Mental Health 101

1. MENTAL HEALTH 101

2. What Is Mental Health? The World Health Organization defines mental health as “ a state of wellbeing in which a person realizes his/her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and can contribute to his/her community”. In simple words, it can be understood as the emotional, psychological, and social state of your mind, which affects your ability to think, feel, act, handle stress, and make decisions. It is an important part of one’s life, just as physical health is. It affects your relationships, career, work, and even physical fitness. Just as your body needs care when you catch a cold, your mental health needs attention too. Your brain is like a machine, it works day and night continuously, but it gets exhausted, unlike a machine. This stress results in ruining your mood, decreasing your concentration, affecting memory, creating anger, fear, and confusion, and you start feeling exhausted. It can also become the reason for mental illness.

3. What Are Mental Illnesses? Most people struggle with their mental health from time to time, whether it is stress from work, social or personal relationships, or financial issues. It should be noted that a person can experience poor mental health and not be diagnosed with any mental illness. Still, it becomes important to pay attention to these issues because it takes no time for anxiety to turn into anxiety disorders. Thus, we need to understand what mental illness is. Mental illness, also known as a mental health disorder, is a mental health condition that negatively affects how an individual feels, thinks, and behaves. Grief and stressful interludes don’t necessarily mean mental illness, but you might want to check in for some symptoms. It is characterized by, but not limited to: -Loss of appetite -Sleep pattern changes -Extreme mood swings -Chronic depression -Hallucinations or delusions -Unhealthy coping mechanisms -Unusual emotional outbursts It can be miserable and cause problems in the day-to-day life of people. It can be a result of stress or work. Sometimes, it can even appear as physical problems like a troubled stomach, headache, backaches, or other unexplained aches.

4. Types of Mental Illnesses

5. Anxiety Disorders Feeling anxious or nervous before an interview or an important meeting is normal. Still, if it persists for a long time and severely affects your brain’s ability to function, it can be called anxiety disorder. Panic, phobias, generalized anxiety disorders (GAD), etc., are some kinds of anxiety disorders.

6. Depression Over a long period, it is the excessive feeling of irritability, sadness, hopelessness, insomnia, frequent or recurrent thoughts of suicide, death, etc. It is also known as a depressive disorder. It is a serious issue and should be immediately treated, as it can get worse if untreated.

7. Eating Disorder It is a compulsive disorder characterized by severe and persistent behaviors associated with physical disorders, like weight gain or restrictive food intake. It may seem similar to an addiction and often results in fatal complications.

8. Schizophrenia It is a disorder that affects a person’s ability to think, behave or speak clearly. The affected person’s thoughts and actions appear to be abnormal and disillusioned. It involves psychosis, a condition where a person cannot differentiate between real and imaginary.

9. Dissociative Disorder It is also known as a multiple personality disorder. Overwhelming traumatic events and accidents are associated with stress, perception problems, breakdown of memory, and detachment from the surroundings. People with this disorder tend to escape reality by using unhealthy ways. While there may not be a way to prevent mental illnesses, you can be mindful of the factors that are responsible for causing mental illnesses: -Genetic or inherited traits -Brain-chemistry -Prolonged and unresolved trauma -Childhood experiences -Losing a loved one -Excessive use of drugs or alcohol

10. Is Mental Health related to Physical Fitness? We often think that our mind and body are separate, but they are remarkably interconnected in reality. As mentioned above, poor mental health is a risk factor for chronic physical conditions. If you don’t take care of your mental health, it will definitely affect your body. Research shows that people with serious mental conditions are prone to many physical problems.

11. What Are Some Good Mental Health Practices? Get Moving Take Plenty Of Water Take Proper Rest Take A Break Reach Out If You Feel Like You Need Help

12. Eating Disorder It is a compulsive disorder characterized by severe and persistent behaviors associated with physical disorders, like weight gain or restrictive food intake. It may seem similar to an addiction and often results in fatal complications.

13. Eating Disorder It is a compulsive disorder characterized by severe and persistent behaviors associated with physical disorders, like weight gain or restrictive food intake. It may seem similar to an addiction and often results in fatal complications.

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