Mental Health and Adjustment Disorder

Adjustment disorder is a short-term condition that occurs when a person is unable to cope with, or adjust to, a particular source of stress, such as a major life change, loss, or event. Because people with adjustment disorders often have symptoms of depression, such as tearfulness, feelings of hopelessness, and loss of interest in work or activities, adjustment disorder is sometimes called "situational depression." Unlike major depression, however, an adjustment disorder is triggered by an outside stress and generally goes away once the person has adapted to the situation.

The type of stress that can trigger adjustment disorder varies depending on the person, but can include:

•     Ending of a relationship or marriage.
•     Losing or changing job.
•     Death of a loved one
•     Developing a serious illness (yourself or a loved one).
•     Being a victim of a crime.
•     Having an accident.
•     Undergoing a major life change (such as getting married, having a baby,  or    retiring from a job).
•     Living through a disaster, such as a fire, flood, or hurricane.

A person with adjustment disorder develops emotional and/or behavioral symptoms as a reaction to a stressful event. These symptoms generally begin within three months of the event and rarely last for longer than six months after the event or situation. In an adjustment disorder, the reaction to the stressor is greater than what is typical or expected for the situation or event. In addition, the symptoms may cause problems with a person's ability to function; for example, the person may be unable to sleep, work, or study.

Adjustment disorder is not the same as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD generally occurs as a reaction to a life-threatening event and tends to last longer. Adjustment disorder, on the other hand, is short-term, rarely lasting longer than six months.

What Are the Symptoms of Adjustment Disorder?

An adjustment disorder can have a wide variety of symptoms, which may include:

•     Feeling of hopelessness.
•     Sadness.
•     Frequent crying.
•     Anxiety (nervousness).
•     Worry.
•     Headaches or stomachaches.
•     Palpitations (an unpleasant sensation of irregular or forceful beating of the heart).
•     Withdrawal or isolation from people and social activities.
•     Absence from work or school.
•     Dangerous or destructive behavior, such as fighting, reckless driving, and vandalism.
•     Changes in appetite, either loss of appetite, or overeating.
•     Problems sleeping.
•     Feeling tired or without energy.
•     Increase in the use of alcohol or other drugs.

Symptoms in children and teens tend to be more behavioral in nature, such as skipping school, fighting, or acting out. Adults, on the other hand, tend to experience more emotional symptoms, such as sadness and anxiety.
How Common Is Adjustment Disorder?

Adjustment disorder is very common and can affect anyone, regardless of gender, age, race, or lifestyle. Although an adjustment disorder can occur at any age, it is more common at times in life when major transitions occur, such as adolescence, mid-life, and late-life.
 
How Do I Find Out if I Have Adjustment Disorder?

If you suspect you may have an adjustment disorder, see your doctor. If symptoms are present, your doctor will perform a complete physical exam and ask questions about your medical history. Although there are no imaging or lab tests to specifically diagnose an adjustment disorder, the doctor may use some tests -- such as blood tests or X-rays -- to rule out physical illness as the cause of your symptoms. Your doctor will also look for other mental illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, or an anxiety disorder.

Your doctor bases his or her diagnosis of adjustment disorder on your report of the intensity and duration of symptoms -- including any problems with daily functioning caused by the symptoms. In general, an adjustment disorder is suspected if the level of distress is more intense than would normally be expected, given the stressor, or if the symptoms interfere with normal functioning.

If adjustment disorder is suspected, your doctor will likely refer you to a psychiatrist or psychologist, mental health professionals who are specially trained to diagnose and treat mental illnesses.
 
How Is Adjustment Disorder Treated?

Psychotherapy (a type of counseling) is the most common treatment for adjustment disorder. Therapy helps the person understand how the stressor has affected his or her life. It also helps the person develop better coping skills. Support groups can also be helpful by allowing the person to discuss his or her concerns and feelings with people who are coping with the same stress. In some cases, medication may be used to help control anxiety symptoms or sleeping problems.

If you have symptoms of adjustment disorder, it is very important that you seek medical care. Major depression may develop if treatment for adjustment disorder is not sought. Further, a substance abuse problem may result if you turn to alcohol or drugs to help you cope with stress and anxiety.

Most people with adjustment disorder recover completely. In fact, a person who is treated for adjustment disorder may learn new skills that actually allow him or her to function better than before the symptoms began.
 
Can Adjustment Disorder Be Prevented?

There is no known way to prevent adjustment disorder. However, strong family and social support can help a person work through a particularly stressful situation or event. The best prevention is early treatment, which can reduce the severity and duration of symptoms, and teach new coping skills.

 
Taken from: Web MD : Better Information Better Health
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-adjustment-disorder

Are u a Negative Thinker???

This is the kind of negative self-talk that feeds low self-esteem, anxiety and

depression. Negative self-talk is an accumulation of self-limiting messages that has become a habit. Breaking this destructive habit is possible, though it takes repetition and practice to learn more constructive and helpful ways of thinking.

Most negative self-talk is false, distorted, irrational, and self-defeating. We develop a habit of negative self-talk to protect ourselves. We use it to keep from trying things that may be scary or uncomfortable. "I can't do this" may really be a way of saying: "I don't want to face the risk of failing at this."

But our feelings don't have to control us. We can choose not to feel angry, guilty or frustrated. But to develop this control, we must learn to recognize negative self-talk and replace it with positive thoughts.  Talk to yourself as though you were talking to a friend, asking yourself what you could say in place of the negative thought.

Negative thoughts often come so automatically that we are unaware of them. We start to feel anxious, sad or depressed, but we do not notice the thoughts that are causing us to feel that way. In order to counter these thoughts and feel better, we first need to "catch ourselves in the act" of negative self talk.

Examine your self talk. Test the validity of your perceptions by asking yourself questions, such as:

What evidence backs up this thought?

Am I jumping to negative conclusions?

Are there any other ways that I could look at this situation?

What is the worst thing that could happen?

How likely is it?

What is the best that can happen?

What is most likely to happen?

Is thinking this way helping me to feel good or to achieve my goals?

 

Negative self-talk:

Are you experiencing any of these destructive kinds of thinking?

Types of negative thinking:

Negative thoughts are usually distorted.  We have trouble seeing things as they really are, often exaggerating our thoughts.

The following is a list of ways our thinking can be distorted:

1. Filtering:  You see and hear only the things you have selected.  Your attention is awakened only by particular kinds of information loss, rejection, unfairness, and so on.  You have blind spots that obscure evidence of your worth.  It’s as though you only let in the information that matches the way you feel about yourself.

2. Polarizing:  This is often referred to as “black and white’ thinking.  This can be particularly damaging to self-esteem, since you will see yourself as worthless if you aren’t absolutely perfect.  Watch for self-talk that sounds like “If I mess this up, I’m a hopeless failure.”

3. Overgeneralization:  This is a common distortion that plagues a lot of us.  It has to do with taking one isolated fact or event and making a general rule out of it.  For example, one date with an ice skater does not go well, so you decide that all ice skaters will find you boring.  When you hear these words in your self-talk, listen up!  These are clues to overgeneralization: never, always, all, every, none, everyone, nobody, etc.

4. Mind Reading:  This is when your self-talk assumes that everyone else is exactly like you.  Mind reading is fatal to self-esteem, because you are especially liable to think that everyone agrees with your negative opinions of yourself.  When you mind read, you think your perception is right and you act as if it is right, never stopping to check out what other people’s reality is.  Say you have a friend who frowns a lot.  You leap to conclusions without any real evidence that they are mad at you.

5. Self-blame:  You blame yourself for everything, whether it’s your fault or not.  You feel responsible for things that are out of your control.

6. Personalization:  This is the “it’s all about me” self-talk.  The way this shows up in negative self-talk and damages your self-esteem is that any time there is mention of a problem, you automatically assume that they are talking about you.   You negatively compare yourself to others.

7. Control Fallacies:  Control fallacies either put you in control of the whole universe, or put everyone but you in charge.  You struggle to control every aspect of every situation.  You hold yourself responsible for everything that goes wrong.  You either feel that you have total responsibility for everything, or feel that you have no control and are a helpless victim always waiting for someone else to fix things.

8. Shoulds: You have a list of ironclad rules about how you and other people should act. People who break the rules anger you and you feel guilty if you violate the rules.

9. Fallacy of Change: You expect that other people will change to suit you if you just pressure them enough.  You need to change people because your hopes for happiness seem to depend entirely on them.

10. Global Labeling: You generalize one or two qualities into a global judgment.  If you catch yourself fixing labels on everything that once and for all defines them in a negative light, watch yourself. You may be labeling things as a way to avoid dealing with them in a dynamic way.  Here are some clues: My house is a pigsty, I’m a poor money manager, my boss is a grouch, my roommate is a slob, I’m awful at math, etc.

Positive Self-Talk:

Write down a positive and nurturing statement that counteracts the negative self-talk. For example, change:

"I'll never get this done" to "I've been on tight deadlines before and I usually manage to get the job done."

"I'll never survive this." to "I have come through worse than this"

"I can't sleep thinking about this." to "This isn't worth worrying about - I'm going to let it go"

"I can't do this." to "This is an opportunity to learn something new."

Positive self-talk can be motivating, build self confidence, and keep you focused on accomplishing goals. It coaches you to succeed despite the obstacles you face. If you're thinking: "I don't have the energy to exercise", replace the negative thought with a positive and encouraging one: "I can start slowly by going for a short walk."

Practice thinking positive thoughts every day:

I will lose weight because I am learning to eat more nutritiously.

I am a kind person.

I have had successes in my career and I will have more successes in my career.      

I deserve to pursue happiness.

This is an opportunity to learn and grow.

I try to surround myself with supportive, positive people.

I can accomplish this goal by taking it one step at a time.

Record your observations in a notebook and refer to it when you find yourself experiencing negative self talk.

Learn to turn your negative self-talk to positive self-talk and watch your mood improve.

Sometimes it is easier to recognize negative thought patterns with a little help from a trusted friend or counselor.   Working on changing thought patterns is part of a type of therapy called cognitive therapy.

Taken from:
http://recoveryhope4all.com/negativethinker.html

 

Original source from:

University of California, Berkeley (http://www.uhs.berkley.edu/facstaff/care/negativethinking.shtml)

Develop the Habit of Healthy Self -Talk! (http://healthyhabits.com/selfTalk.asp)

Taking Charge! A Guide for Teenagers: Practical Ways to Overcome Stress, Hassles and Upsetting Emotions. By: Dr Sarah Edelman and Louise       Rémond

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