Seasonal Affective Disorder: A Clear Link Between the Outside and the Inside of the Brain And God said, Let there be light; And there was light. And God saw that the light was good; And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. (Genesis 1:3-5) (1) The sun has been an endless source of inspiration, both physical and spiritual, throughout the ages. For its light, warmth, and the essential role it has played in the maintenance of the fragile balance of life on earth, the sun has been honored and celebrated in most of the world's religions. While the regeneration of light is constant, the relative length of time between the rising and setting of the sun is affected by the changing of the seasons. Hippocrates postulated centuries ago that these changing patterns of light and dark might cause mood changes (9). Seasonal downward mood changes of late fall and winter have been the subject of many sorrowful turn-of-the-century poems of lost love and empty souls. For some, however, “the relationship between darkness and despair is more than metaphoric (6). It is only recently that the distinct neurological effects associated with the shortening of the day in winter have been more clearly understood. One interesting example of mood change associated with seasonal change is Seasonal Affective Disorder. While Seasonal Affective Disorder (or SAD) is interesting in itself as a long-suffered from but only recently labeled illness, it is perhaps most interesting as an illustrative example of the complex interplay between neurological processes and the environment. The study of Seasonal Affective Disorder provides fasci... ... middle of paper ... ...ide? If healing comes from a pill, a shot, a box of light, does that make the illness real? Although my father would probably have steam coming out of his ears by this point in reading this paper, the lesson here is not in whether or not Seasonal Affective Disorder treatment should be covered by health insurance. Instead, it should be understood within the larger framework of how minds interact with the environment. Seasonal mood change is a clear and undeniable example of what happens when something goes wrong in the exchange of information from the outside to the inside. By examining seasonal mood change, the string linking the environment, circadian rhythms, the brain and behavior is a little tighter. Internet Sources: http://eawc.evansville.edu/anthology/genesis.htm http://web.nami.org/helpline/sad.htm http://www.cybercouch.com/library/seas.dbp.html
Being located in the west coast of Africa and between Guinea and Liberia, “Sierra Leone has an abundance of easily extractable diamonds”(BBC News). The diamonds had brought “encouragement” for violence in the country in 1991. Attacks of the Revolutionary “United Front (RUF) ,led by former army corporal Foday Sankoh”(Encyclopedia Britannica), were on government military and civilians. In response to a corrupt government, the RUF performed violent and terrorist acts that scarred many. “The RUF captured civilians and forced them to work”(Analyzing the Causes) in their army to gain control over Sierra Leone. The savages went a...
“Child Soldiers Global Report 2001- Sierra Leone.” refworld. Child Soldiers International, 2001. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry 56.1 (2011): 3-4. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 14 May
The body and brain are changing machines, where states of consciousness shift with zealous nature to allow our human anatomy to flourish. Schedules of the circadian rhythm function differently for everyone yet, is an important part of functioning for the human anatomy/mind. For the average person, however, the cycles we go through usually speak for a sleep rotation. But sometimes, even with these measured rituals, we find ourselves at a loss when we realize how fragile our circadian rhythm can be, caused by "insomnia," " jet-lag, " or even "weekend-lag."
The economics of Haiti has deceased in the last 4 years after the devastating earthquake that struck it 4 years ago. The Haiti economy has become very poor and one of the poorest country in the south, Central America and Caribbean region making it ranked 24 out of 29 countries in this area and its overall score is below average. Haiti’s economic freedom is 48.1 making it economy the 151st freest country while in the last several years Declines in the management of government spending, freedom from corruption, and labor freedom make its overall score 2.6 points lower than last year. Recovering from the disastrous earthquake in 2010 with the support of the U.S. recovering efforts “Haiti’s post-earthquake reconstruction efforts continue, assisted by substantial aid from the international community. Governing institutions remain weak and inefficient, and overall progress has not been substantial. The parliament has not renewed the mandate of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, which had been tasked with overseeing reconstruction efforts but was unpopular.”( .heritage.org). The open market of Haiti trade weighted to be 2.1 this is because the lack of tariffs hamper the trade freedom of Haiti. Foreign investors are given national treatment but the investment is small and the financial sector is remained underdeveloped and does not provide any adequate support.
Having anxiety is common and a part of everyday life however; there is a huge difference between a fear and a social phobia or anxiety disorder. The difference and important distinction psychoanalysts make between a fear and a phobia is “a true phobia must be inconsistent with the conscious learning experience of the individual” (Karon 1). Patients with true phobias “do not respond to cognitive therapy but do respond well to psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy” (Karon 2). Social phobia is a serious anxiety disorder that should not be taken lightly or mistaken as a fear you will simply grow out of the older you get. Social phobia has the power to destroy lives and can prevent people from living and enjoying their life to the fullest. Social phobia is a disabling condition that often starts between the ages of early childhood and late adolescence. The origins of social phobia can be linked to “traumatic social experiences and social isolation” (Hudson118-120). Social phobia is treatable however; research and statics show that not many seek help.
Roth, D. A., & Heimberg, R. G. (2001). Cognitive-behavioral models of social anxiety disorder. Psychiatric Clinics Of North America, 24(4), 753-771. doi:10.1016/S0193-953X(05)70261-6
During the author’s life in New York and Oberlin College, he understood that people who have not experienced being in a war do not understand what the chaos of a war does to a human being. And once the western media started sensationalizing the violence in Sierra Leone without any human context, people started relating Sierra Leone to civil war, madness and amputations only as that was all that was spoken about. So he wrote this book out o...
Social anxiety goes from not being able to socialize with people in a class to never leaving home due to the anxiety that is causes. Markway’s article states that there are three categories involved with social anxiety; mental distress, physical distress, and how avoidance affects someone socially. Mentally, it is exhausting to talk to people for to people and have that constant anxiety about the way they talk and act. People with social anxiety often think about how they can humiliate and embarrass themselves in front of others. This drives someone to fear that they may do something wrong at any given moments and may be rejected altogether (“Markway”, 2013).
Of the many processes of the body that change over a twenty-four-hour period, the overall physiology, biochemical reactions, and behavioral changes, can be partially explained by the circadian rhythm (Holtzberg). The circadian rhythm is governed by a series of clock genes that operate under molecular feedback loops. Overall, this entire process is maintained by an endogenous clock that is located in a small structure of the brain known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus (Trujillo). Although endogenous, the components of this process are able to detect environmental cues (zeitgebers), which are typically photic or non-photic (Ehlen).
"Depression." NMH - Depression. National Institute of Mental Health. 1, 3. Web. 6 April 2014.
Social anxiety exists as a mental disorder that affects fifteen million adults and about eighteen percent of the American population. Social anxiety is a scary disorder that makes simple tasks seem like life threatening feats. This disease has many symptoms that disrupt ones daily life, making life hard, and even harder for them to live a normally. Medications and therapy go hand in hand with social anxiety and sometimes help tremendously with symptoms. The way society views social anxiety and mental disorders is a shameful stigma and we, as a country should not feel like that towards any human being. Social anxiety is not a joke people endure this real disorder every single day, even though it can prohibit one from living their ideal life, but there are many symptoms and many treatments and therapies to cope with social anxiety. The figure on the page following can describe some of the behavioral, cognitive, and emotional symptoms that can be experienced for someone who has social anxiety or social phobia.
Concluded: Participants felt more nostalgic on colder days; however, there was limitations. People experience more discomfort on colder day compared to warmer days, so subjects could have stayed inside or decided to wear warmer clothing protecting themselves from the cold weather.
There are numerous distinctive discernments about individuals with social anxiety. Individuals who do have it are frequently seen by others as simply being timid, remote, compelled, hostile, uneasy, quiet, aloof, or restrained. The individuals who are tormented with social anxiety may be obfuscated by these recognitions also, so they may neglect to look for medication. Since the issue is for the most part inconceivable, they may imagine that they are the main ones who experience the ill...
In a majority of circadian rhythms there seems to be major components which include an endogenous component (which is regulated by an internal clock located in the hypothalamus) and an exogenous component. This exogenous component is made up of different clues in time in the world around us....