I am kinda hooked onto this channel "Zone Reality" and they were talking about a rare disease that's ailing people who travel a lot on business. It's called Intermittent Spouse Syndrome (ISS). Let me elucidate J

If you get a rush of adrenaline when you’re travelling on business, and view it as an antidote to humdrum routine, they say that the chances are that you’re either single or new to the experience of globe-trotting. If, on the other hand, the very thought of it induces sheer misery, you could be plagued with Intermittent Spouse Syndrome (ISS). Sufferers include not only the traveler but the partner or loved ones who are left behind. One can argue and most often it's dismissed as a routine disruption for families which is a growing phenomenon causing psychosocial problems such as depression, tension, sexual difficulties and even behavioral problems in children!

They spoke to quite a few psychiatrists ' can't rem their name and credentials. But they were all unanimous in saying that this isn’t just about missing your loved one. There are specific symptoms which have been identified through a series of studies. And ISS is a growing problem with the globalization of business and the fact that it is less possible for women to follow their spouses when they have careers of their own.

They talked about a survey conducted by the World Bank that revealed that out of 5,000 travelling staff, most were suffering from depression, nervous anxiety and sleep disturbances; and though the symptoms were initially attributed to jetlag. They later realized that other psychological factors were also involved.

One of the main influences is separation from home and family. ISS can be caused by as little as four or five trips a year. The usual pattern is a build- up of tension at the prospect of yet another departure, with the cycle repeated on the reunion.

Business travel is one of the hardest problems faced by couples in the 21^st century. Compromise is difficult. Either you give everything up to follow your partner or stay at home. Whichever option one chooses, the best solution is in understanding this lifestyle. And it’s time the consequences for offspring were put into perspective. These are children who essentially have an absent parent, which can have the same effect as divorce.

This habit of saying sorry for the past is out of hand. It is a useful reminder of what was, but is no longer. It’s called History. And we learn from it. Or we at least we should.

Do you have a peaceful sleep at night? Or are you the stereotypical insomniac portrayed as an angst ridden wreck tortured by remorse or failure, some may have thought is sleeping soundly.

Did you know that researchers have recorded and analyzed the thoughts of insomniacs wrestling with their demons? Rehearsing, planning and problem solving about the past day, past experiences, or work issues were the most frequently reported causes of sleeplessness. And their report stresses, these thoughts are not necessarily worrisome. Am not kidding?

I am a terrible insomniac and I had been to see a psychiatrist a coupla years ago and she told me that it was not surprising to her in the least coz she said most often rehearsing, planning and “problem solving” as the main categories of thought keeping people awake!! You think?

And you know what was really interesting was that she said not all the problems were necessarily laden with emotion, not all the problems were necessarily bad ones. We expect a lot of negative emotion and thought but may be I was just using the time before I fell asleep to think about pleasant things as well.

I believe insomniacs are defined as people who take more than 30 minutes to fall asleep on four out of seven nights. And some of the numbers she threw at me were really astounding! Insomnia affects around 30% of adults occasionally, a further 15% endure it chronically.

Infact NIMHANS had conducted a study and the results of this were equally astounding! The study involved 21 people - 14 female and seven male - with an average age of 36 who reported sleep disturbance over a period of 10 years. Each "subject" was issued with a voice-activated recorder which was left at their bedside while they attempted to fall asleep. When having difficulty dropping off to sleep, they said aloud whatever was going through their minds!

My college-mate who went onto study psychology in the US had once told me that they had volunteers who wore what they call an "acti-watch", a wristwatch-like device that recorded their movements and distinguished between their waking and sleeping periods ' and the result was that insomniacs actually sleep for longer than they realized!

She also told me that there are 3 basic causes for sleepless nights.

Insomnia: the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep at night, waking up earlier than usual and daytime fatigue.

Sleep apnoea: excessive daytime sleepiness plus snoring, snorting and gasping sounds when you sleep.

Restless leg syndrome: involves an irresistible urge to move your leg shortly after you get into bed or in the middle of the night after awakening.

Can u believe it? And here in India the same symptoms are called as having a guilty conscience, lazy and being fidgety! I guess I have all three symptoms! J

What about u?

I decided to take a Personality Test on http://www.kisa.ca/personality/

And the test shows that I am Introverted Sensing Feeling Judging type personality.

Introverted Sensing Feeling Judging [ISFJ] as explained by Marina Margaret Heiss.

ISFJ's are characterized above all by their desire to serve others, their “need to be needed.” In extreme cases, this need is so strong that standard give-and-take relationships are deeply unsatisfying to them; however, most ISFJ's find more than enough with which to occupy themselves within the framework of a normal life. (Since ISFJ's, like all SJ's, are very much bound by the prevailing social conventions, their form of “service” is likely to exclude any elements of moral or political controversy; they specialize in the local, the personal, and the practical.)

ISFJ's are often unappreciated, at work, home, and play. Ironically, because they prove over and over that they can be relied on for their loyalty and unstinting, high-quality work, those around them often take them for granted–even take advantage of them. Admittedly, the problem is sometimes aggravated by the ISFJ's themselves; for instance, they are notoriously bad at delegating (”If you want it done right, do it yourself”). And although they’re hurt by being treated like doormats, they are often unwilling to toot their own horns about their accomplishments because they feel that although they deserve more credit than they’re getting, it’s somehow wrong to want any sort of reward for doing work (which is supposed to be a virtue in itself). (And as low-profile Is, their actions don’t call attention to themselves as with charismatic Es.) Because of all of this, ISFJ's are often overworked, and as a result may suffer from psychosomatic illnesses.

In the workplace, ISFJ's are methodical and accurate workers, often with very good memories and unexpected analytic abilities; they are also good with people in small-group or one-on-one situations because of their patient and genuinely sympathetic approach to dealing with others. ISFJ's make pleasant and reliable co-workers and exemplary employees, but tend to be harried and uncomfortable in supervisory roles. They are capable of forming strong loyalties, but these are personal rather than institutional loyalties; if someone they’ve bonded with in this way leaves the company, the ISFJ will leave with them, if given the option. Traditional careers for an ISFJ include: teaching, social work, most religious work, nursing, medicine (general practice only), clerical and secretarial work of any kind, and some kinds of administrative careers.

While their work ethic is high on the ISFJ priority list, their families are the centres of their lives. ISFJ's are extremely warm and demonstrative within the family circle–and often possessive of their loved ones, as well. When these include Es who want to socialize with the rest of the world, or self-contained IT’s, the ISFJ must learn to adjust to these behaviours and not interpret them as rejection. Being SJ's, they place a strong emphasis on conventional behaviour (although, unlike STJ’s, they are usually as concerned with being “nice” as with strict propriety); if any of their nearest and dearest depart from the straight-and-narrow, it causes the ISFJ major embarrassment: the closer the relationship and the more public the act, the more intense the embarrassment (a fact which many of their teenage children take gleeful advantage of). Over time, however, ISFJ's usually mellow, and learn to regard the culprits as harmless eccentrics :-). Needless to say, ISFJ's take infinite trouble over meals, gifts, celebrations, etc., for their loved ones–although strong Js may tend to focus more on what the recipient should want rather than what they do want.

Like most Is, ISFJ's have a few, close friends. They are extremely loyal to these, and are ready to provide emotional and practical support at a moment’s notice. (However, like most Fs they hate confrontation; if you get into a fight, don’t expect them to jump in after you. You can count on them, however, run and get the nearest authority figure.) Unlike with EPs, the older the friendship is, the more an ISFJ will value it. One ISFJ trait that is easily misunderstood by those who haven’t known them long is that they are often unable to either hide or articulate any distress they may be feeling. For instance, an ISFJ child may be reproved for “sulking,” the actual cause of which is a combination of physical illness plus misguided “good manners.” An adult ISFJ may drive a (later ashamed) friend or SO into a fit of temper over the ISFJ’s unexplained moodiness, only afterwards to explain about a death in the family they “didn’t want to burden anyone with.” Those close to ISFJ's should learn to watch for the warning signs in these situations and take the initiative themselves to uncover the problem.

You know something? These days I simply LOVE being a couch potato… there are some wonderfully informative programmes being telecast… that I just can’t refrain from being glued to the telly. Incidentally I have stopped calling it the IDIOT-BOX! My friends call me anti-socials coz I’ve been avoiding meeting them coz there’s something interesting on telly. I devour the programmes on Medical Forensics on Zone, NAT GEO, AXN-CSI..

We sure have come a long way baby from the 5 hours of doordarshan being telecast daily in good ole Madras in the 70’s to 120++ channels churning out fantastic programmes.. For those of you who are Ekta Kapoor fans… sorry but the K’s of Balaji cannot be called intelligent viewing. Anyway… coming to the point. I was watching ZONE REALITY last night when they veered onto a serious subject… MUNCHAUSEN SYNDROME BY PROXY!

What a weird sounding name for a very serious state of mind! I decided to do my own research on it… and pen some of my thoughts as well.. so here goes folks!

Munchausen syndrome is a psychiatric disorder that causes an individual to self-inflict injury or illness or to fabricate symptoms of physical or mental illness, in order to receive medical care or hospitalization. In a variation of the disorder, Munchausen by proxy (MSBP), an individual, typically a mother intentionally causes or fabricates illness in a child or other person under her care.

Munchausen syndrome takes its name from Baron Karl Friederich von Munchausen, an 18th century German military man known for his tall tales. The disorder first appeared in psychiatric literature in the early 1950s when it was used to describe patients who sought hospitalization by inventing symptoms and complicated medical histories, and/or inducing illness and injury in themselves. Categorized as a factitious disorder (a disorder in which the physical or psychological symptoms are under voluntary control), Munchausen’s syndrome seems to be motivated by a need to assume the role of a patient. Unlike malingering, there does not seem to be any clear secondary gain (e.g., money) in Munchausen syndrome.

Individuals with Munchausen by proxy syndrome use their child (or another dependent person) to fulfill their need to step into the patient role. The disorder most commonly victimizes children from birth to 8 years old. Parents with MSBP may only exaggerate or fabricate their child’s symptoms, or they may deliberately induce symptoms through various methods, including poisoning, suffocation, starvation, or infecting the child’s bloodstream.

The exact cause of Munchausen syndrome is unknown. It has been theorized that Munchausen patients are motivated by a desire to be cared for, a need for attention, dependency, ambivalence toward doctors, or a need to suffer. Factors that may predispose an individual to Munchausen’s include a serious illness in childhood or an existing personality disorder.

The Munchausen patient presents a wide array of physical or psychiatric symptoms, usually limited only by their medical knowledge. Many Munchausen patients are very familiar with medical terminology and symptoms. Some common complaints include fevers, rashes, and abscesses, bleeding, and vomiting. Common Munchausen by proxy symptoms include apnea (cessation of breathing), fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. In both Munchausen and MSBP syndromes, the suspected illness does not respond to a normal course of treatment. Patients or parents may push for invasive diagnostic procedures and display an extraordinary depth of knowledge of medical procedures.

Well… since the dawn of the 1990s brought widespread recognition of a once-obscure criminal act, Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP), in which person or persons injure or induce illness in children in order to gain attention and sympathy for themselves. Since its recognition by the criminal justice community, MSBP has been identified most closely with mothers who induce in their children breathing difficulties that mimic the symptoms of apnea and sudden infant death syndrome, who poison them, or who fabricate illnesses in their children. These mothers then bask in the attention afforded them by relatives, doctors, and hospital personnel. However, because the child’s illness has no medical cause, doctors have difficulty making a diagnosis.

Parents who abuse their children by deliberately poisoning or injuring them to secure medical attention can be cured with psychiatric treatment, doctor's report today.

Having survived a long and tough weekend, my friends and I decided to just "chill" and shoot some breeze. So we all met yesterday noon for lunch and on our way back to her place picked up some beer to grease our tired brains. We did manage to discuss some really interesting "stuff" and one was on dreams and their interpretations.

For several decades Sigmund Freud’s reputation as a scientist has been steadily withering. So much so that Time (something, 1993) put Freud’s face on its cover, his head depicted as crumbling, and asked: “Is Freud Dead?” The answer has been a vehement “Yes”. Psychiatrists, philosophers, and critics have for a long time now regarded the “Vienna quack” (as writer Vladimir Nabokov called him) as a man of great literary talents, but essentially a pseudo-scientist without the foggiest notion of how to confirm his conjectures.

Nowhere is this paradigm shift more evident than with respect to Freud’s dream theory. Freud himself considered this his finest achievement. In the preface to the third edition of The Interpretation of Dreams, he wrote: “It contains, even according to my present-day judgment, the most valuable of all the discoveries it has been my good fortune to make. Insight such as this falls to one’s lot but once in a lifetime.”

Infact in one of his lectures Freud called his dream theory “the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious; it is the secret foundation of psychoanalysis.” Shortly after his book on dreams was published, he wrote to his close friend Wilhelm Fliess, a bumbling ENT doctor and numerologist from Berlin, that maybe someday a marble tablet would be placed on his (Freud’s) house to commemorate where he made his monumental dream discovery.

Much earlier efforts had been made to unravel dreams. To the ancients, as to today’s parapsychologists, dreams were often interpreted as precognitions of future events or clairvoyant visions of current, faraway events. I believe it to be true that dreams are the true interpreters of our inclinations; but there is art required to sort and understand them.

Before 1900 the prevailing opinion among psychologists was that dreams are mostly random images as nonsensical as Alice’s dreams of Wonderland. In Freud’s words, they were thought to resemble the sounds of “unskilled fingers wandering over the keys of a piano.”

However, Freud also believed that beneath what he called the manifest content of a dream - its seemingly absurd, disconnected images - lay a latent content that was a cleverly disguised ex-pression of unconscious wishes. “We do literally deny,” Freud wrote in his General Introduction to Psychoanalysis, “that anything in the dream is a matter of chance or of indifference.”

Because most unconscious desires are shocking to the conscious mind, our brain contains something Freud called the “censor.” To prevent us from awakening in horror or disgust over an explicit revelation of an unconscious wish, this “severe little manikin” distorts the dream by transforming our secret desires into harmless symbols that will not disturb our slumber. Occasionally, when the censor fails to do its job, the result may be an anxiety dream or nightmare so disturbing that it wakes us.

The best introduction to Freud’s dream symbolism is Lecture 10 of his General Introduction to Psychoanalysis. It must be read to be appreciated.

Schizophrenia presents differently in different people. Symptoms tend to appear gradually and can easily go unnoticed by friends and family in the beginning. However, in some cases symptoms of schizophrenia occur suddenly and can be quite dramatic. As the illness advances, the symptoms can become more bizarre and severe.

People with schizophrenia tend to have psychotic symptoms, such as hearing voices when no one is speaking or insisting that other people are listening to their thoughts or attempting to control them. Many people with schizophrenia have active psychotic episodes, a state where hallucinations and/or delusions occur and they lose touch with reality. Most people with schizophrenia experience at least one relapse after their first such episode.

Other early signs of the disease include increasing social withdrawal and loss of interest in normal pursuits, unusual behavior or a decrease in overall functioning, often before the delusions and hallucinations begin. These are often the first warning signs that alert friends and family to a problem.

It is said that as the illness progresses, a person’s speech and behavior tend to become progressively disorganized and confused, and their work performance usually deteriorates. Eventually, the symptoms become more extreme, appearing as if the person has undergone a dramatic personality change. If these and other symptoms persist for six months or longer and no external cause such as the effects of illicit drug use or a medical illness is detected, the person is usually diagnosed with schizophrenia. At the same time commonly abused drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamines or LSD can cause symptoms that mimic schizophrenia (including hallucinations or paranoia).  So it's also equally important to understand that just because someone is abusing drugs doesn’t mean the person doesn’t also have schizophrenia.

People who have schizophrenia are more likely to commit suicide than people in the general population, with an estimated 10 to 15 percent of all people diagnosed with schizophrenia ending their life this way. Young adult males are most likely to commit suicide.

No lay person can authoritatively diagnose an individual as being schizophrenic ' that's the job of a trained psychologist or psychiatrist [The simplest way to describe the difference between them is that a psychologist primarily aids the depressed patient by counseling and psychotherapy. A psychiatrist may also perform psychotherapy; but, in addition, can prescribe medications and perform ECT (electroconvulsive therapy). A psychiatrist is a medical doctor. A psychologist may hold a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) and be called "doctor"; but, is not a medical doctor (M.D.)]

Symptoms of schizophrenia are usually split into positive, negative and neurocognitive categories. That another subject altogether .

How many of us know the symptoms of Schizophrenia????

Depression is a disorder that affects thoughts, moods, feelings, behavior and physical health. The main types of depression include major depression, dysthymia, adjustments disorders, bipolar disorder and seasonal affective disorder. According to experts, major depression, dysthymic [tendency to be despondent] and bipolar disorders [involves alternating episodes of depression and mania] are the most frequently diagnosed mood disorders in children and adolescents. There is no single cause of depression in children, but experts say the illness often runs in the family. Other factors that may trigger depression include stressful life events, long-term use of some medications and chronic illnesses.

Depression is often difficult to diagnose in children because some of the behaviors associated with depression can be normal patterns of behavior in a growing child. Researchers say some of the signs of depression in adolescents and children include sadness that won’t go away and a decreased interest in playing or involvement in favorite activities. If your child is moody, irritable or has suicidal thoughts, those are serious signs that you should pay close attention to - especially if those types of behavior last for long periods.

The other swing of the pendulum is aggression in children. Parents remember that this aggression in children is a predictor of violence later in life. I will post another article on aggression among children.

We, in the 21^st Century, are so focused on our careers and building a financial backbone for our family that we sometimes don't see the "tell-tale" signs of the symptoms our children are displaying. Positive affirmation and discipline are both equally important to a child.

Medication and psychotherapy are two of the main treatment options for depression, but some experts suggest that antidepressant medications may not be as effective in treating children and adolescents. In fact in 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a public health advisory warning that there is an increased risk in suicidal thinking and behavior in children and adolescents treated with certain antidepressants.

If you notice signs of depression in your child or teen, experts suggest you talk with your doctor or mental health care provider to decide the best treatment option.

Nightmares are scary dreams. Most people have them from time to time. One out of every ten people has nightmares more than once a week. Most nightmares happen between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. You might even be able to tell what happened in the dream and why it was scary. You may have trouble going back to sleep and might have the same dream again.

Coupla months ago, on Boston Legal [again] I was re-introduced to the term "night terror”. Where my sexy Alan Shore [James Spader] would wake up to find he was standing on the parapet or baloney wall of this 20^th floor apartment ' on account of night terror.

Some people have a different kind of scary dream called a “night terror”. Night terrors usually happen between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. You might wake up screaming, sweating and breathing fast. When this happens, the person is still asleep, but his or her eyes are open. He or she might not answer you if you ask what’s wrong, and it might be hard to wake him or her up. And they usually do not remember what happened.

Nightmares and night terrors are generally associated with children and psychologists say that they don’t happen as much as the child gets older. Nightmares and night terrors probably will stop when your child is a teenager. But nevertheless, some people, especially those who are creative and have active imaginations, may keep having nightmares when they are adults.

‘In your dreams!” How many times have we heard this phrase in our lifetimes? Although not meant to be taken literally, this phrase has been found to have some validity. It has been shown that people can in fact control their dreams. In a phenomenon called lucid dreaming, the dreamer obtains a full level of consciousness and actually becomes “awake,” thus allowing the dreamer control of what happens.

I first learned about lucid dreaming in my psychology class at College. I had a wonderful lecturer by the name of Nagendra. After he clarified what lucid dreaming was, I became interested and decided to do a little research on my own. What I found out got me so charged up and excited that I could have provided electricity to the city of Mysore all by lil' ole self.

Apparently, using certain techniques, one can practice and teach oneself to lucid dream. Imagine feeling alive and awake in the world, and then discovering that you could change anything you wanted, or do anything you felt like doing. Basically the whole world could revolve around you. This is the world of lucid dreaming.

This prospect seemed exciting to me, but naturally I was a little skeptical. I didn’t really do much with my newfound knowledge, until one night something very strange occurred. It was the night of my birthday, and I was talking to my boyfriend on the phone late at night ' sneaking about in the hope that your parents don't hear me yakking. We had a short conversation, and then suddenly he was gone. I called out his name to make sure the connection wasn’t lost, and then looked at the phone only to discover that my hand was empty. Confused, tired and also generally pissed at being hung up by a phantom phone, I decided to go to sleep. The next morning I realized that the whole thing was indeed a dream, and when I told him about it, was astonished to find out that he had had the exact same dream.

How could that be?

It all seemed so real. The only answer I could come up with was that we were both lucid dreaming.

With my interest in this subject matter rekindled, I set off to do more research.

This time I paid close attention to what the texts were saying. The best way for me, I found, was to lie completely still in bed with my eyes closed and to relax my body while trying to STAY conscious and focus on a thought or intention. Sometimes when I was successful, I would feel my body becoming paralyzed with sleep, and would feel myself slipping from the world.

Although I’ve only had a few lucid dreams so far, I have noticed a positive effect on both my sleeping and waking life. My dreams have become more vivid, and I have an easier time remembering them. Also, I find that even when I don’t actually lucid dream, using the techniques at night has allowed me to fall asleep faster and to feel more rested and energetic in the morning.

For those who are unconvinced, it may be of some note to say that there have been scientific studies on the subject with persuading results.