Really Understanding Mental Illnesses
Mental health has recently taken centre stage in mainstream discussions with more and more studies showing higher rates on anxiety and other mental illnesses in teens and young adults. But what is mental health? To put it plainly, mental health refers to your emotional and psychological well-being. It’s important to have good mental health as it enables you to lead a relatively happy and healthy life. Having good mental health is also instrumental for dealing with life’s inevitable challenges.
Various things impact your mental health like our life experiences and our genes. We don’t have complete control on what affects our mental health but we do control how we nurture our mental health.
There are a number of things we can do to improve our mental health and these include:
- Eating well as our digestive health has a direct impact on our mood.
- Exercising as this helps regulate mood and physical wellbeing
- Sleeping as sleep impacts our eating habits and mood
- Seeing a therapist when you know you’re not coping
It’s important that we have more conversations around mental health because unfortunately like most things we don’t fully understand, we make inaccurate assumptions until told otherwise.
Feeling sad is not the same as being depressed. Just because you’re not in a good emotional state doesn’t mean you have a mental illness. So let’s unpack this further,
what is mental illness?
A mental illness is a broad term which encompasses a wide variety of conditions which affect the way you feel and think. It can also affect your ability to get through day-to-day life. Mental illnesses can be influenced by several different factors, including:
● genetics
● environment
● daily habits
● biology
Source: Healthline.com
Like physical illnesses, mental illnesses are common and they vary in severity. Also something we don’t talk about often is, you can heal from a mental illness.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, women are more likely to experience a serious mental illness than men. People with a mixed-race background are also more likely to experience an SMI than people of other ethnicities.
There are a number of different types of mental health disorders and I am going to focus on some of the most common mental illnesses affecting people today.
1. Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) causes constant and repetitive thoughts or obsessions. These thoughts happen with unnecessary and unreasonable desires to carry out certain behaviors or compulsions.
Many people with OCD realize that their thoughts and actions are unreasonable, yet they cannot stop them.
2. Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder is a chronic mental illness. It is characterized by episodes of energetic, manic highs and extreme, sometimes depressive lows.
These can affect a person’s energy level and ability to think reasonably. Mood swings caused by bipolar disorder are much more severe than the small ups and downs most people experience on a daily basis.
3. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental illness that’s triggered after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. Experiences that can cause PTSD can range from events like rape, loss of income or childhood trauma.
4. Persistent depressive disorder
Persistent depressive disorder is a chronic type of depression. It is also known as dysthymia. While dysthymic depression isn’t intense, it can interfere with daily life. People with this condition experience symptoms for at least two years.
5. Generalized anxiety disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) goes beyond regular everyday anxiety, like being nervous before a presentation. It causes a person to become extremely worried about many things, even when there’s little or no reason to worry.
Those with GAD may feel very nervous about getting through the day. They may think things won’t ever work in their favor. Sometimes worrying can keep people with GAD from accomplishing everyday tasks and chores.
6. Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia impairs a person’s perception of reality and the world around them. It interferes with their connection to other people. It’s a serious condition that needs treatment.
People with schizophrenia might experience hallucinations, have delusions and hear voices. These can potentially put them in a dangerous situation if left untreated.
7. Major depressive disorder
Major depressive disorder (MDD) causes feelings of extreme sadness or hopelessness that lasts for at least two weeks. This condition is known as clinical depression.
People with clinical depression may suffer from severe dissatisfaction with their lives leading them to suicidal ideation and ultimately committing suicide.
7. Social anxiety disorder
Social anxiety disorder causes an extreme fear of social situations. People with social anxiety may become very nervous about being around other people. They may feel like they’re being judged.
This can make it hard to meet new people and attend social gatherings.
Like all illnesses, mental illnesses need to be treated. When left untreated, symptoms tend to get worse. This is why it’s so important to remove the stigma around mental illnesses so those who need help, can seek it without shame.
Therapy can help treat a variety of disorders, including panic disorders, anxiety, depression, anger issues post-traumatic stress disorder. A psychiatrist can help prescribe meditation for disorders like schizophrenia, clinical depression, bipolar disorder and other personality disorders.
Whether you’ve been diagnosed or not, we all need to pay attention to our mental health. Self-awareness goes a very long way in helping us stay attuned to our emotional wellbeing or any mental illness symptoms.
What’s important to remember is, you can heal. And for those with chronic mental illnesses, you can still live a full and happy life while properly managing your illness. The most important thing is to maintain a positive attitude but seeking help when you need it is vital so be honest with yourself and remember, we all need a little help along our journeys.
By Phemi Segoe