The Basics Of Mental Health

Mental Health.

Mental Health is an important but overlooked aspect of our well-being. It includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It's a condition that affects how we think, feel and act. These conditions determine how we relate to others, cope with stress and make choices.


Mental Health Conditions.

These are health conditions involving change in emotion, thinking or behavior and they can range from mild to severe. According to the National Institute on Mental Health, nearly one-in-five adults live with a mental illness.

The many different types of mental conditions include: 

  • Anxiety disorders: Anxiety is the body's response to stress. It's a feeling of nervousness, fear or worry which might be mild or severe. Anxiety disorders on the other hand is a type of mental health condition which involves persistent and excessive worry or fear, which can cause victim to feel restless, tense or nervous. For example, if you're called to make a speech in front of an  audience and you get anxious, you experience physical signs of anxiety such as sweating, trembling, increase in heart rate. There are severe types of anxiety disorders; panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, acrophobia etc. 

  • Bipolar disorder: Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder that causes intense changes in a person's mood, energy level and behavior. This extreme mood swing can range from extreme highs (mania) to extreme lows (depression). During mania, there is intense feeling of excitement or happiness, insomnia, then inflated self-esteem, irritability, hypomania which leads the second episode (depression) feeling sad, worried, hopeless, the individual becomes forgetful, sleeps too much, becomes suicidal. Bipolar disorder can be caused by trauma, misused of drugs or alcohol.

  • Depression: Depression is a mood disorder that negatively affects how you feel. It is a continuous feeling of great sadness and loss of interest in activities for long periods of time. People who have lived through abuse both physically and emotionally are likely to develop depression. Signs of depression include poor concentration, low self-worth, hopelessness, overwhelming feeling of tiredness. Which causes difficulties on the individual's daily functions or aspects of life.

  • Schizophrenia: schizophrenia is a severe mental health condition in which people interpret reality abnormally. It affects how a person thinks, feels and behaves. Common symptoms of schizophrenia may include; persistent delusions, hallucinations; seeing or hearing things that don't exist, disorganized thinking, highly disorganized behavior, extreme agitation or slow movements. People with schizophrenia seem like they've lost touch with reality which can be distressing for them and their loved ones.

  • PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder): posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder caused by very stressful or terrifying event. It is a mental health condition that develops after a person has experienced or witnesses a traumatic event, causing them to feel fearful, shocked or helpless. It can have long term effects including flashbacks, difficulty in sleeping and anxiety. PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) may occur in people who have experienced sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence etc. PTSD can be triggered when individual comes across similar traumatic events or have intense disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experience. They may relive the event through flash backs or nightmares which can cause them to feel sad or scared. People with PTSD may avoid situations or people that remind them of the traumatic event.
Dealing with a mental health condition can be challenging and may cause feelings of distress. Talk to a friend or family member about your mental health. Feel free to leave a comment below and share your experience with other readers. It might help someone else who's struggling.

We've covered some common mental health conditions, we'll talk more on symptoms, causes, effects and treatment of mental health conditions on my next post. Stay tuned for more information.

To learn more about me click here.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Types Of Depression Disorders

Image
  Depression Depression or depressive disorder is a serious mental health condition which involves a low mood and loss of interest in activities which can affect how a person feels, thinks, and behaves. People with depression may feel extremely sad, hopeless, and irritable. They may also experience a loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy, changes in their appetite or sleep patterns, difficulty concentrating, low energy, and feelings of worthlessness or guilt.  There are different types of depression which can develop due to specific circumstances but the most common types are:  M ajor depressive disorder: Major depressive disorder is a type of depression where you experiences low mood or sadness that lasts for at least two weeks. Other symptoms can include fatigue, trouble sleeping or eating, lack of motivation, and feelings of hopelessness. It's more than just "feeling blue." It's a serious condition that can make it hard to function in daily life.   Per...
Read more

Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms

Image
What is Borderline Personality Disorder(BPD)? Borderline personality disorder (BPD), is a mental health condition that severely impacts a person's ability to control their emotions.  If you have borderline personality disorder (BPD), you probably get overwhelmed by your feelings not just because of unstable emotions or relationships, you also develop a fluctuating sense of self. You're uncertain about your goals, interests, likes and dislikes, everything just seems unclear. This intense struggle of regulating emotions can lead to frequent mood swings and impulsivity. Little things tend to trigger intense reactions and once upset, you have trouble calming down. When you're in distress of overwhelming emotions, you tend to act out, unable to think straight and might say hurtful things that make you feel guilty afterwards. One of the defining characteristics of BPD is that people with the condition may engage in something called "splitting." This is when they see oth...
Read more

Types Of Autism

Image
Autism itself is called "autistic disorder" or "infantile autism". The main features of autism are difficulties with social interaction and communication, as well as restricted or repetitive behaviors like lining up objects or hand flapping.  The different types of autism were originally developed for the purpose of diagnosis and research. In the past, there were many different diagnostic labels for people with autism-like symptoms, and it could be difficult to compare research studies. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) eventually grouped all the autism-like conditions into one category called "pervasive developmental disorder," which was later changed to "autism spectrum disorder." The original diagnostic labels were developed in the 20th century, starting with "infantile autism" in the 1940s. In the 1980s, the DSM-III grouped autism and a number of other conditions under the category of "pervasive de...
Read more