Lifestyle Choices

Depression Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

CBT works on the basis that there is a close connection between thoughts (cognitions), feelings and behaviour. The treatment focuses on patterns of thinking that are negative and examines their underlying dysfunctional beliefs. For example, a person who i_sdepressed may have the belief: “I’m useless”. The underlying belief could be: “If I am not as competent as my colleague, I might as well resign from my job”. While the person in distress likely holds such beliefs with great conviction, with a therapist’s help, the individual is encouraged to view such beliefs as hypotheses rather than facts and to test out such beliefs. Furthermore, those in distress are encouraged to monitor and record the maladaptive thoughts which pop into their minds (called “negative automatic thoughts“). (more…)

Wile drug treatments have demonstrated their effectiveness in treating biological symptoms such as poor appetite, interrupted sleep, low energy and psychomotor retardation, they have little effect on psychological symptoms, for example, pessimism, low confidence, feelings of hopelessness, guilt, self-hatred and the like. These should be addressed using psychological approaches. The most common approach is Supportive Psychotherapy. (more…)

Psychological approaches work best for persons who are able and willing to describe their thoughts and feelings. In other words, they must be reasonably verbal about their problems. Many patients are so preoccupied with physical symptoms that they are unwilling to discuss their thoughts and emotions. Some are obviously anxious and or sad but deny experiencing these emotions. They will be less likely to benefit from psychological therapies. (more…)

Consultation Room Etiquette

Need for Privacy

If the patient seems hesitant about speaking to the psychiatrist, it could be that there are things he wishes to discuss in private. If you sense this could be the case, excuse yourself from the consultation room. Your presence may hinder disclosure of sensitive information. It goes without saying that after the consultation, you should not check with the professional what had been discussed in your absence. Most, if not all, caregivers I have dealt with do not have such a problem. (more…)

Arrange for Early Psychiatric Appointment

The most important thing you can do for the depressed person is to help him get a psychiatric referral. This could be self initiated or made by a doctor at a polyclinic or by the general practitioner. Early treatment leads to early recovery from the illness.

Patients may feel apprehensive about contacting the clinic. If so, you may wish to assist in making an appointment and accompanying the depressed person to the doctor. (more…)

GoreTex is a synthetic material composed of interconnected fibrils of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). You may recognize Gore- Tex as the lightweight fabric used to make insulating ski jackets, but GoreTex fibers are even more interesting as surgical implants. They have been used for almost 30 years as surgical vascular grafts and more recently for implants in the skin.

GoreTex patches can be placed just under the skin of the nose to give a smooth profile to previously unaesthetic indentations, and can be threaded under the deep folds between the nose and the mouth to smooth the grooves. (more…)

“Skin Bleaching” Medical Surgery Basic Procedure

Before a chemical peel, the doctor may recommend that the face be “pre-treated” with a special exfoliating cleanser, with retinoic acid, or with alpha-hydroxy acids so that the peel procedure can be performed on a more even skin surface. Just before the peel, the doctor may ask the patient to wash his or her face thoroughly. Then he or she will clean the patient’s face extensively with alcohol oracetone, rubbing the superficial oil from the skin. (more…)

Do you ever collapse after hearing a funny joke, or after becoming very angry? Do you have any relatives who are always sleepy? If you answer yes to these questions, you might have narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations (explained below). Narcolepsy is thought to be an attack of REM sleep during the day.

A person with narcolepsy will have recurring episodes of naps, or lapses into sleep. The narcoleptic will sleep for fifteen to twenty minutes and awaken refreshed, but within the next two to three hours will begin to feel sleepy again. This pattern repeats itself throughout the day. Sudden sleep attacks can occur in situations when it is quite inappropriate to sleep, such as while eating, conversing or driving.” (more…)