Tag mental health

Compulsive gambling, also called gambling disorder, is the uncontrollable urge to keep gambling despite the toll it takes on your life. Gambling/ Betting means that you’re willing to risk something you value in the hope of getting something of even greater value.

Gambling can stimulate the brain’s reward system much like drugs such as alcohol can, leading to addiction. If you’re prone to compulsive gambling, you may continually chase bets, hide your behavior, deplete savings, accumulate debt, or even resort to theft or fraud to support your addiction

Lifestyle and Home Remedies

There’s no proven way to prevent a gambling problem from occurring or recurring. If you have risk factors for compulsive gambling, it may be helpful to avoid gambling in any form, people who gamble and places where gambling occurs. Get treatment at the earliest sign of a problem to help prevent a gambling disorder from becoming worse.

Coping and Support for Betting

The appeal of gambling is hard to overcome if you keep thinking that you’ll win the next time you gamble. These recovery skills may help you remain focused on resisting the urges of compulsive gambling:

-Tell yourself it’s too risky to gamble at all. One bet typically leads to another and another.
-Give yourself permission to ask for help, as part of realizing that sheer willpower isn’t enough to overcome compulsive gambling. Ask a family member or friend to encourage you to follow your treatment plan.
-Stay focused on your No. 1 goal: not to gamble. Coping skills to better manage the other issues in your life can be initiated only when you aren’t gambling.
-Recognize and then avoid situations that trigger your urge to bet.
-Family members of compulsive gamblers can get counseling, even if the gambler is unwilling to participate in therapy.

ED is the inability to get and keep an erection firm enough for sex for an averagely normal period of time. Erectile dysfunction remains a reproductive health concern to men.

Having erection trouble from time to time isn’t necessarily a cause for concern. If erectile dysfunction is an ongoing issue, however, it can cause stress, affect your self-confidence and contribute to relationship problems.

Problems getting or keeping an erection can also be a sign of an underlying health condition that needs treatment and a risk factor for heart disease.

If you’re concerned about erectile dysfunction, talk to your doctor — even if you’re embarrassed. Sometimes, treating an underlying condition is enough to reverse erectile dysfunction. In other cases, medications or other direct treatments might be needed.

Symptoms of Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile dysfunction symptoms might include persistent:

Trouble getting an erection

Trouble keeping an erection

Reduced sexual desire

When to see a doctor

A family doctor is a good place to start when you have erectile problems. See your doctor if:

You have concerns about your erections or you’re experiencing other sexual problems such as premature or delayed ejaculation

You have diabetes, heart disease or another known health condition that might be linked to erectile dysfunction

You have other symptoms along with erectile dysfunction

Causes of Erectile dysfunction

Male sexual arousal is a complex process that involves the brain, hormones, emotions, nerves, muscles and blood vessels. Erectile dysfunction can result from a problem with any of these. Likewise, stress and mental health concerns can cause or worsen erectile dysfunction.

Sometimes a combination of physical and psychological issues causes erectile dysfunction. For instance, a minor physical condition that slows your sexual response might cause anxiety about maintaining an erection. The resulting anxiety can lead to or worsen erectile dysfunction.

Physical causes of erectile dysfunction

In many cases, erectile dysfunction is caused by something physical. Common causes include:

Heart disease

Clogged blood vessels (atherosclerosis)

High cholesterol

High blood pressure

Diabetes

Obesity

Metabolic syndrome — a condition involving increased blood pressure, high insulin levels, body fat around the waist and high cholesterol

Parkinson’s disease

Multiple sclerosis

Certain prescription medications

Tobacco use

Peyronie’s disease — development of scar tissue inside the penis

Alcoholism and other forms of substance abuse

Sleep disorders

Treatments for prostate cancer or enlarged prostate

Surgeries or injuries that affect the pelvic area or spinal cord

Low testosterone levels

Psychological causes of erectile dysfunction

The brain plays a key role in triggering the series of physical events that cause an erection, starting with feelings of sexual excitement. A number of things can interfere with sexual feelings and cause or worsen erectile dysfunction. These include:

Depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions

Stress

Relationship problems due to stress, poor communication or other concerns

Risk factors of Erectile Dysfunction

As you get older,

Various risk factors can contribute to erectile dysfunction, including:

Medical conditions, particularly diabetes or heart conditions

Tobacco use, which restricts blood flow to veins and arteries, can — over time — cause chronic health conditions that lead to erectile dysfunction

Being overweight, especially if you’re obese

Certain medical treatments, such as prostate surgery or radiation treatment for cancer

Injuries, particularly if they damage the nerves or arteries that control erections

Medications, including antidepressants, antihistamines and medications to treat high blood pressure, pain or prostate conditions

Psychological conditions, such as stress, anxiety or depression

Drug and alcohol use, especially if you’re a long-term drug user or heavy drinker

Complications

Complications resulting from erectile dysfunction can include:

An unsatisfactory sex life

Stress or anxiety

Embarrassment or low self-esteem

Relationship problems

The inability to get your partner pregnant

Prevention of Erectile dysfunction

The best way to prevent erectile dysfunction is to make healthy lifestyle choices and to manage any existing health conditions. For example:

Work with your doctor to manage diabetes, heart disease or other chronic health conditions.

See your doctor for regular checkups and medical screening tests.

Stop smoking, limit or avoid alcohol, and don’t use illegal drugs.

Exercise regularly.

Take steps to reduce stress.

Get help for anxiety, depression or other mental health concerns.

Considerations of Depression

Depression can occur in people of all ages:

Adults, Teenagers ,Older adults

Symptoms of depression include:

Low mood or irritable mood most of the time

Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much

A big change in appetite, often with weight gain or loss

Tiredness and lack of energy

Feelings of worthlessness, self-hate, and guilt

Difficulty concentrating

Slow or fast movements

Lack of activity and avoiding usual activities

Feeling hopeless or helpless

Repeated thoughts of death or suicide

Lack of pleasure in activities you usually enjoy, including sex

Remember that children may have different symptoms than adults. Watch for changes in schoolwork, sleep, and behavior.

If you wonder whether your child might be depressed, talk with your health care provider. Your provider can help you learn how to help your child with depression.

Types of Depression

Major depression: It occurs when feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with daily life for 2 weeks or longer periods of time.

Persistent depressive disorder.: This is a depressed mood that lasts 2 years. Over that length of time, you may have periods of major depression, with times when your symptoms are milder.

Postpartum depression: Many women feel somewhat down after having a baby. However, true postpartum depression is more severe and includes the symptoms of major depression.

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).: Symptoms of depression occur 1 week before your period and disappear after you menstruate.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD).: This occurs most often during fall and winter, and disappears during spring and summer. It is most likely due to a lack of sunlight.

Major depression with psychotic features: This occurs when a person has depression and loss of touch with reality (psychosis).

Bipolar disorder occurs when depression alternates with mania (formerly called manic depression). Bipolar disorder has depression as one of its symptoms, but it is a different type of mental illness.

Causes of Depression.

Depression often runs in families. This may be due to your genes, behaviors you learn at home, or your environment. Depression may be triggered by stressful or unhappy life events. Often, it is a combination of these things.

Many factors can bring on depression: 

Alcohol or drug use

Medical conditions, such as cancer or long-term (chronic) pain

Stressful life events, such as job loss, divorce, or death of a spouse or other family member

Social isolation (a common cause of depression in older adults)

When to Contact a Medical Professional

Call your provider if:

You hear voices that are not there.

You cry often without cause.

Your depression has affected your work, school, or family life for longer than 2 weeks.

You have three or more symptoms of depression.

You think one of your current medicines may be making you feel depressed.

DO NOT change or stop taking any medicines without talking to your provider.If you think your child or teen may be depressed!

You should also call your provider if:

You think you should cut back on drinking alcohol

A family member or friend has asked you to cut back on drinking alcohol

You feel guilty about the amount of alcohol you drink

You drink alcohol first thing in the morning