What motivates the suicide squads?

Hi readers,

Manu has asked "What motivates a terrorist ?" in response to one of my earlier posts. In fact most of us would be having the same thought in our minds, post the recent events in Mumbai. Why do they do this?

Recently there has been reports of youth from even the southern most state of India - Kerala, where nobody speaks Hindi, leave alone Urdu - being recruited for terrorist activities in Kashmir. Most of these were either unemployed youth desperate to get a job or people with past criminal record who came into contact with the recruiting agents. Money would be a very powerful factor to lure such people. Obviously, there is huge money involved in this business. It is not fully convincing to think that Pakistan alone is behind all this. Can the government of a poor nation like Pakistan alone fund such large scale activities? May be, Pakistan is only a transit point in the whole affair. Funding may be being done outside that country by some agency with real money power. Revealing the whole truth needs concerted efforts of all nations. Such issues are not my subject in any case.

Mental health professionals will be more interested in uncovering the factors motivating one to join the ranks of such outifts involved in inhuman activities. It is very difficult to think that a pious person -of any faith - will involve in such activities.

I am quoting from an email send to the e-group of psychiatrists by Dr Abhay Matkar practising psychiatrist at Hubli, Karnataka. He describes findings from his study by interviewing some militants captured by army from Kashmir.

Dr. Matkar writes...."I am reminded of the study which was conducted by me & few others to know the psychodynamics of militancy.I pen down a few thoughts picked during the study on over 500 militants captured by the Indian army: Economic deprivation & deep sense of hurt(alienation) was the major cause of militancy in Kashmir.Coercion was the next major cause to take up to arms.Contrary to the popular belief,religion was not the primary motivational factor for Kashmir militants. What was striking was the strong motivation to sacrifice oneself for Jihad--the holy war.The indoctrination of ethnic & religious identity,political insecurity &deep sense of personal deprivation entrapped the virgin mind into taking to the 'gun culture'.The weak ego,a low self esteem & low frustration made matters worse. Militants seen by me showed no warmth in their relationship with family members nor a keen desire to be reunited with their dear ones.Three-fourths of these are between 15 to 30 years of age;most of them school dropouts.A significant youngsters had painfully tattooed the organisation they belonged to. Militants showed no personal involvement; killing was dehumanised- the victim was faceless,unknown to him.Often the militant was ordered or nominated to carry out the killing-killing was institutionalised. Suicide for a cause was rational & was called martyrdom. A group seen by me reacted with pride when chosen for a 'mission'.Those not selected reacted with bitter & sometimes hysterical resentment.The chosen ones were given a 'dining out' by the Commander.The farewell speech super-charged them mentally. These militants could not be categorised as "fanatics" or "mad men","psychopaths" or "mentally abnormal".They are normal people with a different psycho-logic of their own. It pains to see that time has not removed the veil of cruelty.Political answers are far from soothing. A real introspection & EARLY INTERVENTION are the only way we can have a safe tomorrow. LETS RISE.Regards. Abhay Matkar Hubli"

I am posting this for wider circulation among mental health professionals, other experts, social / political leaders and the public. Comments are welcome.

Bye

Dr Harish M Tharayil

Sleep and your mood.

As said earlier mood disorders are closely associated with sleep disturbances.
What is the relationship between sleep and mood?
Studies have shown that transient sleep deprivation can lead to an elevation of mood. A depressed person feels much better after overnight sleep deprivation.
Sleep deprivation can increase the risk of precipitating an attack of mania in a person predisposed to Bipolar disorder. Many persons develop their first manic episodes during festival seasons. They go to the temple yards to watch the late night celebration and fireworks. This is repeated frequently as most of the festivals are clustered in the same period. The resultant sleep deprivation triggers a manic episode.

Another condition that can be worsened by sleep deprivation is epilepsy. Sleep deprivation can precipitate an attack of seizure in a person predispose to it or in whom the disease is under control using drugs.

Management of sleep problems.

Non pharmacological treatment of insomnia

1) Maintain regular hours for going to bed and waking up. Try to wake up at a fixed time every day, even if you find it difficult to fall asleep at a fixed time. Even though you feel sleepy, do not sleep again. Within a few days the time of sleep onset advances to an earlier time.
2) Avoid heavy meals closer to bed time. Early dinner is better, especially if it is heavy.
3) Avoid day time naps.
4) Engage in some physical exercises. Avoid doing it or any other vigorous physical activity during late evenings.
5) Avoid tea, coffee and tobacco at least 6 hours prior to bed time.
6) Avoid bright light before sleep time. It is better for the bedroom to be dimly lit and slightly cool to promote sleep.
7) Clean up your mind before going to sleep. Avoid pondering over issues while lying on the bed. If you suddenly remember something urgent or important, jot it on a piece of paper to look into it next morning.
8) Avoid gazing at the clock repeatedly if you are lying in the bed awake. It is better to sit up and do something that is dull, boring and non stimulating.
9) If you find it difficult to get sleep even after 15 to 20 minutes in bed, get up and sit down. Get something that is not very stimulating or interesting to read. Read it sitting on a chair beside the bed using a reading lamp or in dim light. If you feel sleepy after sometime again try to sleep. Repeat this till you sleep.
10) If you feel tensed up while in bed, engage in deep, slow, abdominal (diaphragmatic) breathing. Take slow deep breaths ensuring that your abdomen lifts up with each breath. Avoid laboring with your chest. When the breath is fully in and your abdomen is protuberant, start slow exhalation by slowing tucking in the abdomen. Repeating this for a few minutes will make you feel relaxed. Thinking some positive thoughts or soothing imagery during this deep breathing may be helpful to some.
11) Use the bed exclusively for sex and sleeping. Avoid reading on the bed even during daytime.
12) Keep away from the tendency to use alcohol as a hypnotic.
These measures can be tried by any one who has difficulty to get sleep. There is no risk involved with any of this.
Insomnia can be transient or continuous.
Transient insomnia is due to mental tension or some minor problems. Continuous insomnia may be due to medical or psychiatric disorders.
Depression, anxiety, psychosis, substance abuse etc are the psychiatric illnesses leading to insomnia.

Using drugs for the treatment of insomnia is not always advocated. First of all the medical and psychiatric disorders have to be ruled out. Next an agent with minimum chances of abuse has to be selected which does not cause daytime sleepiness. Unfortunately, not many drugs are available which satisfies the above criteria. Hence it is better to consult a doctor for choosing a drug and for appropriate instructions.

Some sleep problems....

Delayed sleep phase syndrome is a mismatch between a person’s sleep-wake cycle to that of the general population. Most of us sleep between 10 pm to 12 midnight and wake up between 5 am to 7am.
But a person with this condition is not able to sleep till 2 am or 3 am. He is awake and mentally active till this time, showing no signs of exhaustion or sleepiness. He is able get up without feeling sleepy only bi 11 am or 12 noon.
There are many explanations for the development of this condition. One is that the sufferer’s brain is unable to respond to the most important regulator of our sleep – wake cycle i.e. light. The brain areas controlling the sleep – wakefulness cycle do not respond to the diminishing daylight to induce sleepiness. In majority of us this is why we feel sleepy when the lights are dimmed.
Need for sleep varies between individuals, and within the individual at different points in life. People with need for longer sleep may be dissatisfied even after sleeping for 9 to 10 hours. People with mood disorders – both unipolar depression and bipolar disorder – show abnormalities of sleep. Many of the bipolar patients in depressed phase, and those with a subtype of unipolar depression called atypical depression sleep for long hours.