The taboo around Mental Health and steps to enhance your emotional well-being!

Heart attack! We know it is a sign of physical illness, right? But could you be able to pinpoint the physical aspect of anxiety or depression, I don’t think so. Trust me, the result of mental illness can be far more painful than the physical ailment. These days, mental health is a vital concern for healthcare professionals. We do need to understand that mental health is not a taboo, but it is just as fundamental as talking about nutritious food we need to live be healthy. This blog discovers the gravity of Mental well-being and absolute methods to cope with mental illness. Mental health refers to your emotional and psychological state that has drives the way we feel, think and act. It also helps determine how you handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. The importance of mental health cannot be ignored, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. Let’s have a better look at significant attributes of Mental Illness namely:

Causes
Different factors that influence the way you feel and think or affects your ability to get through day to day life can be genetics, environment, daily habits, biology etc.

Symptoms
Every mental disorder has its own symptoms. But many share some common characteristics, that may include:

• Not eating enough or overeating
• Having insomnia or sleeping too much
• Feeling forgetfulness, irritability, anger, anxiety, sadness or fright
• Having thoughts of hurting yourself or other people
• Smoking, drinking or using illicit drugs more than ever before
• Withdrawing from people or activities they would normally enjoy
• Delusions
• Hearing voices

Types of Disorders

• Bipolar Disorder is characterized by episodes of energetic, manic highs and extremes, sometimes depressive lows. This has direct impact on a person’s energy level and ability to think reasonably.
• Persistent Depressive Disorder is a chronic type of depression also known as dysthymia. This condition isn’t intense as it interferes only with daily life. But still, would last for at least a span of 2 years.
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder causes a person to become extremely worried about things, even when it is not required to be. Sometimes, worrying can keep people with GAD from accomplishing everyday tasks and chores.
• Major Depressive Order causes feeling of extreme sadness or hopelessness, also known as clinical depression.
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder causes constant repetitive thoughts or obsessions. People with OCD realize that their thoughts and actions are unreasonable, yet they cannot stop them.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder is triggered after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event like war and national disasters, verbal or physical abuse.
• Schizophrenia impairs a person’s perception of reality and the world around them. They might experience hallucinations, have delusions ad hear voices. These can potentially put them in a dangerous situation if left untreated.
• Social Anxiety Disorder causes an extreme fear of social situations. This can make it hard to meet new people and attend social gatherings.

Treatment

Although mental illness is common, they vary in severity. The good news, however, is it can be prevented in those who are at risk and even those who have been diagnosed with it. Treatment aims to reduce symptoms, address underlying causes and make the condition manageable. Here are the most common mental illness treatments:

• Medication-There are four major categories namely antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, antipsychotic medications and mood-stabilizing medications.
• Psychotherapy- Therapists primarily acts as a sounding board and neutral mediator, helping you learn coping techniques and strategies to manage symptoms. During sessions, you and your therapist can work to change your damaging thoughts and behavior.
• Lifestyle Treatments and home remedies-
• Mental Health Exercises- Dancing, swimming, walking and cardio lifts cardio strength whereas yoga helps to boost self-esteem and help increase bodily energy.

Mental Health Literacy and Awareness

Stigma and discrimination are negative consequences of ignorance and misinformation. A few studies which have measured mental health literacy in the Indian context shows depression was identified by 29.04% and schizophrenia/psychosis was recognized only by 1.31%. Health Literacy has been described as ability to access, understand and information to promote and maintain good health. It encompasses recognition, causes, self-help, facilitation of professional intervention and navigating the information highway.

Some of the strategies undertaken to target awareness and address stigma around mental illness include participation by family members, sensitization to treatment and social inclusion. It is envisaged that bulk of the awareness contributions shall flow from the following six platforms.

• Conventional Media-Celebrity endorsements like the recent one by actress Deepika Padukone who shared her experience of depression, together with content rich narrations and documentaries have been the mainstay of media drivers so far. Encouraging recovered patients to make their success stories accessible to all shall make good the paucity of authentic narratives.
• Government Programs-Apart from the National and District Mental Health Programs, the National Rural Health Mission is on the way to becoming the vehicle for delivering mental health as a part of primary care at the cutting edge of the public healthcare system.
• Industry- The organized sector suffers significant loss of effective workforce due to mental ill health. As a result, not only as a part of corporate social responsibility but also to maintain productivity, it is essential to engage the entire system with mental health awareness programs.
• Internet, Social Media and Cell Phones-Hand- held devices and the social media can truly be a game changer in the propagation of effective mental health interventions with the greater utilization of big data, the understanding of patterns over large volumes shall improve decision making related to mental health.