Mental Health Conscious

Getting treatment for mental health problems is a great way to achieve normalcy. Before you get treated, it is important to undergo a diagnosis.

The diagnosis helps if you have any underlying complications- related or unrelated to your mental illness.

You might have to take a physical exam where the doctor will check all the physical problems that may have caused those symptoms. Also, you may undergo lab tests which might involve screening for substances like drugs and alcohol.

Getting a physical evaluation is another diagnosis that involves speaking with a mental health professional about your symptoms. The mental health professional needs your report to conduct a robust treatment for you.

One of the common treatment types for mental health issues is medications. Presently, there is no known psychiatric medication that can completely cure mental illness.

However, most of them can considerably improve the symptoms over time. Some of these medications are antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, mood-stabilizing medications, and antipsychotic medications.

Another treatment for mental health issues is psychotherapy. This is also known as talk therapy, and it involves discussing your condition and other issues with a mental health therapist.

Psychotherapy helps patients to know more about their condition, emotions, thoughts, and feelings. It also helps you know how to navigate any problem you’re facing.

In some cases, mental health problems can be so bad that the patient would need constant monitoring. This is where hospitals, rehabs, and residential treatment programs come in.

Some of them offer a temporary residing place while others might need patients to be there in the long term.

When receiving treatment for mental health issues, patients are advised to always collaborate with their healthcare provider.

Their full cooperation and collaboration determine the quality of help they will get, and how fast their recovery will be.

The treatment team doesn’t involve the mental health therapist alone, people like your nutritionist, family, social worker, pharmacists, etc, are all involved.

Many people experience mental health disorders but they are unaware. They exhibit signs that are not typical of someone without mental health problems. The signs mentioned in this piece will help you recognize when someone has a mental illness.   

Feeling unnecessarily worried

It is normal to get worried from time to time. However, anxiety might be at play when it becomes quite excessive.

One of the ways to know when you are suffering from anxiety is when you experience symptoms like breath shortness, dizziness, headaches, heart palpitations, etc.

Feeling depressed

Most times, the feelings of depression and anxiety go hand-in-hand. When you are feeling depressed, it means you don’t have energy, and you are demotivated to do things that you love doing.

Additionally, you would prefer to keep to yourself, without getting any interference from anyone. Sometimes, you might also find yourself crying.

Inability to sleep properly

One of the common signs of mental health illness is when the individual finds it difficult to sleep. The person might experience insomnia, which is the inability to get enough sleep.

On the other hand, it could be somnolence, which is sleeping too frequently without any known cause. Once there is a disruption in the normal sleep cycle, the person might be struggling with mental health problems.

Isolation

Another way to know when someone has a mental health disorder is when they prefer to withdraw themselves every time.

They avoid social activities because it doesn’t resonate with them anymore. This usually happens when the person loses a loved one, or something bad happened to them.

Substance abuse

When the person begins to use alcohol and drugs to cope, they might be dealing with a mental health problem. The sad part is, these substances can worsen the symptoms of the mental illness.

Other signs of a mental health problem are feelings of guilt, emotional outbursts, changes in behaviors and feelings, etc.

When you notice these signs in yourself or someone, it is important to seek help from a mental health counselor or therapist.

Mental health problems are all-encompassing, they comprise a wide range of health disorders.

They share one common feature and that is, they adversely affect the personality of the individual, particularly their social interactions and thought processes. The worst part is, it is usually difficult to fully diagnose unlike physical health problems.

There are various mental health problems and they come in different forms and symptoms. Sometimes, they overlap and this makes diagnosis more challenging.  

Below are some common mental health problems:

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): An individual who has ADHD lacks the ability to remain fully focused on a task. They have this impulsive behavior that prevents them from staying in one place and paying attention. This order is very common in children but most of them grow out of it eventually.

• Anxiety: Anxiety disorder is also known as panic disorder. This is characterized by irregular periodic attacks of great fear of something negative. People who experience this disorder always fear that something bad is about to happen.

• Bipolar disorder: This is a periodic constant shift in emotional states between depressive and enthusiast phases. Depressive phases are featured by sadness and moodiness. While enthusiast phase is characterized by tremendous activity. The cycles do not take place immediately.

• Depression: This is one of the commonest mental health problems, responsible for the several number of suicide cases globally. Depression is basically a constant bad mood and lack of enthusiasm in chasing daily life pursuit. People who are depressed experience lethargy and fatigue a whole lot.

• Schizophrenia: Schizophrenia is also a common mental health problem which adversely affect individuals. People who experience this display multiple personalities, and they find it difficult to distinguish between reality and fantasies.

There are a good number of symptoms of these mental health problems. And why it might be difficult to precisely pinpoint the particular mental health problem, it is important that the individual having self-assessed himself, should see a mental healthcare provider.

When it comes to having a poor mental health or mental disorders, there is no sole cause; it is usually the unification of two or more factors. There is the environmental, biological and psychological factors.  

People who work in stressful places are likely to have a poor mental health than those who do not. And the worst part is, they are not aware of it because it looks normal to them.

The same applies to biological factors, they are not aware that it is present in their genes. This is why some of them would react adversely to stress and other mental health stimulants.

The changes in the chemistry of the brain are responsible for a poor mental health, and the only way to get a precise and accurate diagnosis of the specific mental health disorder, is to see a mental health professional.

People who have a poor mental health are likely to be in conflict with people around them. The reason for this is, they feel people do not understand and see eye-to-eye with them.

Hence, they would be easily stressed and frustrated. People like this would slip in and out of anxiety, depression and other mental health problems.

The worst part is, they do not know what is plaguing them and some of them do not bother to know what is really wrong. Someone who has a poor mental health would most likely be addicted.

They are easily drawn to substances or activities that helps to distract them from their mental health problem.

So, if they see a worthy distraction, they would pay more attention to it. And this causes further conflict between them and their loved ones.

People who have a poor mental health are rarely happy and this is one of the reasons why they need a lot of help. It is advised they see mental health specialists that would help them uncover the root cause of their problem and assist them in living a better life.

Physical fitness ensures that our bodies remain strong, and in the same way being mentally fit makes sure that we are in the right state of mental health. Being mentally healthy ensures that we enjoy our environment, and we are also fulfilled with our lifestyle. We would also be at peace with those people who are around us.

We can also enhance our creativity game, learn new activities and also undertake risks. We would also be able to manage any difficult situations which might surface in any aspect of our lives. When we lose someone, we would be able to feel the sadness which is associated with it. After a while, we would get back on our feet, and continue to live our lives as before.

It is important for us to nurture our mental health, so that we would be able to deal with mental health problems which are linked with a severe physical illness. In a good number of cases, a good mental health can avert the onset of a mental or physical illness.

Below are the benefits of having a good mental health:

• Quality of life improvement: Having a good mental health means that, we would be able to lead better lives. When there is no depression, anxiety and extreme stress in place, we would be able to do various productive things with our lives. We would also have peace of mind.

• Healthy relationships: Also, when you have a good mental health, you would be able to form and maintain healthy relationships without having any problems. Mental health enables you to step up your communication and interaction skills with people who are around you.

• Productivity at your workplace: A good mental health is what every employer would desire for his employees because, it ensures that productivity is increased at work. They would also perform better, and would be more regular with coming to work. In addition, there would be fewer cases of accidents which are typical of workplaces.

• Reduction in medical costs: When you have a good mental health, your visit at the hospital would be less frequent than those who are usually stressed out, depressed and the likes.

Oftentimes, the mental health of teens—or young adults—stems from the environment that he/she interacts with, or the environment that he/she is forced to adapt to. For, it is through such that an adolescent may experience change that affects him/her by impacting his/her mental health in a negative way—that differs from that of his/her peers. But even so, this isn’t always easy to spot at first glance, but lies deep beneath the surface, in the form of various factors, such as; “long term physical illnesses, the loss of a family member (whether it be through separation, divorce, or death), and being physically/sexually abused, among various other factors”.  

First and foremost is long-term physical illness, which can affect the individual by not only causing stress on himself/herself, but his/her family as well. In the midst of such hardship, the person of young-nature may find himself/herself wanting to get better. However, with the inability to do so, his/her mental health can be affected to a great degree—as he/she may begin to reside in a hopeless state of mind.

Second is the loss of a family member through separation, divorce, or death. It is through this that the individual has to not only cope with change, but cope with grief, as he/she must learn how to live in response to such. Healing is possible—with time—but until he/she is able to come to terms with what has happened, the circumstance poses as painful, and can impact the individual negatively.

Third is bullying and physical/sexual abuse, which can stem from anything, no matter whether it be one’s personal life, or his/her school experience. When young minds endure such, it can cause them to have a difficult time focusing on the task(s) at hand—due to the emotions that they might be experiencing. This can cause a plethora of problems for their self worth, as the trauma which they have faced begins to take its toll on their self esteem and confidence.

In conclusion, mental health can affect the youth through a number of ways, and is not something that should be easily overlooked, but must be regarded by not only the teen himself/herself, but by loved ones and strangers alike. It is through such that a wide array of people can better equip themselves—and/or prepare themselves—on what to do, by being both informed and aware.