Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD)

What are hallucinogens?

Hallucinogens are drugs that cause hallucinations. Sometimes referred to as psychedelic drugs, hallucinogens cause severe distortions in the user’s perception of reality. Users experience a ‘dream-like state’ often seeing, hearing, tasting and smelling things that are not there. Examples of hallucinogenic drugs include: Ecstasy, LSD, and Ketamine just to mention a few.

What is HPPD?

HPPD is a condition that results from taking hallucinogenic drugs, usually on a number of occasions.  People who use hallucinogenic drugs like those mentioned above sometimes get flashbacks of the effect of the drug days, weeks or even years after they’ve used it.  For some, the experience of reliving the effects of the drug taken is pleasant, sometimes even pleasurable. For others however, they experience disturbing visual effects such as distorted sizes or colours and bright lights that won’t fade. HPPD presents itself in two types:

• Type 1: people experience HPPD in the form of random, brief flashbacks.
• Type 2: people experience ongoing changes to their vision, which may come and go.

Although it’s still a poorly understood medical condition, it’s not life-threatening. However, effects of this condition on the daily life of users can be very distressing, so much so, that sufferers can end up with mental health issues.  A study conducted by Dr. Henry Abraham, a lecturer in psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine  found that up to 65% of those with HPPD suffer from panic attacks due to their visual changes while up to 50% will be diagnosed with major depression as a result of these people wanting to resume their normal lives but not being able to do so, thus they begin to suffer emotion changes, with some even considering suicide

Risk factors

People using psychedelic drugs recreationally are at risk of experiencing HPPD.

Symptoms

The visual disturbances a person with HPPD may experience include:

• seeing halos or auras around objects
• seeing trails that follow moving objects
• having trouble telling colours apart
• the colour of an object seeming to change in hue
• an object appearing to be moving when it is actually still
• seeing a pattern on an object that others cannot see
• visual snow (seeing snow or static, as you would if you experience poor TV reception)
• the dimensions of an object looking like they are changing

Management and treatment

The following clinical drugs have been found to be effective in the treatment of HPPD symptoms:

• Lamotrigine (antiepileptic, mood-stabilizing medication)
• Clonazepam (tranquilizer)

Other ways to manage symptoms include:

• avoiding illicit drugs
• reducing stress
• treating related conditions, such as anxiety or depression

All in all, occurrence of HPPD is considered to be quite rare and because few people have been diagnosed with HPPD, research on the condition is quite limited.

How Power Outages Can Affect Mental Health

Have you ever wondered the effects power outages can have on your mental health? According to Dr Lin , a professor at the University of Albany,  an increase in mental health events is noted during power outages. She states that "There are many reasons why mental health events increase during power outages, including stress from the shutdown of necessities like food storage, transportation, life support devices and more. It can also increase loneliness and cut people off from one other."  

More information on the effects power outages have on our mental health can be found  here . 

                                                      Happy reading!

How To Set Goals You Will Actually Achieve

The real value of setting goals is not the recognition or the reward, it’s the person we become by finding the discipline, courage and commitment to achieve them

                                                            ~Robin S Sharma

The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them

                                                             ~Og Mandino

Fact: Setting and accomplishing goals isn’t easy. 

If it were, there’d be more Bob collymores, Chris Kirubis and Manu Chandarias  in the world instead of millions of people who feel unfulfilled and overwhelmed. Majority of the time we fail to achieve our goals and more often than not, one of the reasons is that they are not planned out right…or at all for that matter. Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Goals mean nothing if you don’t put effort towards achieving them. Here are a few tips on how to set goals that you will actually achieve:

Figure out your current priorities

If you aren’t sure of what your priorities are, trying to figure them out is a good starting point especially because it will prevent you from setting many unnecessary goals. Prioritizing your goals gives you order and helps you figure out what’s important right now. Once you are clear on your priorities, it becomes a lot easier to visualize the bigger picture. It’s easy to think that the more goals you have, the more successful you will be, but this isn’t necessarily true. You can’t achieve it all. At least not all at once!

Identify your main goals, List and prioritize them

Now that you have a clearer picture on your priorities and what it is you want to achieve, develop goals around it. Where do you see yourself in the coming year(s)? What are your main goals that relate to your bigger picture? Identify and list them based on your priorities.

Determine the action steps

The first step in achieving your goals is to take a moment to respect your goal; know exactly what it means to you to achieve it. What do you need to do right now to make progress toward achieving your main goal? Breakdown your big goals into smaller achievable ones. Aside from making your goal a lot more attainable, this step will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed at the thought of achieving the goals you have set and keep the momentum going. Unfortunately, many people tend to skip this step when setting their goals, but in my opinion this is definitely the most important step.

Give yourself a deadline

You have a goal, but do you know when you want to get it done? It’s important to give yourself a deadline because it will force you to work hard to achieve it. Remember, your goals must be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely). This means that you must be very clear on exactly what it is you want to achieve, when you want to have achieved it by, how you intend on achieving it, and how to track your progress towards achieving it. A trick would be to set a deadline sooner than you expect to achieve it. This will make you get to work as quickly as possible. Trust me, nothing will boost your ego and self-esteem more than achieving a goal before the set deadline!

Find an accountability system

What difference will your goals make if you don’t stick to them? Your goals are yours and no one else can accomplish them for you. It's up to you to remain focused and disciplined. If you think it might help, consider sharing your goals with an accountability partner or group of people who will encourage and support you in your process. You may even try to assign consequences in case you don’t push through with your goal. Aside from keeping you on track, this will help you to achieve everything that you put your mind to.

Develop systems and habits to guarantee success

One thing most people seem to forget about is how crucial it is to develop habits or systems that complement your goals and make achieving them a lot easier. It’s important to have habits that work for you rather than against you. If, for example, your goal is to exercise regularly in the morning, try setting aside your workout clothes beside your bed before you sleep.

Surround yourself with inspiration

Even the most determined people need inspiration once in a while. Now that you’ve planned out your goals, surround yourself with things that will constantly keep you inspired.

Reward yourself

Having a reward system is beneficial in at least two aspects: first, you recognize that you did a good job and secondly, you set yourself up to accomplish more since you know you’ll be rewarding yourself after.

Now get out there and smash those goals! Good luck!

Positive Psychology and Benefit Finding

Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. It focuses on more than just alleviating suffering; It’s founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play. Positive psychology therefore focuses on how to make life worth living.

Most psychological approaches use the deficit model which aims at fixing what is wrong and alleviate suffering. Positive psychology on the other hand aims at building on what is going well and promotes life satisfaction, well-being, joy and happiness.  Benefit finding is the art of looking for benefit in difficult situations. Sometimes, events don’t turn out in the way we had planned them causing us to feel disappointed or even disheartened. Different people react differently to such situations; some let difficult events defeat them while others tend to accept the situation and move on. Resilient people tend to look for benefit out of difficult situations. It can be difficult to find benefit in bad situations, however, like with anything else, practice makes perfect; it becomes easier the more you try.

This years’ theme on World Mental Health Day focused on promoting mental health in the workplace. The mental health and well-being of employees is crucial for the success of any organization. Mental illness can affect anyone, irrespective of age or background, but with adequate support, most people do recover. One known way of promoting positive psychology is through the act of positive reflection. Similar to benefit finding, positive reflection is often done at the end of the day and entails an individual sitting down in a quiet environment, reflecting on the day that has passed and identifying three good things that have come out of it.

“The simple practice of positive reflection creates a real shift in what people think about, and can change how they perceive their work lives. And, as an added benefit, if people share positive events with others, it can boost social bonds and friendships, further reducing workplace stress..” .

To read more on the relationship between positive reflection and good mental well-being especially in the workplace, please read the following article: Documenting three good things could improve your mental well-being at work

Youth in Mental Health Series #5

SDG 5: Gender Equality

Goal: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Without gender equality, we cannot achieve peaceful, prosperous and sustainable societies. Gender equality is therefore not only a human right, but a foundation for sustainable development. If gender inequalities and discrimination is not addressed, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to achieve the sustainable development goals.

Gender inequalities are present in various ways:

Unequal access to economic resources and assets such as land by women – By ensuring equal access to women, substantial contributions can be made towards ending hunger and achieving food security.  According to UNDP, with the same access to productive resources, women could increase agricultural yields on their farms by 20-30%. This in turn increases agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5-4% and subsequently reduces the number of undernourished people by 12-17%. According to UNICEF Kenya’s Humanitarian situation report published at the end of September 2017, 3.4 million Kenyans were food insecure and over 100,000 children were severely malnourished; In accordance with research, food insecurity and malnutrition among Kenyans can be reduced by promoting equal access to economic resources and assets such as land by women. 

Minimum participation of women in decision making- Very few women are involved in decision making processes both at household and national level

Women in the workforce are subjected to unequal pay, opportunities and vulnerable employment- In sub-Saharan Africa, women comprise only 40% of the workforce.

Disproportionate burden of unpaid work- Most women in developing countries spend a lot of time in unpaid work such as child care, fetching water or collecting firewood to be used as fuel in the household. This limits the time they have to go to school, gain new skills or participate in other income generating activities that could increase household income and ultimately improve the family’s living standards. According to UNDP statistics, 103 million youth worldwide lack basic literacy skills, and more than 60% of them are women.

Violence against women- Early and forced marriages, harmful practices e.g. Female genital Mutilation (FGM)

Disproportionate impact of climate change and natural disasters and environmental degradation- women are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than men as they constitute the majority of the world’s poor and are more dependent for their livelihood on natural resources that are threatened by climate change. Those charged with the responsibility to secure water, food and fuel for cooking and heating face the greatest challenges. When coupled with the unequal access to resources and to decision-making processes, limited mobility places women in rural areas in a position where they are disproportionately affected by climate change

SDG 5 at a Glance in Kenya

(As of June 2017)

The decentralization of power created 47 County Governments and this has revolutionized leadership at the lower level, bringing many women into the public leadership space. 

The government has undertaken initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality and empowerment of women with the aim of ensuring equal access, control and resource distribution to improve livelihood for the marginalized categories of people, including women, people with disability (PWDs) and other vulnerable groups. There are special catalytic funds dedicated to women, persons with disabilities and the youth for development programs. These include:

·    Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) -provides micro-finance credit and other financial support for women

·    The Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF)-It's aimed at reducing unemployment. It provides credit for young men and women to enable them to establish businesses to earn a living.

·    The Uwezo fund-empowers women, persons with disabilities and youth. The fund gives seed money (upto 5000 USD to one group ) to the special interest groups as start-up capital for businesses. 

·    The Social Protection Fund-It's given as credit and cash transfers to older members of society and people with severe disability. The fund targets senior citizens beyond age 65 years.

·      30% procurement reservation affirmative action to Special Interest Groups (SIG) that include women, persons with disabilities and the youth- The SIG access 30 % value of all all-public procurement tenders to Special Interest Groups.

·         National Government Affirmative Action Fund-established in 2015; It's administered through female members of parliament to run programs targeting socio-empowerment of women, youth, persons with disabilities, children and elderly persons.

3.       Through USAID’s support for gender equality in Kenya:

·         a network of 500 peace advocates has helped more than 8,000 survivors of gender-based violence get support services.

·         26 political parties and more than 2,300 party members and activists are working to increase women’s leadership and participation in governance

·         Empowerment of women- 1.3 million Mothers were tested, counselled and received antiretroviral drugs for prophylaxis to prevent the transmission of HIV

·         More than Ksh 127.5 million ($1.5 million) worth of maternal and child health commodities have been delivered to the Ministry of Health, for distribution to all 47 counties

·         365,000 women farmers are applying new technologies or management practices

·         through a partnership with Coca-Cola, more than 2,500 women entrepreneurs under age 35 have accessed loans.

Article courtesy of UNICEF, UNDP, USAID, UN WomenWatch, Ministry of Planning and Devolution

Time Management

"If you want to become more productive, you need to become a master of your minutes"

                                                        ~Crystal Paine

You may be dealing with an overwhelming list of things you need to do. Or perhaps, you just want to get more time back in your day. Whatever your situation, you are probably worried about time management adding even more to your plate. 

Time management is the process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities with the aim of increasing effectiveness, efficiency or productivity. Time management means staying on top of your time, life, and activities. It shouldn't take your time, rather, it should make extra time for you. Time management should not take extreme effort, however, just like everything worthwhile, time management requires self-discipline. 

Benefits of time management

You as an individual are the main beneficiary of time management. Some of the known benefits of managing your time effectively are: 

1. Less Stress – Managing your time can directly reduce your stress level. Fewer surprises. Fewer tight deadlines. Less rushing from task-to-task and place-to-place.
2. Get More Done – Of course, being productive is one of the main goals of time management. When you are aware of what you need to do, you are able to better manage your workload. You will be able to get more (of the right tasks) done in less time.
3. Less Rework – Being organized results in less rework and mistakes. Forgotten items, details, and instructions lead to extra work. How often do you have to do a task more than once or make an extra trip because you forgot something?
4. Less Life Friction and Problems – Whether it is a forgotten appointment or missed deadline, not managing your time results in increased life friction. Avoid creating your own problems by planning and preparing for your day.
5. More Free Time – We can’t create more time, but you can make better use of it by managing your time.  Simple actions like getting your work done early can produce more leisure time in your life.
6. Less Wasted Time – When you know what you need to do, you waste less time in idle activities. Instead of wondering what you should be doing next, you can already be a step ahead of your work.
7. More Opportunities – Being on top of your time and work produces more opportunities. The early bird always has more options. 
8. Improves Your Reputation – No one is going to question whether you are going to show up, do what you say you are going to do, or meet that deadline; you become reliable.
9. Less Effort – A common misconception is that time management takes extra effort. This is false. Proper time management makes your life easier. Things take LESS effort.
10. More Time Where it Matters – Managing your time means assigning time where it will have the most impact. Time management allows you to spend your time on the things that matter most to you.

With that said, here are 10 tips to better manage your time:

1. Keep It Simple – Keep your time management setup to the simplest possible.
2. Clean Work space – Less clutter results in more room for productivity. Clean up your work space to give yourself more space to do actual work.
3. Make a List – many individuals go through their day without a list of the things they need to do. Making a list lets you get an overview of all the tasks on your plate. As well, it frees up your brain to concentrate on the work at hand.
4. Plan Your Day – Planning out your day and listing the tasks you need to get through saves you a lot of time later in your day. As little as 5 minutes of reviewing your calendar and to-do list will avoid much self-inflicted stress and life friction.
5. Start Early – The early bird does get the worm. If you are just starting out with your time management, get started early… before the rest of the world does. The early morning hours can be some of the most productive and will allow you to get your most important work done before others are even awake.
6. Make Appointments with Your Work – Even small tasks require time allocated to them. Don’t let your day’s events make you neglect your planned out tasks. Instead, prioritize your most important tasks and get started on them first.
7. Control your Technology – Technology can be a wonderful tool that will allow you to get more work done. However, it can also be a big distraction and take time away from your day. Remember that your phone and other gadgets are there for your convenience… not other people’s. Turn off the notifications, and by all means, don't answer your phone if you are busy (unless you find yourself in unavoidable circumstances)
8. Stop multitasking- No one can truly focus on multiple tasks at once. Doing something well demands focus and single-tasking is the only way to achieve that focus. Moreover, single-tasking allows you to maintain that focus through to the next task because your mind is clear. Does texting while driving make for a good outcome? Absolutely not!
9. Be accountable- Speak openly about your goals and objectives, that way you become accountable to others. 
10. Practice Saying No – You can’t do it all. No one can. Time management is not just task oriented; it it also people oriented. You cannot be a master at everything. Learn to delegate tasks by utilizing other people's strengths and capabilities. . Finally, be decisive and make the hard choices on how you will spend your time. Saying no to pointless commitments can recapture valuable time which will improve your productivity.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the act of living in the present. Many of us go through life on autopilot. We focus too much on our thoughts and this can lead to a state of unhappiness. By living in the present, you will realize that many causes of our stress and anxiety are unnecessary and can be avoided.

Here are a few steps on how to practice mindfulness in our day to day lives:

Mindful walking

Mindful walking brings you into the present moment free of expectations and worry and can be practiced in your daily life by doing the following:

Rhythm- align your walking to the rhythm of your breath .i.e. lifting your foot when you inhale and lowering it as you exhale. Practice indoors until you feel confident enough to do it outside

Be aware- What’s going on around you?  What can you hear, taste, smell? What is your body doing? - are you feeling any soreness or tightness in the muscles? Don’t be quick to judge or label the sensations

Mindful breathing

Breathing mindfully brings you into the present moment, enabling you to cultivate a calmness of the mind.  You can practice mindful breathing by doing the following:

Get comfortable- Sit in a relaxed position, with your back straight. What sensations can you feel?

Observe your breath- Simply observe the natural flow of your breath-in and out, in and out. Notice the expansion of your stomach with each intake. How does it feel?

Be non-critical- The aim is to focus your mind on breathing. Don’t be critical if your mind wanders off a thousand times. Whenever you notice, bring your focus back to your breathing.

Mindful eating

Mindful eating helps us focus our awareness on the simple act of nourishment and by so doing, we cultivate a fresh appreciation for food and the environment around us.  You can practice mindful eating by doing the following:

Take stock- Take a look at your eating habits. Do you rush your meals? Do you eat lunch while doing other things or with a hundred thoughts on your mind? Do you ever notice the taste sensations exploding on your palate or does it just pass you by unnoticed?

Organization- When eating, make sure you focus solely on the experience. Don’t work as you eat, use your phone or watch television. Just let it be you, your food and the present moment.

Be sensitive-Use and observe your senses as you eat. Take a moment to feel the texture; be aware of smells and appearance. Notice how different tastes affect you. Acknowledge your responses- likes, dislikes and indifference

Mindful attitude

It takes time to develop a mindful attitude, however the cultivation of mindful habits such as walking, eating and breathing create the grounds from which a truly mindful attitude emerges. Aspects of a mindful attitude include:

Non judgement- Part of developing a mindful attitude is by learning not to judge everything. Where there is a genuine need for a judgement, the mind is clear and the judgement wiser.

Patience-Mindfulness isn’t something that comes from being intellectually aware of the idea. We need to practice the art of being in the moment every day and this will require patience

Non-striving-By constantly desiring things, we set ourselves up for disappointment; we create an almost permanent state of dissatisfaction thus there is no purpose to mindfulness, nothing to expect and nothing to achieve.

Letting go- Avoid clinging onto experiences as this can cause us to get stuck and clutter our minds. Allow experiences to come and go naturally. This also means letting go of the idea of mindfulness.