Techazette

Identifying depression

Depression is one of the most common mood disorder, which affects our mental health, and over the years has become a global health concern affecting millions of lives every year. But depression is a term nowadays used arbitrarily. Everyone feels a bit gloomy, sad and lonely at some time or the other. Sadness is a normal reaction to life’s events, loss, break-up, injured self-esteem.

So, how to differentiate clinical depression from a feeling of sadness or loneliness? Depression is a condition when these feelings become unbearable to an extent, which affects us physically, and extends over a long duration, keeping you from having a normal and active life.

What our society does worse is when they see someone suffering from clinical depression they come to offer them advice, tell them to cheer up, life is beautiful, it’s all in your head, look at that person who has worse and is still happy. You should never interfere like that with someone suffering from a clinical depression unless you’re a trained professional.

Immediately take the person to a trained psychiatrist where he can be treated properly. As time is of essence under these circumstances. Now, you might be wondering how can one differentiate whether a person is suffering from clinical depression or is just sad or lonely.

In this blog I’m going to discuss some major and minor symptoms, which if a person is having must be taken to a professional ASAP.

Core symptoms

1. Depressed mood

It is a persistent feeling of sadness, irritability. Most of the times there is a trigger for this mood such as unemployment, divorce, break-up, death of a loved one, social isolation, grave illness. But, it may be regardless of a trigger and associated with hormonal imbalance, as in bipolar disorders, post pregnancy depression, schizophrenia.

2. Anhedonia

Individual losses interest and enjoyment in activities previously known to bring them joy. They sometimes can’t even perform self care and hygiene and become socially isolated.

3. Increased fatigability

Individual feels like they don’t have energy to do anything. Sometimes not even enough to get up from their bed and do their daily hygiene activities. This sometimes may be accompanied with headache, chronic body aches, and pain, which may not respond to pain-relieving medications.

Accessory symptoms

4. Diminished confidence and self-esteem

The person suffering from depression has decimated confidence and self-esteem. Which holds them back from performing routine activities and leads to successive failures.

5. Decreased attention and concentration

This symptom is mostly noticed in individuals involved in skilled activities such as students, engineers, teachers etc. as they require attention. While it may go unnoticed otherwise.

6. Feeling of unworthiness and guilt

They feel like they do not deserve anything and blame themselves for everything happening to everyone, not just themselves.

7. Bleak and pessimistic view of future

The pessimistic feeling about their future, they feel like nothing is ever going to change in their lives and this is it. They don’t see any point of doing any activity.

8. Suicidal ideation, attempts and self-harm

Research suggests almost 60% individuals who suffered from depression at least once tried to attempt suicide. And it is never like they do not communicate about their suicidal thoughts to anyone. Almost, always they first let their friends and family know about what they are going to do, but it mostly goes unnoticed. Mostly these communities are perceived as attention seeking behaviour and threats.

9. Disturbed sleep cycle

This is again a very common symptom. Individual either have difficulty falling asleep, or continue to sleep, which is termed as insomnia, or individual is sleeping all the time and have difficulty staying awake, which is termed as hypersomnia (this is less common).

10. Reduced appetite

Individual losses interest in eating, or has a feeling of fullness, or don’t feel like having enough energy to eat.

If an individual has

• 2 core and at least 2 accessory symptoms than they are suffering from mild depression

• 2 core and at least 4 accessory symptoms than they are suffering from moderate depression

• all 3 core and at least 5 accessory symptoms than they are suffering from severe depression

Sometimes even a normal individual may have these symptoms. Then how to differentiate them from someone suffering from clinical depression?

For an individual to be having clinical depression, these symptoms are continuous and lasts for at least 2 weeks. Individuals’ mood is not improved during this period and that’s what hinders all of their routine activities.

Social interaction and mental health

“Humans are social animals.” It’s a well-known fact. Now maybe you had a long day at work and stressed out or working on an assignment for very long and you want to blow off some steam and relax but don’t know how. Well, having a social interaction will boost you up. Research suggests that talking to someone you love, like family and friends, activates the reward centre of your brain and releases dopamine.

Socialising is a key to good health, both physically and mentally. Now perhaps your idea of fun involves a get together with your best friends for a rendezvous with a few drinks and loud music. Or maybe just sitting in the crib sipping coffee in peace, watching the latest show on Netflix or reading your favourite novel.
Whatever sounds enticing to you, studies suggest whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, everyone benefits from social interaction. Although everyone has a unique personality and requires different amounts of interaction.

Various studies have been conducted which suggest that people who spend more time alone are more prone to depression, anxiety and poor quality of life. But that doesn’t mean you have to be overly social and drain yourself. Just enough to allow yourself to blow off some steam will keep you energised and motivated.

Over the time, researchers have conducted various studies on physical and mental health benefits of socialising.

Humans, being a social animal need a sense of belonging and a positive support group. We believe that when we are surrounded by positive, upbeat people, they bring out our strengths and improve our cognitive abilities, while inappropriate social interactions can increase the risk of poor overall health. In this blog, I will share some of the positive mental and physical health benefits of social interaction.

Here are a few benefits of social interaction:

1. Improves brain health

Brain health is the most important aspect of the studies that have been conducted on social interaction. Lack of social interaction results in cognitive decline, such as language, memory, learning, lack of concentration. This is a normal ageing process, but lack of social interaction makes it worse and symptoms materialize at a much younger age.

Consistent social interaction keeps you up to date on what’s going on in your surroundings. Which sharpens your brain, increases knowledge and keeps your brain occupied. Friends and family give you a sense of belonging and purpose, boost your self-esteem, make you empathetic, and give you trust, which reduces the risk of anxiety and depression.

2. Social interaction reduces the risk of blood pressure issues related to loneliness

Lack of social interaction physically affects your blood pressure. Recent studies suggest that loneliness increases blood pressure by the same amount that weight loss, and exercise decreases it. Which results in overall increased stress levels and cardiovascular diseases. Loneliness increases the stress hormone (cortisol) which increases your blood pressure by up to 30 points.

So, having a social interaction will help keep your heart healthy, blood pressure in check and reduction in stress levels.

3. Longevity of life

Having a healthy social interaction will help you lead a stronger, longer, and healthier life. It improves your immune system, which will help you fight off infection and recover from disease in a brief span. Healthy relationships motivate you to eat well, stop smoking and reducing alcohol intake.

Lack of healthy social interaction leads to an increase in the amount of stress hormones which compromises your immune system, leads to unhealthy eating habits, sedentary lifestyle and substance abuse.

When a person connects with a group and feels responsible for others, these feelings and goals encourage them to take better care of themselves and take fewer risks.

4. Social interaction and fitness

When we interact with people who are more active, healthier and happier, they give us a sense of motivation to lead a healthier lifestyle. Our health is a combination of physical, mental and emotional well-being and social activity helps us to indulge in physical activity. It may be a morning walk, Zumba or a dance class, gym or any other sports activities. Socialising will keep you motivated for physical fitness, which will ultimately boost your physical confidence.

5. Helps you learn new information

Socialising always makes you learn new things. You might learn from anyone like that friend who writes, or a cousin who has just started acting, or any of your friends and family. You might follow something you thought you would like to do but never did. Friends and family will always support and encourage you through it.

You might experience new things and get out of your comfort zone. Socialising will keep you indulged in all forms of activities and make new friends, which will give you a new perspective leading to your own evolution for the better. You’ll share their experiences and insights and learn from their mistakes and what they did right.

Which is basically the purpose of all life forms, i.e. “Evolution”.

To conclude, I would like to say that socialising is the best way to try new things, meet new people, realising your passion and lead a healthier, happier and meaningful life. Over the centuries, social interaction has proven to have a positive impact on our physical, mental, and social health. Which is the soul definition of health.

Thanks for reading.

Top 10 free typing speed test websites

Are you a gamer, or a writer? Maybe you just decided you want to give freelancing a try. And want to test your typing speed and accuracy. Most of the writing jobs require good typing speed to deliver on time. Having a faster WPM (Word Per Minute) will help you accomplish more work done in a short time.

We have curated a list of top 10 free typing speed and accuracy test websites. Check out our article on “why typing speed matters?” to know its importance.

1. Typing.com

Typing.com is one of the best websites out there to test for typing speed and accuracy. You have options to choose the duration of a typing test in 1, 3 or 5 minutes along with the length of the test, which varies from 1 to 3 pages. Once you are done selecting the format, you are all set. You can begin typing, which is very user-friendly to follow. They highlight incorrect words in red in real time. You can correct them right then or continue typing, but it may affect your accuracy.

And yes, don’t forget to turn on the sound if you love those old typewriter sounds.

2. Ratatype

Ratatype is another great platform to check your WPM. Love a healthy competition among your friends? Then this is just the site for you. Also, at the end of the test, ratatype provides you with a certificate of your results. Its typing test includes a short piece available in your choice of language. It’s also free and easy-to-use UI makes it more appealing. You can select the course of choice you want to follow, each include around 20 lessons with up to 25 exercises each.

3. Typingtest.com

Typingtest is a classic speed and accuracy test platform. You can choose your difficulty level as easy, medium, or hard. Test varies from 1 to 10 minutes, which involves short stories along with tricky spellings. This will also help you build your vocabulary.

Typingtest also calculates your WPM and accuracy like any other, but here’s a catch: it deducts inaccurate words from your word total word count.

You can also play a typing game on this website. Which encourages user to increase their typing speed.

4. Monkeytype

Monkeytype offers a variety of test modes and features with over 40 language options. What stands out monkeytype from its competitors is its user interface (UI). Instead of separate text field, it puts words in the same box, you’re supposed to type over it. There are lots of options you can customise to your needs. It focuses on quotes, time, punctuation, words, and numbers.

Being an open source network and user-friendly interface makes it a perfect choice for beginners.

5. Keybr

The people who can type without even looking at the keyboard always fascinated me. If you also want to aim for that, then keybr is the perfect fit for you. This website acquaints you with individual key positions. It generates random words from a set of all the letters in alphabetical series.

6. Typetest.io

You can use this website with a simple user interface to check your key speed and accuracy. It’s a favorite of mine. It is fast, with a global competitive rating system. The duration of the test ranges from 10 seconds to as long as you like.

7. Go Transcript

If you are a freelancer and want to expose yourself to a new field, this website will be useful. This platform also provides at transcript services. The test takes about 3 minutes, during which you will hear a speaker and transcript. It’s not as interactive as others on the list, but it’s good for getting you started in the transcription world.

8. Typeracer

As the name implies here, you can race or compete amongst the user on a global scale. It will keep you constantly motivated to improve and define a new target for the other users. As with all other websites, it also provides you with WPM and accuracy by the end of the test.

9. Typing speed test by liveagent.com

This is another great platform for testing your speed with precision. The only thing is, it won’t allow you to proceed until you type accurately. Which is great because it will tell you your actual WPM. It offers 3 easy, medium and hard modes with a duration of 1, 3, and 5 minutes.

10. Nitrotype

Now coming to the last but not the least is nitrotype. Here you have a Typing Master, a well-known keystroke enhancement program for Windows. You may download a free trial version from the web and start right away. The best part about it is that you can use it offline as well.

Select from the best typing website

So, that rounds up our list of top 10 typing speed test websites. Select a website which best fits your level and needs and get on with it. If I were to choose, I’d pick typing.com and keybr as they offer minimalistic UI and good functionality. What about you?

Have you taken your typing speed and accuracy test yet? If yes, please share your WPM with us in the comments section below.

And as I always say, the key to excellence is not brilliance, but persistence. So practice, practice and practice, you’ll get there.

Thanks for reading.

Why typing speed matters?

In this digital era, one question which comes up frequently is “How fast and accurately can you type?” Why should it matter how fast is your typing speed as long as you can get by your daily routine? Here are a few facts about why having a faster typing speed compared to an average user is always an exceptional skill to have.

1. In game user interaction – Having a faster typing speed is an added bonus for in game experience. According to a recent study among individuals who play games professionally suggests that a fast typing speed is a unique skill they have which helps them play better than an average player.

2. It’s a great turn on – It’s a well-known fact girls like boys who reply faster than they might even process.

3. Argument winner – Having a conflict with your friend or with your partner? Having a fast typing speed will really come in handy in these situations, as when it really comes down to this, you know you want to win it by any means.

4. Practice, practice and practice – Like any other skill, we can only attain a faster typing speed with time and practice, as goes the cliché “Practice makes a man perfect.”

It’s better to start as soon as possible, as learning to type is basically the same as learning a foreign language. The earlier you start, the better you get at it. And in this era of millennials, where we’re all glued to our screens from a very tender age, having a faster typing speed than a normal individual is not an effortless task.

But it’s also a fact that learning to type is a critical skill to learn at any age to have an extra edge over fellow employees to get hired for a job interview in most corporate sectors, as if you can type faster it means you can work faster which will reciprocate in faster promotion.

• Also, most of the employers are likely to hire an experienced typist with better accuracy. What are you waiting for? Let’s go check out these top 10 websites to test your typing speed and accuracy. You’ll wonder how much difference can having a simple skill such as this might make.

• And you’ll be able to finish your work faster whether you’re a student, an office worker, WFH or a freelancer. Which means more time for your friends, family, that long-overdue passion you’ve been trying to follow.

Most of the average digital user have a typing speed of 30–40 words per minute (WPM). Honing your skills and improving it to 60–80 WPM will prove to be beneficial for you. You’ll be able to type at the same rate you’re thinking which will be amazing as often happens when we’re in the flow we get ideas, but we’re unable to type them as fast, and end up forgetting, and we have to rethink which reduces your productivity drastically.

Take-home message for today is trying to practice and improve your typing speed, and it’ll improve your work and personal life for the better.

Test your typing speed and accuracy today!