Hazem, Sara Abdou and Amr - Scandalous!
“You’re telling me that you’ve been seeing a psychiatrist lately? Are you insane? Visiting this kind of clinic destroys your social image, you shouldn’t go there, we all go through some pressures, it doesn’t mean we must run into the madness zone, you’re too young to get crazy, you’re just not mature enough, you haven’t faced any barriers yet in your life, you should be more religious to get the peace you so desire, try anything, go anywhere, make big mistakes and sins, but don’t go there, don’t go to that psychiatrist, I'm warning you, it’s scandalous!”
This was an imaginary monologue to smoothly guide us to today’s sfts pair project. There’s a large sector of people that believes in how "shameful" being mentally-ill is, and to overcome this stereotypical point of view, we had to simplify the widely spread diseases and their symptoms, we also should believe that mental health is as crucial as physical health. Similar to any organ dysfunctioning, the mental disease needs a suitable doctor, medications and self-care; to keep it under control.
“I’m in my dark room, I can’t even see myself." "I’m like a dead person, inhaling the scent of their grave." " I’m aimless and powerless, I’m sure my brain has lost its functions." "I can’t properly think, I've lost interest in everything I used to enjoy before." "I’ve lost interest..... in life itself.”
These symptoms must be observed for two weeks, minimum, for a diagnosis of depression. According to studies, there’s a depressed person among every group of fifteen adults, in any given year. One person out of six goes through depression at some time in their life. Depression mostly appears at the age starting from late-teens to mid-twenties. Compared to men, women experience depression more often, one-third of women suffer from depression at any stage during their life. If you’re a movie lover, I think “The Hours” does the job, it shows us the life of three depressed women in distant periods of time, it’s authentic!
There’re so many factors that contribute to causing depression, such as:
“I feel as though I'm high." "I’m nearly in heaven, I can easily touch the stars." "I’ve so much energy I can’t even sleep, tiredness can’t get me." "I’m really happy... right? I’m not sure about that, what's the reason for this happiness?" "I’ve no close friends, no one loves me, not even my parents." "I’m not feeling comfortable with anything around me." "Loneliness buried me in its soil. Hatred, envy and lies, their flames surround me, am I in hell?”
Bipolar disorder is a combination of two opposites: mania/hypomania and depression, through which the mood goes up and down, and switches from being so energetic and motivated into a destroyed and lifeless feeling. Mania and hypomania have the same characteristics, but mania is more severe as it’s defined by too much activity and euphoria that it could develop into psychosis, which separates the patient from reality. I recommend “ Silver Linings Playbook” to understand more about this condition, plus it’s a nice movie!
Bipolar disorder has the same causes as depression if it’s left untreated, it’ll damage relationships, cause low performance and productivity, also affect one's finances and may eventually lead to suicide.
“I can’t deny my obsession with the picture-perfect life; no mistakes, absence of atomic dust, purity and transparency." "People always accuse me of being anxious, they’re saying I’m too harsh on myself, but I’m not." "The biggest problem is that I’m never satisfied with the final results, I consider them a failure." "I think, one day, I might achieve my beloved perfection.”
I was really hesitant about writing about this disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD; because I think any person could suffer from it during a period of their lifetime. It’s a tricky one, it fools you and attacks your mind from the window of “you’re working on developing yourself and the world into a better and pure version.” It’s a tiring disorder, for every situation and action that occurs, your mind puts a million scenarios to make it more perfect the next time. Even I usually delete a complete paragraph, only to write it all over again in either a simpler or more descriptive form, eventually getting tired and leaving what I wrote last, which is even worse, in my point of view. If you haven't watched “Black Swan”, I advise you to do so, it’s a great movie in which its leading suffers from this disorder.
In the time of COVID-19, I can’t say washing your hands so many times is a definite symptom of OCD, but in normal times, it is.
Its symptoms are so clear to your sight to catch:
The complications of this disorder may include affecting the patient’s social relationships and the inability to go to work/university/school. It could end up with deep depression and suicidal thoughts.
What an exhausting aisle we've just passed through! This project is like a drop in an ocean; as this topic needs more consideration from all of us. We all need to be happy, optimistic, ambitious and definitely enjoy a peaceful mind. Having some mental or psychological issues doesn’t mean we have "gone mad," it also doesn’t mean we’re too sensitive or naive, all the disorders we dealt with in this article mostly affect teenagers and youths, so please don't underestimate them. They shouldn’t be ignored or neglected as their complications could turn into a disaster. In the end, suffering from a mental or psychological disease is not, in any way “scandalous”.
Lastly, I would like to recommend the “happify” app to overcome any negative thoughts or stress using games and activities. If you don't like it, you can find a ton of other apps with the same objective. It's crucial to put your mental and psychological health as a priority.
Let’s put a full-stop using Sigmund Freud’s quote:
These symptoms must be observed for two weeks, minimum, for a diagnosis of depression. According to studies, there’s a depressed person among every group of fifteen adults, in any given year. One person out of six goes through depression at some time in their life. Depression mostly appears at the age starting from late-teens to mid-twenties. Compared to men, women experience depression more often, one-third of women suffer from depression at any stage during their life. If you’re a movie lover, I think “The Hours” does the job, it shows us the life of three depressed women in distant periods of time, it’s authentic!
There’re so many factors that contribute to causing depression, such as:
- genetics; it could be inherited from parents.
- personality; growing up without someone nurturing a child's self-esteem triggers depression.
- biochemistry; instability to release specific hormones could also be a reason.
- external factors; endless struggle with violence, abuse, neglect or poverty could be the main engine.
Bipolar disorder is a combination of two opposites: mania/hypomania and depression, through which the mood goes up and down, and switches from being so energetic and motivated into a destroyed and lifeless feeling. Mania and hypomania have the same characteristics, but mania is more severe as it’s defined by too much activity and euphoria that it could develop into psychosis, which separates the patient from reality. I recommend “ Silver Linings Playbook” to understand more about this condition, plus it’s a nice movie!
Bipolar disorder has the same causes as depression if it’s left untreated, it’ll damage relationships, cause low performance and productivity, also affect one's finances and may eventually lead to suicide.
“I can’t deny my obsession with the picture-perfect life; no mistakes, absence of atomic dust, purity and transparency." "People always accuse me of being anxious, they’re saying I’m too harsh on myself, but I’m not." "The biggest problem is that I’m never satisfied with the final results, I consider them a failure." "I think, one day, I might achieve my beloved perfection.”
I was really hesitant about writing about this disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD; because I think any person could suffer from it during a period of their lifetime. It’s a tricky one, it fools you and attacks your mind from the window of “you’re working on developing yourself and the world into a better and pure version.” It’s a tiring disorder, for every situation and action that occurs, your mind puts a million scenarios to make it more perfect the next time. Even I usually delete a complete paragraph, only to write it all over again in either a simpler or more descriptive form, eventually getting tired and leaving what I wrote last, which is even worse, in my point of view. If you haven't watched “Black Swan”, I advise you to do so, it’s a great movie in which its leading suffers from this disorder.
In the time of COVID-19, I can’t say washing your hands so many times is a definite symptom of OCD, but in normal times, it is.
Its symptoms are so clear to your sight to catch:
- repetitive checking: when a person checks the door locks, alarm clocks, ovens and even light switches for several times that can exceed ten times.
- contamination: when a person has a big fear of touching, eating or drinking anything contaminated, even if they had just cleaned this surface, or cooked food themselves.
- arrangement: when a person needs to put things in rows and/or columns without even a millimetre displacement backwards or forwards, and also the need for symmetry.
- intrusive thoughts: thoughts repetitively intruding the patient’s mind that they can’t get rid of, one of could be disturbing or violent.
The complications of this disorder may include affecting the patient’s social relationships and the inability to go to work/university/school. It could end up with deep depression and suicidal thoughts.
What an exhausting aisle we've just passed through! This project is like a drop in an ocean; as this topic needs more consideration from all of us. We all need to be happy, optimistic, ambitious and definitely enjoy a peaceful mind. Having some mental or psychological issues doesn’t mean we have "gone mad," it also doesn’t mean we’re too sensitive or naive, all the disorders we dealt with in this article mostly affect teenagers and youths, so please don't underestimate them. They shouldn’t be ignored or neglected as their complications could turn into a disaster. In the end, suffering from a mental or psychological disease is not, in any way “scandalous”.
Lastly, I would like to recommend the “happify” app to overcome any negative thoughts or stress using games and activities. If you don't like it, you can find a ton of other apps with the same objective. It's crucial to put your mental and psychological health as a priority.
Let’s put a full-stop using Sigmund Freud’s quote:
“The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above the surface”.