Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Reveals His Struggle With Depression
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Reveals His Struggle With Depression
My daughter who is something of a fan of “The Rock” mentioned to me that he has struggled with depression in the past.
So I thought I’d take this opportunity to share with brilliant video where he speaks condition.
Anxiety in Children
It’s normal for children to feel worried or anxious from time to time, such as when they’re starting school or nursery, or moving to a new area.
Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear – it’s an understandable reaction in children to change or a stressful event.
But for some children, anxiety affects their behaviour and thoughts on a daily basis, interfering with their school, home and social life. This is when you may need professional help to tackle it before it becomes a more serious issue.
So how do you know when your child’s anxiety has reached this stage?
Read on to find out:
Where can I go for further information and support?
Anxiety can make a child feel scared, panicky, embarrassed or ashamed.
Some of the signs to look out for in your child are:
Your child may not be old enough to recognise why they’re feeling this way.
The reason for the anxiety (if there is one) will differ depending on the age of the child. Separation anxiety is common in younger children, whereas older children and teenagers tend to worry more about school performance, relationships or health.
Common types of anxiety in children and teenagers are described below.
Children are commonly afraid of things like monsters, dogs or water. This is a perfectly normal part of growing up, but has the potential to become a phobia (a type of anxiety disorder) when the fear becomes overwhelming and affects your child’s day-to-day life.
Read about phobias.
While it’s normal for children to frequently have fears and worries, some anxious children may grow up to develop a long-term condition called generalised anxiety disorder when they become a teenager or young adult.
Generalised anxiety disorder causes you to feel anxious about a wide range of situations and issues, rather than one specific event.
People affected by it feel anxious most days and often struggle to remember the last time they felt relaxed.
Read more about generalised anxiety disorder.
Separation anxiety means a child worrying about not being with their parent or regular carer.
It is common in young children, and normally develops at about six months of age. It can make settling into nursery or school or with a child minder very difficult.
Separation anxiety in older children may be a sign that they’re feeling insecure about something – they could be reacting to changes at home, for example.
Social anxiety is not wanting to go out in public, see friends or take part in activities.
Social ‘shyness’ is perfectly normal for some children and teenagers, but it becomes a problem – ‘social anxiety disorder’ – when everyday activities like shopping or speaking on the phone cause intense, overwhelming fear. Children affected by it tend to fear doing or saying something they think will be humiliating.
Social anxiety disorder tends to affect older children who have gone through puberty.
Read more about social anxiety disorder.
Some children become anxious about going to school, schoolwork, friendships or bullying, especially if they’re changing school or moving up a level.
They may not always share these worries with you, and instead complain of tummy aches or feeling sick. One of the signs is crying or seeming tired in the morning.
This may be a problem that needs tackling if it is significantly affecting their daily life (see below).
Post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder are other anxiety disorders that can occasionally affect children, but are usually seen in adults.
It’s rare for children to have panic attacks.
It is probably time to get professional help for your child’s anxiety if:
Long-term anxiety can severely interfere with a child’s personal development, family life and schooling.
Anxiety disorders that start in childhood often persist into the teenage years and early adulthood. Teenagers with an anxiety disorder are more likely to develop clinical depression, misuse drugs and feel suicidal.
This is why you should get help as soon as you realise it’s a problem.
Seeing your GP
You can talk to your GP on your own or with your child, or your child might be able to have an appointment without you. The doctor should listen to your concerns and offer some advice about what to do next.
Your child may be referred to the local child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS), where the workers are trained to help young people with a wide range of problems. Professionals who work in CAMHS services include psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists. They should offer help and support to parents and carers as well as the child. Learn more about CAMHS.
If your child doesn’t want to see a doctor, they may be able to get help from a local youth counselling service.
Youth counselling services are specially set up for young people to talk about what’s worrying them, and get advice.
For more information, visit Youth Access, the largest provider of young people’s advice and counselling services in the UK.
Telephone helplines or online services can be helpful for children and young people, who may feel it’s easier to talk to someone who doesn’t know them. See Where can I go for further information and support?
The type of treatment offered will depend on what is causing your child’s anxiety.
It can be helpful for your child to talk in confidence about what is worrying them to a trained person, especially as it’s someone they don’t know.
If your child is being seen at CAMHS, they might see a child and adolescent psychotherapist or a clinical psychologist. If they are at a youth counselling service, it will be a trained youth counsellor or psychotherapist.
These sessions can help them work out what is making them anxious and how they can work through the situation.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that can help your child manage their problems by changing the way they think and behave.
It has been proven to help with anxiety that isn’t severe, and is commonly offered to young people who are anxious.
Your child will work with the therapist to find ways to change the way they think and find strategies for coping in situations that make them anxious. They’ll usually have 9-20 sessions.
It’s not clear whether CBT is effective for children younger than six years of age.
Learn more about CBT.
If your child’s anxiety problem has not got better, your doctor may talk to you about trying medication.
A type of antidepressant, called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), may help your child feel calmer and differently about things.
Antidepressants usually take around two to four weeks to work properly, so you or your child may not notice the difference immediately.
It’s natural to be concerned about side effects. Your child should be aware of any possible adverse effects and should tell you or their doctor if they happen. Read more about SSRIs.
If a child is experiencing anxiety, there is plenty parents and carers can do to help. First, it’s important to talk to your child about their anxiety or worries. Read our advice on How to help your anxious child.
Some children are simply born more nervous and anxious and less able to cope with stress than other children.
A child’s anxious personality may be partly determined by the genes they’ve inherited from their parents. Parents of anxious children may recognise the signs and remember feeling and behaving the same when they were younger.
Children can pick up anxious behaviour from being around anxious people. If you’re worried that your child might be influenced by our own behaviour, you might want to listen to these podcasts offering advice about anxiety and worry and explaining how you can take control of your anxiety.
Some children can also develop anxiety after a series of stressful events. They may be able to cope with one of these events, but several difficult events together may be too much for them to cope with. Examples are:
Children with certain conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autistic spectrum disorders may experience anxiety as part of the symptoms of their condition, because of differences in the way their brain functions.
Nearly 300,000 young people in Britain have an anxiety disorder.
In the UK, anxiety disorders are estimated to affect 5-19% of all children and adolescents, and about 2-5% of children younger than 12.
Separation anxiety is the most common anxiety disorder in children younger than 12.
Obsessive compulsive disorder
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) affects people differently, but usually causes a particular pattern of thoughts and behaviours.
This pattern has four main steps:
Obsession – where an unwanted, intrusive and often distressing thought, image or urge repeatedly enters your mind.
Anxiety – the obsession provokes a feeling of intense anxiety or distress.
Compulsion – repetitive behaviours or mental acts that you feel driven to perform as a result of the anxiety and distress caused by the obsession.
Temporary relief – the compulsive behaviour temporarily relieves the anxiety, but the obsession and anxiety soon returns, causing the cycle to begin again.
It’s possible to just have obsessive thoughts or just have compulsions, but most people with OCD will experience both.
Almost everyone has unpleasant or unwanted thoughts at some point, such as thinking they may have forgotten to lock the door of the house, or even sudden unwelcome violent or offensive mental images.
But if you have a persistent, unpleasant thought that dominates your thinking to the extent it interrupts other thoughts, you may have an obsession.
Some common obsessions that affect people with OCD include:
fear of deliberately harming yourself or others – for example, fear you may attack someone else, such as your children
fear of harming yourself or others by mistake – for example, fear you may set the house on fire by leaving the cooker on
fear of contamination by disease, infection or an unpleasant substance
a need for symmetry or orderliness – for example, you may feel the need to ensure all the labels on the tins in your cupboard face the same way
You may have obsessive thoughts of a violent or sexual nature that you find repulsive or frightening. But they’re just thoughts and having them doesn’t mean you’ll act on them.
Compulsions arise as a way of trying to reduce or prevent anxiety caused by the obsessive thought, although in reality this behaviour is either excessive or not realistically connected.
For example, a person who fears contamination with germs may wash their hands repeatedly, or someone with a fear of harming their family may have the urge to repeat an action multiple times to “neutralise” the thought.
Most people with OCD realise that such compulsive behaviour is irrational and makes no logical sense, but they can’t stop acting on it and feel they need to do it “just in case”.
Common types of compulsive behaviour in people with OCD include:
cleaning and hand washing
checking – such as checking doors are locked or that the gas is off
counting
ordering and arranging
hoarding
asking for reassurance
repeating words in their head
thinking “neutralising” thoughts to counter the obsessive thoughts
avoiding places and situations that could trigger obsessive thoughts
Not all compulsive behaviours will be obvious to other people.
It’s important to get help if you think you have OCD and it’s having a significant impact on your life.
If you think a friend or family member may have OCD, try talking to them about your concerns and suggest they seek help.
OCD is unlikely to get better on its own, but treatment and support is available to help you manage your symptoms and have a better quality of life.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a year-long campaign to raise awareness around depression.
Depression affects more than 300 million people globally and the number increased by 18.4% between 2005 and 2015. These numbers should give us food for thought when it comes to help people we know with depression.
Depression involves sadness, feeling of guilt and low self-worth, or constant tiredness. If you know someone with depression, the first step is to talk to a specialist and understand what treatment is best in their case. Depression can be treated and supporting the people we know can make a difference.
In the infographic, we show 6 tips for helping older adults with depression. While the elderly are often overlooked, they make up the largest age group affected by depression – above 7.5% among females aged 55-74 years, and above 5.5% among males.
6 ways to help older adults with depression
Depression around the world
Munchausen’s syndrome
Munchausen’s syndrome is a psychological disorder where someone pretends to be ill or deliberately produces symptoms of illness in themselves.
Their main intention is to assume the “sick role” to have people care for them and be the centre of attention.
Any practical benefit in pretending to be sick – for example, claiming incapacity benefit – isn’t the reason for their behaviour.
Munchausen’s syndrome is named after a German aristocrat, Baron Munchausen, who became famous for telling wild, unbelievable tales about his exploits.
People with Munchausen’s syndrome can behave in a number of different ways, including:
pretending to have psychological symptoms – for example, claiming to hear voices or claiming to see things that aren’t really there
pretending to have physical symptoms – for example, claiming to have chest pain or a stomach ache
actively trying to get ill – such as deliberately infecting a wound by rubbing dirt into it
Some people with Munchausen’s syndrome may spend years travelling from hospital to hospital feigning a wide range of illnesses. When it’s discovered they’re lying, they may suddenly leave hospital and move to another area.
People with Munchausen’s syndrome can be very manipulative and, in the most serious cases, may undergo painful and sometimes life-threatening surgery, even though they know it’s unnecessary.
Munchausen’s syndrome is complex and poorly understood. Many people refuse psychiatric treatment or psychological profiling, and it’s unclear why people with the syndrome behave in the way they do.
Based on the available research and case studies, several factors have been identified as possible causes of Munchausen’s syndrome. These include:
emotional trauma or illness during childhood – this often resulted in extensive medical attention
a personality disorder – a mental health condition that causes patterns of abnormal thinking and behaviour
a grudge against authority figures or healthcare professionals
Munchausen’s syndrome may be caused by parental neglect and abandonment, or other childhood trauma.
As a result of this trauma, a person may have unresolved issues with their parents that cause them to fake illness. They may do this because they:
have a compulsion to punish themselves (masochism) by making themselves ill because they feel unworthy
need to feel important and be the centre of attention
need to pass responsibility for their wellbeing and care on to other people
There’s also some evidence to suggest people who’ve had extensive medical procedures, or received prolonged medical attention during childhood or adolescence, are more likely to develop Munchausen’s syndrome when they’re older.
This may be because they associate their childhood memories with a sense of being cared for. As they get older, they try to obtain the same feelings of reassurance by pretending to be ill.
Some examples of the different personality disorders thought to be linked with Munchausen’s syndrome include:
antisocial personality disorder – a person may take pleasure in manipulating and deceiving doctors, giving them a sense of power and control
borderline personality disorder – where a person struggles to control their feelings and often swings between positive and negative views of others
narcissistic personality disorder – where a person often swings between seeing themselves as special and fearing they’re worthless
It could be that the person has an unstable sense of their own identity and also has difficulties establishing meaningful relationships with others.
Playing the “sick role” allows them to adopt an identity that brings unconditional support and acceptance from others with it. Admission to hospital also gives the person a clearly defined place in a social network.
Diagnosing Munchausen’s syndrome can be challenging for medical professionals.
People with the syndrome are often very convincing and skilled at manipulating and exploiting a doctor’s concern for their patients, and their natural interest in investigating unusual medical conditions.
If a healthcare professional suspects a person may have Munchausen’s syndrome, they’ll look at the person’s health records to check for inconsistencies between their claimed and actual medical history. They may also contact the person’s family and friends to find out whether their claims about their past are true.
Healthcare professionals can also run tests to check for evidence of self-inflicted illness or tampering with clinical tests. For example, the person’s blood can be checked for traces of medication they shouldn’t be taking but which could explain their symptoms.
Doctors will also want to rule out other possible motivations for their behaviour, such as faking illness for financial gain or because they want access to strong painkillers.
Munchausen’s syndrome can usually be confidently diagnosed if:
there’s clear evidence of fabricating or inducing symptoms
the person’s prime motivation is to be seen as sick
there’s no other likely reason or explanation for their behaviour
Treating Munchausen’s syndrome can be difficult because most people refuse to admit they have a problem and won’t co-operate with suggested treatment plans.
Some experts recommend that healthcare professionals should adopt a gentle non-confrontational approach, suggesting the person has complex health needs and may benefit from a referral to a psychiatrist.
Others argue that a person with Munchausen’s syndrome should be confronted directly and asked why they’ve lied and whether they have stress and anxiety.
One of the biggest ironies about Munchausen’s syndrome is that people who have it are genuinely mentally ill, but will often only admit to having a physical illness.
If a person admits to their behaviour, they can be referred to specialist psychiatric services for further treatment. If they don’t admit to lying, most experts agree the doctor in charge of their care should minimise medical contact with them.
This is because the doctor-patient relationship is based on trust and if there’s evidence the patient can no longer be trusted, the doctor is unable to continue treating them.
It may be possible to help control the symptoms of Munchausen’s syndrome if the person admits they have a problem and co-operates with treatment.
There’s no standard treatment for Munchausen’s syndrome, but a combination of psychoanalysis and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has shown some success in helping people control their symptoms.
Psychoanalysis is a type of psychotherapy which attempts to uncover and resolve these unconscious beliefs and motivations which can cause many psychological conditions.
CBT helps a person identify unhelpful and unrealistic beliefs and behavioural patterns. A specially trained therapist teaches the person ways of replacing unrealistic beliefs with more realistic and balanced ones.
People with Munchausen’s syndrome still in close contact with their family may also benefit from having family therapy.
The person with the syndrome and their close family members discuss how it’s affected the family and the positive changes that can be made.
It can also teach family members how to avoid reinforcing the person’s abnormal behaviour. For example, this could involve recognising when the person is playing the “sick role” and avoiding showing them concern or offering support.
From the available case studies, there appear to be two relatively distinct groups of people affected by Munchausen’s syndrome. They are:
women who are 20 to 40 years of age, often with a background in healthcare, such as working as a nurse or medical technician
unmarried white men who are 30 to 50 years of age
It’s unclear why these two groups tend to be affected by Munchausen’s syndrome. It’s also not known how common the syndrome is.
Some experts believe Munchausen’s syndrome is underdiagnosed because many people succeed in deceiving medical staff. It’s also possible cases may be overdiagnosed as the same person could use different identities.
A large study carried out in a Canadian hospital estimated that out of 1,300 patients, there were 10 who were faking symptoms of illness.