What is depression?

What is depression?

While we all feel sad, moody or low from time to time, some people experience these feelings intensely, for long periods of time (weeks, months or even years) and sometimes without any apparent reason. Depression is more than just a low mood – it's a serious condition that affects your physical and mental health.

·         Depression is a constant feeling of sadness and loss of interest, which stops you doing your normal activities.

·         Different types of depression exist, with symptoms ranging from relatively minor to severe.

·         Generally, depression does not result from a single event, but from a mix of events and factors.

·         If you feel depressed, see your doctor. Don’t delay. Seeking support early can help stop symptoms becoming worse.

What causes depression?

While we don’t know exactly what causes depression, a number of things are often linked to its development. Depression usually results from a combination of recent events and other longer-term or personal factors, rather than one immediate issue or event.

Life events

Research suggests that continuing difficulties – long-term unemployment, living in an abusive or uncaring relationship, long-term isolation or loneliness, prolonged work stress – are more likely to cause depression than recent life stresses. However, recent events (such as losing your job) or a combination of events can ‘trigger' depression if you’re already at risk because of previous bad experiences or personal factors.

Personal factors

·         Family history – Depression can run in families and some people will be at an increased genetic risk. However, having a parent or close relative with depression doesn’t mean you’ll automatically have the same experience. Life circumstances and other personal factors are still likely to have an important influence.

·         Personality – Some people may be more at risk of depression because of their personality, particularly if they have a tendency to worry a lot, have low self-esteem, are perfectionists, are sensitive to personal criticism, or are self-critical and negative.

·         Serious medical illness – The stress and worry of coping with a serious illness can lead to depression, especially if you’re dealing with long-term management and/or chronic pain.

·         Drug and alcohol use – Drug and alcohol use can both lead to and result from depression. Many people with depression also have drug and alcohol problems. Over 500,000 Australians will experience depression and a substance use disorder at the same time, at some point in their lives.¹

Changes in the brain

Although there’s been a lot of research in this complex area, there’s still much we don’t know. Depression is not simply the result of a ‘chemical imbalance’, for example because you have too much or not enough of a particular brain chemical. It’s complicated, and there are multiple causes of major depression. Factors such as genetic vulnerability, severe life stressors, substances you may take (some medications, drugs and alcohol) and medical conditions can affect the way your brain regulates your moods.

Most MODERN ANTIDEPRESSANTS have an effect on your brain’s chemical transmitters (serotonin and noradrenaline), which relay messages between brain cells – this is thought to be how medications work for more severe depression. Psychological treatment can also help you to regulate your moods.

Effective treatment can stimulate the growth of new nerve cells in circuits that regulate your mood, which is thought to play a critical part in recovering from the most severe episodes of depression.

Remember ...

Everyone’s different and it's often a combination of factors that can contribute to developing depression. It's important to remember that you can't always identify the cause of depression or change difficult circumstances. The most important thing is to recognise the  signs and  symptoms and seek suport .

 

 

Depression: Do You Know the Symptoms?

• Feeling sad, anxious, or empty
• Feeling hopeless or pessimistic
• Feeling guilty, worthless, or helpless
• Not enjoying things you used to enjoy
• Trouble with concentration, memory, or making decisions
• Sleeping too much or too little
• Appetite changes
• Gaining or losing weight
• Feeling restless or irritable
• Thoughts of  suicide or death
•  

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What is anxiety?/chapter-2

What to know about anxiety

Anxiety is a normal and often healthy emotion. However, when a person regularly feels disproportionate levels of anxiety, it might become a medical disorder.

What is anxiety?

an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure."

Knowing the difference between normal feelings of anxiety and an anxiety disorder requiring medical attention can help a person identify and treat the condition.

In this article, we look at the differences between anxiety and anxiety disorder, the different types of anxiety, and the available treatment options.

Anxiety

When an individual faces potentially harmful or worrying triggers, feelings of anxiety are not only normal but necessary for survival.

Since the earliest days of humanity, the approach of predators and incoming danger sets off alarms in the body and allows evasive action. These alarms become noticeable in the form of a raised heartbeat, sweating, and increased sensitivity to surroundings.

The danger causes a rush of adrenalin, a hormone and chemical messenger in the brain, which in turn triggers these anxious reactions in a process called the "fight-or-flight' response. This prepares humans to physically confront or flee any potential threats to safety.

Anxiety disorders

The duration or severity of an anxious feeling can sometimes be out of proportion to the original trigger, or stressor. Physical symptoms, such as increased blood pressure and nausea, may also develop. These responses move beyond anxiety into an anxiety disorder.

Symptoms

While a number of different diagnoses constitute anxiety disorders, the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) will often include the following:

·         restlessness, and a feeling of being "on-edge"

·         uncontrollable feelings of worry

·         increased irritability

·         concentration difficulties

 Causes

The causes of anxiety disorders are complicated. Many might occur at once, some may lead to others, and some might not lead to an anxiety disorder unless another is present.

Possible causes include:

·         environmental stressors, such as difficulties at work, relationship problems, or family issues

·         genetics, as people who have family members with an anxiety disorder are more likely to experience one themselves

·         medical factors, such as the symptoms of a different disease, the effects of a medication, or the stress of an intensive surgery or prolonged recovery

·         brain chemistry, as psychologists define many anxiety disorders as misalignments of hormones and electrical signals in the brain

·         withdrawal from an illicit substance, the effects of which might intensify the impact of other possible causes

Self-treatment

In some cases, a person can treat an anxiety disorder at home without clinical supervision. However, this may not be effective for severe or long-term anxiety disorders.

There are several exercises and actions to help a person cope with milder, more focused, or shorter-term anxiety disorders, including:

·         Stress management: Learning to manage stress can help limit potential triggers. Organize any upcoming pressures and deadlines, compile lists to make daunting tasks more manageable, and commit to taking time off from study or work.

·         Relaxation techniques: Simple activities can help soothe the mental and physical signs of anxiety. These techniques include meditation, deep breathing exercises, long baths, resting in the dark, and yoga

·         Exercises to replace negative thoughts with positive ones: Make a list of the negative thoughts that might be cycling as a result of anxiety, and write down another list next to it containing positive, believable thoughts to replace them. Creating a mental image of successfully facing and conquering a specific fear can also provide benefits if anxiety symptoms relate to a specific cause, such as in a phobia.

·         Support network: Talk with familiar people who are supportive, such as a family member or friend. Support group services may also be available in the local area and online.

·         Exercise: Physical exertion can improve self-image and release chemicals in the brain that trigger positive feelings.

Root Word Agogue

: Agogue Root Word
Agogue root word comes from the Greek word-agōgos, from agein which means ”to lead”. There are two meanings or interpretations of this Agogue Word Root –
1. A person or a thing that incites or leads something.
2. Any substance that stimulates the secretion of something.

To understand this Agogue root word better, let’s have a look at the word pedagogue.

Pedagogue breaks down into:
Peda: Children
Agogue: Leader or teacher
Peda+ agogue: teacher of the children

Example Sentence- Most of the pedagogues rely on text books rather than adopting new methods of teaching.

In medical terms, agogue root word is used on the words like cholagogue .

Cholagogue breaks down into:
chola:bile
agogue:leads
chola+agogue: an agent which promotes the flow of bile into the intestine.
Example Sentence – As he was having severe stomach ache he was given some cholagogue for relief.Agogue Root Word: Learn words related to word root Agogue


Let’s learn more words based on Agogue Root Word:

1. Andragogy: Methods used to teach adults
2. Demagogue: leader of the people
3. Demagogic, Demagogical: Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of a demagogue
4. Ethnagogue: A leader of Nation
5. Epagoge, Epagogic: Method of bringing forward a number of particular instances to lead to a general conclusion; argument by induction
6. Mystagogue-: A teacher of mystical doctrines especially religious ones
7. Secretagogue: An agent that promotes secretion
8. Antisialagogue: Medicine which stops or reduces secretion of saliva
9. Hemagogic: Promoting the flow of blood
10. Hemagogue: An agent that promotes the flow of blood
11. Holagogue: A medicine reputed to expel all morbid humors
12. Pedagogue: A teacher of children
13. Pedagoguette : School mistress.
14. Psychagogue : Who leads the mind
15. Xenagogy : Guidebook for tourists or visitors
16. Demonagogue : A means of expelling a demon
17. Synergagogist : An educator who motivates learners

We hope your learning has been immense of Agogue root word through this article. The key to memorize difficult words is to re-read them over and over. Have a great time enriching your vocabulary.

Self-help group (finance)

A self-help group (SHG) is a financial intermediary committee usually composed of 10–20 local women or men. Most self-help groups are located in India, though SHGs can be found in other countries, especially in South Asia and Southeast Asia.SHG is nothing but a group of people who are on daily wages, they form a group and from that group one person collects the money and gives the money to the person who is in need

Members also make small regular savings contributions over a few months until there is enough money in the group to begin lending. Funds may then be lent back to the members or to others in the village for any purpose. In India, many SHGs are 'linked' to banks for the delivery of micro-credit.

Structure

An SHG may be registered or unregistered. It typically comprises a group of micro entrepreneurs having homogeneous social and economic backgrounds, all voluntarily coming together to save regular small sums of money, mutually agreeing to contribute to a common fund and to meet their emergency needs on the basis of mutual help. They pool their resources to become financially stable, taking loans from the money collected by that group and by making everybody in that group self-employed. The group members use collective wisdom and peer pressure to ensure proper end-use of credit and timely repayment. This system eliminates the need for collateral and is closely related to that of solidarity lending, widely used by microfinance institutions. To make the bookkeeping simple, flat interest rates are used for most loan calculations.

Goals

Self-help groups are started by -governmental organizations (GO) that generally have broad anti-poverty agendas. Self-help groups are seen as instruments for goals including empowering women, developing leadership abilities among poor and the needy people, increasing school enrolments and improving nutrition and the use of birth control. In countries like India, SHGs bridge the gap between high-caste & low-caste people /citizens.

NABARD's 'SHG Bank Linkage' program

Many self-help groups, especially in India, under NABARD's 'SHG Bank Linkage' program, borrow from banks once they have accumulated a base of their own capital. This model has attracted attention as a possible way of delivering micro-finance services to poor populations that have been difficult to reach directly through banks or other institutions. "By aggregating their individual savings into a single deposit, self-help groups minimize the bank's transaction costs and generate an attractive volume of deposits. Through self-help groups the bank can serve small rural depositors while paying them a market rate of interest.

NABARD estimates that there are 2.2 million SHGs in India, representing 33 million members, that have taken loans from banks under its linkage program to date.

Advantages of financing through SHGs

• An economically poor individual gains strength as part of a group.
• Besides, financing through SHGs reduces transaction costs for both lenders and borrowers.
• While lenders have to handle only a triple SHG account instead of a large number of small-sized individual accounts, borrowers as part of an SHG minimise expenses on travel (to and from the branch and other places) for completing paper work and on the loss of workdays in canvassing for loans.
• Where successful, SHGs have significantly empowered poor people, especially women, in rural areas.
• SHGs have helped immensely in reducing the influence of informal lenders in rural areas.
• Many big corporate houses are also promoting SHGs at many places in India.
• SHGs help borrowers overcome the problem of lack of collateral. Women can discuss their problem and find solutions for it.

Taxation of Small Scale Industries/chap-11/livelihood

Taxation of Small Scale Industries

A small scale industry (SSI) is an industrial undertaking in which the investment in fixed assets in plant & machinery, whether held on ownership term or on lease or hire purchase, does not exceed Rs. 1Crore. However, this investment limit is varied by the Government from time to time.
Entrepreneurs in small scale sector are normally not required to obtain a licence either from the Central Government or the State Government for setting up units in any part of the country. Registration of a small scale unit is also not compulsory. But, its registration with the State Directorate or Commissioner of Industries or DIC's makes the unit eligible for availing different types of Government assistance like financial assistance from the Department of Industries, medium and long term loans from State Financial Corporations and other commercial banks, machinery on hire-purchase basis from the National Small Industries Corporation, etc. Registration is also an essential requirement for getting benefits of special schemes for promotion of SSI viz. Credit guarantee Scheme, Capital subsidy, Reduced custom duty on selected items, ISO-9000 Certification reimbursement & several other benefits provided by the State Government.
The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises acts as the nodal agency for growth and development of SSIs in the country. The ministry formulates and implements policies and programmes in order to promote small scale industries and enhance their competitiveness. It is assisted by various public sector enterprises like:-

Small Industry Development Organisation (SIDO) is the apex body for assisting the Government in formulating and overseeing the implementation of its policies and programmes/projects/schemes.

National Small Industries Corporation Ltd (NSIC) was established by the Government with a view to promoting, aiding and fostering the growth of SSI in the country, with focus on commercial aspects of their operation.

The Ministry has established three National Entrepreneurship Development Institutes which are engaged in development of training modules, undertaking research and training and providing consultancy services for entrepreneurship development in the SSI sector. These are:-

National Institute of Small Industry Extension Training (NISIET) at Hyderabad,

National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) at NOIDA

Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) at Guwahati

The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) has been constituted with the mandate to examine the problems of enterprises in the unorganised sector and suggest measures to overcome them.

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) acts as apex institution for financing SSIs through various credit schemes.
In a developing country like India, Small Scale Industries play a significant role in economic development of the country. They are a vital segment of Indian economy in terms of their contribution towards country's industrial production, exports, employment and creation of an entrepreneurial base. These industries by and large represent a stage in economic transition from traditional to modern technology. Small industry plays a very important role in widening the base of entrepreneurship. The development of small industries offers an easy and effective means of achieving broad based ownership of industry, the diffusion of enterprise and initiative in the industrial field.

Given their importance, the Government policy framework right from the First plan has highlighted the need for the development of SSI sector keeping in view its strategic importance in the overall economic development of India. Accordingly, the policy support from the Government towards Small Scale Industries has tended to be conducive and favourable to the development of small entrepreneurial class. Government accords the highest preference to development of SSI by framing and implementing suitable policies and promotional schemes.

The most important promotional policy of the Government for the SSI's is fiscal incentives in the form of tax concessions and exemptions of direct or indirect taxes leviable on production or profits.

With effect from financial year 2005-06,SSIs can claim deductions in respect of profits and gains(under section 80IB of Income tax Act) at the following rates:-

If SSI unit is owned by a company, the deduction available is 30% for first 10 years. If SSI unit is owned by a co-operative society, the deduction available is 25% for first 10 years.

If any other person owns SSI unit,the deduction to be claimed is 25% for first 10 years.
SSI unit can avail this tax exemption after fulfilling following conditions:

They should not be subsidiary of, or owned or controlled by other industrial undertakings. They should not be formed as a result of splitting up or reconstruction of any industrial undertaking/business. SSI units can manufacture any nature or type of goods, which they are permitted to do so. They should have commenced business between 1st April 1991 and 31st March 2002. They should employ atleast 10 workers in a manufacturing process carried out with aid of power or atleast 20 workers without aid of power.

This tax exemption from total income is allowed from the assessment year in which the unit begins to manufacture goods.
Small Scale Industries are subjected to excise duties under the Central Excise Tariff Act,1985(5 of 1986). The eligibility for excise concessions for SSIs has been based on annual turnover rather than SSI registration. SSI units having turnover less than Rs. 4 crores are only eligible for concessions. Government of India has provided various concessions to SSIs by granting full exemption from payment of central excise duty on a specified output and thereafter slab-wise concessions. Thus concessions in this regard are:-

SSI units producing goods upto Rs. 100 lakhs are exempted from payment of excise duties.

SSI units having turnover less than Rs. 60 lakhs per annum need not have a separate storeroom for storing finished products.

They are not required to maintain any statutory records such as daily stock accounts, etc. Their own records are adequate.

SSI exemption is available for goods for home consumption as well as goods exported to Nepal and Bhutan.
Choice of streams of concessions/exemptions:-
SSI Scheme (without CENVAT) :- Units can avail full exemption upto turnover or value of clearance of Rs. 100 lakhs and pay normal duty thereafter in the slab-rate of Rs. 100-300 lakhs. This option can be exercised automatically. Such SSI units can avail Cenvat credit on inputs only after reaching turnover of Rs. 100 lakhs. This scheme is applicable to all those units mentioned under SSI exemption notification no.8/2003-CE .This notification grants exemption in respect of basic excise duty and special excise duty. The manufacturer may opt for not availing exemption contained in this notification and instead pay normal rate of duty on the clearances. But once the option is exercised, it shall continue till the financial year ends.

SSI Scheme(with CENVAT) :- Units can avail Cenvat credit on inputs on all its turnover.Upto the value of clearance of Rs. 100 lakhs,units have to pay 60% of normal duty and thereafter for value of clearance of Rs.100-300 lakhs,they have to pay normal rate of duty .'Assessable value' is used to calculate limit of 100 and 300 lakhs which is equal to wholesale price at factory gate,exclusive of taxes .A manufacturer can opt this option any time determining his eligibility for concession and the concessional rate of duty.While exercising this option,the manufacturer should inform in writing to the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise with a copy to its Superintendent giving following details:(a)name and address of manufacturer; (b)Location/locations of factory/factories; (c)description of inputs used in manufacture of specified goods and its description thereafter:(d)date from which option under SSI exemption notification (No.9/2003-CE) has been exercised; (e)Aggregate values of clearances of specified goods(excluding the value of clearances not covered under SSI exemption notification)till the date of exercising the option.
Value of clearances which are not eligible for SSI concessions, that is, not covered under SSI exemption notification are as follows:-

Clearances of the specified goods which are used as inputs for further manufacture of any specified goods within the factory of production of the specified goods

Clearances of strips of plastics used within the factory of production for weaving of fabrics or for manufacture of sacks or bags made of polymers of ethylene or propylene

Clearances of goods manufactured by SSI unit with the brand name or trade name of another person(unless goods are manufactured in rural areas)

Clearances of goods manufactured by SSI unit for captive consumption

Clearances of goods exempted under any other notification.
Procedural concessions to SSI:-

Quarterly Return:-SSI units availing concessions need not submit monthly ER-1 Return. They only have to submit quarterly ER-1 return by 20th of the following month.

SSI units have to pay duty by 15th of following month. They also have to pay duty in March by end of the month each year.

Export procedures for SSI :- SSI units not covered under excise provisions have to follow simplified export procedures such as they do not have to prepare ARE-1 Form, etc.

Excise inspectors, officers and audit parties can visit SSI unit only with specific permission taken from Assistant Commissioner and for a specific purpose. They have to enter relevant particulars in Visitors book maintained by registered person .Normally, audit of SSI unit has to be done once in two or five years(except for units who pay duty of Rs. 1 crore or above, who should be audited every year).

Definition & Meaning: Word Root Demo

Definition & Meaning: Word Root Demo
Demo comes from Greek word demos people. Thus, words with the word root demo- either refers to people or to population.

Let’s have a look at the word democracy, which is a form of government, where people elect their rulers.

‘Democracy’ breaks down into:
Demo: People
Cracy: Rule
Demo + Cracy= Rule of/by the people

Example sentence:
Even though the politician claimed to strive for democracy he was nothing but a demagogue trying to win the place.

Words based on the root Demos

Words based on the root Demo
1. Cyberdemocracy: A government that uses communication technologies to rule
2. Demagogue: A leader of a popular faction or of the mob (negative)
3. Democide: Killing of a mass/people
4. Democrat: One who supports the rule by the people
5. Demoeconomy: Demographic economy, related to statistics about people
6. Demogenic: Based on citizenship rather than kinship of people (society or community)
7. Demography: Branch of sociology that deals with statistics of populations (for example: that is births, deaths, marriages)
8. Demonym: A word that indicates native people of a particular place (Tai for Tailand, German for Germany)
9. Demomania: A desire to be with people or in crowded places
10. Demophile: One who is mad about people
11. Demotic: Colloquail or used by common people (language)
12. Endemic: Often found among particular people in a particular area (a condition or disease)
13. Epidemic: Contagious disease that affects many people
14. Epidemiologist: One who specialises in the ways diseases spread among people
15. Pandemonium: A state when people are noisy and hard to control

Word Root Icon/Icono

Definition & Meaning: Word Root Icon/Icono
The word root icon/icono- comes from Greek eikon ‘likeness’ and, therefore, usually refers to an image or likeness. Interestingly, it can often be found before a vowel.
Learning the word ‘icon’ will enable you to understand any unknown words with the word root -icon.
It has three meanings: someone or something that acts as a symbol; a picture of Christ or any other saints; visual symbols on a computer screen.

Words based on the root Icon

Words based on the root Icon/Icono
1. Aniconia: The absence of images/icons of a God or other saints in a religion
2. Aniconism: A hostility to images and idols
3. Icomaniac: Someone who is abnormally interested in images or even mad about them
4. Iconify: Make a smaller symbol or an image to make room on the screen
5. Iconize: Treat someone or something as an icon
6. Iconoclast: Someone who destroys religious images
7. Iconodule: Someone who upholds the religious images
8. Iconogenitor: Someone who created the images
9. Iconography: The visual images and symbols that represent someone or something
10. Iconolatry: To revere icons
11. Iconologist: An expert in analyzing and interpreting icons
12. Iconology: The study of visual images and their symbolic meanings
13. Iconomachy: Rejection or negative treatment of religious images
14. Iconomania: Someone who is infatuated with collecting images (icons in particular)
15. Iconomical: Hostile to images/icons and to the reverence to them
16. Iconophile: Someone who is obsessed with images, icons or illustrations
17. Iconophilia: Madness for images or icons
18. Iconophobe: Someone who is scared of images and might even despise them
19. Iconoplast: Someone who creates images or icons
20. Iconostasis: A screen that displays icons