The Repetition of Mental Illness

Mental illness is also referred to as mental health disorders. These are health conditions that affect your emotion, behavior, and mood. Some of the common mental illnesses are anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, etc.

Many people have mental illnesses but they are not aware. You need to always evaluate yourself to be sure that you are not struggling with any mental health problems, as this is important for your quality of life.

Here are some of the common signs of mental illness

Feeling moody

If you are always feeling sad or down, you might be struggling with a mental health problem. When you discover that you cannot always trace the root cause of your mood, then it might be a mental illness.

Low energy levels

For people who always feel weak to do even the simplest task, you might be battling a mental health problem.

Withdrawal from people

Another way to know that you have a mental illness is when you are comfortable not staying around people anymore. This is quite different from craving your space.

Most times, you don’t want to hear from people both physically and virtually because of reasons that you cannot explain. When you feel this urge most times, a mental health problem might be in play.

Alcohol or drug abuse

If you feel the need to always take drugs or alcohol so that you can achieve something, you might be facing a mental health problem.

Suicidal thoughts

Sometimes, you may feel like ending your life would be the solution to your problems. If this thought crosses your mind and you don’t want to share it with anyone, you might be struggling with a mental health problem.

One of the best ways to treat mental illness is to speak out and look for help. If you don’t get help, the problems might pile up to the point where it becomes quite difficult to treat or manage. You can always reach out to mental health counselors or therapists for help.

Paying more attention to your mental health comes with loads of benefits in the long run. This involves watching out for the habits and activities that can deteriorate your mental health. You might be surprised to see that some of these habits were “harmless.”

Lack of physical exercise

As surprising as it might sound, physical exercise is important for improving mental health. Several studies have shown that people who regularly engage in physical exercise are less likely to experience mental illness than their counterparts who don’t workout.

When you exercise, feel-good hormones like endorphins are released. Additionally, some chemicals that boost the potency of your immune system are ejected into your body.

Engaging in regular physical exercise also takes away worries and improves your confidence in the long run.

Excessive use of social media

One of the reasons why people develop anxiety and depression is because they overuse social media. For instance, you might see happy pictures of people and think that they are doing well. This might make you look down on yourself and start blaming your condition.

Social media gives you the false impression that some people have a perfect life. When you ingest everything social media brings your way, you might develop a mental illness.

Poor sleeping habits

Sleep is essential to put your body and mind in great shape. When you sleep regularly, you are giving your body the chance to recover from the stress of the previous day.

Doing this would help reduce the chances of mental illnesses. However, if you don’t sleep regularly, you are likely to develop depression and anxiety.

Perfectionism

If you are a perfectionist, you might struggle with mental illness. Having a perfectionist mindset isn’t bad, but some limits shouldn’t be crossed. You need to remember that you might not be perfect at all times, so you should not go hard on yourself when you make a mistake.

When you discover that you are struggling with mental illness, you need to seek help from a therapist or mental health counselor.

People who have mental illness need all the help they can get. These people do not believe they have a problem and it is imperative for you to be able to convince them, before they will accept your offer of seeking help.

Mental illness has the capacity to affect just anyone. It is a state of health that creeps in subtly and before the individual realizes it, they are deep in their mental health problem with no hope of coming out.

The positive part about this is, there is ample help for mental illness, one of which is counseling.

The concept of counseling cuts across all aspects of our lives, particularly our health. A counselor is someone who is very knowledgeable having certain soft skills like empathy, critical decision making and a host of others.

Counseling for mental illness is referred to as psychotherapy, and it is a branch of counseling that helps in treating and providing the mental health needs of an individual.

Mental health counseling is a reality because there are mental health problems. Hence, it is vital to consult professionals who know much about this concept.

Mental health counseling does not only involve evaluation that is carried out on an individual. It encompasses the clinical measures that are involved to make the work of the counselor more superb.

There is no strict time frame for counseling for mental illness, it depends on the severity of the mental health problem. So, for instance, an individual who is in the early stage of depression would need few months of mental health counseling

For those whose mental health problems are grave, they would spend a lot of them with the mental health counselor before heading to the rehab.

The purpose of mental health counseling is to improve the quality of life. A mental health counselor assists you in handling your life in a better way than you used to. It is certain that during mental health counseling, you will be equipped to personally empower yourself.

Mental illness also means mental health comprising several mental health problems that negatively impacts your behavior, emotions, mood and thoughts. There are several people with mental health problems, but they do not know what it is precisely.

The common examples of mental illness are anxiety and depression. There are other forms like OCD, PTSD, schizophrenia and the likes. The development of mental illness indicates the absence of needed help. For instance, someone who develops depression most likely did not open up to another person.

Usually, when we are at our lows, we need people to lift our moods. But, the moment we begin to crave dying in silence and keeping to ourselves rather than opening up. Then, it implies that depression is beginning to set in.

It is very easy to spot early signs of depression. The individual would prefer to wallow in their problems and solve it all by themselves, instead of involving another person. When they are queried of being alone, they deny and fight off that reality.

The same applies to anxiety. When an individual begins to worry unnecessarily, it is vital to watch out for the person. He or she is being over-anxious, and it is not good for their well-being.

Mental illness does not affect the mental health of an individual alone, it also affects their physical health because they go hand-in-hand.

People who have mental illness are not the best version of themselves. Most times, they think they are okay, but in reality, they are far from it. And the farther they push people away from them, the more they plunge deeper into their problem.

It is crucial to help people who have mental illness to seek help. There are reputable rehabs that cater for the mental health of individuals, and even though some of them might want to shy away from it, it is essential to persuade them to opt for treatment.

People commit suicide due to anxiety and depression, and this is because they had no access to help.

Mental illness is defined as a broad range of mental health conditions or disorders which have an adverse effect on your behaviour, mood and thinking.

Common examples of mental illness are anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, addictive behaviours and eating disorders. A good number of people are bound to have some mental health problems on a periodic basis.

However, a mental health concern could transcend to being a mental illness when the continuing signs and symptoms induce regular stress and unpleasantly distress your functioning ability.

Having a mental illness could make someone miserable and can induce problems in your everyday life, which could be work, school, relationships amongst others.

In many cases, these symptoms can be supervised when there is a combination of medications and psychotherapy which is also known as talk therapy.

The signs and symptoms which are associated with mental illness vary and they are dependent on the circumstances, disorder and a host of other factors. These symptoms negatively affect our thoughts, behaviours and emotions.

Such examples are as follows:
Sad and depressed feeling
Confused thoughts pattern and inability to concentrate
Extreme fears and worries, continuous feeling of guilt
Mood swings
Insomnia
Fantasies
Being unable to cope with stress
Inability to understand other people
Substance abuse
Huge changes in eating habits
Suicidal thoughts

Mental illnesses are caused by some factors which are as follows:
Inherited attributes: There is a higher rate of finding people who have mental illness in a family where the relatives also have the same issue. There are some genes which could increase the chances of coming down with mental illness, and coupled with life challenges, it could be aggravated.

Pre-natal exposure to the environment: When an unborn child is exposed to some negative environmental factors, drugs, alcohol and the likes, it could induce mental illness.

Brain chemistry: There are some neurotransmitters which occur naturally in the brain, and they are chemicals which convey signals to other segments of the body and brain. In cases when this function is impaired, the work function of the nerve receptors and nerve systems alter, and depression sets in.

In order to prevent mental illness, there is a need for you to do the following:
Heed warning signs
Go for constant medical care
Seek help when it is needed
Always watch out for yourself

Many people who have a mental illness do not want to talk about it. But mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of! It is a mental condition, just like heart disease or diabetes.
A mental illness is a condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling, or mood. Such conditions may affect someone’s ability to relate to others and function each day. Each person will have different experiences, even people with the same diagnosis. They may be occasional or long-lasting (chronic).
There are many different types of mental disorders. Some common ones include
Anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post- traumatic stress disorder, and phobias
Depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood disorders
Eating disorders
Personality disorders
Psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia
A mental health condition isn’t the result of one event. Genetics, environment and lifestyle influence whether someone develops a mental health condition. A stressful job or home life makes some people more susceptible, as do traumatic life events like being the victim of a crime.
Approximately, one in 5 adults experiences a mental health condition every year. One in 17 lives with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. In addition to a person’s directly experiencing a mental illness, family, friends and communities are also affected.
Half of mental health conditions begin by age14, and 75% of mental health conditions develop by age 24. Mental illness does not discriminate; it can affect anyone regardless of age. The normal personality and behavior changes of adolescence may mimic or mask symptoms of a mental health condition. Early engagement and support are crucial to improving outcomes and increasing the promise of recovery.
There is no single cause for mental illness. A number of factors can contribute to risk for mental illness, such as
Genes and family history
One’s life experiences, such as stress or a history of abuse, especially if they happen in childhood
Biological factors such as chemical imbalances in the brain
A traumatic brain injury
A mother’s exposure to viruses or toxic chemicals while pregnant
Use of drinks or recreational substances
Having a serious medical condition like cancer
Having few friends, and feeling lonely or isolated
Sometimes, many mistakenly believe that mental disorders are caused by character flaws. As a matter of fact, they have nothing to do with being lazy or weak.
However, the good news is that mental illness is treatable. The vast majority of individuals with mental illness continue to function in their daily lives. Treatment depends on which mental disorder the victim has and how serious it is.