Psychiatrists and psychologists have higher incidence of mental illness in themselves!

-
Image
Psychiatrists and psychologists treat mental issues of their patients. But what about their own mental illnesses?  Psychiatrists and psychologists are more ill mentally  Doctors   are in great stress during their training as well as career period. The workload, busy and fast life schedules, and higher expectations and competitiveness and the nature of the job itself leads to a sense of exhaustion, both physical and mental. There is a heavy burnout. Moreover, time for socialization is almost nil.  Hence, doctors are in grave risk of suffering from mental health illnesses. And in this, psychiatrists and psychologists have a higher risk and incidence of mental health issues.  It is a sad truth that psychiatrists and psychologists are more ill mentally than general public or other doctors. This has been known but not accepted and recognised sufficiently.  Also, read: Narcissist mothers are non-loving and jealous of their daughters  Studies have revealed that psychiatrists and psychologists
Post a Comment

Social media users might end up with vicarious PTSD with disturbing online videos!

-

 Are you repeatedly and for long hours watching gruesome images and videos on social media and youtube. Beware! You could end up with mental health problems. This could vary in severity and type and the vulnerable groups are likely to be more affected. This could take the form of PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder that was earlier picked up in war veterans. This is called second-hand or vicarious PTSD.

What is PTSD?

Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD is a form of health problem seen in combat veterans after they have faced violent fights on the battle-field. There could be flashbacks, avoidance, sleep pattern disturbances and mood changes in the person. This occurs after the gory and violence observed and linger on for a month after the traumatic event. 

PTSD (Source: Verywell mind)

Online violent videos can cause something similar. But since it is not first-hand trauma, it is called second-hand or vicarious PTSD. Walter Busuttil of veterans' mental health charity Combat Stress states:

"There is a level of resilience that may be very high in some people and very low in others, and social media may actually affect particularly vulnerable people. I always tell my patients it's not a competition. We don't say that anyone's got anything more severe than anyone else."

He is of the opinion that vicarious PTSD is a well-confirmed phenomenon in clinical practice. 

Whatsapp: why not good?

University of Bradford study

A 2015 study done in the University of Bradford revealed that people who were exposed to disturbing and violent content online have risk of developing PTSD. In the study, nearly one-fifth of the people had it. Lead researcher Pam Ramsden said:

"If a particular person who scored high on the scale [used in the study] came into a GP's office, we could easily diagnose them with PTSD, because they have the same symptoms."

Online videos do not have any warning signs unlike the traditional videos shown on TV. In the latter, censorship is present and even warnings are flashed across the screen for viewers and especially kids. But the mini-screens of mobile phones have no such displays. The net result is that people continue to watch it for long and hurt themselves with it.

Additionally, vicarious PTSD is also seen in police officers and journalists. As part of their job, they are forced to see such movies and video clips everyday. But they are trained mentally for the job and their seniors also warn them of ill-consequences. Thus, they are better prepared. But this is not so in the case of innocent and gullible social media users. They are neither trained and warned. Hence chances of ending up with some symptoms of PTSD are common. It might not be the full-fledged PTSD but an incomplete form might result. But it nonetheless requires therapy and be controlled properly and in time. Walter says:

"This study is not saying that people develop PTSD. This study is saying that we can detect some symptoms that are measurable that are similar to PTSD."

Pam explains:

"On television or even on the radio, you get a warning: 'The following story could be disturbing'. You don't get that kind of warning on social media. Now everything is on YouTube, and things that we don't necessarily even pick up on are being viewed millions of times - car accidents, all kinds of disturbing things."

"We really can't censor those things, and I'm not for censorship. What I'm saying is that people need to be aware that those images can cause disturbances or add to life stress. In the same way that if you eat fast food all the time, it's going to be bad for your health. In the same way, if we're viewing violent images all the time, I believe it can have a significant impact on our mental health."


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Morton's toe: Everything you need to know about your longer second toe

-
Image
 Often, one notices that the second toe of some people is longer than the great toe. People say different things for it. Many of them say that it implies that the owner of such a longer second toe is a dominant, creative, energetic person in real life and very ambitious and peace and happiness-loving. But no one has tried to understand the reason, science, medicine and problems of having such a toe. It is called as Morton’s toe or Greek foot.  What is a Greek foot? Many people in the world have a longer second toe of the foot. Such feature may be on one side or in both the feet. It is called Morton’s toe or Greek foot. The other names for it are Morton’s foot or royal toe. But the reason is not the second toe is longer but the fact is that the first metatarsal below the great toe is shorter. Thus it is not due to the faulty phalanges but due to the difference in height of the metatarsals. Since the second metatarsal is relatively longer than the first metatarsal, the joint at the base
Read more

There can be no universal forgiveness! It never exists!

-
Image
Forgiveness or pardon means clearing off the feelings of resentment or revenge towards the offender. In most contexts it implies giving up any expectation of justice. People justify this act of forgiveness from a religious point of view and psychologists justify it as an act that would bring peace to the victim. But my experience tells me that both religion as well as psychologists are absolutely wrong in asking a victim to forgive the evil person. This act is bad from a society point of view and would lead to a rise in crimes and unhappiness. Let me explain in depth with examples. 1. I have a friend in the UK. She is originally from Nigeria. She has two siblings who are married with children and she herself is single and childless. In the year 2009, she had gone to her hometown. There her siblings tortured her physically and mentally and put her under house arrest. They did not want to give her any ancestral property and assets. She managed to free herself with the help of a friend an
Read more

Voluntary childlessness is on the rise in the world! What are the reasons for it?

-
Image
 The decision of couples to have no children by choice seems tough but is increasing in the modern world. Though society looks down at such couples, the availability of effective and safe contraception and old age support from non-family agencies has made things a bit easier for such decisions to be made.  Reasons for voluntary childlessness 1. Personal reasons such as not wanting responsibilities of a child.  2. The emphasis on career rather than reproduction 3. The lack of desire to forward one's family genes or line due to child abuse.  4. Anguish against existence in general. 5. Non-readiness to give up one's freetime and social time for children rearing 6. Happier to help others raise kids 7. Preferring a pet over a child 8. Not wanting to give up personal space and sharing it with a child.  9. Not happy with child-rearing things such as cleaning up mess, disturbing one's sleep etc. 10. Not particularly fond of children behavior. 11. In some situations, one partner alr
Read more