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Identify these individuals in your life and make an effort to seek their insight and assistance when you need it. Something as simple as explaining the situation can lead to a new perspective. Most of the time, you will find yourself tested by touchy interactions with problem people.

Thankfully, the plasticity of the brain allows it to mold and change as you practice new behaviors, even when you fail. Implementing these healthy, stress-relieving techniques for dealing with difficult people will train your brain to handle stress more effectively and decrease the likelihood of ill effects. A version of this article appeared on TalentSmart.

His bestselling books have been translated into 25 languages and are available in more than countries. Tim Madden. Elizabeth Pearson. Vincent Tricarico. Zacks Equity Research. Skip to content Profile Avatar. Subscribe to Entrepreneur. Magazine Subscriptions.

By Travis Bradberry March 14, Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Shutterstock Related: 10 Habits of Unlikeable People Studies have long shown that stress can have a lasting, negative impact on the brain. Written By Travis Bradberry Dr. More About Toxic People. Tim Madden Nov 13, Mental Health. Elizabeth Pearson Oct 1, Vincent Tricarico Aug 1, Latest on United States. Longing to realize the potential they sense within, but confused by identifying only with what is commonly referred to as the ego—the limited, human aspect of their being—they believe they can feel powerful and significant only through dominating and outshining others.

What it does simply, is relieve your anxiety — which immediately makes you stronger and more resilient. In other words, if I feel compassion for this dangerous, havoc-wreaking person or for my tedious co-workers, the guy who cut me off in traffic, my abusive parents, that politician, etc.

Not so. Compassion begins within; the compassion you have for yourself will guide you to act or detach with regard for your own well-being. Great relationships may not be profitable, but bad ones always result in losses. He wants you to get your hopes up and to dream big, but I would not be wrong to tell you that there are going to be situations that come about which are intended by the enemy to hurt you, bother you, hinder you, and keep you back from your destiny Best to accept things the way they are and count your blessings.

Oldster, Dead Toad Scrolls. Cognitive skills refer to the mental capabilities you need to learn academic subject matter, and more generally to function in daily life. Cognitive skills are the underlying skills that must be in place for you to think, read, understand, remember, plan and organize.

You also have to be able to plan how you will get to the appointment and then organize yourself to make sure you are there on time. You may even want to make notes about the things you will need to discuss at the appointment. It can be hard to get to the appointment if these skills are not working well. Even if you are emotionally ready and willing to have the appointment, if you do not remember it you will miss it. Families often ask what causes the cognitive problems. Research has shown us that it is the illnesses themselves that cause much of the cognitive dysfunction.

Cognitive dysfunction is a primary symptom of schizophrenia and some affective disorders. Furthermore, research has shown that those parts of the brain that are used for specific cognitive skills, often do not function normally in people with schizophrenia and certain affective disorders. This indicates that mental illness affects the way the brain functions, and that is what causes the cognitive problems.

There are many myths about mental illness and cognitive dysfunction. Some of the most common ones are listed in the sidebar below. The ability to attend, remember and think clearly is ultimately the result of a complex interaction of factors. While it is true that mental illness often causes cognitive impairment, it is also true that other factors will affect thinking skills.

Most people think best, pay attention and remember better when they are not emotionally stressed, and when they have had the opportunity to learn adaptive cognitive skills. How does mental illness affect cognition: What are the signs to look for? There are different mental illnesses and they affect cognition differently.

Furthermore, not every person is affected in the same way. Some people with schizophrenia have more cognitive problems than others. Some people with depression or bipolar disorder have problems in one aspect of cognitive functioning but not another. It is important to understand that a mental illness affects each person somewhat differently.

By understanding all the different ways mental illnesses can affect cognition, it is easier to understand how the person you know is affected. People who have affective disorders, like bipolar disorder and recurrent depressions, often experience problems in the following aspects of cognition:. All these cognitive problems may be evident during an affective episode, but when the mood stabilizes, the problem with attention often gets better.

The difficulty with memory, motor and thinking skills may continue to be evident even during periods of mood stability. When hallucinations or delusions are a feature of the illness, it is more likely that cognitive problems will be experienced.

The problems with thinking skills are most often seen when alcohol and drug abuse are also present. These problems may be evident even before psychotic symptoms start, and they may lead to a decline in academic or work performance. One of the earliest cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia is poor attention, but difficulty with memory and visual motor speed may also be evident before the onset of psychotic symptoms.

Cognitive impairment may be experienced in different ways. Let's look at how each of these cognitive problems may be manifested. Some people report that they have difficulty paying attention when people talk and give directions.

Others find it hard to concentrate on what they read, and find that they loose track of the important points, especially when reading longer passages.

They may find it hard to focus on one thing when other things are happening. They may get distracted or conversely, become so involved in one thing that they fail to attend to something else that is happening. Multi-tasking, for example, answering a customer's question while operating the cash register, becomes difficult because they have to divide their attention. The ability to remember and recall information, particularly verbal material, is often a problem.

Directions may be forgotten, or the ability to recall what has been read or heard may be reduced. Most people who are depressed or in an affective episode will have difficulty with attention, concentration and thinking clearly.

Those people with persistent mood problems, and those who have psychotic symptoms are more likely to continue to experience cognitive problems between episodes. Cognitive problems can affect people of all ages. There is evidence that cognitive problems are most pronounced in the early phases of schizophrenia and then for many people level off, not getting better or worse. Since schizophrenia usually starts in adolescence or young adulthood, that is the time when the most dramatic decline in cognition may be seen.

However, since that is the time when psychotic symptoms like delusions and hallucinations also start, the cognitive problems may be overlooked by a family until the psychotic symptoms stabilize. For children and adolescents, a drop in school performance may be the first sign that alerts families that something is wrong.

Cognitive problems are very common in older adults with depression. Sometimes it can be difficult to sort out whether the forgetfulness is due to depression, normal aging, or another condition like dementia. The mental health professionals will ask questions and do tests to answer that question. Many people experience memory lapses as they get older, but when someone is depressed the forgetfulness is more severe. People with mental illness who abuse drugs and alcohol are very likely to experience cognitive problems.

Drug and alcohol abuse alone can impair attention, memory and thinking skills. If substance abuse is combined with mental illness the cognitive problems can be even worse. Most people do not have trouble remembering routines they have learned, but they may find that they do not hold onto new information as well as they used to. Family may notice that response times are slower or that it takes longer to register and understand information.

Speech production can also seem slower and even though it may only be half a minute, that can seem like a long time to wait for a communication when you are trying to have a conversation with someone. Critical thinking, planning, organization and problem solving are often referred to by psychologists as the executive functions, because those are the skills that help you act upon information in an adaptive way.

Take the example of cooking a meal. Even if you know how to cook each dish, to actually serve a dinner you have to plan ahead to have all the ingredients, organize and manage your time so each dish is finished at the same time.

You also need to be able to adapt your plans if problems arise, like the oven does not work or an ingredient or type of pan is missing.

People with mental illness may seem less able to think of alternate strategies for dealing with problems that arise, or they may have difficulty coming up with a plan, or find it hard to listen critically to new information and know what is important and what is not. When people have trouble paying attention, remembering and thinking clearly, it impacts on their ability to function in the community, at school, at work and in relationships.

Community: Impairments in memory and problem solving are associated with greater problems living independently. In fact, it has been shown that for people with schizophrenia, cognitive abilities are more linked to successful independent living and quality of life than clinical symptoms.

It is easy to understand that the ability to solve problems and remember verbal information is critical for negotiating transportation, home management, shopping, finances, health and psychiatric rehabilitation. School: The school years are formative years, when the mind is developing and one's knowledge base and critical thinking skills are broadening.

Unfortunately, mental illness often starts before people have finished this educational process. The problems with attention, concentration and thinking can make it very difficult to keep up with school work, and even students who once excelled may become discouraged by the lost time, or their declining grades.

When students fall behind in their academics, they may start to view themselves negatively, and prefer to quit rather than keep exposing themselves to more academic failure. They also lose the opportunity to consolidate good study and learning habits, or worse, a poor learning style may develop. People with mental illness who have dropped out of school are at a disadvantage when competing for jobs yet the cognitive problems can make it difficult to complete the necessary degrees.

Work: Research has demonstrated that people with mental illness who have difficulty with memory, problem solving, processing speed, and attention are more likely to be unemployed or have a lower occupational status. In many ways this is not surprising. Critical thinking has been identified as one of the most important skills that people need to compete in the modern workforce.

The problems that can arise at work when someone has difficulty paying attention, concentrating and remembering are also obvious.

Most jobs are not just rote and repetitive, but require people to remember new information or deal with changing demands. This is difficult when cognition is not working well. Relationships: One of the things that makes personal relationships rewarding is the give and take of support, caring and concern. People want others to really listen and pay attention to them.

When someone with mental illness is not able to attend to or remember what their friend is saying, their friend may feel hurt or not listened to.

At work, colleagues or bosses may think the person with mental illness does not care - or is lazy - when in fact it may be that they are not cognitively able to perform. The ability to pay attention, be focused and not get distracted is important for social functioning. Families are often concerned that it is the medications that are causing the cognitive problems.

For many years, psychosis and affective disorders were being treated with medications that could cause side effects, like movement disorders, attention and memory problems. More recently, newer drugs have come onto the market, and these medications seem to cause fewer side effects. Some drug companies even claim that the newer medications enhance cognitive functioning.

It can be confusing for family members to figure out what medications provide the best treatment with the fewest side effects.

Below are some guidelines to use when thinking about medications and cognitive side effects. Finding the right medication, and the right dose of medication, may take some time. Medical doctors will be best able to help if you provide information about the response to the medication. This means giving information about both emotional and cognitive functioning.

The following checklist provides a good guide to follow when looking at the impact of medications on cognitive functioning. It can be very helpful if family members fill this out since they may notice things that the ill person is not aware of. However, the person being prescribed the medications should also fill it out since their experience of the medications is very important.

It can be difficult to tell if a cognitive problem is a part of the illness or a side effect of the medication. For example, some medications can cause memory problems, but both psychosis and depression also cause forgetfulness. If side effects are a problem there are different things you and your doctor can do:. Important: Never change medication on your own.

Cognitive dysfunction can be treated in three ways: 1 using remediation techniques, 2 compensatory strategies, or 3 adaptive approaches. Most experts agree that a comprehensive program of cognitive rehabilitation uses techniques from each approach. A mental health professional, such as a neuropsychologist, psychologist, or occupational therapist, usually makes the determination of how best to treat cognitive dysfunction. The professional would create a treatment plan that delineates the methods to be used to reach specific goals during cognitive rehabilitation.

The approaches to be used remediation vs. Each approach will be discussed below with some examples. Definition: Cognitive Rehabilitation is the practice of training techniques that facilitate improvement in targeted cognitive areas; and focus on functional outcome. Remediation techniques are designed by professionals for the purpose of treating cognitive dysfunction. Remediation techniques include specific drills and exercises, using computerized software, paper and pencil tasks and group activities.

The goal of remediation is to change an individual's situation by improving the cognitive skill that is the target of the remediation task. In order to begin cognitive remediation, some type of initial assessment of cognitive abilities is usually obtained. The assessment may include standardized testing; clinical interviews that focus on psychosocial history; educational and vocational background; and current functioning level. A treatment plan would then follow the evaluation so that priorities and goals can be mutually established.

An individualized treatment plan that is based on personal interests and strengths, in addition to deficits that are to be the focus of the remediation program, is optimal. Most cognitive remediation specialists agree that in addition to engaging in cognitive tasks that are designed to target specific skill areas, such as problem-solving skills or attention training, an individualized treatment plan must include social, emotional, affective and functional components.

Remediation techniques are quite varied. Some emphasize the use of drill and practice to isolate what is impaired and correct it. Others rely on extensive testing both to identify the specific deficits for remediation and measure treatment effectiveness. Some focus on everyday problems and overall disability, not just specific cognitive impairments. Holistic approaches do not separate cognitive, psychiatric, functional and affective aspects of an individual's performance. Rather, a holistic approach integrates cognitive remediation with all aspects of an individual's goals for recovery.

This model includes computer assisted learning and group treatment within the framework of a psychiatric rehabilitation setting. An individual engaged in cognitive remediation using the NEAR Model would be offered individualized computer-assisted learning sessions several times a week e. The goal of the therapist is to select various learning experiences for an individual, provide the necessary objects in the environment, judge readiness to move on to learning more advanced levels and to provide support, encouragement and reinforcement.

There are different types of approaches that are being used for cognitive remediation. Each one may emphasize different activities, intensity of the intervention, or therapeutic styles.

However, it helps to remember that there are several markers of a good cognitive remediation program. Compensation strategies rely on trade-offs.

Compensation assumes that there are alternate methods to perform a task. In other words, compensation accounts for different approaches to accomplish the same goal.

For example, if a person is going shopping and cannot remember the 5 items they were asked to purchase, you might say they have poor verbal memory. If that person was able to sort the 5 items into categories, such as dairy, snacks and pet food which helped them to then remember that the shopping list was comprised of milk, yogurt, potato chips, soda and cat litter, you might say they used a mnemonic strategy that relied on organization to compensate for the lack of memory.

Compensation strategies may come 'naturally' to those who do not experience cognitive dysfunction. That is, many individuals find out how to do things using one's strengths in order to compensate for one's weaknesses. An individual with cognitive dysfunction may not have the flexibility to see things from different perspectives or shift ideas on how to do things.

They may not 'naturally' alter the course of their behavior to suit cognitive abilities. Therefore, compensatory strategies may need to be taught to individuals with cognitive dysfunction.

When teaching compensatory strategies to an individual, the goal is to strive for efficiency so that the least amount of effort is expended. Many individuals with cognitive dysfunction have limited resources to process information and do not respond well to increased demands for performance. One needs to look for the simplest and most direct route to accomplish a goal, one with minimal effort and minimal demands.

Observing an individual's behavior over time and analyzing the methods they use to perform tasks are useful when investigating compensatory strategies. Understanding individual learning styles and preferences is useful when designing compensatory strategies.

Adaptive approaches refer to changes in the environment rather than the individual. Adaptive approaches assume that remediation may not be possible, and compensation is not probable. Adaptive approaches include prosthetic devices, memory aids, and utilization of human and nonhuman resources. For example, an individual who knows they will never be able to remember all the items for a weekend's 'to-do' list may keep a micro cassette recorder on hand and dictate each item as it occurs so that it can be retrieved at the right time.

Family members may find that they adapt themselves to an individual's cognitive dysfunction by acting on behalf of the person.

This type of adaptation fosters dependence. This is not an ideal adaptive approach. It can lead to caregiver burden, frustration and eventual resentment and burnout.

For example, a son living at home leaves his dirty clothes strewn about his room, ashtrays overflowing and appliances left on. A parent instructed in adaptive aids learns that the hamper cannot be behind a closed door in order to be effective. Two new, see through plastic containers, one for colored clothes and one for towels and whites, placed outside the closet are ideally situated.

A commercial size, standing ashtray with safety features replaced the overflowing one on the dresser. Timers that were set for the clock radio, lights and fans were effective when incessant reminders had repeatedly failed. Adaptive aids may be supplied on a temporary basis or permanent basis.

They frequently make a significant difference for an individual with severe cognitive dysfunction to function independently. People approach learning differently. Everyone has their learning style - their unique way of taking in, processing, organizing and learning information.

A preferred learning style refers to the strategies we rely on to learn most quickly and effectively. It is important to recognize one's learning style preference and to know what learning strategies work best for each person.

That way a person can more easily learn, remember, do their work and get along with others. Why it is important to know your learning style When you know how you learn best:. Sleep habits: Everyone learns best when they are rested - the question is when are they the most rested and alert? Some people like to wake up early and do their work in the morning.

Others seem to wake up at night and learn best in the evening. Organizational style: Some people like to gather the facts and details first and then they develop the bigger picture of their goals.

Others like to understand the big picture first, and once they understand the goals they think about the steps to take to meet those goals. Social learning style: Most learning does not occur in social isolation, usually one interacts with others, perhaps the teacher or other students, a boss or colleagues. Your personality style and social preferences will affect how you learn in these situations. For example, some people need to appear competent and in charge, for others it is important to be seen as useful and helpful.

Some people want to learn very independently, others like to get considerable guidance before trying something on their own. It takes time to get to know your learning style but there are some questions you can ask yourself to start the process. The checklist on the next page is not intended to provide a comprehensive assessment of your learning style. Rather it is there to start you thinking about your approach to learning. If you are working with teachers and specialists, they can talk to you more about your unique approach to learning.

There are also learning style inventories that you can take on line. One company that offers free learning style inventories is: Performance Learning Systems, Inc. Help your family member or friend find their particular learning style by talking to them about the checklist. Then, if it becomes clear that they learn best when information is presented in a certain way, remember to make an effort to accommodate those needs.

If they are a visual learner, provide visual aids.