Mental health is about both your physiological and psychological health. It is about how you think, feel, and behave in everyday life. Having good mental health is very necessary for maintaining overall health and well-being. As it affects your relationship and physical health in day-to-day life. A few external factors and relationships in the lives of people may affect mental health.
Maintaining proper mental health involves balancing activities, responsibilities, and combined efforts. By having psychological peace, one can enjoy life and live happily.
Mental health care professionals can help people manage conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, addiction, and other disorders that affect their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
The major factors that affect mental health are stress, depression, and anxiety. It disrupts the peace of mind and affects a person’s daily routine.
Although doctors use the term mental health issues, these health conditions have physical roots. Various factors might affect your mental health. You must avoid them, take care of yourself, and live happily.
Follow the article to learn about mental health and how to ensure good mental health. It also includes the common mental disorders, the early signs and symptoms along with the ways to prevent them.
Mental health disorders
Mental illnesses, in general, are thought to be caused by a variety of genetic and environmental factors:
Mental health disorders can occur due to several factors.
- Some work pressures like excessive workload, no promotion or increment, can create stress. This stress, when remaining for a longer period, creates mental health disorders.
- In a few cases, mental health disorders might occur due to hereditary reasons. If your family members are related by blood and are suffering from mental illness, then it may be passed to future generations. In case a few mental disorders causing genes might develop and you may suffer from illness.
- Exposure to harmful environments before birth might cause mental illness. If the pregnant woman is exposed to toxins, drugs, and nuclear explosions, then the baby might develop mental illness. Exposure of the womb to a harmful environment is very dangerous for the baby’s mental health and well-being.
- The neurotransmitters present in the brain carry signals to the various body parts of the brain. These neural networks might get disturbed and change the way the entire nervous system functions. This can create certain mental disorders like emotional damage, depression, and many more.
- Excessive overthinking due to relationship issues, financial issues, academic issues, or health issues can lead to anxiety and depression. When this anxiety and depression stay for a longer period you it creates mental disorders.
- Few traumas, like the death of loved ones, accidents, or any destructive experience, may lead to the development of symptoms of mental illness
- The use of excessive drugs or alcohol might also develop mental health issues.
- Chronic stress because of serious health issues like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease might also develop mental disorders.
Mental health issues have become common in today’s world. As per the studies of the National Alliance on Mental Health US, almost 1 in every 5 adults is suffering from mental illness each year.
As per the estimation of 2021 studies, around 14. 1 million adults, i.e., about 5.5 % of the population in the U.S., suffer from mental health issues. The number of cases is rising among adults.
Common Types of Mental Disorders
Anxiety Disorder
Having an anxiety disorder is the most common type of mental illness. People having excessive fear and stress about a particular object or situation might develop this disorder.
Panic Attack
Panic Attacks might occur due to overwhelming terror or the pain of death or destruction. Frequent panic attacks affect your brain. It may also occur due to continuous fights in a relationship or physical torture by someone.
Phobias
Fear of something is generally termed a phobia.
Are you afraid of animals, specific objects, or any particular scenario? This simple phobia can cause a lot of mental stress.
Social phobia, including social anxiety, fear of speaking in front of the masses, or developing social connections, is dangerous for your mental health.
Mood disorders
People suffer from mood disorders, including both affective disorders and depressive disorders. You might experience mood swings, mania, sometimes high or low energy, or depression.
Mood disorders include Bipolar disorder and Seasonal Affective Disorder ( SAD). Bipolar disorder includes unusual changes in energy level, mood, and activity level. Seasonal Affective Disorder ( SAD) occurs mostly in people living near the equator. They suffer from severe depression during the early spring months.
Schizophrenia
The term schizophrenia is mostly associated with hallucinations and certain complex symptoms. As per the reports of NIMH, the signs of schizophrenia develop between the ages of 16 to 30 years. People affected by it might find difficulty in understanding things and developing thoughts by processing information.
There are two kinds of symptoms of Schizophrenia: positive and negative. Delusions, hallucinations, and thought-related disorders are positive symptoms. Whereas symptoms like lack of motivation, frequent mood changes are negative symptoms.
Early Signs of Mental Illness
No particular physical test can detect mental illness. Because it is in the disturbance created in the mind. However few notable changes in behaviour can help you mark the development of mental disorders.
- Disconnection from friends, family, and colleagues.
- Lacking interest in the things that they previously enjoyed and loved doing.
- Excessive sleep or very little sleep
- Developing the feeling of helplessness.
- Lack of energy while doing any kind of work.
- Using mood-changing substances like alcohol, drugs, or nicotine frequently.
- Staying confused all the time. Unable to make decisions that they previously could easily make.
- Inability to complete the daily tasks like office work, cooking, cleaning, and other day-to-day activities.
- Showing negative emotions daily.
- Having a continuous thought about any kind of memory or situation.
- Doing physical harm to themselves or other people without any valid reason.
- Experience delusions or hearing unusual voices.
How to manage Mental Health Disorders?
Developing mental health issues can be very dangerous and needs constant care and attention. You need to take a few necessary steps to control the symptoms and manage your overall health.
- You should never ignore the early signs. Try working with your doctor or therapist to control the symptoms. Making a plan to reduce the symptoms can help you a lot.
- Noticing any kind of changes in yourself or close people, you must reach out to the doctor or therapist.
- Try engaging with family members or friends to learn about warning signs.
- Never skip visiting the doctor and take care of your health.
Never ignore your mental health issues
As we know, mental health issues are complex and challenging and affect individuals across all demographics and cultures.
These issues can severely affect an individual’s quality of life, relationships, work, and overall well-being. Mental health is influenced by a combination of biological, psychological, and other social factors.
Make sure that you identify any symptoms at an early stage and seek medical advice. Remember a healthy body requires a healthy mind.