Psych Squad (2025)

10/10/2024

World Mental Health Day 2024

[ Mental Health in the Workplace]

On this World Mental Health Day, let's remember that psychological well-being is essential, not just in our personal lives but also in the workplace. This year's theme is a timely reminder that our jobs should foster psychological wellbeing as well as physical health, not harm and psychological traumas.

A positive work environment boosts productivity, creativity, and overall job satisfaction. But workplace stress, long hours, and unmanageable workloads can have serious consequences on mental health. Let's strive to make our work-places where

Open conversations about mental health are encouraged.
Work-life balance is respected.
Support systems like counseling and mental health days are normalized.

Together, we can build workplaces that prioritize mental health, promote empathy, and support everyone’s well-being.

This World Mental Health Day, let's take steps to create healthier and happier work environments for all!

09/06/2024

Anxiety is essential part of lives as we do different tasks or challenged with difficulties or obastacles. Anxiety prepare us to brace the impact but excessive anxious thoughts can be problem for mental health.
Avoiding anxious thoughts involves a combination of strategies that address both mental and physical aspects of anxiety.

1. Practice Mindfulness and Meditation:
- Engage in mindfulness exercises to stay grounded in the present moment.
- Use meditation techniques to calm your mind.

2. Challenge Negative Thoughts:
- Identify and challenge irrational or unhelpful thoughts.
- Replace negative thoughts with more balanced, realistic ones.

3. Physical Activity:
- Regular exercise can help reduce anxiety by releasing endorphins and improving your mood.

4. Healthy Lifestyle Choices:
- Maintain a balanced diet, get enough sleep, and avoid excessive caffeine or alcohol.

5. Deep Breathing and Relaxation Techniques:
- Practice deep breathing exercises to reduce physical symptoms of anxiety.
- Use progressive muscle relaxation to ease tension in your body.

6. Structured Routine:
- Create a daily schedule to provide structure and reduce uncertainty.
- Set aside specific times for work, rest, and activities you enjoy.

7. Limit Information Overload:
- Reduce exposure to news or social media if it increases your anxiety.
- Focus on consuming information from reliable sources.

8. Seek Support:
- Talk to friends, family, or a therapist about your feelings.
- Join support groups for people experiencing similar issues.

9. Set Realistic Goals:
- Break tasks into manageable steps and set achievable goals.
- Celebrate small accomplishments to build confidence.

10. Develope Hobbies:
- Participate in activities that you enjoy and that distract you from anxious thoughts.

11. Seeking Professional Help:
- If anxiety is overwhelming, consider seeking help from a mental health professional.
- Therapy and, in some cases, medication can be effective treatments for anxiety disorders.

By applying these strategies into your daily routine, you can better manage and reduce anxious thoughts.

03/06/2024

Improving mental health is collection of various strategies that includes physical, emotional, and social aspects. Here are some tips:

1. Regular Exercise: Physical activity releases endorphins, which can boost mood and reduce stress.

2. Balanced Diet: Eating nutritious foods can positively affect your mood and energy levels.

3. Adequate Sleep: Quality sleep is crucial for mental health. Aim for 7-9 hours per night.

4. Mindfulness and Meditation: Practicing mindfulness or meditation can reduce stress and improve emotional well-being.

5. Stay Connected: Maintain relationships with friends and family. Social support is vital for mental health.

6. Seek Professional Help: Don't hesitate to consult a mental health professional if you're struggling.

7. Engage in Hobbies: Doing activities you enjoy can provide a sense of accomplishment and pleasure.

8. Establish Boundaries: Learn to say no and set limits to avoid burnout.

9. Positive Self-talk: Challenge negative thoughts and practice self-compassion.

10. Routine: Having a daily routine can provide structure and stability.

Integrating these habits into your daily life can help foster better mental health and resilience.

23/04/2024

"Take care of people around you & never leave them suffering alone"

22/02/2024

Delivered a session on "𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 & 𝒂𝒅𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆𝒔" to International Students selected in Türkiye Bursları scholarship at Istanbul Mediniyet University organized by YTB (Yurtdışı Türkler ve Akraba Topluluklar Başkanlığı).

12/02/2024

Psychosis is a mental health condition characterized by a loss of contact with reality. It is different from Neurosis in which a person is having mental health problems but still intact with reality and can get the required mental health aid intentionally.
▶️People experiencing psychosis may have delusions, which are false beliefs not based in reality, and hallucinations, which involve seeing or hearing things that aren't there.
▶️Other symptoms can include disorganized thinking and speech, difficulty concentrating, and erratic behavior.
▶️Psychosis can be caused by various factors, including mental illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or severe depression, as well as substance abuse, certain medical conditions, or extreme stress.
▶️ Psychotic disorders like schizophrenia often require a combination of medication, therapy, and support services for treatment. Antipsychotic medications can help manage symptoms like hallucinations and delusions, while therapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or family therapy, can help individuals cope with their condition and improve their functioning. In severe cases, hospitalization may be necessary for stabilization and safety.

10/10/2023

"Mental health is a universal human right"

World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10th each year. It's a day dedicated to raising awareness about mental health issues and promoting mental well-being. It provides an opportunity to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and encourage people to seek help and support when needed.

Ensuring access to mental health care and support is not only a matter of compassion but also a legal and ethical obligation. Promoting mental health as a universal human right emphasizes the importance of removing stigma, providing equitable access to mental health services, and fostering an environment where everyone can enjoy good mental health and well-being.

Psychological well-being is not just an individual matter; it has a ripple effect on families, communities, and society as a whole. Therefore, promoting and prioritizing psychological well-being is of paramount importance for individuals and the broader social fabric.

Let's join hands to make sure that everyone around us including us has access to help with psychological needs when it is needed.

08/05/2023

Whenever any calamity or trauma happens, first-aid is the essential remedy for recovery from loss & taking life back to normal.

Psychological First-Aid (PFA) is immediate help needed following a crisis event happened in a community, to be offered to people affected by the event in a way respective to their dignity, social values, and cultural sensitivity. It is not therapy or mental health treatment, only social & emotional support to make assurances about people's safety immediately after a crisis event.

PFA is a set of strategies aimed to aid the client in terms of emotional support as well as taking care of basic social needs. It is usually divided into the following basic components;

Stressful situations can shake our sense of safety, activating the brain's fight and flight response and resulting in various psychological behaviors starting from denial of an event. A sense of safety can be provided by shifting the affected from a disturbing place or effectively communicating with them that they are safe. Connecting them to needed resource providers or assisting them in meeting basic needs also creates a sense of safety.

The emergency responders should demonstrate calm action and speak softly so that the affected person should feel that they are in a safe place. If you need to calm yourself or someone during a crisis event, simple relaxing techniques can help like counting or deep breathing. You can talk about any lighter topic or ask for any religious prayer to be prayed for them.

The people's physical & psychological immediate needs should be identified & required assistance should be provided instantaneously. After meeting the need to feel safe, connected, and hopeful, the PFA provider should link the people to collaborative services to meet their secondary needs.

PFA is a community response to provide psycho-social support to reduce stress-induced reactive behaviors like fear, confusion, hopelessness, and shock and others after a crisis event. It also activates people's self-efficacy to help themselves after the event.

24/11/2022

“𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑛𝑖𝑎 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑦.” — 𝐴𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑒 𝐵𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑛, 𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑠ℎ-𝑆𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑠 𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟

Our bodies need rest for the restoration of our energy levels to start a new day with new ideas & motivation to fulfill our goals. Some of us strive to get good sleep due to some sleep problems. One of the commonest reasons for visiting the doctor is a sleep problem.

Sʟᴇᴇᴘ ᴅɪsᴛᴜʀʙᴀɴᴄᴇs that persist are a cause of great distress and may take several forms such as;

Iɴsᴏᴍɴɪᴀ; sleeping too little due to physiological or psychological causes.

Nᴀʀᴄᴏʟᴇᴘsʏ; an irresistible urge to sleep, a genetically determined rare sleep disorder. Sleep at inappropriate times.
Pᴀʀᴀsᴏᴍɴɪᴀ; is marked by night terrors and sleepwalking, frequently triggered by stress, drugs, or alcohol.

𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬
Difficulty in achieving or maintaining sleep.
More than normal daytime sleepiness.
Sleep paralysis.
Night terrors.
Trouble in thinking, remembering, and focusing.
Slowed reaction times.

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
Develop a regular sleep routine, define your sleep cycle and follow it.

If you are having troubled sleep, try to avoid stimulants like Coffee & tea having caffeine.

Try not to exercise near bedtime.

The room temperature should be moderate & constant.

The meal routine should be regular, as the digestive system can also disturb the sleeping cycle.

Try to reduce screen time, and make a proper late nightlateenight screenn usage while laying down on the bed, should be avoided.

13/04/2022

Counselling, is not simply just a way of talking, rather a counsellor needs a theoretical background with hands-on experience of some necessary social skills.
*سماجی اور نفسیاتی مسائل کے ادراک کیلےُ "کونسلنگ" کو بطور طریقہ علاج استعمال کیا جاتا ہے مگر کیا اس میں صرف روزمرہ زندگی کی طرح بات چیت کی جاتی ہے یا اس کے کچھ الگ اصول ہیں؟

*کونسلنگ کے ذریعے کن مسائل کو حل کیاجاسکتا ہے اور یہ کس حد تک کارآمد ہے؟

*ذندگی کے مختلف مراحل پر پیش آنے والے مسائل کے حل کیلےُ کونسلنگ کیوں ضروری ہے؟

*لڑکپن اور بلوغت کی عمر کے سماجی اور نفسیاتی مسائل کو اس کے ذریعے حل کیاجاسکتا ہے اور اس کے ذریعے کس طرح بچوں اور والدین کی مدد کی جاسکتی ہے؟

ان تمام سوالوں کے جوابات کو تلاش کرنے کی کوشش کریں گے اور بات کریں گے ایک ماہرِ نفسیات سے جوکہ کونسلنگ کے شعبہ سے وابستہ ہیں۔ اس سیشن کو سننے کیلےُ اور اس سے متعلقہ اپنے سوالات پوچھنے کیلےُ نیچے دیے گئے واٹس ایپ گروپ کو جوائن کریں۔

*There are some myths & misconceptions related to counselling, which needs to be bunked.
*Why counseling is important in different developmental transitions of life.

To answer all of these questions, we are having an online session with a psychologist having experties in the counselling domain.

*SPEAKER*
Ms. Moezza Rafi
Psychologist & Counseling officer at RAHNUMA-FPAP.
She is an experienced clinical psychologist working in the community domain by providing counseling services to youth & providing community-based sessions on different socio-psychological topics. She is having tremendous experience in counseling services to different segments of society.

So, let's join us.

Date: 17-04-22 (Sunday)
Time: 12:00 to 01:30 PM PST
Venue: Zoom
Communication language: English & Urdu

If you are interested, join our w.app group:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/L0BGH8VHGULDiPvOT1Sakn

22/03/2022

Happiness is a tremendous emotion, which helps to aspire to live & furnishes motivation to do better. There is not a single way to measure happiness, it can be felt in different ways by different individuals.

20 March is celebrated as "World's happiness day" to commemorate the best gift given by God & to increase the significance of positive emotions.

How we can increase our happiness & how to control the effects of negative emotions? Let's take a look 😄

Smile:
When we are in a happy mood, we try to smile. Remember the same thing, when you are feeling low. Putting a smile on the face brings the happy mood back most of the time. This smile should not be fake, to show everyone & every time. Rather, it should be elicited internally to bring change in an emotional state.

Sleep:
It is the most important component of our lives for our healthy self, but we ignore it most. Adequate sleep is not only important for physical health but also to psychological wellbeing & emotional health. Regularly organized sleep according to your sleep cycle puts your emotional well-being in a good orbit & helps to keep up the happiness as most occurring competent in our emotional state.

Grateful:
Gratitude is one of the positive emotions that helps us to be more psychologically resilient. Think of the things from your life, as the blessings & good deeds dwelled upon by Allah & by your dear ones. You can also practice it by noting down the elegant aspects around you. The practice of gratitude brings a good impact on our attitude towards hope & happiness.

Praise other's achievements:
Bringing a smile to someone else's face also brings pleasure to our lives. The acts of kindness help us to feel more satisfied with our lives. A sincere & beautiful compliment can imply happiness in our social environment. Always make sure to offer a compliment respectably.

Negative emotions;
Being positive & happy does not mean ignoring & suppress our negative emotions & feelings. Bad things should be accepted as components of life, which shift our attention towards the realities of life and encourages us to appreciate the significance of blessings & good aspects of life. Let the adverse time pass and take care of yourself. A human cannot be happy all the time but approving all aspects of life helps us to achieve psychological resilience.

Living happily doesn't imply that everything is flawless. It means you have chosen to look beyond the deficiencies & imperfections in life.

Stay happy & emotionally wealthy !!

08/03/2022

If you are a student of BS or Msc Psychology and concerned about your clinical internship and how to complete cases then there is good news for you.

This webinar can help you 👇

Topic: Essentials of Clinical Internship at Psychiatry ward.

topics to be covered:
*Role of Psychologist
*History Taking
*Diagnostic Criteria
*Case Formulation
*Degree Requirement

Resource Persons:
*Ms.Khadija Aslam*
Clinical Psychologist with 8+ years of clinical experience. She has done her master's from the University of Lahore & graduated from king Edward medical university, doing clinical practice since 2012. She is a CBT, DBT, NLP & Hypnotherapy practitioner, also working as a Family therapist.

*Mr. Abdul Bari*
He is a Psychologist and Peer Educator. With a distinction in bachelors, he has 2+ years of experience in different community projects amid mental health awareness & holding a 6-month clinical internship at a psychiatry ward.

Host:
*Tazain Azka Ch.*
She is a psychologist & a writer with holding 1.5 year clinical experience dealing with various mental health issues especially the drug addiction cases. Currently, enrolled in MS Clinical Psychology.

Date: 11-03-22 Friday
Time: 05:00 to 06:30 PM
Venue: Zoom

All the psychology students are encouraged to participate in the webinar. It's open to all.

To join the webinar, you can join this WhatsApp group:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/L0BGH8VHGULDiPvOT1Sakn

Psych Squad

10/10/2024

09/06/2024

03/06/2024

23/04/2024

22/02/2024

12/02/2024

10/10/2023

08/05/2023

24/11/2022

13/04/2022

22/03/2022

08/03/2022

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