Mental Health
Psychiatry For All provides private psychiatric services online through pre booked appointments.
Our services include:
- Psychiatric assessments with appropriate follow-up
- Second opinions
- Psychopharmacological and therapy recommendations
We provide assessments and treatment as appropriate for conditions such as:
Depression
Depression is a familiar mental health issue that is defined by a sad or low mood and a loss of interest in activities that normally provide enjoyment.
Sleep, appetite, energy levels, feelings of self-worth, and concentration are all affected by depression. However, depression can be treated effectively with either medication, a range of talking therapies, or a combination of both.
Depression can be triggered by significant life stresses such a change in life circumstances or a loss. However, this is not always the case and it can develop on its own.
While it is common for most people to experience sadness or depression at some point in their lives, people who struggle with clinical depression find that they cannot overcome the negative feelings. This can interfere with their ability to function in all areas of daily living such as; relating to people, self-care, work, sleep, eating, concentration, and the ability to carry out daily living tasks.
Different Types of Depression
Dysthymia
This is characterized by a minimum of two of the above symptoms alongside feelings of sadness or very low mood for at least two years.
Postpartum Depression
This occurs within four weeks of childbirth.
Bipolar Depression
This similar to Dysthymia, but is followed by an opposite state of mania or hypomania.
Co-Occurring
This is when depression is experienced alongside alcohol or substance abuse.
Schizoaffective disorder
This presents as changes in mood which can occur before or after the presence of delusions or hallucinations.
Depression has a range of symptoms, some of which can even present as body aches and pains. These are known as somatic symptoms. Depression can also trigger irritability, avoidance of people, situations, and activities and cause the sufferer to become isolated. This can make reaching out for help difficult, even when it is needed most.
It can be devastating to see someone you are close to suffering from depression. It can be challenging to know what to do and how to best help them.
For an individual to be diagnosed with Major Depression they must experience five or more of these symptoms for at least two weeks.
Symptoms of Major Depression experienced on most days:
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Very low or sad mood for all, or most of the day
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Severe lack of interest or diminished pleasure in activities
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Significant weight gain or loss
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Dramatic changes in sleep may cause insomnia or hypersomnia
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Feeling either very restless or really slowed down
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Changes in cognitive functioning have a negative impact on the ability to concentrate, focus and make decisions
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Thoughts about death or suicide
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar Disorder is a complex mood disorder requiring specialized treatment and support. Bipolar, is a mood disorder consisting of alternating states of severe depression and manic symptoms. Manic symptoms include a lack of needing sleep, pressured speech, grandiosity, racing thoughts, feelings of invincibility, increased goal direction, intense focus, excessive buying of items, and an increase in risk-taking behavior. Even though Bipolar Disorder is a serious mental health disorder, it can be managed with proper treatment. Often people with Bipolar are highly intelligent and creative. Having the right treatment can help them to balance their lives without experiencing symptoms.
There are different types of Bipolar Mood Disorders, including Bipolar I Disorder, Bipolar II Disorder, and Cyclothymic Disorder. These mental health disorders go from most to least severe as listed. Many people who have Bipolar I Disorder have needed to be hospitalized, some may have gotten into trouble with the law. This is due to the intense manic states that this disorder induces. Bipolar disorder may also cause psychotic symptoms such as paranoid delusions. Although not as intense as Bipolar 1 Disorder and Bipolar II Disorder causes hypomanic states which can create significant turmoil in people’s lives.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a personality disorder that is characterized by unstable moods. People with this disorder are often easily angered, have low self-worth, and struggle in relationships. They can easily switch between love and hate, often seeing things in black or white, and may find it difficult to trust others. They can be prone to depression, eating disorders, self-mutilation, and drug, and alcohol abuse. Individuals with BPD often have an unrealistic fear of being abandoned by others and often sabotage relationships. They do this by pre-empting and provoking others to reject them.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) causes unrealistic excessive anxiety or worry about everyday things for months. Symptoms presented are irritability, muscle tension, difficulty controlling the worry, difficulty concentrating, sleep problems, and restlessness. Individuals who have GAD often look at the “worst-case” scenario even when there is no apparent reason to be concerned. Just the thought of getting through the day can cause anxiety.
Panic disorder consists of recurrent unexpected panic attacks. These are episodes of intense fear that can cause a person to experience, sweating, shaking, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, heart palpitations, and feelings of impending doom. These can come on suddenly with no warning, causing the person to feel out of control and worry intensely about when the next panic attack will happen.
This can further cause fear or avoidance of places and situations where a person has previously experienced panic attacks.
Social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia) can cause a person to be fearful of social events or performance situations due to feeling embarrassed, worried about being judged, being fearful of offending others (by saying or doing the wrong thing), or being rejected by others. Symptoms of social anxiety includes:
✔️ Feeling very anxious
✔️ Being very afraid that others will judge them
✔️ Worrying for days or weeks before an event where other people will be
✔️ Blushing, sweating, or shaking around others
✔️ Feeling nauseous when other people are around
✔️ Having a difficult time making and keeping friends
✔️ Feeling very self-conscious around others
✔️ Worrying about being humiliated
✔️ Staying away from places where there are other people.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health disorder that develops over time after a traumatic event, or chronic abuse or neglect. PTSD is complex and can affect people in many ways. PTSD symptoms can cause a person to be extremely sensitive and reactive. They can feel fearful, experience nightmares, often re-experiencing the event during these nightmares, have intrusive memories of the event (known as flashbacks), and persistently avoid anything that reminds them of the event. Traumatic events can occur directly or be experienced vicariously through seeing loved ones or others abused or harmed. For example, seeing a parent physically abused by a partner. Examples of vicarious experiences are close or repeated exposure to events such as a serious car accident, or law enforcement
and military personnel work environments.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that develops through factors such as genetic makeup, brain chemistry, and environmental and brain abnormality. There are five subtypes: paranoid schizophrenia, disorganized schizophrenia, catatonic schizophrenia, undifferentiated schizophrenia, and residual schizophrenia. Diagnosing schizophrenia in adolescents can be difficult and is often premature, as there may be many factors such as problems with school, friends, sleep, and irritability that can complicate the diagnosis. People suffering from schizophrenia may become isolated and not seek help from doctors for fear that they may be harmed.
This is often the start of the symptoms of paranoia and feeling suspicious of others. Sufferers may start seeing shadows and things that other people do not see, hear music or sounds that others do not hear, smell things or experience bizarre
body sensations.
These are collectively known as hallucinations (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile). The predictors of schizophrenia developing in youth may include isolating and withdrawing oneself from others, an increase in unusual thoughts and suspicions, and a family history of psychosis.
Symptoms of schizophrenia include delusions, hallucinations, catatonia (which is when a person is stuck or frozen in place for a long period of time), reduced speech and energy, lack of motivation, lack of emotion and flat affect, and withdrawal from family and friends. Delusions occur when someone strongly believes something is true when it is actually false. These thoughts can cause tension in families and relationships. These symptoms may be perceived as a lack of emotions, inability to complete thoughts, lack of enjoyment in life, and poor personal hygiene.
Obsessive compulsive disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a common form of anxiety disorder that causes
distressing, repetitive thoughts. These obsessions are involuntary, often frightening to the individual, and persistent, despite attempts to ignore or resist them. Compulsions are actions that the individual feels must be repeated to stop the obsessive thoughts and reduce anxiety. These can also take the form of daily rituals. For example, the individual may obsess about germs and catching diseases so will wash their hands over and over again.
They may constantly clean the house, switch the lights on and off, frequently rearrange objects, count numbers, say certain phrases or perform certain facial and body movements (such as tapping) or and avoid people or certain places. These compulsions and rituals often help the individual to cope with the anxiety.
Stress
Stress is caused by the body’s response to mental or emotional pressure and causes a feeling of being overwhelmed and unable to cope. Often new unexpected experiences trigger a stress response, or when an experience threatens our sense of self. Stress can also be brought about by feeling unable to control a situation. Stress is managed differently by each individual and coping abilities are influenced by genetics, early life events, personality traits and social and economic circumstances.
Stress hormones are created when we experience stressful situations. These trigger a fight or flight response and activate our immune system.
At times this stress response is beneficial, it can help us to push through fear or pain to
achieve a great result. Trigger hormones usually return to normal once the trigger has
ended. Once the trigger has ended stress hormones will usually go back to normal without any lasting effects. However, too much stress can have a negative impact as it can result in a permanent state of fight or flight, causing us to feel overwhelmed or unable to cope. In the long term, this can be damaging to your physical and mental health.
