Have you ever wondered why in certain situations you over-reacted when it wasn’t that big of a deal? Or you weren’t in a good mood to go out and socialize with others?
We often use the term “mood” to describe our mental health state and how we are currently feeling.
Mental health is a state of wellbeing when you are aware of your own skills, in which you are capable of handling everyday stresses and challenges, and you are able to work effectively and actively in your community. In that sense, mental health can be identified for its 3 components: emotional well-being, psychological well-being, and social well-being.
It is the ability to create positive feelings, moods, thoughts, and ideas as well as to adapt in the face of difficult situations or events. It is the ability to control your negative emotions and feelings in situations, which creates resilience. Resilience is the ability to overcome stressful situations and come back stronger. For instance, starting a new job can seem stressful. However, after putting effort in your tasks, you are able to work on them better and become skilled.
It is the ability to enjoy most of your own personality, handling everyday tasks, having positive relationships with others, and being happy with your own life. This does not mean that you are not allowed to feel any painful emotions, but to overcome them and not let it affect your daily life duties.
You can feel sad that your best friend has travelled to another country, but you will continue to go to out and socialize with other people.
It is the ability to create and maintain meaningful relationships with people. This gives you a sense of connection and belonging while also allowing you to feel your real self. For example, going to the gym regularly can create a sense of belonging to this community and making new friends with people who were once considered as strangers.
Focusing on mental health care can boost productivity, improve our self-perception, and strengthen bonds with others. Taking care of our mental health not only makes it easier for us to operate on a daily basis, but it can also help us regulate some physical health issues that are closely related to mental health issues. For instance, since stress and heart disease are linked, reducing stress may benefit heart disease.
Taking care of our mental health can also provide the following advantages:
Your internal well-being is just as important as your physical health. Mental health specialists explain how having a bad mood can make you feel unhappy, annoyed, or disturbed.
Being emotionally healthy can increase our productivity and effectiveness at work and in our daily activities.
The mental health issues that are often related to a serious physical illness can be treated or prevented by taking care of our mental health.
Good stress management can reduce the risk of heart disease.
People who have mental peace are believed to always be happy and to have no worries or anxiety. They never feel tension or stress because they are constantly at peace with themselves and their environment.
One of the strongest arguments for its significance is the connection between relationships and mental health.Interactions with friends and family may be impacted by mental illness.
Passive aggressiveness, anger, and a lack of social skills are frequently side effects of mental diseases.
Conflicts with our friends and family could result from this. Mental illness has the ability to drive us to distance ourselves from our loved ones.
A strong sense of self-esteem is essential for good mental health and wellbeing. It enables you to build stress management skills, deal with difficulties, and put your bad thoughts in perspective.
Our physical and mental wellbeing are related to one another.
Stress and our immune systems can both be affected by mental illness. Our bodies' ability to deal with disease may be affected as a result. Anxiety and sadness might make it challenging to move around and keep active.
Numerous mental health issues exist, and some are more prevalent than others. In the UAE, there were 24,000 cases of mental health disorders recorded on average in 2019, with anxiety and depressive disorders being among the most common.
The development of better mental health in the United Arab Emirates is slowed by a variety of problems. Most people avoid using mental health services because of the stigma attached to mental health conditions, which may have the most influence.
Access to mental health care in the UAE has also been shown to be limited by fact that mental health services are not suited to the cultural setting of the country.
The majority of mental diseases don’t have a single cause. Instead, they have a variety of risk factors as causes. The more you have risk factors, the more you are likely to develop a mental disease. Mental diseases can come gradually, and won’t show up until a stressful situation causes it.
Mental illness runs in families, in which it is carried by genes.
You may be more likely to develop a mental disorder if you live in a stressful environment. Living in poverty or coming from an abusive family are two situations that place a lot of stress on the brain and frequently lead to mental illness.
Things that happened to you as a child may still have an effect on you as an adult, even though you no longer live in a stressful setting.
Events that cause stress, such as losing a loved one or getting into a car accident.
You can become stuck in a cycle of worry or anxiety if you frequently criticize yourself or assume the worst.
such as not eating or sleeping enough.
Both substances have the potential to lead to mental disorders. It may also make recovering from mental illness more difficult.
An imbalance of natural substances in your body and brain contributes to mental disease.
Your general emotional state or mood is confused, if you have a mood disorder. You may be clinically depressed if you feel hopeless, empty, or irritated, or you may experience moments of sadness mixed with excessive happiness (mania).
Generalized anxiety disorders, social phobias, specific phobias (such as agoraphobia and claustrophobia), panic disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder are all included in the category of anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders can have negative impact on people's daily life if left untreated.
If you have a strict and unhealthy habit of thinking, acting, and behaving, you may have a personality disorder. A personality disorder makes it difficult for you to understand and relate to others. This has serious effects on relationships, social interactions, job and educational opportunities.
Psychotic diseases have an effect on brain function. People who suffer from psychotic disorders may believe that someone is watching them or following them, hear voices, or feel as though other people are controlling their thoughts, such as schizophrenia.
Anorexia, bulimia nervosa, and other binge eating disorders are examples of eating disorders. Both men and women can suffer from eating disorders, which can have major psychological and physical effects.
Trauma disorders are conditions of the mind brought on by traumatic events. Although trauma is a subjective experience, common examples that can start off a disorder include being the victim of abuse, being mistreated, seeing violence, losing a loved one, or being in the middle of a natural disaster. Extreme fear, anxiety, sadness, flashbacks, and other symptoms can seriously harm your mental health.
Frequent alcohol and/or drug use that results in a lot of damage, including health issues, disability, and an inability to do daily duties at work, school, or family, is a sign of a substance use disorder.
By discussing your symptoms in detail with a doctor, you can get a diagnosis for mental illness. There are typically no blood tests or brain scans that can clearly determine the presence of a mental disorder. You’ll be asked questions during the assessment regarding your ideas, emotions, and behavior. Although questionnaires are sometimes used, a diagnosis should not be determined only on the basis of a questionnaire.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) published by the American Psychiatric Association lists the symptoms of various mental diseases. Doctors use this guidebook to determine which mental condition you are suffering from.
Mental illness is treatable, and the majority of affected individuals recover to lead happy lives. Each type of mental disease has a particular treatment, which can change depending on the patient, the disease’s seriousness, and any prior medical history.
The primary forms of treatment consist of:
There are many different types of psychotherapy including: supportive therapy, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, interpersonal therapy, group, couple, and family therapy.
Setting realistic goals, talking to the patient about topics in their life that will reduce tension and anxiety, and educating the patient and family members about the illness and the patient's potential and limitations.
A talking therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help you in managing your issues by changing the way you think and act.
Although it can be helpful for various mental and physical health issues, it is most frequently used to treat anxiety and depression.
Instead of concentrating on behavior, psychodynamic therapy examines mental and emotional events. In order to gain understanding of your current selves, psychodynamic therapists are encouraged to look for patterns in their emotions, thoughts, and beliefs.
A type of psychotherapy that focuses on current problems and relationships, instead of focusing on childhood and past issues.
The main objective of group therapy is to create a sense of community or relatability through understanding, which is accomplished by talking about similar experiences. Because of this, group therapy works best when it is used to treat a particular issue that affects every group member.
couples have brief counseling to help them understand and work through issues, disagreements, and conflicts in their relationship.
A form of psychological counseling (psychotherapy) to help support family members in improving communication and resolving conflicts.
Psychiatric drugs don’t heal mental disease, although they frequently greatly reduce symptoms.
They are often combined with psychological therapy. The kind of medicine will depend on you mental illness and how your body reacts to the drug.
Enhancing your general wellness, and maintaining good mental health by eating well, exercising frequently, getting enough sleep, and avoiding dangerous amounts of alcohol and other substances is a great way to develop a healthy lifestyle.
Exercise has been shown to reduce stress and has been demonstrated to be useful in treating depression and anxiety. Going to the gym or going for a run is not the only kind of exercise you can do, but going for a walk every day is great start.
Lack of sleep or poor quality might have negative effects on our productivity and makes us more irritable throughout the day.
According to Dr. Cora, maintaining a diet high in healthful food will help you experience fewer mood swings and better concentration. Studies have even revealed that eating a balanced diet might reduce the effects of anxiety and depressive symptoms.
Many misconceptions, assumptions, and attitudes exist around mental illness. This leads to discrimination and judgement to those who suffer from mental illness. Some of the false assumptions are:
Mental illness is a permanent, life threatening condition.
The majority of people fully recover and have no more illness as long as they receive the proper care and are treated immediately. There are some serious cases that require life long treatment, however they can still lead productive lives.
A mental illness indicates low IQ in people who have it.
Regardless of intelligence, social standing, or income level, mental disease can impact everyone, just like physical illness.
Only if you have a mental illness do you need to take care of your mental health.
You don’t need to have a mental condition to take care of your well-being. Everyone can improve their physical health by taking active steps and practicing healthy routines.
If you have a mental health issue, it means you’re weak; if you were more tough, you wouldn't have it.
Being weak or lacking motivation has nothing to do with having a mental health condition. People cannot decide whether or not to have it. It takes a lot of guts and strength to admit that you need help for a mental health condition. A mental illness can affect anyone at any time.
Teenagers with lots of friends and who do well in school are less likely to suffer from mental health issues.
Depression, a mental health disease, is consisted of social, psychological, and biological factors. Regardless of financial class or how positive their life may seem on the surface, depression may affect everyone. Students who perform well in school may experience anxiety due to pressure to succeed or difficulties at home.
People with mental illness cause harm to other people.
Some of the most harmful myths about people with mental illness are based on this incorrect idea. Mentally sick people are rarely dangerous. Even the most severely mentally ill individuals, whose symptoms may cause them to behave in a strange or weird way, are rarely dangerous.
Journaling organizes your thoughts through writing them down. Write down your thoughts and emotions, along with 3 things you are grateful for and 3 things you have accomplished throughout your day.
Trying to focus on the present moment with your thoughts and emotions will make you less stressed through mindfulness meditation.
Studies have shown that exercising is not only good for your physical well-being, but also for your mental health. Exercise releases a hormone called Dopamine, which makes you happy and puts you in a better mood.
Your mental health depends on the quality of your relationships. People can help you develop a sense of belonging and give you emotional support.
Studies have shown that learning a new skill can improve your self esteem and make you more confident.
Enroll in new courses that you are interested in, like cooking or painting classes.
Mental illness can cause a lot of mental and physical difficulties on you, which affects different aspects of your life. If support from friends and family was not enough, you can go to a psychologist to figure out the problem and try to solve it effectively.
Focusing on mental health care can boost productivity, improve our self-perception, and strengthen bonds with others. Taking care of our mental health not only makes it easier for us to operate on a daily basis, but it can also help us regulate some physical health issues that are closely related to mental health issues. If you suspect that you may have a mental health problem, you are advised to speak to a mental health professional about your issue, so they can help you better solve it.
Change requires effort, but it doesn’t have to be hard if you have the right knowledge and tools. We believe the first step in being your best healthy version is knowledge. We encourage everyone to be informed about their health and understand how nutrients, supplements, and products affect the overall wellness. And we are here to do just that. We are committed to educating the world about what wellness truly means.
