Persistent Feelings of Sadness or Hopelessness

If you find yourself experiencing persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness that linger for an extended period, it may be a sign that consulting a psychologist is necessary. While occasional sadness is a natural part of life, persistent feelings of emptiness, worthlessness, or a lack of interest in activities you once enjoyed could indicate underlying emotional or mental health concerns. A psychologist can help you navigate these feelings, explore their root causes, and provide guidance to restore a sense of joy and fulfillment in your life.

The Role of Online Casino Games in Mental Well-being 

In the midst of seeking support from a psychologist, it’s essential to find healthy ways to relax and unwind. Engaging in enjoyable activities can positively impact your mental well-being. 

One such activity is playing online casino games like Thunder Crash https://thundercrashgambling.com/. These games provide a thrilling experience and an opportunity to engage in strategic thinking and decision-making. However, it’s crucial to maintain a balanced approach and ensure responsible gaming habits.

Moderation is key, as excessive gambling can lead to negative consequences. Remember to set limits, enjoy these games responsibly, and always prioritize your mental health and well-being.

Overwhelming Anxiety or Fear

Anxiety and fear are common human emotions, but when they become overwhelming and start interfering with your daily life, it may be time to seek professional help. Excessive worry, panic attacks, phobias, and irrational fears can significantly impact your well-being and hinder your ability to function optimally. A psychologist can offer therapeutic techniques and strategies to manage anxiety, help you understand its triggers, and provide coping mechanisms to regain control over your life.

Significant Changes in Sleep Patterns

Sleep plays a vital role in our physical and mental well-being, and disruptions in sleep patterns can be indicative of underlying psychological issues. If you find yourself struggling with insomnia, experiencing frequent nightmares, or consistently feeling tired despite adequate sleep, it may be a sign that you need to consult a psychologist. Sleep disturbances can often be related to stress, anxiety, depression, or other psychological factors. A psychologist can assess the underlying causes and recommend appropriate interventions to promote restful sleep and restore your energy levels.

Difficulty Concentrating or Making Decisions

If you notice a persistent difficulty in concentrating, making decisions, or maintaining focus, it could be a sign of an underlying psychological issue. Mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can contribute to cognitive difficulties. A psychologist can help identify the root causes of these challenges and provide strategies and support to enhance your cognitive functioning, improving your overall quality of life.

Loss of Interest in Previously Enjoyed Activities

Have you noticed a significant decline in your interest or enjoyment of activities that used to bring you pleasure? Losing interest in hobbies, socializing, or even personal relationships may be a sign of underlying psychological distress. Consulting a psychologist can help you explore the reasons behind this loss of interest and guide you towards rediscovering joy and passion in your life.

Conclusion

Recognizing the signs that indicate when to consult a psychologist is crucial for maintaining your mental and emotional well-being. Persistent feelings of sadness, overwhelming anxiety, significant changes in sleep patterns, difficulty concentrating, and loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities are all signals that seeking professional help may be beneficial. Remember, reaching out for support is a courageous step towards personal growth and finding the necessary tools to navigate life’s challenges. By taking proactive measures to prioritize your mental health, you can embark on a transformative journey towards a happier, more fulfilling life.

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Believe me, not everyone is ready to take this responsibility. As a family psychologist, I very often have to deal with similar problems. For example: husband and wife can’t decide which school to send their first-grader. The husband says to give the school to his wife, where she successfully works as a teacher, and his wife wants to go to a school near the house, believing that it is more convenient and afraid to spoil the child unnecessary attention. What to do in this situation? It would seem that there is nothing to think about, and the problem is not great! But the question concerns the upbringing and education of the child, so it’s an important topic for a family that wants to raise a decent person. And no one in the family wants to take responsibility for the decision. And why is that? Because, apparently, if something goes wrong, they will feel guilty. No one has confidence in their decision. And confidence lies in the knowledge that you are right and really know that you can analyze the situation and make a responsible decision. That’s it! The circle is closed. So, using this example, I wanted to show that when making a decision, it is necessary, after analyzing the circumstances and conditions, to feel a certain confidence in your rightness and take responsibility for it.

Examples of our worldly uncertainty is much, it happens at every step: whether to buy a new car this year or make do with the old one, whether his wife really need a fur coat or in a down jacket ok, whether to ask the boss to increase the salary or better to wait a while and so on. The main thing is always to approach any question reasonably, weighing the pros and cons, at least on a piece of paper, dividing it vertically, in one column the positive, in another negative, write it down, so it will be clearer. Calmly and honestly analyze your situation, take responsibility and willingness to admit that the result you get and there is a consequence of your actions and make a decision. Be confident in yourself!

If, nevertheless, to make a decision really difficult, and you need advice, it is better to turn to an experienced psychologist, who will provide expert assistance in a difficult situation and help to determine the conclusions.

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How to distinguish a panic attack: symptoms and signs

Under the term “panic attack” falls a set of signs and symptoms by which you can identify the condition of the patient. So, panic attack begins with the appearance of the following sensations:

• Unreasonable fear of death;
• difficulty breathing;
• palpitations;
• increased sweating;
• panic and extreme anxiety;
• fear of going insane;
• tremors of the hands or the whole body.

Such a condition is often accompanied by tears, incomprehension of what is happening and inadequate reactions. Fear paralyzes the ability to evaluate the existing danger rationally. It is perceived as fatal.

This condition can occur at any time, but most attacks occur at night.

Panic attack symptoms in women

Statistically, women are more susceptible to panic attacks than men. For every man who suffers from the disease, there are 5 women who are susceptible to panic attacks.

The reasons why women are more likely to be victims of this disorder are as follows:

• A cultural code that does not forbid women to show emotions and, consequently, exaggerate them;
• Regular hormonal fluctuations;
• Women are more characterized by mistrustfulness, which sometimes leads to PA.

But precisely because of women’s heightened emotionality, panic attacks in them are difficult to recognize from the outside. At times, it seems that the woman just “freaked out”. It is not easy to understand how scared and hard it is for those around her at this point.

How does panic attack manifest itself in men?

There is a theory that men are less susceptible to panic attacks because of their upbringing. Since childhood, boys are taught to be strong, including psychologically, not to give vent to emotions and, in any case, not to cry. The habit of suppressing emotions can help stop the approaching panic attack. Confessing to such a condition is also not good for men. Therefore, such cases do not become known and are not considered in the statistics.

Specific features of the course of such a condition in men differ in some respects:

1. Panic attacks are most often genetically conditioned.
2. Men more often have objective reasons for stress provoking panic attacks.
3. Many men who have quit drinking or taking drugs regularly experience the condition described.

4. Fear of the occurrence of another attack is formed much faster, because it is difficult for men to forget uncharacteristic behavior.

5. Attacks are accompanied by a large number of physical manifestations (abdominal cramps, loss of voice, stupor, trembling in the knees and hands, sweating, chest pain). It is compensation for the limited number of emotional manifestations.

Panic attacks in adolescents: features

Many people only experience panic attacks during adolescence. Puberty is accompanied by a major change in the hormonal system. The body matures both physically and psychologically. All elements of growing up turn out to be stressful for the teenager and the risk of falling into an unexplained panic attack increases.

Causes of panic attacks

There is no single theory about the nature of panic attacks, but it has been possible to identify a number of causes that may provoke them.

1. Abrupt changes in life that caused stress (moving, the loss of a loved one, the birth of a child, a job change).
2. Lack of sleep (striving to have time to do everything, not giving oneself time to rest).
3. Genetic predisposition to psychological or mental disorders.
4. Self-reported consequences of alcohol or drug abuse or cessation of drug use;
5. Hormonal imbalance;
6. A number of diseases (asthma, diabetes).

Even with many risk factors, a panic attack will not necessarily happen. It all depends on the initial state of the psyche and nervous system. People react differently to the same events.

Panic attacks are not uncommon for no apparent reason or reason.

Can a panic attack occur at night?

A panic attack can also happen at night while you sleep. Most often it is provoked by a nightmare dream. In this case, a person wakes up sharply, feels his heart pounding, loses touch with reality and cannot calm down.

In sleep, there may be such a phenomenon as “sleep paralysis”. It is characterized by paralysis of the muscles with full brain function. It occurs upon awakening or falling asleep. The person perceives everything as awake, but his body is still “asleep.” For people who have not experienced this phenomenon before, it can be a reason for a panic attack. Many have the feeling that someone is strangling them, or that they are already dead.

It helps to interrupt such conditions by touching the outside, turning on the light, and talking to loved ones.

First Aid for a Panic Attack

The type of help for a panic attack depends on who needs it. In any case, the main thing is to strive for calm.

If the person next to you is experiencing all the signs of a panic attack, it is important to yourself not to give in to hysteria and remain sane.

Then you can proceed to the following actions:

• take the person by the hand or hug him or her (if it is a loved one and he or she is not protesting);
• Do not touch them if touching them is frightening;
• Be sure to turn on the lights;
• remain calm and talk in a friendly manner, tell them that nothing terrible is happening, everything is fine;

• if the patient feels that there is nothing to breathe – offer to breathe into the bag;
• divert his attention to something else, something interesting and positive.

The person should understand that he or she is not alone and believe that this unpleasant situation will soon pass.
How to cope with panic attacks?

There are recommendations on how to get rid of panic attacks permanently or significantly reduce their frequency. Here are a few tips, implementing which can significantly improve your psychological state:

• Every night walks in the fresh air;
• Taking light sedatives (valerian, motherwort);
• work with a psychologist;
• Regular practice of yoga, bodyflex and other types of physical and breathing exercises;
• Avoiding stress and moral overload;
• getting rid of contacts with unpleasant, toxic people.

The more comfortable and happy a person feels in life, the less likely panic attacks are. Therefore, all prevention should be aimed at strengthening general health and establishing a favorable emotional background.

Breathing during a panic attack

Breathing exercises borrowed from yoga are good for any stress. If you feel a panic attack coming on, you need to focus on the count and inhale, slowly counting to 4. Then you should hold your breath, also counting to 4, and for 4 counts slowly exhale followed by holding your breath. The count can be 4, 5 or 6. It is necessary to choose a suitable and comfortable for yourself.

Such breathing allows a couple of minutes to relieve stress and feel more confident.

How to cope with a panic attack on your own? Tips from a psychologist

With recurrent panic attacks, it is advisable to seek help from a specialist. But if there is no such possibility, you can take advantage of general recommendations of psychologists.

If no one is around during a panic attack – it’s hard, but there are still methods to relieve yourself. To do this, you need:

1. Turn on your favorite movie or music, call your relatives, and create the feeling that someone is nearby;
2. Begin to monitor your breathing and inhale and exhale at the count of 3 or 4, you can study other types of breathing exercises in advance.
3. Carefully observe the position of your body. Surely somewhere there are clamps, clenched fists or there are other manifestations of neurosis. In this case, you should try to relax these very areas, change your posture. There is research confirming the influence of body posture on one’s emotional state.
4. distract yourself from something around you. Count books on the shelf, try reading their names aloud in reverse, remember the multiplication table. Shift your thoughts.
5. Engage in an activity that has always relaxed and calmed you.
6. Change your environment, change your clothes, go into another room.
7. Get a drink of water.
8. Take a sedative.

It is important, no matter how hard it is, to remember that it will soon stop. Panic attacks last for an average of 10-20 minutes and you need to wait them out while trying to calm down as quickly as possible.

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The first love of a teenager is often compared to a natural disaster because it comes unexpectedly to all. A wave of new, previously unknown emotions and feelings, covers the teenager with his head, captures the whole, pushing aside his studies, previous hobbies, loved ones.

Adults also have difficult feelings: fear, as if their “unwise child” has not made fatal mistakes, anxiety for the future, and even jealousy: with whom is their child disappearing all evening, and speaks for hours on the phone, locked in his room.

This article will help parents of boys and girls in love to realize their worries, accept the situation as a natural occurrence and help children have an invaluable experience of their first love.

First love: teens are euphoric; parents are shocked. Why?

As an adolescent psychologist, I know that the first love of their grown children is felt by parents as a serious problem. This is because:

• Adults have had time to forget their adolescent experiences, so they can’t understand what’s going on with their son or daughter.
• Mothers and fathers often unconsciously perceive their child only as an “extension of themselves,” imposing their way of thinking on the child, trying to implement through him his unfulfilled dreams.
• In adolescence comes into full force the eternal “conflict of generations”, which prevents adults from looking at the world through the eyes of their grown children.
• Many parents have not experienced this kind of fascination at this age, respectively, and do not even know the “symptoms” that should manifest.
• Misunderstandings often arise because of different characters, attitudes, and certain outlooks on life.

Memo for parents: 3 “can not” and 3 “must” in communication with a teenager in love As an adolescent psychologist and as a mother, I understand your worries and doubts and offer to follow clear and specific recommendations that, firstly, will help your children to experience their love as a vivid and meaningful experience for their future life. And secondly, to understand and understand your own attitude towards such a “problem”, to establish a soul and spiritual contact with your, so unexpectedly grown up, child.

So, three “nots”

1. You can’t regard your daughter’s first teenage love as something frivolous. And twice, you can’t show your daughter or son that he or she is still young and therefore his or her feelings are fleeting and unimportant;
2. It is unacceptable to speak disparagingly about your child’s chosen one(s), no matter what you yourself think about him or her;
3. You should not forbid young people to mingle, except in cases of clearly antisocial behavior of your chosen one.

Necessary

1. Accept as a given that children are born, grow up and develop exactly in order to mature, love and experience love in all its manifestations. So openly and without prudery discuss with teenager issues of physical development, sex and love. It will be correct if mom will talk frankly “adult” topics with his daughter, and dad – with his son.
2. So that the conversations don’t turn into lectures, take it easy that the teenager has secrets from you and don’t be frightened by it. Understand that young people in love are not yet able to understand their feelings, and describe them in words. And with parents to share is especially difficult, because teenagers are afraid that you do not take their feelings seriously, increase control and impose new prohibitions. So avoid intrusive questions. You can discreetly recommend counseling teenager online psychologist, because with a stranger is much easier to share the most intimate. In addition, a professional will be able to help the person in love to understand his feelings.
3. Give your children advice not in the form of ultimatums, but in the form of recommendations, and be sure to explain why you feel this way or that way. Then the teenager won’t feel a sense of protest, he will remember your words and possibly listen to them. You can help your son or daughter to have his or her own experiences, and through those experiences to become aware of what he or she does, what his or her goals and desires are. And that means becoming a mature, independent and strong person. I love her. She loves him. And he seems to like someone else. Or the geometry of teenage love.

Love triangles and even more complicated figures often arise in teenage romantic relationships. If your daughter or son is involved in a “polygonal” relationship, it complicates an already difficult situation. The young person in love is influenced by strong, often conflicting feelings. To you, dear moms and dads, unfortunately, it is also not easy to understand what is going on, especially not having enough information. An experienced adolescent psychologist can help you objectively and impartially understand the twists and turns associated with first love. This is especially necessary if your children are experiencing “unrequited” love. In any case, listen carefully to your children, try to understand them, try to feel how not easy it is to live in their “complicated” age, how vulnerable and tender they are, even though they sometimes behave quite aggressively.

Love your children! And let them know that it is necessary and useful to trust parents!

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If not cured, it affects the whole body. If action is taken in the early stages, it can easily be corrected. But it should be understood that this process is not fleeting, there is no magic pill. You will have to strain, to activate your body to fight laziness.

• It relaxes the consciousness, forcing instead of necessary and useful affairs, to engage in useless nonsense, to indulge in idleness.
• Constantly putting off important things for later, kills all desire and prevents the achievement of goals and self-development.
• Laziness can be compared to the disease. It turns a person into a slow, willless creature who eventually lives by instincts – to eat, to sleep, to go to the toilet, to satisfy other natural needs. And the further you go, the worse it gets.

To cope with idleness, when the process is already much neglected, it is very difficult. So as soon as you notice that you have become lazy, take immediate action. Otherwise, unpleasant consequences will not be long in coming. Laziness has an unpleasant property – quickly become a habit. Many people do not even notice that, like a virus, it enters the body, instantly, and imperceptibly, starting to do its dirty work. Overcome and begin to work with laziness. There is a lot of training material on the Internet on this subject. But most of it is useless. It doesn’t matter if you got it for free or bought it for money. The reasons are psychological in nature. Apathy and inactivity are caused by wrong attitudes-convictions. This is a certain negative program, which is in your head, at a certain moment it is triggered and the brain gives the command to your body – do nothing! Consequently, it is necessary to fight with it by eliminating these wrong beliefs, otherwise nothing will work. Get to the bottom of your laziness, rethink the situation, try to replace your wrong beliefs with more correct ones. There will be serious and hard work. Of course, you can try to “pull yourself together”, but more effectively and rapidly it will happen only when you come to an experienced specialist for an appointment, or to sign up for a psychologist consultation online.

How to overcome laziness and begin to act It is very difficult to get rid of yourself and your habits, if you do not want to live the rest of your life as a vegetable. No one can cope with this psychological problem except the individual himself. Try not to give in to provocation. Lead an active lifestyle, get up earlier in the morning, take a contrast shower, air out your room so that the brain cells get the necessary oxygen. Think positively. As soon as you feel like doing “nothing,” remember that you are fighting laziness, and if you give in to it now, it will win.

How to force yourself to get rid of laziness – psychologist’s tips

Here are a few techniques that will help you:

• Train yourself not to put off until tomorrow, even non-urgent things. Take it and do it now – in spite of the withdrawal state.
• Start each day with exercise or light gymnastics. Don’t let your blood get stagnant.
• Motivate yourself daily to succeed.
• Eliminate negative thinking from your head, try to switch to positive thinking. Try to find the positives in everything.
• Show your determination. When you feel like being lazy, imagine yourself as a fat, smelly piece of lard that’s been decomposing on the couch all day.
• Ask your relatives to help you with this uphill struggle. Give them clear instructions on what to do in the situation if they catch you on the sofa.
• Try to stand still in place, without moving, for about 20-30 minutes, you will feel tired, you will definitely want to start doing something abruptly. The result depends directly on the desire to cope with apathy.

Please do not confuse laziness with procrastination! This is a completely different psychological state – a person would be glad to do something, but can not, even the most worthwhile cases are put off for later!

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A person has a subconscious set of fears and phobias, and, depending on the situation, these emotions in many people differ in the strength of the impact on the psyche and the response.

If an individual claims that he is not afraid of anything, this is a deliberate lie. Simply, he knows how to fight his fears and drive them deep inside. But that does not mean that he does not have them.

In some cases, a sense of anxiety is even useful. For example, to keep from rash actions, to warn against hasty, wrong decisions.

So what are the causes of fear and anxiety?

Psychologists distinguish between two types: hidden and obvious. In the first case, we do not even remember where this strange feeling came from, apparently originating in childhood. Very often, excessive parental care or, conversely, loneliness and rejection in the family lead to unfounded manifestations of anxiety. There are also different types of psychological trauma received in early childhood or adolescence. Some people only need to experience failure once – and you are trapped in a repetition of such. All kinds of problems and conflicts are another source of our anxiety.

What serves as a sign of fear and phobia?

When there is a clear threat to life, it is increased heartbeat, increased sweating, diarrhea, urinary incontinence, stuttering. Signs of phobia can range from complete apathy and inactivity to unrestrained fidgeting and activity. Some people want to hide and run away, and some go on the attack, showing aggression and spite. It all depends on the psychological personality, the nervous structure.

Fear of losing a job and being left without money, of being lonely, of being poor, of having debts, fear of heights, closed space, panic state of public speaking, loss of loved ones and so on. These are by no means all the inherent signs of an individual, only a small fraction.

But, what to do when the feeling of anxiety turns into a habit? Makes a person constantly afraid of something, experiencing panic and terror. After all, living in constant fear, we his daily thoughts, without realizing it, themselves attract to themselves, all that so afraid.

For example, a woman is afraid to get fat and not like her husband. She constantly thinks about it, and eventually her thoughts become reality. She gets fat and her husband leaves her. Or: as soon as you think – don’t stutter or blush – before a performance, your fears come true.

How to get rid of and overcome fear? Advice from a psychologist

Here are a few ways to do it:

How to overcome feelings of fear and anxiety

• To do this, relax and think about the root causes of anxiety. First try to determine what type of anxiety you are experiencing. Then, having already had a clue, analyze and reflect. Try to rethink the relationship to them. Only by finding the true reason can you really conquer fear.
• awareness and “fighting” the fear. Having determined the causes, you can begin to actively “fight” the problem. To do this, you must begin to overcome the emotional state. Try to look panic in the eyes, fantasize about the horrors that you are so afraid of. This is the only way to really cope with negative feelings. Try to realize that it’s in your head, it’s really not that scary. Or maybe even admit to yourself, “Yes! I’m scared!” you have a right, there’s nothing wrong with that. After all, other people have no fear of this problem. So it is quite possible to beat it. 3 Change your perspective. Look at the emotion from a different angle. Change your perspective. This can fundamentally change how you approach fear. Set yourself up with an optimistic attitude. Approach everything with humor, then the problem becomes less acute.
• Practice auto-training. This is a simple and effective way. Each day convince yourself that you’re not afraid of “devils,” that there is no power over you. A few months of hard daily practice and the result will exceed your expectations.
• Learn to be decisive and make strong-willed decisions. You don’t have to go with your inner negative state.

You don’t have to go along with your inner negative state. Learn to make strong-willed decisions. If there is any fear, you don’t have to panic, immediately look for a way to overcome it. Fear is strong until the time when there is no clear plan in your head how to conquer it, as soon as you set out further action, it recedes.

Know that all people are subject to the state of fear of something. Emotional processes are always justified and serve for the survival of the individual, except in pathological forms. Each excitement is necessary for us – it serves a specific function. Some people need to prepare better for a performance, and some do not come close to a cliff. Maybe you shouldn’t swim in an open body of water if you’re afraid of getting infected, or work more productively and don’t get distracted at work, then you won’t get fired. Don’t be ashamed of your fears! It’s more important to know yourself and accept who you are. To overcome your fears and panic is to be free, developed, and strong.

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