American International University – Bangladesh (AIUB) hosted a psychology workshop at its campus on Monday. The workshop was conducted by psychiatrist Dr Fatima Maria Khan (MBBS, MD, FCPS-ll, Uttara Adhunik Medical College, Consultant of BRB Hospital). She has been working in the field of addiction and adult medical health.
The workshop started with Dr Md Hamidul Haque introducing Dr Fatima Maria to the attending students and faculties. Dr Fatima told attendees, ‘Control your anger before it controls you.’ She discussed in-depth the issue of anger management. She said that anger is an emotion and it is a mixture of negative and positive. She said extreme anger can lead to rapid breathing, fast heartbeat, sweating, etc. Dr Fatima gave several pointers to help control anger. She said, ‘Think before you speak. When you feel angry, count down from a big number. Take a deep breath or take a timeout from the situation. If possible, talk to someone about your problem.’
The renowned pyschiatrist said that a healthy mind is needed to function well and that problems with the mind can cause psychological problems. She stated that chemical signals to the brain, also known as neurotransmitters, can cause abnormality or psychiatric disorder. She said that any physical problem can lead to psychiatric disorders, e.g. cancer.
Dr Fatima said that major psychiatric illness can lead to psychosis, major depressive disorder, mood disorder or schizophrenia. Minor psychiatric illnesses can also be seen. She said that there are treatment options for all types of mental illnesses.
Dr Fatima laid down some of the common psychiatric illnesses and the reason behind them during the workshop. She discussed anxiety, stress and personality problems and said they are very common in society. She stated several reasons for common mental illnesses for example, misunderstanding in relationships, failing in communication, adult related problems, substance abuse, social media addiction and many more.
She went on to say that nowadays minors complain about anxiety, stress, etc. She claimed several problems among the young such as eating disorders, night-owl habits, temper tantrums, adolescent bullying, academic problems, among others.
Dr Fatima talked about certain unhealthy coping mechanisms that are common. She said denial and regression are commonly used when people are unable to cope with stress. There are several other abnormal coping methods, such as blame shifting, etc.
She further discussed different disorders and their treatment. She mentioned borderline personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, obsessive personality disorder, etc. She talked of the rising rates of suicide and said that bullying is to blame for this phenomenon.
Dr Fatima said that when the levels of sodium and potassium levels vary it leads to chemical imbalance in the brain which then results in psychiatric disorders. She also answered several questions from faculties and students. When asked about the cure for different types of anxiety disorders she said that psychotherapy is used to treat the disorder.
The workshop was attended by faculties and students of AIUB and was arranged to shed light on mental illness. The aim was to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues and bring awareness regarding these issues to students and teachers.
