So often, when we talk about various mental health symptoms, we gloss over them without explaining the process that causes them to occur. For example, one of the most common symptoms of anxiety and depression are “irritability.” People that have depression are more irritable with their family and friends than those that are not.
But why is this?
If you want to read a long science article about it from the NIH, you can do so here. But if you prefer to understand it in a more simplified way, let’s talk about the possible causes.
More Than One Trigger
As with many mental health issues, the actual causes can be complex. Possible connections include, but are not limited to:
Limited Stress Coping
When you’re struggling with depression, you’re already experiencing difficulty coping with stress. If you imagine that you have a limit on how much stress you can cope with at any given time, it’s easy to imagine that normal life interactions become more difficult to handle overall, which in turn makes you more irritable.
Poor Sleep
Depression leads to poor sleep, and poor sleep leads to a decrease in positive emotions and an increase in negative ones. As you sleep less, you become more likely to feel generally irritable, which in turn leads to feelings of irritability. The same issues can occur if depression affects your diet.
Reduced Pleasure
Typically, we need to be able to experience positive feelings in order to avoid negative ones. But when we have depression, we may not be able to experience pleasure. It’s a condition known as “anhedonia.” If you can’t experience positive emotions, often all that is left is the experience of negative ones.
Projection
When we experience anger on the inside, where we feel negative about ourselves, we can sometimes project that anger outwards. You’re already feeling angry about yourself, so your immediate emotion when faced with challenges is anger.
Other Thoughts on Irritability and Depression
It should also be noted that, while anyone with depression can be irritable, irritability as a symptom is more common in children and teens. Why might this be? Perhaps because they haven’t learned other coping habits, or emotional regulation, so it may come out as irritability.
In addition, it’s important to remember that mental health issues affect our neurotransmitters, which change the way we think. It may turn some thoughts into more irritable ones, which in turn delivers an irritable response.
Regardless of the cause, irritability can be a symptom of depression, and in turn would benefit from a depression treatment. Find out more by contacting Flourish Psychology, today.
Most of us have had some strange dreams and, depending on who you talk to, many times people will try to talk to you about what your dream might “mean.” There’s this belief that dreams have meaning, which causes people to remember their dreams more or think about their dreams intensely, using them as fuel to make decisions or better understand themselves.
Scientists frequently debate whether or not dreams have meaning. Most agree that the answer is probably “no.” Dreams occur when our brain are trying to create memories and process the day, and then the dream itself is just how our brain weaves that processing together in order to tell a story.
Still, that doesn’t mean that dreams are useless from a psychotherapeutic perspective. Quite the contrary. While it’s not clear whether or not dreams always have meaning independently, there are ways to decipher dreams anyway that can have meaning.
For example:
YOUR Intepretation
You’ve probably heard about Rorschach Tests. These are tests where a person looks at an ink blot that has no particular design, and tells the therapist what they see. The ink blot itself has no design, but what we see the ink blot can typically be very meaningful.
Dreams can be very similar. For example, imagine your parents are in your dream, and your mom is helping you with a problem but your dad is silent. You interpret that as a sign your dad is distant, or keeping a secret, or neglectful. Within the context of the dream, it may not have had meaning. But the way you interpreted the dream absolutely might have meaning, which in turn can be used to spark discussion.
Common Dream Experiences
Studies have confirmed that certain emotions and experiences could affect some of the themes of our dreams, which is why many of us have very similar dream experiences. For example, many people dream about being chased. Why would so many people dream about being chased, if dreams are just processing events of the day?
We don’t entirely know. But we do know that it’s more common in those with anxiety. Perhaps it is the brain trying to train a person in their sleep on how to flee if they face danger (since anxiety is the activation of a fight/flight response), or maybe a person with anxiety has a heart that is beating faster in their sleep, and the brain is trying to explain that heartbeat increase by having the person run.
These are all ways that how we feel can affect our dreams in some form, even if the content itself is not entirely meaningful.
The Exceptions
What if “dreams” as a whole don’t have meaning, but that we can somehow introduce things that we process within our dreams that have meaning.
This can be hard to explain so let’s look at an example. Imagine that you are someone that has struggled with negative self-talk, referring to yourself in your internal monologue as “trash” or garbage.” Then you go to sleep, and you’re processing the day, and suddenly you see a garbage can in the dream, and everyone is yelling at the garbage can.
Clearly, it’s possible that this garbage can represents you, and you’re dreaming about how you feel about yourself. This would be a dream that “has meaning,” which would directly contradict the idea that dreams are otherwise meaningless.
Even in this situation, the dream itself didn’t create meaning. The meaning came from your brain trying to process your day, and that includes the self-talk that you had earlier in the day. Still, it’s easy to see how this dream subject would be meaningful. The dream wasn’t trying to tell you something, but it still had meaning.
Analyzing Dreams and Discussing You
Dreams themselves may not inherently have meaning. But how we interpret our dreams, or the issues that occurred recently that led to us dreaming the way we did, can still be interesting. We don’t need to envision that dreams mean more than they do, but we can still think about our dreams and talk about our dreams in a way that might be meaningful.
Struggling with your dreams of late? Experiencing mental health challenges that may be affecting your life and happiness? Reach out to Flourish Psychology, today.
It’s Hard to Make Decisions – But It’s Even Harder Not To
Frequently, throughout life, we’re faced with choices. We have to choose where to go for dinner. We have to choose what show to watch next. We have to choose where we want to live, what shoes to wear with our outfit, what to name our dog.
Some of these choices are easy. Others are much harder.
But regardless of difficulty, most of us will, at times, face situations where we simply cannot seem to make a choice. This has a term – choice paralysis. Faced with the need to make a decision, we struggle, and eventually do nothing at all.
How Choice Paralysis Manifests
Choice paralysis refers to situations where, faced with more than one option, we pause on making a choice and ultimately – either intentionally or unintentionally – choose to do nothing at all. There are many examples of this in action:
Sometimes, choice paralysis is caused by being overwhelmed by choices. For example, if you’re scrolling Netflix looking for the next show to watch, there might be so many shows to choose from that you keep scrolling and struggle to make a decision, ultimately watching nothing.
Sometimes, choice paralysis is caused by the choice being too significant. “Should I buy this home” for example is a huge financial decision, and some people do nothing as the home they wanted gets taken by someone else.
Sometimes, choice paralysis is caused by just an overall lack of motivation. “What job should I apply for?” can be a bit stressful, and if you’re not fully motivated, that stress can then lead to simply not making a decision at all, and giving up.
Choice paralysis can be caused by anxiety, ADHD, stress, or nothing at all. But in all scenarios it creates a problem: if you freeze when you need to make decisions, then one of two things might happen:
You run out of time and make the wrong decision and rush to any decision, even if it wasn’t the right one.
You make no decision at all and nothing happens or changes for you.
Either way, it’s easy to envision how this is a problem. If you aren’t making decisions – or you’re not making the right decisions – then you aren’t going to be able to achieve your goals.
What Happens Next?
Choice paralysis is a real issue. It’s something that stands directly in the way of you being able to achieve your dreams and goals.
But addressing it requires an understanding of what it comes from. What is your thought process? Why is it occurring? What are the goals you’re trying to reach and what do YOU need to help you get there?
This will be different for every individual, which is why it is so important for us to meet and discuss your needs. But achieving your dreams and goals requires making sure you have the confidence to make decisions, self-knowledge so that you can motivate yourself, and more.
If you find that you have trouble with these types of decisions, reach out to the therapists at Flourish Psychology today. Let’s start you on a path to reaching your goals and removing choice paralysis from your life.
Anxiety is complex. It is not something that happens overnight, nor is it something that necessary has a single cause. Trauma can cause anxiety. So can chronic stress. Genetics can also play a role. But many people do not realize that anxiety can be caused by a variety of factors, contributing to its development and maintenance.
Let’s talk about some examples:
Anxiety Can Be Caused by Your Breathing
We touched on this in the past, when we wrote about how undeveloped back muscles can contribute to anxiety, but it is worth reiterating here. How you breathe can not only make anxiety symptoms worse, but actually create anxiety itself.
When you breathe in a shallow way, you stress out your body and your brain. You feel worse, make your stress worse, and create a scenario where you are more prone to experiencing anxiety symptoms.
Now, anxiety and stress can cause you to breathe poorly. But so can issues like bad posture. We also breathe worse when we’re leaning over on our phones, and we breathe worse when we spend time reading about stressful things (like the news), causing temporary stress/anxiety that can lead to more significant anxiety disorders down the road.
Anxiety Can Be Caused by Scrolling
Most people are loosely aware, or have heard about, the effects that social media can have on your mental health. Many people develop eating disorders, depression, and low self-esteem from issues related to what they see on social media caused by comparisons, jealousy, and so much more.
But what you may not be aware of is that the simple act of scrolling social media – literally just watching videos or looking at photos – can cause anxiety.
The reason is due to something called “digital overload.” We touched on this in a post directed at influencers, but what many people do not realize is that their brains are simply not equipped to process that much information at once. When you scroll something like TikTok or Facebook, you are essentially viewing thousands of unrelated videos and faces, along with jokes, scenery, and more all in moments.
You may feel like it’s no big deal. After all, you view videos all the time and you do not *feel* stressed. But, as you watch these videos, your brain is trying to process everything and becoming overloaded. You may feel calm and relaxed while scrolling, but your brain is stressed. Over time, that stress can lead to the development of anxiety disorders, or make an anxiety disorder worse.
Clutter
Digital overload is an example of what happens to our brains when there is simply too much stimulation as a direct result of viewing countless videos. But while it’s not quite as severe, this type of thing can occur in the offline world as well.
Clutter can be an example of this. Though it does not affect everyone the same way, and thus is not going to trigger anxiety for everyone, there are many people that find that the act of being surrounded by clutter can cause them stress, and ultimately anxiety.
Part of the reason for this is still related to this idea of overload. When there is “stuff” all over a house, then the whole house has stimulation that can make you uncomfortable, stressed, and anxious. But beyond that, one of the effects of clutter is that it reminds you that you have a lot to do. Your home is no longer relaxing, but instead another reminder of stresses. If you already experience things like work stress, then clutter is expected to make that worse.
The Complexity of Anxiety and the Clarity of Treatment
All of these are examples of challenges that can lead to anxiety. But the thing about anxiety is that it’s not typically “cured” by simply removing these issues. Exercising your back muscles isn’t going to suddenly cure you even if you start breathing well again. Once anxiety has developed, it is still anxiety, and will benefit from therapy and mental health support.
Still, it is helpful to know these other potential contributors. Many people, when they have anxiety, try to think back and imagine what the cause might have been. Sometimes, we find a clear cause. Other times, it’s a combination of issues – including the strange examples above – that create anxiety symptoms.
Rather than overthink the cause, what is most important is seeking treatment. If you need help with your anxiety, reach out to Flourish Psychology, today.
One of our specialties here at Flourish Psychology is treatment for eating disorders. Our team of therapists has significant experience working at a high level with eating disorders and those struggling with their relationship with food.
Now that we’re in the new year, many people are choosing weight loss as their new year’s resolution. We know from experience that this can be the beginning (or a continuation) of a problem with disordered eating. All sizes fit, and those that feel like they need to improve their body shape typically are struggling with a mental health issue, not a body shape issue.
Still, another issue that comes into play is that most people do not typically understand how the body works, how nutrition works, and what this can do to our long term mental health. Not only is “weight loss” not often a healthy goal, but it’s also something that may not be possible with a traditional understanding of nutrition, and lead to issues that can contribute to worsening mental health.
An Introduction to Weight Set Points
Most people have not heard of the term “weight set point,” but it is perhaps the most important term for someone to know when they’re thinking about their weight and health.
Our bodies have, encoded within it, a specific weight that they are trying to maintain. A weight “Set Point” that your body believes it needs to try to reach at all times in order to maintain optimum health and efficiency.
This set point affects how your body responds to what you eat. Depending on how much your weight has changed and what you’re eating, it might:
Increase your hunger.
Reduce your metabolism.
Alter your energy levels.
All of this is completed with the goal of helping your body get back to the set point weight. So what happens if you, in an effort to “lose weight,” reduce your caloric intake? Even if you do lose a few pounds off the scale, you are also more likely to experience:
Increased hunger, which may make it more difficult to reach your goal.
Slowed metabolism, so it takes less calories to increase weight.
Low energy, making you less mobile.
All of these can harm your health, make it difficult to sustain your weight, and more.
How Does This Affect Mental Health?
All of those are physical health issues that relate to weight loss as a goal. But the effects of these changes affect your mental health as well. Not only are conditions like anxiety and depression more likely if you’re stressed (which may occur if your body feels it doesn’t have enough nutrition), but it may also:
Lead to excessive caloric restriction. Those that are determined to stick with their goal may have to cut more and more calories to try to continue to reach their goals as their metabolism slows and their energy levels decrease, leading to dangerously low levels of nutrients and the developments of eating disorders.
Developing body dysmorphia, a precursor to eating disorders. For those that do not cut calories further, finding that your body doesn’t change can increase the risk of body dysmorphia. People tend to start judging their bodies more harshly when they realize they’re not able to get the weight that they’re trying achieve. Body dysmorphia increases the risk for eating disorders in the future.
Anxiety/depression from failure. Even for those that do not restrict calories further, or experience body dysmorphia, it can be difficult to work so hard and still not achieve your goals. In fact, not only will your set point weight bring you back to where you were prior to your new year’s resolution, but there’s evidence that the slowed metabolism from caloric restriction can raise the set weight point – meaning, you may end up with a higher weight than when you started.
As specialists with eating disorders, we want people to succeed at their goals. “Weight loss” as a new year’s resolution, however, is both not a healthy goal in general and one that can lead to eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues in the future.
How to Develop Psychologically Healthy New Years Goals
Rather than focus on things like weight loss, focus on your mental health. Your mental health plays a role in your ability to meet other goals you have in your life, including your confidence, your relationships, and even your body. The more you focus on your psychological health, the better the results will be. Get started today with Flourish Psychology.
Location: 300 Cadman Plaza West Floor 12 - Brooklyn, NY 11201
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