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20% of the US population will have some form of mental illness in their lifetime.
- Carol C. Nadelson, M.D.
Even
after someone is removed from an abusive situation, there will be
psychological effects. A low self-esteem, depression, anxiety,
PTSD, and self- harm are a few examples. The victim will still have a
skewed way of looking at the world. Everyone carries their own
programming that they learned in childhood, and the ideals or
experiences that were ingrained in youth will still be programmed into
the victim's mind. They will react to different stimuli, especially in
cases of stress, the same as if they were still a child being abused.
(Please note that this does not mean abuse recoverers are all mentally
ill, unless otherwise diagnosed.)
Children
of dysfunctional families have trouble experiencing: appropriate levels
of self-esteem; setting functional boundaries; owning and expressing
their own reality; taking care of their adult needs and wants;
experiencing and expressing their reality moderately;
i.e. exhilaratingly happy or absolutely miserable, incredibly involved
or extremely detached. There is no middle ground in the body,
thinking, feelings, behavior. Everything is black or white, good or
evil.
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PTSD: Out of Sight, Into Your Mind
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Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder affects one out of seven Americans. While on this
website we focus on issues as it relates to child abuse, it does have
other origins, such as an accident, war, terrorist attack, kidnapping,
being in a disaster, etc. Some symptoms include, but are not excluded
to:
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Upsetting memories or thoughts about the trauma
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Flashbacks
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Nightmares
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Smells, sights, words, sounds may cause a flashback
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Angry and defensive
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Having difficulty concentrating and remembering things
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Hypervigilant
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Panic attacks
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Insomnia*
http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/index.jsp
I strongly recommend the above site for details on PTSD, from treatment and coping mechanisms to just general information.
*
Initial insomnia is difficulty falling asleep. Middle insomnia is
waking during the night and having difficulty falling asleep. Terminal
insomnia is waking too early. Hypersomnia is oversleeping.
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Inappropriate Levels of Self-Esteem
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Self-esteem is how you feel
about yourself and how you view your existence. It is more common to
feel a low self-esteem, but it's possible for a person to develop a
high opinion of himself due to the same circumstances to counteract the
challenge to his/her self-worth. Inappropriately high
self-esteem typically manifests itself as malignant narcissism. I
will focus on low self-esteem for this article. Right away I'm going
to refer you to the book Self-Esteem by Matthew McKay, Ph.D,
and Patrick Fanning. You can get affordable copies of it at
Amazon.com. When growing up in an abusive home, a child's self-esteem
is destroyed, and it is up to that individual to work on getting a
healthy view of him/herself. A low self-esteem can cause you to never
realize your full potential, and tends to sabotage yourself in your own
efforts to succeed in business and in relationships. Here are a couple
links to get you started on rebuilding your self-esteem.
More-Selfesteem.com
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Depression
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Clinical depression (also called major depressive disorder, or unipolar depression when compared to bipolar disorder) is a state of intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individual's social functioning and/or activities of daily living.
Two hallmarks of depression — symptoms key to establishing a diagnosis — are:
- Loss of interest in normal daily activities. You lose interest in or pleasure from activities that you used to enjoy.
- Depressed mood. You feel sad, helpless or hopeless, and may have crying spells.
In
addition, for a doctor or other health professional to diagnose
depression, most of the following signs and symptoms also must be
present for at least two weeks.
- Sleep disturbances.
Sleeping too much or having problems sleeping can be a sign you're
depressed. Waking in the middle of the night or early in the morning
and not being able to get back to sleep are typical.
- Impaired thinking or concentration. You may have trouble concentrating or making decisions and have problems with memory.
- Changes in weight. An increased or reduced appetite and unexplained weight gain or loss may indicate depression.
- Agitation. You may seem restless, agitated, irritable and easily annoyed.
- Fatigue or slowing of body movements.
You feel weariness and lack of energy nearly every day. You may feel as
tired in the morning as you did when you went to bed the night before.
You may feel like you're doing everything in slow motion, or you may
speak in a slow, monotonous tone.
- Low self-esteem. You feel worthless and have excessive guilt.
- Less interest in sex.
If you were sexually active before developing depression, you may
notice a dramatic decrease in your level of interest in having sexual
relations.
- Thoughts of death.
You have a persistent negative view of yourself, your situation and the
future. You may have thoughts of death, dying or suicide.
Depression Statistics
- Depressive
disorders affect approximately 18.8 million American adults or about
9.5% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. This
includes major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar
disorder. [1]
- Everyone, will at some time in
their life be affected by depression -- their own or someone else's,
according to Australian Government statistics. (Depression statistics
in Australia are comparable to those of the US and UK.) [2]
Depression
is a topic that is easy to research over the internet, because there
are so many websites dedicated to it. I could never list them all,
simply Google "depression" and you are set.
*sources: http://www.upliftprogram.com/depression_stats.html ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_depression ; http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/depression/DS00175/DSECTION=2 |
Anxiety
Lack of Coping Skills
Disruption in Relationships
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Neurosis
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OCD-
Cleanliness-
Perfectionism-
Sex Addiction-
Eating Disorders-
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DID/MPD
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Please visit our DID / MPD pages for more information.
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Self-Injury
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Self-injury is not failed attempts at
suicide, and is not masochism. It is what some people do to cope with
emotions they do not know how to cope healthily with. People who don't know anything about delayed
effects of trauma, or have no depression or borderline personality
disorders, cannot comprehend why anyone would purposefully injure
themselves. To them it is extreme, morbid, and frightening. The ones who
self-harm feel deep shame. To me, Secret Shame is the definitive information site on self-injury on the web.
Coping Ideas For The Self-Injury Cycle
Triggering Event:
Self-calming, relaxation, breathing, "safe place" imagery, journal,
talking, resolve conflicts, be assertive, exercise, change of scenery,
positive self-affermaions, "As Needed PRN" medication (anti-anxiety
medication).
Pressure Building:
Distracting activity, call supportive persons, hot line, or therapist,
"containment" imagery, safe expression of feelings, physical activity,
spiritual practices, self-negotiations to "buy time."
Relapse: Distract self immediately, re-focus on personal goals, rational self-talk, follow your "Relapse Plan."
Initial Response (after
self-injury): Attend to your body and obtain any medical help, honesty
with self and others, difference between lapse and relapse, recommit
yourself to recovery, watch for shame and self-hate, process in therapy.
Long-term Response:
Analyze your self-injury cycle, improve coping methods, improve safety
plan, examine and correct thinking errors, focus on strengths, develop
support system, visualize desired future and how to make it happen.
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Drug Abuse / Alcoholism
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Drug
abuse and alcoholism is a form of escapism, meaning a way of escaping
from reality. Mind- and emotion-altering substances are readily
available and of course, addictive. Abused individuals find it much
easier to escape their suffering through temporary fixes, turning a
blind eye to the lasting damages it causes.
http://www.nida.nih.gov/
Emotional Maturity
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