Category: Depression

Most people feel depressed at times. Losing a loved one, getting fired from a job, going through a divorce and other difficult situations can lead a person to feel sad, lonely, scared, nervous or anxious. The term “depression” often characterizes feelings of being sad, discouraged, hopeless, irritable, unmotivated as well as a general lack of interest or pleasure in life. When these feelings last for a short period of time, it may be called a passing case of “the blues.” But it’s likely to be a depressive disorder when they last for more than two weeks and interfere with regular daily activities (Marina Marcus, 2012). Persons living with HIV/AIDS are at increased risk for developing affective disorders, particularly depression (Atkinson, 2006). Recent studies have also shown that depression impacts the course of HIV disease in Botswana and other sub-Saharan African countries (L. N. Makoae, 2005).

HIV associated depression has multiple causes, some of which may be components of the neurotropic disease process itself. The virus can cause damage to subcortical regions of the brain that are directly involved in the regulation of affect and mood (L. Simbayl, 2007). Early in the disease, people often see themselves as being “persecuted” by the virus. At later stages, physical and psychological anxieties and fears about death are common (B. O. Olley, 2004). As the disease progresses, control (or power) issues emerge as patients face increasing loss of physical control. Self-efficacy and active involvement in their health can increase people’s sense of being in control and reduce their risk of feeling helpless. But hope may alternate with despair as initial bewilderment turns to fear as the disease becomes more severe. Denial is most typical in the early stages of infection (G. Andrews, 2010). Control issues are more salient in the asymptomatic or mild symptomatic stages, and helplessness along with hopelessness are most concentrated in the severe symptomatic and terminal phases of AIDS. Thus, one can characterize HIV disease as producing four major psychological concerns such as the existential and spiritual issues, a perception of HIV as a threat or persecutor, feelings of vulnerability and loss of control as well as the death-related concerns associated with the infection (American-Psychiatric-Association, 1994).

Such an issue is heightened by the socio-cultural fact that mental disorders such as depression do not exist in the culture of Batswana which may increase the prevalence rate when individual choose to engage in destructive behavior (Kathy Lawler, 2011). Women are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic. In 2016, there was an HIV prevalence rate of 26.3% among adult women (aged 15-49), compared to 17.6% for men of the same age. Around 200,000 women were estimated to be living with HIV in 2016, compared to 150,000 in 2005. This means more than half (56%) of those living with HIV are women (Utility of a new procedure for diagnosing mental disorders in primary care., 2014). Gender inequality in Botswana is fueling the epidemic among females. Factors such as early sexual debut, forced marriage and gender-based violence have increased their vulnerability to HIV. According to a national study into gender-based violence in 2012 (the most recent of its kind) 29% of women in Botswana reported experiencing some form of intimate partner violence during the past 12 months. 67% reported experiencing intimate partner violence in their lifetime (UNAIDS, 2017). This issue is common across Sub-Saharan Africa and there have been various campaigns to curb the issue through educating individuals from an early age as well as providing aid for those affected (Mahabeer, 2000).

HIV/AIDS is associated with stigma and discrimination, an individual’s HIV status is seen as a lens to judge the morality of the individual. Majority of those with HIV/AIDs do not voluntarily disclose their HIV status to the health care provider or approach a health facility with the fear of rejection (Z. Steel, 2014). It is important to identify depression because it can lead to poor adherence to highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) regimens. Inadequate levels of antiretroviral (ARV) medications contribute to the development of resistance, which compromises control of HIV disease. However, this destructive cycle can be averted in that poor adherence due to depression may be amenable to therapy, such as anti-depressant medications (M. Dalessandro, 2007).

Diagnosis is further complicated because some HIV+ individuals develop neurocognitive impairment including slowed thinking, poor concentration, forgetfulness, and executive dysfunction (V. Patel, 2010). HIV+ individuals with executive dysfunction may develop a flat affect and apathy due to damage to the frontal-striatal regions of the brain, thus they are often misdiagnosed as depressed and treated with anti-depressants (R Desjarlais, 1995). This may seem a minor problem, since anti-depressants are usually not harmful from a medical perspective; however, from a resource perspective this can be wasteful, and can translate into a large number of HIV+ individuals being prescribed expensive medications, with no benefit. Differentiation of affective changes due to executive dysfunction from depression is of great importance, not only clinically, but also to ensure judicious allocation of scarce medical resources in the regions worst affected by the HIV epidemic (R. Araya, 2006).

In conclusion there are a range of issues that people with HIV have to contend with prime among which being depression. Depression not only complicates the lives of people living with HIV in Botswana as it is affected by psychological, social, cultural and economic factors but also if left untreated can ultimately lead to self-destructive behavior like suicide as well as individuals transmitting the infection whilst knowing their HIV status (HIV+). However, if properly diagnosed depression is very treatable and preventable highlighting the necessity of adequate education on the matter especially when dealing with issues like HIV.

Heftiness is a typical issue that is getting much progressively normal. Pervasiveness of sorrow among present populace is likewise expanding. For quite a long time, it was expected that any relationship of misery to corpulence in the overall public was generally incidental. Research in the ongoing past, be that as it may, has revealed an enormous number of intervening factors that relate discouragement and heftiness. Melancholy impacts weight under certain conditions and corpulence impacts sorrow under others. The present investigation is an endeavor to increase some knowledge into the mind boggling relationship of weight and sorrow utilizing Body Mass Index (BMI) for stoutness factor and misery score acquired by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Discoveries uncovered critical positive relationship between’s the degree of stoutness and melancholy of typical, overweight and hefty subjects. The trial of hugeness of contrast (t-test) uncovered noteworthy distinction between the methods for melancholy of the three gatherings.

Does Depression Cause Obesity?

Persons through despondency before tension may meet weight put on or mass drop due to their state or the prescriptions that treat them. Discouragement and tension can both be connected with gorging, unfortunate nourishment choice, and a increasingly inactive way of life. After some time, mass boost may in the extended run lead to stoutness.

A large number of studies have been directed to look at the connection among discouragement and stoutness. The size of this examination writing is significant even that audits find exceptionally little vicariate connections between’s proportions of expression and stoutness. (Allison, 1996) Ongoing national reviews affirm these ends. Information from the two thousand and five National Health conference review, an investigation of more than thirty thousand American grown-ups, establish that downturn and weight list (BMI) corresponded at point 08. The 1995 National Longitudinal learns of teenager physical condition, an overview of more than 20,000 youth, set up also little connections (.08 and .01 for young ladies and young men, individually among discouragement and BMI. (Blaine, 2018)

Then again as point to by the World Health association sorrows is in the middle of the major foundation of handicap and pressure about one hundred and twenty one million persons all around at each min in time and it is origin tremendous weight of infection and gigantic monetary expenses, in the order of the globe. Longitudinal contemplates have discovered that weight predicts the resulting beginning of wretchedness. heavy children and immature public are exposed to social dismissal, separation and antagonistic typecast and those stumble upon could be relied ahead to punctual adverse consequences as distant as a mental own portrait, assurance & temperament, and there is an across the board suspicion that stoutness has significant mental costs. Numerous studies have indicated a growth with the commonness of melancholy and psychological disease in fat focus in malice of the information that the plan that is the affiliation wait vague. (Wurtman, 1995)

Point of Discussion:

• Does depression really cause obesity?
• Does Depression really have any link with Obesity?
• What is obesity and how they affect depression?

There doesn’t give off an impression of being a basic or solitary affiliation among corpulence and discouragement. The finding of many explores indicated that dissimilar issue, e.g. earnestness of melancholy, earnestness of corpulence, sexual direction, monetary position , class by circumstance connections, childhood encounter, consumption and corporal act, poke, and tension may shock the associates in the middle of these. For example, the investigation of Boutelle, Hannan, Fulkerson, exhibited that corpulence is a danger issue for burdensome indications, up till now not for the scientific discouragement. There is proof that the relationship among discouragement and heftiness strength be a large amount of beached uniquely among the most corpulent people. A few thinks about additionally propose a additional beached connection in childish ladies and girl than childish men and boys. Moreover, there might be proof that monetary rank impact the association and study in sequence propose a further beached connection among weight and misery just in the middle of those with advanced monetary position (reserch gate)

Conclusion

Heftiness is a genuine and pervasive condition, with grave dangers for grimness and mortality. While the physical outcomes of heftiness have been very much examined, the mental relates are less surely known. Social instruments, for example, useful impedance and continued consuming less calories, psychological systems, for example, body picture disappointment (BID) and poor self-evaluated wellbeing, and social components, for example, disgrace, may all assume a job in the pathway from heftiness to misery. With respect to corpulence causing sorrow there might be both a direct physiological and a roundabout psychosocial pathway that connection melancholy to weight. In particular, there might be a direct pathway through the natural impact of expanded pressure reactivity with hormonal change, and an aberrant pathway through which systems, for example, poor adherence, gorging, contrary musings, and diminished social help, make it progressively hard for the discouraged individual to think about themselves viably, prompting weight gain.

Works Cited

1. Allison, F. a. (1996). Friedman and Brownell.
2. Blaine, B. (2018). Does depression cause obesity? A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies of depression and weight control.
3. reserch gate. (n.d.). Retrieved from reserchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275542289_The_Relationship_Between_Obesity_and_Depression
4. Wurtman, R. J. (1995). Brain serotonin, carbohydrate-craving, obesity and depression.

Obesity can be defined as, “a chronic, relapsing, multifactorial, neurobehavioral disease, wherein an increase in body fat promotes adipose tissue dysfunction and abnormal fat mass physical forces, resulting in adverse metabolic, biomechanical, and psychosocial health consequences” (Welcome, 2019, p. 1). The topic of obesity is a long standing one in the United States of America, and it has countless questions to discuss such as the following:

When people look or hear about obesity, they just assume that an obese person eats a lot of unhealthy food or that they do not exercise enough. While those are some of the contributing factors to someone becoming obese, there are many more components that play a part in how an individual comes to be obese. In an article, Kopelman says that, “obesity is not a single disorder but a heterogeneous group of conditions with multiple causes,” (2000, p. 3). One factor that influences obesity is genetics. “As of 2006, more than 41 sites on the human genome had been linked to the development of obesity when a favorable environment is present,” (Lifschitz, 2015, p. 2). Obesity is the result of an interaction among genetic and environmental factors (Lifschitz, 2015, p. 2). Generally, someone suffering from obesity may have one or two family members with the disease.

Another factor that influences obesity is race and ethnicity. In 2004, the widespread presence of childhood obesity was twenty percent in non-hispanic black, nineteen percent in Mexican Americans, and sixteen percent in non-Hispanic whites, additionally, the commonness was highest in Mexican American boys (22%) and African American girls (24%), (Lifschitz, 2015, p. 2). Lastly, protein intake during the first 2 years of life has significant effects on growth, development, and long-term health of an individual. Lifschitz says that, “there is mounting evidence that a high protein intake in early life may have negative long-term effects on health,” (2015, p. 3). This shows that the very first years of someone’s life can be crucial in determining what happens as time goes on.

What Health Problems Come With Obesity?

Obesity alone can be a very dangerous disease; however, it can also bring many health complications and risks with it. One health problem that can be caused due to obesity is sleep-breathing abnormalities. An increased amount of fat in the chest wall and stomach area has an expected effect on the mechanical properties of the chest and the diaphragm and leads to a change of respiratory outings during inhalation and exhalation, decreasing lung volume and altering the passage of air to each region (Kopelman, 2000, p. 8). When lying flat, it is more difficult for an obese person to breathe due to the blocked airways, rather than someone that is not obese and has clear airways.

Another medical issue that is associated with obesity is hypertension, or high blood pressure. Individuals that are obese have an increase in in fatty tissue, and this causes the heart to have to work harder than it already has to in order to pump blood throughout the body Kopelman, 2000, p. 8). In addition to sleep-breathing abnormalities and hypertension, an obese individual has the possibilty of suffering from chronic kidney disease. The excess weight of someone that is obese forces the kidneys to work very hard and filter wastes quicker than usual. Additionally, kidney disease can be caused by high blood pressure. Therefore, obesity can become a slippery slope of health problems for the individual. Some other health problems that are related to being obese are diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, stroke, sleep apnea, certain forms of cancer, and pregnancy problems (Kopelman, 2000, p. 1). Furthermore, people can potentially suffer mentally and emotionally from being obese.

What is the Connection Between Obesity and Depression?

Obesity and depression are two crucial diseases that can be related with one another. Both of these diseases share similar health problems, such as hypertension and coronary heart disease. People that are obese have a higher risk of suffering from depression. They say that the psychological disturbances that are caused by obesity is what can lead to an obese individual being depressed (Dragon, 2007, p. 2). Additionally, it is said that depressed children have an increased risk of developing obesity later in their lives (Dragon, 2007, p. 2). People that endure both obesity and depression may confront particular risks to their health and well-being. Moreover, not only does the presence of the two conditions increase chance for loss of function, but these conditions may also perpetuate each other (Markowitz, 2008, p. 1). Obesity can increase the risk for depression, and depression may contribute to an individual becoming obese.

Another connection between obesity and depression is body image dissatisfaction. Which can be defined as the negative perceptions and feelings a person has about their body and is influenced by factors such as body shape and appearance, attitudes towards weight gain, and cultural norms in relation to an ideal body (McGuinness, 2016, p. 4). Individuals that are obese are very likely to be dissatisfied with their body weight, shape, and size. Therefore becoming more likely to suffer from depression.

Obesity as a Mental Problem?

Obesity does not just affect a person physically, it can also take a big toll on someone’s mental and emotional stability. There are many mental illnesses that can be associated with obesity. One of those illnesses is body dysmorphic disorder, which is when an individual cannot stop thinking about one or more perceived imperfections or flaws in their appearance (Body, 2019, p. 1). These individuals feel extremely embarrassed about their body and appearance. This may cause people suffering from obesity, and body dysmorphic disorder to avoid many social interactions with others, and this can deeply impact the daily life of an individual. While obesity may not be a mental disorder in itself, it can onset a variety of mental health problems that greatly affect people’s lives.

How Prevalent is Childhood Obesity?

Childhood obesity is a crucial health problem in the United States, and an issue that has been going on for a very long time. In children, obesity is evaluated differently. A child’s composition varies as they get older, so it is measured as an age and sex specific percentile for body mass index, or BMI (Gonzalez-Campoy, 2016, p. 2). In 2011 through 2014 the prevalence of obesity in U.S. children was seventeen percent. Additionally, a new study based on life-course growth trajectories, predicts that the majority of two-year-olds today will suffer from obesity by the age of thirty-five, and there is a rapid increase in rates (Ludwig, 2018, p. 1). Childhood obesity is very prevalent in today’s America, and something needs to be done in order to prevent these statistics from taking place. The new reports on present and anticipated obesity rates request definitive action including a national strategy over every single important fragment of society to prevent an approaching public health disaster (Ludwig, 2018, p. 2). Childhood obesity is rising at a rapid rate, and putting children’s lives in danger. This can incalculably affect personal satisfaction in the children, as well as the family.

What are the Financial Costs of Obesity?

Obesity has taken a considerable toll on health care costs in the United States of America. According to Gonzzalez-Campoy, there has been an estimated between $147 billion and $210 billion in direct and indirect health care costs as of 2010 (2016, p. 1). Medical costs of those that are obese tend to be significantly higher than those that are of noormal weight. If the incidence of obesity continues to climb at the rate it is, joined health care cost related to treating obesity-related diseases could rise by forty-eight million dollars to sixty-six billion dollars per year by 2030 (Gonzalez-Campoy, 2016, p. 3). Financial costs are also coming from children that are obese. Lifetime medical costs for a ten-year-old that is obese are shocking. They are about nineteen thousand dollars more than a child that is considered to be of normal weight, and when multiplied by the number of ten-year-olds dealing with obesity in America, these health care expenses are roughly fourteen billion dollars (Gonzalez-Campoy, 2016, p. 2). The costs of obesity can have a considerable effect on families that are living in the U.S..

References

1. Body dysmorphic disorder. (2019, October 29). Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/body-dysmorphic-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353938.
2. Dragan, A., Akhtar-Danesh, N, (2007). Relation between body mass index and depression: a structural equation modeling approach. BMC Med Res Methodol 7, 17 (2007) doi:10.1186/1471-2288-7-17
3. Gonzalez-Campoy, J. M. (2016). Obesity in America: A Growing Concern. Retrieved from https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/obesity/obesity-america-growing-concern.
4. Kopelman, P. G. (2015). Obesity as a medical problem. Nature 404, 635–643 (2000) doi:10.1038/35007508
5. Lifschitz C. (2015). Early Life Factors Influencing the Risk of Obesity. Pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology & nutrition, 18(4), 217–223. doi:10.5223/pghn.2015.18.4.217
6. Ludwig, D. S. (2018). Epidemic Childhood Obesity: Not Yet the End of the Beginning. Pediatrics, 141(3). doi: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-4078
7. Markowitz, S., Friedman, M. A., & Arent, S. M. (2008). Understanding the Relation Between Obesity and Depression: Causal Mechanisms and Implications for Treatment. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 15(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2850.2008.00106.x
8. McGuinness, S., & Taylor, J. E. (2016). Understanding Body Image Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating in Midlife Adults. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 45(1).
9. Welcome, A. (2017). Definition of Obesity. Retrieved from https://obesitymedicine.org/definition-of-obesity/

‘How are you? Really?’ How often do we take the time to check on our friends and family? Or even the classmate that sits quietly next to you each day? Every twelve minutes there is one death by suicide in the US. Suicide takes the lives of over 44,965 Americans every year. The leading cause of suicide is mental illness, the most common one being depression. I think the biggest question is how can we as a society come together to make it easier for that simple question, ‘how are you really?’ to be answered.

80% – 90% of people that seek help for their depression are treated successfully with therapy and/or medication. Sadly, a study by the World Health Organization found that between 30% – 80% of people with mental health issues dont seek treatment. So why don’t people seek help? Well, there are many reasons people dont reach out for help, one being they’re afraid to be stigmatized if they admit that they need help. For some its even denial. Admitting to themselves they have mental illness and seeking help are too much to comprehend, or if they recognize the problem at all, they come up with reasons they don’t need help. For others their mental illness itself can make it feel impossible to reach out to others. Then, theres the problem with availability, and if there is availability, paying for the treatment. So what can we do to help with suicide levels being at their highest and still rising? Well first off we can start by learning the warning signs of suicide and symptoms of depression.

The first thing you need to know is that depression is different for everyone. What symptoms one person may have and their experiences may be completely different from the next person. But, there are some common physical and emotional signs you can still look out for. Some physical signs are, lack of energy or feeling tired all the time, restlessness and agitation, having difficulty sleeping, poor appetite, smoking and/or drinking more than usual, using drugs, unexplained physical aches and pains and self harming. The most common emotional signs of depression are feeling sad and in low spirits all the time, crying a lot, having no interest in anything, not getting any pleasure out of life, feeling anxious all the time, having difficulty concentrating or remembering things, plus difficulty in making decisions, low self-confidence and self-esteem, withdrawing from family and friends, being more irritable and impatient that usual, feeling helpless/hopeless and feeling guilty as if everything that goes wrong is their fault. If someone you know shows several of these signs they may be depressed. The first step you can take to helping them is try to get them or open up and talk to you about how they feel, but keep in mind they may not have spoken to anyone about their feelings yet. You also need to be careful about how you approach the subject. Telling them to simply ‘cheer up’ or ‘pull yourself together’ is never going to be helpful. Sometimes the best thing you can do for them is to just listen. Letting them get everything off their chest and being supportive can be more valuable than you know. If after they’re done talking to you, you think they need more professional help, encourage them to see their doctor who can offer medical treatment or reccomend a local support group.

The warning signs for suicide you can look out for are; talking about wanting to die or kill oneself, looking for a way to kill oneself, talking about feeling hopeless or having no purpose, talking about feeling trapped or being in unbearable pain, talking about being a burden to others, increasing the use of alcohol or drugs, acting anxious, agitated, or reckless, sleeping too little or too much, withdrawing or feeling isolate, showing rage or talking about seeking revenge, and displaying extreme mood swings. The number one thing you can do if you suspect someone you know is suicidal is to speak up. If you spot the warning signs but you’re not sure, ask them. Some ways you can start a conversation about suicide are telling them you’ve been concerned about them lately, or telling them you’ve noticed some changes in them and were wondering if they were doing alright. Ask them when they began to feel that way, or if something happened to make them feel the way they do. Ask how to support them and if they’ve thought about getting help. Let them know that they aren’t alone, and even if they dont believe it now, the way they’re feeling will change. That there are people who care about them and want to help. Just be yourself when talking to them. Take them seriously. Some things to avoid when talking to a suicidal person are; arguing with them, acting shocked, promising confidentiality, offering to fix thier problems and most importantly, blaming yourself. You can’t fix someone’s depression. If someone you know is threatening to hurt/kill themself dont hesitate to call 911 or the emergency service in your country. See something, say something, save a life.

Raising awareness about suicide and mental illness are the first steps we as a society can take to breaking the stigma and helping more people come forward. Some ways to raise awareness are firstly, educating yourself on the signs and symptoms and where to receive help in in your area. If you’ve ever struggled with mental illness, share your story with others. Your story could encourage them to ask for help. You can write to your local government leaders to support mental health legislation, educate yourself and get involved. Encourage schools to start a suicide prevention program. Talk about mental health with your friends and family, even children. Depression can even affect children in elementary school, so don’t assume kids are too young to understand. You can memorize the suicide prevention hotline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) which is available 24/7. You can call for advice for you or a friend. Watch out for bullying, be aware of destructive behavior and report it to a trusted adult. Check in on your loved ones that are dealing with mental illness. Always be ready to listen, encourage and never judge. Educate people on ways to seek help such as, private therapists that will work on a sliding scale for those without insurance seeking help, applying for medicaid for free therapy, or even seeking counseling within school or church. Together we can break the stigma.

Major depressive disorder is a mood disorder that has a major impact on the American population. From 2013-2016 it was reported that about 8.1% of American adults over the age of 20 were diagnosed with depression (CDC). Depression as a mental illness is very difficult to identify because it affects a person’s feelings, thinking, and behavior. This heavyweight feeling of sadness and hopelessness is able to last a few days to chronic depression. Causes of major depressive disorder includes dysfunctional mood regulators from the brain, genetic predisposition, stress, medication, and medical problems (Harvard). The complexity of depression causes difficulties in finding treatment including medication. Chemical signals in the brain will vary patient to patient although symptoms of depression are similar.

In the United States, over 19 million people identify as an Asian American or Pacific Islander. Out of 19 million, more than 13% of them were diagnosed with a mental illness only in the past year (ADDA). Although Asian Americans are reported to have fewer mental health conditions than people who identify as white, they are more likely to consider and attempt to commit suicide. Asians are three times less likely than Whites to seek treatment for their mental health concerns due to many reasons such as stigma, language barrier, and lack of resources.

Lack of Mental Health Awareness in the Culture

There is an underlying fear among the Asian-American community that having mental illness means that you are “crazy.” To admit that you have a mental illness and need help from a professional may cause family members to experience a sense of fear and shame. Rather than the issue being about the person with the illness, the parents assume that the cause of their child’s unhealthy mental state is the result of their poor parenting or a passed down flaw.

Mental illness is not recognized as an issue in Asian culture. Much like in the United States and other western countries, there is a stigma around mental illness because people who struggle with it are considered “abnormal.” When the general public discriminates against people with mental health issues, these people become embarrassed and refuse to reach out for help (NCBI).

Academic Pressure

Asian American students experience academic stress and expectations from themselves and from their parents to achieve academic success. The internalized and externalized expectations are experienced by Asian American students so much so that there may be an unspoken academic competition among themselves and their peers. This academic pressure leads to the increase of depression and suicide within the Asian race. Asian countries have the highest suicide rates due to the prioritization of academics and lack of mental health awareness.

As students, the majority of their lives focus on school and this goes beyond Asian students. A student’s life revolves around their education. It is going to stress students out if they are not succeeding in the only thing they have to focus on. The inability to have other interests because all of their time is consumed with studying. Even words from teachers and peers say will stress them out. When everyone is telling students that they should focus on school, that will be all they know. Too much of something is never good, even studying. Not only are Asian students already stressed by family, but the same interaction with other people also do not help their case.

Culturally, Asian families priorities education above everything else. They believe that education is the key to being successful. The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 indicated that Asian American students were more likely to spend more time doing homework and to attend lessons outside of school. Although Asian parents had high expectations for their children, some did not directly help their children with schoolwork (PsycNET). Even without a parent physically there to push them to their limits, Asian American children were still mentally pressured to do their best academically. In comparison to other races, 80% of Asian American parents expect their children to graduate with at least a Bachelor’s degree (Nguyen). It is well known that Asian families tend to push their kids to get into prestigious schools and Ivy League universities. These parents are passing on their unachieved academic dreams onto their children, hoping that they will become successful, but it only leads to ongoing academic stress.

Every family is different, but Asian families generally have higher expectations when it comes to their children’s academics. Some examples include: receiving all A’s, high GPA, advanced test scores and participating in many extracurricular activities such as sports and clubs.

Asians are also viewed as the model minority in America, which is extra pressure to keep up a good reputation. Many studies have used standardized test scores and school grades such as the SAT, ACT, and GPA to compare Asian students to non-Asian students. From the data that is provided, Asians have a total average SAT score of 1181 out of 1600, with the next highest SAT average being of 1118 out of 1600 from white students (Appendix A). The average ACT score for Asians range from a 21.7 to 23.4 and the next highest would be white students, ranging from 21.8 to 22.3 (Appendix B). Across the American population, the student demographic in the higher education institution (obtaining a Bachelor’s degree) is 54 out of 100 percent of Asian Americans in comparison to Whites standing at 37 out of 100 percent. 22 percent of Asians also had higher degrees compared to 14 percent of whites (NYU Steinhardt). Asian American students were more likely than White students to report difficulties with stress, sleep, and feelings of hopelessness, yet they were less likely to seek counseling (Ly).

All of the external and internal pressure can lead to major depression. Mental health illnesses are looked down upon in Asian culture, so Asian American students tend to avoid getting help when it is needed. This easily leads to an increase in suicide rates in Asian American students.

Introduction

Have you been humiliated by people when they comment on your appearance? You have become so fat? Why you are so thin, parents don’t feed you? Hence, these lead to body shame. Body shame can be defined as the way in which an indivual is humiliated by their weight or body size.

Body image disturbance has become so prevalent in women that it shows discontent with physical appearance on the part of women and leading to negative emotion.

Body shaming can be done in various ways such as:

• Critizing appearance by passing through comments.
• By comparing with other people and passing judgment on the basis of that.
• Critizing on people appearance without any knowledge. For example when they comment on clothes.

Almost every female has been body shamed irrespective of religion or caste. One is too thin, too fat or too flat, but they never say that you are perfect.

Body shame is a concept that is used for the individuals’ self-conscious, negative Emotional response against one’s self. It appears in the individuals’ misstep to meet the ideal body standards, and the acknowledgement of this failure. For women in the western countries, the ideal body contains standards for outward appearance,

For an example thinness and youth. Because meeting these standards is important, women may internalize or self-objectify these standards. Many women may feel that they do not meet these standards, resulting in a negative self-directed emotions and one of these emotions is body shame.

Shame related to our bodies is an emotional state that can be quite painful. This may originate from a social rejection from others, as well as the fear of inducting disgust.

Objectification Theory as it relates to body shame and depression, and to this writer’s knowledge, none have examined the specific explanatory power of hopelessness depression. A study from Australia found support for the role of appearance anxiety and body shame mediating the relationship between self-objectification and depression in college-aged women (Tiggemann & Kuring, 2004). In another study, published in 2007, a path analysis revealed a similar relationship between self-objectification and depression with appearance anxiety and body shame playing a mediational role (Szymanski &Henning, 2007). However, each of these studies used a general measure of depression:the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock & Erbaugh, 1961) and the Self-rating Depression Scale (Zung & Zung, 1986), respectively.

A more recent study, also using a general measure of depression, found further evidence of the link between self-objectification and depressive symptoms (Grabe & Hyde, 2009). In this study, self-objectification mediates the relationship between music television viewing and a number of body-related consequences, including increased depressive symptoms. While the connection between self-objectification and depression is becoming clearer in the literature, the potential for hopelessness depression, a sub-type of depression, to strengthen the relationship between these variables seems apparent given seems apparent given the close theoretical link between body shame and hopelessness

Review of Literature

Body Image and Depression

In a study of adolescent girls, Rierdan and Koff (1997) found that the weight related dimensions of body image dissatisfaction were associated with an increase in depressive symptoms, independent of objective weight status. There were girls who showed depressive symptoms because there were various reasons to it such as being bullied or making fun of their body image. Adolescence is age where the kids are so vulnerable and there are so many changes happening internally. Hence, many of them showed depressive symptoms.

Stice et al. (2000) found further evidence that body dissatisfaction predicts the onset of major depression. This study helped to determine whether body dissatisfaction was a cause or consequence of depression by employing a longitudinal analysis. The researchers were able to control for initial depressive symptoms and therefore make a strong inference about the direction of events such that body dissatisfaction precedes and thus predicts the onset of depression.

One of the most intense periods in the lifespan for changes in body image and satisfaction can be puberty. That this change results in an increased satisfaction for girls and decreased satisfaction for boys, may be rooted in the fact that puberty moves girls 17 further away from the thin ideal but moves boys closer to the culturally prescribed muscular male ideal (Stice, 2003).

Shame driven by one’s feelings toward their body is a similar yet distinct construct from body dissatisfaction. While both body shame and body dissatisfaction encompass an individual’s negative thoughts and emotions toward their body, shame has a wider meaning. Shame is not simply negative feelings about the body, but about the self in general (McKinley & Hyde, 1996).

Bartky (1990) argues that the amount of body shame that a woman has to experience corresponds to the culture standards. It is the internalization of these standards and failure to live up to them that produce negative relationship with one’s body and in turn and oneself. Due to this research on Objectification theory started. But there is a major difference between self-objectification and body dissatisfaction.

Method

To understand the impact of body-shaming leading to depression among the adolescents, identify if these vary by overweight/underweight status, gender difference, or socio-economic status.

Objectives

The following objectives to be achieved are:

• To examine the role of body shaming and depression.
• To explore the negative effects of body shaming and investigate if it true among women of all ages.
• The role of internet and body shamming issues.
• To carry out various assessments to check if there are any other psychological illness, rate of objectivity and depression.

Sample design

Although, the purpose of the study is to find a relation between body-shaming and depression. The study focuses on women in shantinagar, Bangalore who have been body shamed and that has led to depression. The women will be taken into the sample by using convenience sampling technique.

Sample size: 60 women from the age 13-35.

Participant

The sample would include sixty women from the age of 13 to 35 years old from Shantinagar, Bangalore. The experiment would have voluntary participation and based on convenience sampling. Hence, all the participants from this area would be invited to participate in this study.

Materials

The Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBCS)

Body shame was measured using the The Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBCS), which is a self-report measure of body consciousness. The scale has a total of 24 statements and three subscales, including body surveillance, body shame and appearance control beliefs.

Hopelessness Depression Symptoms Questionnaire (HDSQ) (Metalsky & Joiner, 1991).

The HDSQ is a scale measuring the specific symptom constellation of hopelessness depression. The measure was created out of the authors’ belief that using extant measures 36 of depression did not provide a precise enough picture of the symptoms associated with hopelessness depression.

Measures and covariates

Participant’s response to the study would be measured through an online computerized data collection system (Google- Forms). Participants would receive a website link from email that directed them to an online questionnaires that will take approximately an hour to complete. A description of the study and the contact information of the research investigators would appear on the website. Willing participants then provided informed consent before giving their response to the questionnaire.

To enhance the quality of measurement it is necessary that the investigator has training on OBSC and HDSQ.

Procedure

Participant’s response to the study would be measured through an online computerized data collection system (Google- Forms). Participants would receive a website link from email that directed them to an online questionnaires that will take approximately an hour to complete. A description of the study and the contact information of the research investigators would appear on the website. Willing participants then provided informed consent before giving their response to the questionnaire.

To ensure participants are attending to the questionnaire content, I would like to embed three validity questions in the questionnaire to ensure participants are not randomly responding or being inattentive (e.g., “Please answer if you are paying attention.”). Any participants who fail to respond to any of the validity items will not be included in data analyses. Participants are free to complete the questionnaire at their convenience through any access point to the Internet.

Research Design

The research study would use quasi-experimental research, the researcher manipulates an independent variable but does not randomly assign participants to conditions or orders of conditions.

References

1. Bartky, S.L. (1990). Femininity and domination: Studies in the phenomenology of oppression. New York, NY: Routledge
2. Cash, T. F. & Henry, P. E. (1995). Women’s body images: The results ofa national survey in the U.S.A. Sex Roles, 33, 19-28.
3. Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. A. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173-206. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x.
4. Grabe, S. & Hyde, J.S. (2009). Body objectification, mtv, and psychological outcomes among female adolescents. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 39, 12, 2840-2858.
5. McKinley, N.M. & Hyde, J.S. (1996). The objectified body consciousness scale: Development and validation. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 20, 181-215.
6. Miner-Rubino, K., Twenge, J. M., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2002). Trait self-objectification in women: Affective and personality correlates. Journal of Research in Personality, 36(2), 147-172. doi:10.1006/jrpe.2001.2343
7. Metalsky, G.I. & Joiner, Jr., T.E. (1997). The hopelessness depression symptom questionnaire. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 21(3), 359-384.
8. Rierdan, J. & Koff, E. (1997). Weight, weight-related aspects of body image, and depression in early adolescent girls. Adolescence, 32(127), 327-335.
9. Stice, E., Hayward, C., Cameron, R.P., Killen, J.D. & Taylor, C.B. (2000). Body-image and eating disturbances predict onset of depression among female adolescents: A longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109(3), 438-444.
10. Stice, E. (2003). Puberty and body image. In C. Hayward. (Ed.), Gender differences at puberty. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
11. Tiggemann, M. & Kuring, J.K. (2004). The role of body objectification in disordered eating and depressed mood. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 43, 299-311.
12. Zung, W. W., & Zung, E. M. (1986). Use of the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale in the elderly. Clinical Gerontologist, Vol 5(1-2) Jun 1986, 137-14.

Depression – a concern worth the headache

Have you ever seen a person known to you suddenly shutting up from the surroundings? The bubbling next-door boy or girl or even an aged person suddenly or slowly been engulfed in the gloom as if never to come out of that state? Once such a state arrives, the medical practitioners decipher the signs as MDD. To explain the term, it is the short form of acute depression or ‘Major Depressive Disorder’. Depression is a disease that erodes away the energy and vigour from life. Around 12 per cent of total grown-up population suffers from depression according to the WHO reports of 2019. A total of three hundred million people round the globe are the victim of the disease. Depression slowly engulfs one into the clutches of gloom though the good news is it is curable and Yoga has wonderful curing effects on it.

Depression leads to a wide array of bodily and emotional dysfunction and reduces the abilities to perform normal work whether at the work-station or back home. The signs of depression start from a feeling of sadness or disorder of the mood that is continual. The normal capacity and willingness to perform work go away and interest in the daily activities wanes off. The symptoms are inclusive of the changes in the quantum of taking food which in turn results for loss or gain of weights, sleep disorders, fatigue, increase of physical work-out without a reason such as pacing, guilty feeling, thought disorder or difficulty while concentrating and impending tendencies suicides. Yoga can bring back the mental stability and can help reduce physical problems and increase the concentration.

Depression and sadness – the differences

Every year depression hits around twelve out of hundred adults and one in every five person goes through depression in the lifetime, adolescents and women being more prone to the disease. This may be due to the emotional changes the teenagers face that are not easy to handle and that women normally are a bit more sensitive and introvert. However, depression affects men too. Depression is not sadness or grief due to bereavement. It is much more. Loss of a relationship or of one who had been loved or even experiencing firing from the work-place can bring in momentary grief in which people term them as depressed. However that is only sadness but if that melancholia persists stretched over a long period of time, it is time to check if one has depression. Along with psychiatric aide yoga does a wonderful cure to depression and brings in the cure effectively within a short period of time.

Grief brings in waves of sad emotions. These feelings are mixed with positive remembrance about the deceased or the distanced person. MDD is a consistent sorrow feeling and the intensity lasts for two weeks or more. In grief, a person is able to hold to his own esteem but in depression worthless feelings for self and self-loathing creeps in. Though sometimes grief overlaps depression, a keen eye on the symptoms will tell the difference between grief and depression. The first requirement is to seek psychiatric help and continue the yoga therapy to get fast relief and restoring of normal behaviour pattern.

Wonderful ways to cope with depression

There have been many types of research including that of Harvard University which have proven the wonderful relieving effect of yoga and mindfulness on depression. Yoga helps in many ways to alleviate and even completely cure depression. Yoga reduces the effects on the body that is produced from stress. It releases in the brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which controls the activities of the nerves in a profound manner. Not only is depression curable but major mental diseases like schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder are largely curable with the help of Yoga therapy and mindfulness techniques. Yoga alienates the stress syndrome and reduces anxiety thereby curing the depression. It is a soothing technique and relieves fast from the pains of depression. It improves the level of energy in the body and refreshes the mind.

How does Yoga help?

The physical exercise that indulges in forming different postures of the body and controlling the breathing technique and using meditation is called yoga. It acts wonders in controlling depression and dealing with energy loss and concentration. Yoga is widely used to get help and stabilize problems of the mind and emotion to name a few anxiety, stress, lack of concentration and depression. It can cure other chronic ailments like spondylitis, other chronic pains, etc. It maintains the overall health and well-being of those who practice yoga regularly Other than releasing GABA, Yoga releases serotonin which is termed as the “happy hormone”. It increases the happiness quotient of the person practicing yoga. Yoga helps to increase the HRV or Heart Rate Variability. Higher the HRV, the higher is the adaptability to stress. Yoga also provides fast relief from chronic breathing problem like from COPD, help reduce the blood pressure and help increase the level of tolerance to pain. Deepa4Yoga provides authentic yoga lessons and handholds each client according to personal needs. In every single client, the varied need to cure the ailments or otherwise are taken care off and customized treatment is given according to the client’s need. At Deepa4Yoga Deepa Singh will be your guide who has gathered wide knowledge on all the yoga techniques from different Yogis in India. To get the best results out of your Yoga Classes, get in touch and enrol for the classes.

The main issue in the image that have chosen which is image 5 is depression problems are rising in the society. Depression is a very common and serious mental illness that may negatively affect people’s life. It is also known as clinical depression or major depressive disorder. This mental illness can affect any ages of people includes adults, children, adolescents, and even elderly. Depression will cause physical and mental problems includes having a feeling of sadness, hopelessness, loneliness, and tearfulness. Depression is actually a very serious mental issue that need to get treatment as soon as possible to avoid that illness to affect people’s life. Therefore, we must understand the causes and effect of depression that happens in our life and find a way to cure depression. Based on what I have observed in this image, I have realised the power of verbal abuse, negative thoughts, and smiling depression and how they affect people’s life.

The first thing that I have observed in this image is the power of verbal abuse. When most of the people hear the word ‘pain’, they will automatically assume that it is physical pain like hitting, kicking, hair pulling or punching. Emotional and verbal abuse is a type of abuse that the victim is not being hurt physically but it may just a few words or a sentence that are arranged in a way that will bring emotional distress straight to the person. It is an act that intentionally or unintentionally hurts a person’s heart or soul. Emotional abuse or verbal abuse may have short-term or long-lasting effects and it is as serious and powerful as physical abuse. For example, the artist of the second picture of image 5 has used all those ‘fat’, ‘mental ugly’, ‘liar’, ‘faker’, and many more hurtful words to represent that how a simple word or term a person spoke out will causes the victim feels shame, hopeless, confused, and most importantly fear to accept themselves just because they are not perfect. As an example, if an overweight person is being verbally abuse by people, they will refuse to accept himself and he or she will have no confidence on their appearance. Overtime, this will cause low self-esteem and even leads to depression. The artist also used only black and white colour to draw this image to represent that how verbal abuse can bring darkness to a person’s life. Therefore, people should think before they talk to avoid into troubles and hurts other people’s feeling.

Furthermore, the second thing that I have observed in this image is the power of negative thinking that may affect a person’s emotion and even their behaviour. This is because human’s thinking, emotions, behaviours, and actions are close related to each other and may directly affect each other. Negative thinking is the thought process where people think the worst in everything which will causes them to reduce their expectation toward everything. It is also a very powerful thought that leads to stress, depression, anxiety, and many more mental illnesses. This happens because when we are thinking negatively, we may deal with emotions such as sadness, loneliness, fear, hopelessness, and worthlessness. For example, in the second image of image 5, the artist drew a ‘brain’ with full of negative thoughts and the facial expression of that ‘person’ was not happy. The artist has included ‘I hate myself’, ‘I will never be good enough’, ‘my body is disgusting’, and ‘want to just disappear’ to fill the ‘brain’. It represents how negative thoughts affect our mentality and even our life. They may feel like they are nothing to the society. Thus, they will not appreciate their life and suicidal thought starts to fill their mind. Having negative thoughts is also a kind of self-abuse that may leads to serious consequences like self-harm or even suicide. Not only that, the artist used white colour as the background and black colour as the ‘body’ of that ‘person’ to represent how dull a person’s life could be if they think negatively. Letting fear and negative thoughts control us will have no sunshine and colour in our lives. Hence, if we are not able to avoid negative thinking, we can try to make it a positive power and challenge to face the difficulties.

Besides that, the last thing that I have observed in image 5 is the ‘smiling depression’. In a simple word, smiling depression is a term of a person appearing happy and fine on the outside but he or she is living in depression on the inside. Some people may look perfect outside but actually they are broken inside. Someone with smiling depression will experience the same symptoms as depression but on the outside, they may be an active, cheerful, or may have a steady job and family love. Behind the door, their mind is filled with thoughts of worthlessness, hopelessness, and stress. This happens because they do not want to burden the people around them if they express their thoughts and feelings. Not only that, they may also feel shame if they show their weaknesses. It reflects how the society living stressfully but they still need to smile and face their life. For example, in the first image of image 5, the person wrote ‘I’m ok’ on the left-hand side of the wall. At the right-hand side of the wall, the person actually wrote ‘I’m not okay’. It also represents how we should see people at different angle. Besides, the artist used bright colour to draw the clothes and the surrounding. The artist also did not show the face of that person on the left of the image but she is actually showing a sad facial expression when she is in right image. Therefore, we should not judge a person by their appearance or their lifestyle because we do not know their difficulties and their though time.

The reason why I choose this image is I can understand those who have depression or anxiety problem in their life. This is because I have friends who had depression and they have told me how they think when they feel meaningless to live. For example, I had a friend who have suicidal thought when she is driving home, after she calm down, she realised that she had depression. During the talk, I understand her hopeless feeling and I would try my best to help her to relief from depression. Therefore, I choose this image to express my feeling toward this image and most importantly about depression. Depression problem is important to the society to beware of to reduce suicide cases and make their life better. If they beware of depression, they will try to get a treatment and recover as soon as possible. Lastly, I hope people that fights with depression can escape from the dark and have a colourful life.

Have you ever overcome something that you thought was impossible? I have and it wasn’t easy. Depression affects millions of people everyday and I was one of them. I lacked motivation in all aspects of my life. It was one of the hardest times of my life, but knowing that I wasn’t the only person going through something like this gave me hope and made me optimistic. Now, I am able to use my experiences to help other and also to help better myself. Everyone has those days where they feel as though the world is against them, but for me it seemed like is was every day. I lacked two very important aspects of life. The first was motivation. Every morning I had to force myself out of bed and after school I always had homework or work that needed to be complete. For a while it felt as though life was some kind of game and I was the player stuck on the same level. Another important aspect of life that I felt was missing was hope. Not only did I stop believing in what life brings such as happiness and love, but I stopped believing in myself. As a little boy I always had this big dream of becoming an astronaut or a race car driver. Having a big dream is common in adolescents, even through their teenage years. Around the age of 12 I lost the drive I had within myself to do something extraordinary in life. I became so focused on getting through each individual day, that I lost sight of what I wanted in life. While I was depressed I lacked interest in life. This caused me to lose interest in friends and social events, leaving me to spend most of my time in my room or alone. I just had to remind myself that there were better days ahead.

Have you ever overcome something that you thought was impossible? I have and it wasn’t easy. Depression affects millions of people everyday and I was one of them. I lacked motivation in all aspects of my life. It was one of the hardest times of my life, but knowing that I wasn’t the only person going through something like this gave me hope and made me optimistic. Now, I am able to use my experiences to help other and also to help better myself.

Everyone has those days where they feel as though the world is against them, but for me it seemed like is was every day. I lacked two very important aspects of life. The first was motivation. Every morning I had to force myself out of bed and after school I always had homework or work that needed to be complete. For a while it felt as though life was some kind of game and I was the player stuck on the same level. Another important aspect of life that I felt was missing was hope. Not only did I stop believing in what life brings such as happiness and love, but I stopped believing in myself. As a little boy I always had this big dream of becoming an astronaut or a race car driver. Having a big dream is common in adolescents, even through their teenage years. Around the age of 12 I lost the drive I had within myself to do something extraordinary in life. I became so focused on getting through each individual day, that I lost sight of what I wanted in life. While I was depressed I lacked interest in life. This caused me to lose interest in friends and social events, leaving me to spend most of my time in my room or alone. I just had to remind myself that there were better days ahead.

My parents were my biggest supporters during this part of my life. I remember my dad always telling me “You could always have a worse day.” Having my parents tell me day in and day out that I’m not the only one going through struggles, helped me a lot because it gave me a sense of security and reassurance that I was not alone. I remember my mom telling me “life isn’t easy and once you hit rock bottom there is only one way to go, and that’s up.” The words my parents told me have stuck with me and will stay with me forever. Counselling helped me learn a lot about myself. It was the first step to me learning to love myself.

Depression is a tough battle to overcome, but I was able to do it and it made me a different person. I have become more independent. I do not mind being alone or working for the things I want. Also, one of the greatest things I learned was how to read people. I know when someone is having a bad day or going through a rough time. I am able to use what I went through to help others with their problems. I am able to reassure them that they aren’t alone and that they are loved. Being able to help others when they are down makes me feel good about myself and gives me confidence. Now when I think of my future, I can see myself going to college and doing something big with my life. I see myself living happily and bringing happiness to others.

Although the years I dealt with depression were extremely hard, I learned a lot. I learned that you are going to have your ups and downs, peaks and valleys, good days and bad days and that is okay. What matters is how you choose to go about the lows and overcome them. I want to push myself to new levels that I never thought I would be able to reach. I want to help those around me better themselves and I want to make everyone who is supporting me proud. I just want to be myself and be the best version of myself I can possibly be. Although I felt as if I would never beat the level of the game called life that I felt trapped in, with the wise words of my parents, I am now moving forward. Depression lost the battle against me.

The purpose of me writing this paper is to shed some light on work, life balance. This topic is so true of where my life is today. I ask myself sometimes if my success or lack thereof hang on these three things Work-life Balance. This is an important topic to me because as a wife, a mom, a college student and a professional I am constantly having to juggle work-life balance.

Since going back to school, I had to choose between what my priority was at home and being a wife and mother. What did I want? life at home with my family or was it school to further my career. These were decisions I had to ponder over. I know I needed to go back to school so we can become financially stable, huge choices. What I came up with was taking little pieces of all three, easier said than done.

How does one choose a piece of motherhood, well the journey I started had to include my husband and he had to commit to the same things I did because without both of us being committed it just wouldn’t work so we sat down and divide it up what was possible for the both of us, me going back to school takes total commitment so I had to find small ways to make time for family and completely sacrificed financial stability that’s where my husband stepped up. He put his pursuit of starting his own business on hold and invested more into working in his current job so that I could go back to school.

As time went on and I went moved further along in my education it took the sacrifices of my husband taking a backseat to his dreams. Once I started to go to school and continue work, I vowed to stay committed to school and study on certain days and have at least one day of the week to spend with my family.

I made sure to take off work on the days I had parent-teacher meetings and assemblies to make sure that my children saw me there. I took most Saturdays to have an occasional date night with my husband. I wholeheartedly believe that the experience of balancing how I manage my time with my family will have more of a lasting effect on my children. They will remember an event more than they would the mundane things, so I made sure to create lasting events and memories for them vacation trips to Florida, playing card games or just mall walking.

As I entered school or decided to start going back to college I slowed my work life to make up the distance between family and school I say this to say from the very beginning I knew I wanted to be more present when my children were younger and nowt that their older I am happy to say that now that I am almost finished with school I can be available to take to spend time with them in doing different things. My husband was able to start his own business now. I love that I’m able to strive to balance my work life and time with my family.

I’m able to handle work-life balance by checking work at the door. For me, this means that not letting work come home with me and to leave my work at the threshold this can be challenging at time so when it’s rough and I have to talk I will call my husband or a close friend and do a five-minute vent on the way home from work so that once I reach home I’ve had some relief and release I also scheduled trips as often as I can have. Knowing you are pushing forward towards something fun helps you get through those tough times period.

The expression work life balance was first used in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s to describe the balance between an individual’s work and personal life in the United States this phrase was first used in 1986.

The issues relating to work-life and balance and how it affects the organization today is vital to that organization’s growth and success. The practice of’ work-life balance in an organization should be designed to reduce or minimize conflicts which can cause an employee to be ineffective at work.

Here are some strategies that an employer can put in place to help their employees handle work-life balance. Some of these strategies can be providing great health benefits for their employees. Having health insurance and other benefits can be one of the main reasons people go to work. Another strategy would be to put in place flexible working hours to help that employee feel that they have some control over their time. And another strategy would be telecommuting.

I believe that sitting in traffic for long periods can affect someone’s mood and attitude when they arrive at the workplace. If an organization can create telecommuting where an employee can work from home that will alleviate some of the stress from sitting in traffic. When an employee feels that they don’t have to feel the daily stresses of work they can be more productive in balancing their work and their home life at the same time.

Achieving a great work-life balance can bring forth more success for both the employee and the employer and allow that employee to be more motivated which can lead to increase productivity and quality of work. The policies that an organization can put forward to help with work-life balance needs to be supported by the culture and leadership of that company. Even though the benefits of work-life balance for an employee is being able to effectively manage more than one responsibility at home and at work, it’s also being able to work in different flexible ways.

work-life balance also has its challenges and it has its barriers. Today we are asked to do so much more with so little. In my opinion, the challenges that come with trying to balance something that we are paid to do opposed to something that we’re not paid to do can be a challenge. Some of the challenges are how much time do we give to each of these components, do we give one hundred percent to our work and fifty percent to our personal life and how do we balance the two.

I feel that the challenge would be to try and effectively balance those so that one will not tip the scale and it would just defeat the purpose of managing multiple things and ultimately having a balance with your work and life. With the increased pressure for an organization to hire and retain great employees, the whole idea of work-life balance is, even more, an important topic to discuss.

The effects of work-life balance on an employee’s behavior are as real as it gets. Work-life benefits to an organization behavior directly affect the social change and indirectly helps the perception of the organization and how they support their employee’s work-life balance does affect the behavior with the employee because this can produce positive relationships between coworkers between managers there are also benefits.

Stress and work pressures are the main contributors to an imbalance. If we don’t have or set, clear boundaries in our work life balance it can affect our behavior in our jobs such as on productivity depression lack of energy and a feeling of not liking your job or what you do. The behaviors that a minute hello how long was your favorite come from not having a total balance is the reason why we strive to have a balance

In the end the importance of work life balance is crucial to our wellbeing which can affect our overall health and how we perform in the workplace. We can run ourselves ragged and be consumed with work and not realize the effect it has on our performance. When we make choices to have a balance, we can feel more relaxed, organized and this can help us to increase our productivity and feel a sense of accomplishment. Organizations also benefit from instituting work life balance because when an organization can work with their employees to ease the stress and the burden of everyday life it benefits that employer when an employee can be more productive and feel happy about their place of employment.

I close with this quote from Michelle Obama We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own To Do List”.

References

1. Rao, Rableen Kaur and Sharma, Urvashi, Issues in Work-Life Balance and Its Impact on Employees: A Literature Review (June 18, 2018). IRJMST, Vol 9 Issue 4, 2018, ISSN 2250 – 1959. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3374504
2. ‘We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘to do’ list.” —Michelle Obama, former First Lady https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/quotes-about-work-life-balance/ via @FlexJob
3. Alan Shany – https://www.slideshare.net/Alan111gym/presentation-on-work-life-balance