The Betterfe Blog

 Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder is a mental health condition that causes problems with behavior and communication. It can involve a wide range of symptoms and the extent of the symptoms vary in every case. A person who has ASD may require full-time professional care, or they may not even notice its symptoms in some cases. People with autism have trouble with communication. They have trouble understanding what other people think and feel. This makes it hard for them to express themselves, either with words or through gestures, facial expressions, and touch People with autism might have problems with learning. Their skills might develop unevenly. For example, they could have trouble communicating but be unusually good at art, music, math, or memory. Because of this, they might do especially well on tests of analysis or problem-solving. More children are diagnosed with autism now than ever before. But the latest numbers could be higher because of changes in how it’s diagnosed, not...

We've all had that feeling when we went to a party, but we'd rather be at home. For most of us, that feeling is nothing to be concerned about, but for some people, it can be a panic attack including endeavor.  The defining feature of social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is intense anxiety or fear of being judged, negatively evaluated, or rejected in a social or performance situation. People with social anxiety disorder may worry about acting or appearing visibly anxious (e.g., blushing, stumbling over words), or being viewed as stupid, awkward, or boring. As a result, they often avoid social or performance situations, and when a situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant anxiety and distress. Many people with social anxiety disorder also experience strong physical symptoms, such as a rapid heart rate, nausea, and sweating, and may experience full-blown attacks when confronting a feared situation. Although they recognize that their fear is ...

OCD is a mental health disorder that affects people from all walks of life, irrespective of age or history with mental health, and occurs when a person gets caught in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, or urges that trigger intensely distressing feelings. Compulsions are behaviors an individual engages in to attempt to get rid of the obsessions and/or decrease his or her distress. Most people have obsessive thoughts and/or compulsive behaviors at some point in their lives, but that does not mean that we all have “some OCD.” In order for a diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive disorder to be made, this cycle of obsessions and compulsions becomes so extreme that it consumes a lot of time and gets in the way of everyday life. Obsessions are thoughts, images, or impulses that go through a person's head involuntary. The person often finds them disturbing and they are incapable of controlling them. Obsessions are typically acc...

Bipolar Disorder is a fairly common mental health condition that brings in severe mood swings and changes in sleep, energy, sleep, and thinking. It can be very confusing and frustrating because it is rather hard to diagnose unless you are looking for the symptoms. People who have bipolar disorder can have periods in which they feel overly happy and energized and other periods of feeling very sad, hopeless, and sluggish. In between those periods, they usually feel normal. You can think of the highs and the lows as two "poles" of mood, which is why it's called "bipolar" disorder. The word "manic" describes the times when someone with bipolar disorder feels overly excited and confident. These feelings can also involve irritability and impulsive or reckless decision-making. About half of people during mania can also have delusions or hallucinations. Which is why it is crucial for loved ones and friends to not downplay the suffering the person migh...

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)  is a psychiatric disorder that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, rape, or other violent personal assault. It has been known by various other names over the years such as Shell Shock or Combat Fatigue, and it was observed mostly in folks who had been to war. But today, it is one of the most common mental health problems for the general Populus.  People with PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experiences that last long after the traumatic event has ended. They may relive the event through flashbacks or nightmares; they may feel sadness, fear, or anger; and they may feel detached or estranged from other people. People with PTSD may avoid situations or people that remind them of the traumatic event, and they may have strong negative reactions to something as ordinary as a loud noise or an...

Sometimes, we worry for even the little things, and more often than not, we brush it off or somebody says to us: You think too much. While that may be the case, it always good to have all bases covered. In an effort to do so, we will discuss one of the most common mental health issues in the world: Anxiety. General anxiety is a part of a group of ailments called the Anxiety Disorder.  They are a group of mental illnesses, and the distress they cause can keep you from carrying on with your life normally. It can include the following conditions: -         Panic Disorder -         Specific Phobias -         General Anxiety -         Social Phobia They interfere with your daily life, and while all of them have different triggers and reactions, they share some common symptoms: -       ...

Depression is one of the most widespread mental health issues and what differentiates it from the normal sadness is the duration and the other symptoms associated with it. The WHO estimates around 350,000,000 people suffer from depression around the world. It is the second biggest cause of death after heart diseases. And depression can often lead to other illnesses as well. "You feel sad all the time, you find it very difficult to motivate yourself to do something." This is a symptom that a lot of us can relate to these symptoms. Depression is a very complex problem and it is very easy to overdiagnose someone. You might be sad after a breakup. That doesn't necessarily mean you are depressed; being sad is characterized as normal in this scenario. Although a complete diagnosis can only be done by a psychiatrist, one very obvious sign to look for to find if you have depression is to look at the duration of the symptoms. For example, if you've been sad for several ...