Q: I am a software engineer by profession and have a peculiar problem relating to my mental health which I have been facing since the 2nd year of my engineering. I feel as though my brain always keeps thinking about matters such as career, problems, etc and if nothing else, some song will echo in my brain though I try to focus myself on studying books. Infact I am very fond of melodious hindi songs and even if I hear a song sounding faintly from a distance, I can't concentrate on reading books or anything. Because of this I couldn't concentrate on my studies or anything else. I am unable to sleep at night, even if I sleep early I fall asleep much later (around 1-2 A.M.) and still get up around 8 A.M. If I wake up in the middle of my sleep, I am unable to sleep further. This has been a big problem for me for 2-3 years now. I was good in studies (distinction) till 2nd year of engineering but later for some reason I failed in a subject and then totally lost confidence in myself. Since then I feel I cant study and cant remember anything. After my engineering I got placed in a good company but a year and a half later was laid off because of slowdown and some performance problem. Now I am very low in confidence - usually avoid responsibilities, risks at work. I am very indecisive and emotional. Sometimes I even feel that I am like a psycho. I am struggling to increase my confidence. I cant discuss my problems with others, even my dear ones because to them it seems ridiculous. I wish my brain stops thinking if I dont want to and I should be able to feel complete silence within myself even if there is lot of noise in the outside world. Pease advise what should I do so that I can concentrate on studies and increase my memory and confidence?

A:What you are going through is a classic case of negative thoughts being triggered following a difficult event. You seem be suffering from a missed emotional state of depression and anxiety. I would very strongly advise you to consult a psychiatrist as a complete evaluation is required to see if medication may take care of a part of the problem. In addition to that, there are counseling techniques that will allow you to identify negative thoughts and learn to challenge them. This concept is based on a theory that suggests that negative thoughts give rise to negative feelings. IF you are able to replace them with rational thoughts then the negative feelings will subside. A psychologist can help you with this.