Daily Lessons from Life 24 March 2014 - Mental health experts say city dwellers more prone to stress-related disorders

MH370 Updates - Day 16: More sighting. Closer to finding relevant debris maybe? Still hoping. Orders and calm have returned to the families of the passengers on the missing MH370 as press briefing can be carried out in a relatively calmer circumstance. Good to see. Time to take in and not blaming.

"Mental health experts say city dwellers more prone to stress-related disorders - CNA 24 March 2014

SINGAPORE: About one in 15 Singaporeans suffers from depression at some point in his or her life.
But mental health experts Channel NewsAsia spoke with said many cases could go unreported, and as many as one in 5 could suffer from stress-related disorders such as depression or anxiety.
They said one factor could be Singapore's highly dense urban environment.
A recent study by Central Institute for Mental Health Mannheim in Germany seemed to suggest that there is scientific evidence of this.
Brain scans of 32 college students showed that the part which is involved in assessing threats appeared more active compared to those who lived in the countryside.
In fact, for big city residents, stress kicked into overdrive when they were presented with tasks to perform.
The Center for Psychology said: "Singapore is a country under constant change, and people move fast to and from the country and between jobs, and stress is therefore likely to prevail among its citizens."
It added that many of its clients "have resorted to alcohol abuse, obsessive compulsive behaviours, over-working, reckless sexual behaviors and infidelity, in attempts to 'escape' from their anxiety in the 'play hard, work hard' culture of Singapore".
The centre's associate psychologist, Camilla M.L. Dessing, said: "When these unhealthy coping mechanisms become established, the problem is now not only anxiety, stress or depression, but it has become, in addition, problems with substance abuse, OCD, sex addiction, infidelity, marital issues, inability to perform optimally at work, heart disease, et cetera."
Mental health experts said stress is normal as it keeps the body and mind alert.
But the problem sets in when one is not able to cope, and that is when symptoms such as insomnia, changes in eating patterns, inability to socialise and even substance abuse seep in."

For me the good news about this report is: at some point in his or her life. 'Some point' mean he or she CAN get out of depression and stress!

Lessons for me are:

1. stress keeps us alive in the ancient 'survivors of the fittest' era when human beings are hunted by animals that are much larger than them! It is 'fight or flight' and normally flight is the natural option while fight is the last!;

2. however, as the medical personnel said in this news report that when the stress become overpowering and overwhelmed the person or persons, he or she or them become paralysis and behave weirdly to try to cope. The 'coping mechanism' that does not work well turned into some other disturbing behaviors that are not healthy and helpful to the afflicted person or persons;

3. so, recognising when one is suffering from excessive stress is a very important first step. Depression is not unless the person had similar condition for more than 10-14 days continuously behaving depressively. That is when qualified medical and psychological help must be given. Otherwise, it is possible to get out of the 'feeling the blue' short bouts. Often time, having someone close who recognised the symptoms are helpful. When one is sensitive to the people they are with, they can sometimes detect a person developing depression. Timely intervene is very helpful!

Living in an urban crowded and competitive environment, we expect to have stress. At the same time, it is really up to us to make it less stressful. If it is not life and death, things can probably wait. If it is not life and death, it is probably not as urgent as someone else make it up to me! Relax, be happy, and let the dogs out to play a little! :-)