression is a mental health condition characterized by the feeling of sadness for more than two weeks, anhedonia, withdrawal from close family and friends, lack of concentration, irritability, negative thoughts (like I’m a failure, I’m worthless or people would be better off without me), sleep problems, tiredness headaches and muscle pains amongst others. There are several causes of depression, ran...