What is mental health?

Mental health is an integral part of our overall wellness. According to WHO (World Health Organization), mental health is defined as “a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and can make a contribution to her or his community.” When you have stable mental health, you feel good about life. As human beings, to reach a state of stability and balance, it’s crucial that we have good mental health. Part of that is awareness, and knowing ourselves. When your mental health is stable, you feel like you can manage the day-to-day life challenges you encounter. One way to maintain your mental health is to have a stable support system, and see a therapist every week. You might have anxious moments, but you can work through them. When your mental health is out of balance, you can suffer from mental health issues or mental illness.

  

Mental illness

According to The National Institute of Mental Health the United States in 2015, it’s estimated that 9.8 million adults over the age of 18 had a severe mental disorder. That breaks down to 4.8 percent of American adults. Mental illness doesn’t discriminate. A person of any age, race, gender or religion can have a mental illness in their lifetime. Many disorders are hereditary, and it’s essential to see a mental health professional if you’re having symptoms of a condition that runs in your family.

Half of the mental health conditions start by age 14. 75% of mental health conditions develop by the time a person is 24. It’s difficult to tell if an individual has a mental illness or mental health condition during adolescence because the person is going through a lot of changes, which include mood shifts. If you do develop a mental health condition during the teen years, you increase your chances of recovery when you get treatment during this time.

Mental Illness Isn’t “Bad."

Although “mental illness” might sound like a negative term, it’s a real condition that people manage, and that’s why in the advice section, we want to give you accurate information about what mental illnesses are, and the mental health conditions people manage. We also want to tell you about different behaviors that you might need support with and can work with an online therapist to manage. Many of the categories you see in the advice section will give you expert insight into the various conditions that affect mental health. If you’re coping with these issues, we’re bringing you support. We want to help you live a quality of life that you’re happy with so that you’ll start to feel better about who you are and what you’re doing in your life. Let’s talk about some common mental health issues and mental illnesses.

Signs

There’s no way to tell if a person is developing a mental illness for sure. However, here are some signs that might indicate that an individual is coping with a mental health condition:

Ø  Isolating from people

Ø  Not participating in activities they used to enjoy

Ø  Sleeping too much or not enough

Ø  Overeating or undereating

Ø  Feeling hopeless

Ø  Thoughts of suicide

Ø  Substance abuse (drugs and alcohol)

Ø  Confusion

Ø  Trouble engaging in day-to-day activities such as going to school or work

Ø  Difficulty showering

Ø  Delusions

Ø  Hearing voices

If you are thinking about harming yourself, call 911 or visit the nearest emergency room.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms above, and it’s disrupting your ability to function daily, consult a mental health professional. Mental illness is highly treatable with therapy and (if necessary) medication. If someone you love is experiencing these symptoms, you can reach out and get them help.

Treatment

There various treatment options for mental health issues. It’s important to remember that everyone’s mental health journey is different. What works for you might not work for someone else. One of the most commons treatments for mental illness or when someone is struggling with their mental health is psychotherapy.

Therapy

People who live with chronic mental health issues can benefit from therapist. Depending on the individual’s needs, there are many types of therapy to choose from, and it’s important to stay informed about what works best for your particular mental health issue. You can want to work with a therapist in your local area or see an online therapist.

Medication

Some people who have mental illness take psychiatric medication. If you live with a chronic condition such as bipolar disorder, psychotropic medication could drastically improve your quality of life. Consider consulting with a psychiatrist if you’re interested in learning about the benefits of medicine for your mental health. You can read more about psychiatry in the advice section. In medication section of advice, you’ll learn about how medication can support you in your mental health if you need it.  There are some mental illnesses can do well when the individual takes medication and goes to therapy. Psychiatric medication can help people maintain stable mental health.

Self-care

Self-care is a crucial element in maintaining excellent mental health. It’s important to eat regularly, get good sleep each night, and learn to set boundaries with people. You’re allowed to take time for yourself and say no when you can’t commit to a project. It’s essential to have a stable support system of friends and family who love you and care about your wellbeing.

Common mental health problems

When it comes to mental health issues, there are some that are common. Here are some mental health problems that many people manage.

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are a common form of mental illness. Some include Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Phobias, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Millions of people live with anxiety disorders and receive treatment for them in therapy. Sometimes people with anxiety disorders can benefit from psychiatric medication.  You can read more about anxiety disorders in the Anxiety section of advice. Here you’ll learn with coping with being in a state of fight or flight and find ways to deal with being overwhelmed. You can support a loved one who lives with anxiety by reading these articles. Learn about panic attacks and how to calm your body down. You can learn about the fact that anxiety is genuine, and that those with anxiety aren’t exaggerating their symptoms.

REAL CONNECTION VS PSEUDO CONNECTION

I joined Facebook and Twitter several years ago, after purposely avoiding social networking for many years.  As a therapist who did a lot of work with couples, I had a skewed perspective of how social media effected relationships.  Too many affairs have been started on Facebook, chat rooms and even via interactive video games. Since I have participated in Facebook, I realize the benefits.  I joined as a way to connect with college friends I had not seen in years.  I then realized many other friends I could keep up with from other times in my life, and I found this to be quite enriching for my life. 

However, I have become aware of new problems associated with our tendency to use electronic means of communication and connection.  The issue is that, so often we get so into our electronics, that we forget to connect with the people right in front of us. I have seen too many situations, where individuals are in physical attendance with someone, but they are distracted by their device.  I've even seen this happen at my church. I know it happens in homes across the country. And yes, I have frequently been guilty of this myself.

So we really need to do something about this.  Here are my suggestion. 1) Make meal times no device times.  The phones, ipods, whatever, must be absent from the room.  2) Take mini vacations from the devices.  Turn them off for an hour, day or even a week if you can. 3) Make a point of spending quality time with your spouse and family members, every day.  Again, no devices. 

These are just a few ideas. There are many ways to go back to a time (not that long ago) when these distractions didn't exist, and connect with the important people of your life. The common element of these scenario's is the simple absence of the source of distraction.

FOUR AREAS OF INTERVENTION

Our spiritual life also has great impact on our mental health. Many Christians struggle with depression, anxiety, and many other mental health concerns. Then they feel guilty for being a Christian with these struggles, making them more distressed. Our relationship with God can have great impact, positive and negative, on our mood. A number of spiritual topics can impact mood. Some of them include, sin, poor theology, inappropriate guilt, spiritual abuse, lack of forgiveness and many more. Helping clients to sort these things out, and helping them understand the love and grace of God can be incredibly healing.

Also, our relationship with God has significant impact on the other three areas I've discussed. Scripture has much to say about taking care of ourselves physically, psychologically and relationally. We must let God's word guide us in these areas of our life as well.

Taking Therapy off the Couch

Amid the winter in the Midwest United States, numerous customers show burdensome indications because of inertia, the absence of daylight and body synthetic movements. As an eager jogger myself, I perceive how my own movement level affects my state of mind all through the seasons. I have taken this data and have connected it to my own treatment practice by a method for strolling and chatting with customers.

As clinicians, we regularly enlighten our customers regarding the advantage they will be understanding through exercise. Be that as it may, we don't frequently have the experience of development with them or the capacity to kick them off. As a performance expert, I have had the advantage of ending up increasingly imaginative and adaptable in my way to deal with recuperating and wellbeing.

Utilizing physical movement isn't really new in the field of brain research and can really be gone back to Anna Freud's (1928) utilization of play treatment. Be that as it may, this was essentially finished with youngsters and teenagers as opposed to with grown-ups. Roughages (1999) out that entertainment treatment is utilized with grown-ups however this is restricted for the most part to foundations. For the most part, we give customers data about the advantages of activity or simply increasingly everyday development and send them out the door.

Presently there is almost no exploration out there on gentle physical exercise inside the bounds of emotional wellness treatment outside of transferring the significance of activity to our customers. Be that as it may, there are episodic reports of unwavering discernment and integrating new data amid and soon after exercise. As an EMDR clinician, I could conjecture that this clearness could be in connection to a two-sided action, for example, strolling while at the same time handling testing data with a specialist. This is just my very own undeveloped hypothesis which could stand an exploration challenge.

A couple of years prior I chose to begin inquiring as to whether they might want to have a go at strolling and talking. Initially, I did this principally with people experiencing discouragement. I knew whether I could simply get their body's vibe great synthetic concoctions working again they would discover some help. Incredibly numerous promptly concurred. I would initially verify that there are no therapist worries that contraindicate a delicate walk. At that point, I would re-clarify breaking points of privacy when we are outside. This poses some exceptional difficulties. Be that as it may, where I am situated there isn't much-strolling traffic to be worried about. So I mapped out to what extent of a walk we would take in an hour's time. Turns out most customers are not sped walkers and will complete a moderate paced 2-mile stroll amid that time. It is a delicate stroll for most and I generally coordinate their pace instead of them coordinating mine. I verify we have water accessible for hydration and I check for climate impediments. Moreover, I am prepared if a customer needs to walk, yet in the event that they alter their opinion and don't wish to connect with that day I basically move my methodology and pursue their lead. My customer's security and solace is in every case first.