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Sleep disorders
Sleep disorders affect many adults and children at some time or another, some statistics showing in excess of 50%. This group of disorders includes any difficulty related to sleeping, such as difficulty falling asleep, frequent waking, early waking, night terrors, restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, bedwetting, trouble staying awake during the day, sleep walking and other abnormal behaviours associated with sleep. A sleep disorder can severely impair a person’s ability to learn, concentrate and interact with others.
Sleep disorders can be classed into four main categories:
- difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
- difficulty staying awake during the day
- difficulty keeping to a sleep schedule
- unusual behaviours during sleep
Sleep disorders can cause (or exacerbate) depression, anxiety, general health problems, poor concentration, daydreaming, and poor eating habits. It also takes its toll on mood, energy, and libido. Neurotherapy is effective in addressing sleep disorders. Medication, herbs or supplements may also be suggested.
Anxiety
Anxiety symptoms and anxiety disorders range from difficulty adjusting to new situations or anxiety about exams or presentations in front of a crowd, to more serious disorders such as panic disorder and post traumatic stress disorder. The feeling of anxiety is a subjective sense of worry, fear, and distress. This may be accompanied by physical symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, excessive sweating, racing heartbeat, light-headedness, and headache. Sometimes these feelings of anxiety may be warranted, but for children who suffer from anxiety disorders, the anxiety is inappropriate for the situation. Other symptoms of anxiety include: blushing, chest pain, chronic fatigue, cold chills, dizziness, hyperactivity, tremors, night sweats, TMJ, phobias, difficulty concentrating, nightmares, incessant mind chatter, irritability etc. Anxiety and depression often go hand in hand as they stem from the same biological vulnerability. Since anxiety makes depression worse and vice versa, it is important to seek treatment for both conditions. There are six main groups of anxiety disorders, namely Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Phobia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Social Anxiety Disorder.
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a neurological condition where the neurons in the brain release abnormal electrical impulses. This usually results in a change in consciousness. The person may lose consciousness, stare blankly, make involuntary movements (such as jerking or thrashing one or more parts of their body), become blue, or experience unusual sensations. There are many types of epilepsy. Each type differs in the cause, symptoms and treatment.
The type of epilepsy is classified according to criteria such as the age of onset of the seizures, the cause, severity of the seizures, and the part of the brain involved. Febrile seizures are not diagnosed as epilepsy (although the child may be diagnosed with epilepsy later on). These occur in children aged 3 months to 5 years as a result of a high fever. Epilepsy can cause difficulties in other areas, such as delayed speech and language development, delayed motor development, learning difficulties, and emotional problems.
Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Autistic Spectrum Disorders
Pervasive Developmental Disorders include various disorders that involve delayed communication skills, behaviours, social skills, and learning.
Examples of PDDs are:
- Autism
- Asperger’s Syndrome
- Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
- Retts Syndrome
Pervasive Developmental Disorders are usually diagnosed by early childhood.
Some symptoms include:
- difficulty interacting with others and prefers to play alone
- delayed milestones or loss of skills already mastered
- not using or understanding language
- unusual, repetitive movement that is regarded as odd
- avoidance of eye contact
- lack of interest in own environment
- poor understanding of abstract or imaginative play
- impaired cognitive processes
- severe resistance to any change in routine
- dislikes being touched because of heightened sensory sensitivity
- unusual repetitive habits such as rocking, clapping or flapping
Sensory Integration Dysfunction
During every hour of every day, we take in sensory information in the form of touch, smell, taste, vision, sounds and movement. If the neurological process that controls the way that the brain interprets this information is not optimal, Sensory Integration Dysfunction or Sensory Processing Disorder may result. This will have an impact on learning, academic performance, self esteem, social interaction, behavior, mood, sleep, and daily functioning.
Although the symptoms manifest differently in each child, some indicators of problems with sensory integration are:
- heightened awareness of background noise
- holds hands over ears
- avoids bright lights
- avoids eye contact
- under-reactive or over-reactive to sensory stimulation
- unusually high or low activity level
- delays in motor skills
- poor planning ability and organizational skills
- co-ordination difficulties
- bumps or pushes others, plays rough
- chews or sucks non-food items
Psychiatric disorders
Psychiatric disorders, such as Anxiety Disorders, Depressive Disorders, Personality Disorders, and Behavioural Disorders are mental health disorders. They are considered to be more serious disorders that can be treated by a psychiatrist with medication instead of by a psychologist with psychotherapy alone.
Examples of Psychiatric Disorders are:
- Bipolar Disorder
- Anxiety disorders
- Depression
- Dissociative Identity Disorder
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Panic Disorder
- Seasonal Affective Disorder
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder
- Tourette’s Disorder
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
AD(H)D is a biological brain based condition that is characterized by ongoing difficulty in paying attention and/or hyperactivity. These children are often fidgeting, unable to remain seated for long, unable to play quietly, easily distracted, unable to sustain attention, always impatient, have difficulty in following instructions, often move from one incomplete task to the next, talk excessively, often interrupt or intrude, do not seem to listen, have poor short-term memory, often lose items and engage in physically dangerous activities. No one knows exactly what causes AD(H)D. Genetics and hereditary are the major risk factors, as AD(H)D tends to run in families. Brain abnormalities or structural differences have also been found in individuals with AD(H)D. Early brain injury/trauma/illness, prematurity, complications during pregnancy and malnourishment can all cause a child to be at greater risk for AD(H)D. Parents & Teachers do not cause AD(H)D. Still there are many things that both can do to help a child manage his or her related difficulties. Studies have shown Neurotherapy to be useful in the treatment of AD(H)D. The Monastra Study indicated that children with AD(H)D whose treatment included Neurotherapy showed behavioural improvement even after medication was discontinued.
Depression
Depression is a disorder that involves feelings of sadness lasting for two weeks or longer, often accompanied by a loss of interest in life, hopelessness, and decreased energy. This is considered clinical depression and is very different from “the blues” triggered by an unhappy event or stressful situation. Depression affects the mind, but this doesn’t mean “it’s all in your head”. Depression is a medical illness linked to changes in the biochemistry of the brain. A clinically depressed person cannot simply “snap out of it” any more than a person with an ulcer could simply will it away. Clinical Depression is an umbrella term used to describe most common forms of depression which include:Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Dysthymia and Seasonal Affective.Depression affects people in all age groups. Causes of Depression include biochemical and psychological makeup, heredity causes, stressful life events, fluctuating hormones and various other factors such as alcohol and drug abuse, the use of certain medications, underlying medical conditions and burnout.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is a Psychiatric disorder that can occur following a traumatic or life threatening event. Most survivors of trauma return to normal after some time however many experience stress reactions that do not go away on their own and may even get worse. These individuals may develop PTSD. PTSD sufferers continually relive their worst memories, recreating the same devastating scenarios, but instead of experiencing them from a third person, or detached perspective, as most of us do, PTSD patients are back "inside" the memory in a very real sense. They experience all the emotions that those memories originally brought up, and their bodies physically respond to the fear or anger they feel. Symptoms typical of PTSD include nightmares, flashbacks, difficulty sleeping and a feeling of detachment or estrangement. Studies in Neurofeedback and PTSD on Vietnam War veterans have noted an overall improvement in PTSD symptoms of 50% early in therapy and approximately 93% as therapy progresses. Neurofeedback not only helps relieve the symptoms of PTSD but assists the individual to function optimally in their life.
Traumatic Brain Injury
Since our brain defines who we are, the consequences of a brain injury can affect all aspects of our lives, including our personality. Brain injuries do not heal like other injuries. No two brain injuries are alike and the consequence of two similar injuries may be very different. Symptoms may appear right away or may not be present for days or weeks after the injury.TBI is classified into two categories: mild and severe. Individuals with mild brain injury could experiencecognitive problems such as headache, difficulty thinking, memory problems, attention deficits, mood swings and frustration. Severe brain injury is associated with deficits that range from impairment of higher level cognitive functions to comatose states. For many people with severe TBI, long-term rehabilitation is often necessary to maximize function and independence. Even with mild TBI, the consequences to a person's life can be dramatic. Change in brain function can have a dramatic impact on family, job, social and community interaction.
The causes of TBI are diverse. The top three causes are: car accident, firearms and falls. These mechanisms are the highest causes of brain injury: Open head Injury, Closed Head Injury, Deceleration Injuries, Chemical/Toxic, Hypoxia, Tumors, Infections and Stroke.
Stress, Fatigue, Burnout
Stress is a feeling that's created when we react to particular events. The events that provoke stress are called stressors, and they cover a whole range of situations. The human body responds to stressors by producing more of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones speed up heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and metabolism. All of these physical changes prepare a person to react quickly and effectively to handle the pressure of the moment.Long-term stressful situations can produce a lasting, low-level stress that's hard on people. This can wear out the body's reserves, leave a person feeling depleted or overwhelmed, weaken the body's immune system, and cause other problems. This causes long term fatigue and a feeling of exhaustion. Long term exhaustion and stress can result in Burnout.Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.
Learning Disabilities
Learning disability is a classification including several disorders in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors. The unknown factor is the disorder that affects the brain's ability to receive and process information. A child with a learning disability cannot try harder, pay closer attention, or improve motivation on their own; they need help to learn how to do those things. A learning disability, or learning disorder, is not a problem with intelligence. Learning disorders are caused by a difference in the brain that affects how information is received, processed, or communicated. Children and adults with learning disabilities have trouble processing sensory information because they see, hear, and understand things differently. Deficits in any area of information processing can manifest in a variety of specific learning disabilities. It is possible for an individual to have more than one of these difficulties. They include reading disorders or Developmental Dyslexia, Writing Disorder or Dysgraphia, Speech and Language Disorders or Dysphasia/Aphasia, Math Disability or Dyscalculia. Nonverbal learning disabilities often manifest in motor clumsiness, poor visual-spatial skills, problematic social relationships, difficulty with math, and poor organizational skills.
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