By Anmol Prithani Extra Blog Post I was recently watching a news piece by The Guardian called ‘Fight or Flight: The Veterans at War with PTSD’. The video focussed on army veterans having anxiety, paranoia and recurrent flashbacks which prevented them from leading a normal life post their service. According to the Journal of Military and Veterans’ Health, 22 military veterans commit suicide in the United States every day and the number is climbing. While many therapies have been tested to combat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the complexity of the disorder makes it extremely difficult to treat. (Marmer, 1996) Therefore, in my article, I will be exploring an emerging therapy for PTSD — art therapy and will list why it is considered meritorious in the treatment of certain symptoms of PTSD. The video starts with a veteran, Andy Price, saying, “I think about taking my life every single day.” According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of PTSD include recurrent flashbacks, avo...

Aryaman Singh Child sexual abuse can be defined as any type of sexual activity with a minor, i.e. any individual younger than the age of consent of a particular country. Children lack the capacity to comprehend the situation, and as such are unable to provide voluntary consent. Abuse is not only restricted to physical contact- it includes exhibitionism, involving a child in pornography or child prostitution, and online child-luring by cyber predators. According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) as many as 93% of survivors under the age of 18 know the abuser. About one in 10 children will be abused before their 18 th birthday. The rates of reported sexual abuse have shown a gradual decline over the years for reasons unknown (a drop of 47% from 1993 to 2005-06), and it is estimated that only 38% of survivors disclose the fact that they have been abused. The consequences of such activity can be devastating, often resulting in a lifetime of post-traumatic stress...

| Indira Bulhan Blog Post: 3 Have you ever bought something out of a strong impulse which you could not control? While it can be an occasional event for some, for few others it can become a repetitive habit. This blog post aims to look at compulsive buying as a coping mechanism for anxiety which arises from a possible absence of a particular item.    Compulsive buying is an important area to explore as with the growth of the society, it is growing rapidly. Moreover, even though it may appear harmless, it may lead to consequences such as financial strains, problems in family relations, lack of impulse control and proper budget planning . Compulsive buying can be defined as a cycle of repetition of intense, sudden and irresistible urge to acquire products which are followed by the excessive, uncontrolled purchase of goods (da Silva, 2015). According to Li et al. (2014), compulsive buying occurs as a form of response to negative emotions. Studies have sho...

Dissociated portrayal of Dissociative Identity Disorder in Fight Club Fight Club (1999) depicts the life of an average employee and his engagement with the mental disorder of dissociative identity disorder. It captures the essence of dissociative identity disorder not in vacuum but in relation to other mental disorders. It portrays DID as an emergent consequence of other mental disorders; insomnia and depression to name the most obvious ones. Hence, the film also has been able to portray the comorbid nature of mental illness. Although this has been achieved, certain details related to the film lack research and seems baseless. This baseless aspects of the way DID is portrayed seems to be the glue that keeps the plot from falling apart. In this blog post, I would like to point out the possible issues of DID portrayal in Fight Club. This is an instance where attempts of media to give the audience a sense of DID fails. It fails because the assumptions on which the film is made are ...

Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD, is  a mood-changing chemical manufactured from lysergic acid, found in the ergot fungus, which is combined with a non-organic chemical called diethylamide to produce crystals that are converted to a liquid for distribution. It is odorless, colorless, and has a slightly bitter taste and was first synthesized in 1938 by a Swiss chemist, Albert Hofman, to treat respiratory depression.   LSD (also commonly referred to as ‘acid’) falls under the class of substances known as “hallucinogens” whose primary effects include the alteration of sensory perception, mood, and thought patterns. In 1943, Hofman accidentally discovered its hallucinogenic properties when he absorbed some through his skin. An LSD ‘trip’ lasts anywhere between 8 to 18 hours based on the dosage and can include feelings of euphoria, weightlessness,  heightened awareness, and ‘ego dissolution’ or a sense of being at one with the universe; as well...

Anmol Prithani I was recently hooked to a TV series called You , where the protagonist Joe Goldberg is seen obsessively stalking a young woman, Beck. Goldberg moves swiftly through the series with calculated decisions, meticulously gathering information and using his intellect to find ways to get closer to Beck. He goes to huge lengths to ‘control’ this woman which prompted me to ask the question: how does this happen?  In this article, I will explore existing psychological research on stalker behaviour and parallel these findings with Joe Goldberg’s portrayal as one. To define stalking, it is viewed as an illogical or irrational preoccupation with another individual. (Sansone, 2010) Existing research suggests that there might be an association with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and stalking. This association is gaining momentum because according to the DSM IV, BPD is characterised by a “pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships.” Researchers als...