Mind of Maz
Academic Stress
What is it?
Academic stress can be overwhelming at times, contributing to mental health problems including anxiety, depression, and feelings of hopelessness. Research has shown that students experiencing academic stress are more likely to develop a negative attitude towards the future, including career development, and have a high expectation of academic results. Learning how to organise and manage academic commitments can help better mediate academic stressors, help build self-confidence, and deter the onset of mental health problems.
Anger Management
What is it?
Stress, school, family and social issues are some examples of things that can trigger anger in children and adolescents. In some cases, anger is caused by an underlying disorder, such as ASD or anxiety. Although anger is not considered a disorder, it is a common symptom of various mental health conditions. Anger in young children can often exhibit in forms of physical and verbal aggression. Anger management is therefore an important skill to have to help manage triggers, prevent anger outbreaks, and become more mindful of the cause-and-effect.
Anxiety
What is it?
We often feel anxious before an important meeting or exam, for example, however the anxiety becomes chronic when we begin to feel anxious frequently and about things that did not worry us in the past. Anxiety disorders have both physical and mental effects on the body. Physical effects include fatigue, nausea, sweating or hot flushes, insomnia, and panic attacks. Mental symptoms include inability to relax, feelings of dread, depersonalisation, and rumination. Such effects can inhibit us from completing daily tasks, like socialising or going to school/work, and can negatively impact the way we think, feel, and behave.
Attentional Difficulties
What is it?
ADHD affects focus, concentration, organisation, and behaviour and is typically diagnosed in school-aged children however can persist into adulthood. Common symptoms include difficulty sitting still, fidgeting frequently, feeling restless, making careless mistakes, and taking inappropriate risks – to name a few. Such symptoms can be chronic and cause distress in a lot of people, leading to comorbidities including impulse control/personality disorders, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, learning disabilities, mood disorders, and substance abuse disorders. Receiving therapy from an accredited psychologist can therefore help patients learn to cope with daily challenges and deal with negative thinking patterns
Confidence Issues
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What is it?
The way we feel about ourselves is strongly linked to our emotional and mental wellbeing. Research has demonstrated that low self-esteem can: affect quality-of-life, the way we interact with others, lead to disorders including depression and anxiety, and increase our chances of engaging in substance abuse. Building self-esteem early on in childhood is therefore crucial – when we learn to love ourselves, we view life from a more positive lens. This benefits our relationships, academic/work performance, career prospects, and how we feel in our own skin.
Executive Function
What is it?
Executive functions include attentional control, working memory, inhibition, and problem-solving – processes controlled by the prefrontal cortex (PFC) region of the brain. Time-management, decision-making, and memory consolidation heavily relies on executive functioning, at least to some degree. Disruptions to executive functions make it challenging for someone to succeed in school, at work, or at home, subsequently leading to stress, feelings of worry, and negative attitudes.
Social Difficulties
What is it?
Social skills can help make people feel secure with their knowledge and beliefs about the self and the world, helping to better manage relationships, build self-confidence, and attract good social interactions. Difficulties with attention, speech, and learning and retaining information have been linked to social skill deficits – marked by disorders like ASD and pathologies rooted in developmental delay. Learning skills that will best prepare us to confront social situations will help curb the negative effects of social impairments and prevent the onset of other mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
