Mental Health

Mental Health

Hello,
Today I'm going to talk about something a little different and more serious. I'm going to talk about mental health because in my opinion mental health is the most important factor to our health as it can effect the way you feel, act and can play a toll on your life.
There are two sides, if you will, to mental health. There is the "good" side and the "bad" side, but today I will be discussing the more bad side of things. I feel that this is a topic that not many people discuss or want to discuss. Many people today suffer with, be it anxiety, depression, excessive stress and/or worry and even addictions.

So what's it all about!?!

 Mental health is about:

• How we feel about ourselves
• How we feel about others
• How we cope with the demands of life

Mental health strengthens and supports our ability to:

• Have healthy relationships
• Make good life choices
• Maintain physical health and well-being
• Handle the natural ups and downs of life
• Discover and grow toward our potential

But sometimes when our mental health isn't at it's best, it can disrupt the ability to achieve these things

There may be some confusion in people's minds as to the difference between mental ill heath and mental illness. So I am going to explain to the best of my ability the differences between the two.

Mental ill health:

• This refers to the kind of general mental health problems we can all experience such as:
• Poor/lack of concentration
• Mood swings
• Sleep disturbance

these problems are normally temporary and can relate to the demands of a particular situation.
All of us suffer from mental health problems at times.

Mental illness:

This is a condition which causes serious disorder in a persons behavior or thinking. Mental illness are medical conditions. Examples of such symptoms include anxiety, depressed mood, obsessional thinking, delusions and hallucinations. Serious mental illness include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder.

Mental illness can affect persons of any age, race, religion or income. Mental illness are not the results of being weak, lack of character or a poor upbringing. Mental illnesses are treatable. Some form of professional medical help is usually needed for recovery/management, this help may take the form of counselling or psychotherapy, drug treatment and/or lifestyle change.

What to do to help:

• Pay attention to lifestyle:

Doing too much or too little can affect mental health. A good balance is needed between work and relaxation.

• Get involved:

Having contact with others whose company you enjoy either at school, at home or as a member of a club, helps to develop social interaction.

• Keep active:

Just as the state of mental health can affect physical health, the reverse is also true.

• Talk about it:

It is important to have someone to go to with problems and worries, such as a friend, teacher or family members.

• Keep in touch with friends:

Share your worries when possible

• Ask for help:

Be aware of problems and seek help if necessary

These points are so so important, as about last year I went through a tough time of contstant panic attacks and slight depression. I neglected to do all of the points above which in result made me so much worse, I just isolated myself from all my friends and going anywhere, when the best thing probably for me was to get out of the house and be around people that loved and cared about me.
So if any of you are going through a hard time at the moment, I would 100% take note of the tips to help yourself, I know it's easier said than done, but you've really got to push yourself. We all care about your little noggin, and you only have one so take care of it!

I really hope some of this information was helpful, obviously I didn't cover all areas as there are so many branches to mental health, this is only a brief introduction.
I hope you enjoyed reading this and found some of it helpful or interesting!

Charlotte xX