The concept : mental health is one topic that is undermined and sidelined in this part of the world, and goes a long way on affecting productivity in our everyday life
When we say Mental health it is simply about how people think, feel, and behave. The role of a mental health specialists can be that of helping people with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, addiction, and other conditions that affect how they feel, think and behave at a particular point in time . Mental health greatly affects our daily living, relationships, and physical health and well-being
Maintaining a good mental health can as a matter of fact preserve a person’s ability to live life to it’s fullest .Doing this involves balancing life activities, responsibilities, and efforts to achieve psychological resilience.
The World Health Organization gives different concepts of mental health and they include:
Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in. Mental health is a basic human right. And it is crucial to personal, community and socio-economic development.
Mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders. It exists on a complex continuum, which is experienced differently from one person to the next, with varying degrees of difficulty and distress and potentially very different social and clinical outcomes.
Mental health conditions include mental disorders and psychosocial disabilities as well as other mental states associated with significant distress, impairment in functioning, or risk of self-harm. People with mental health conditions are more likely to experience lower levels of mental well-being, but this is not always or necessarily the case.
Further more, when one is mentally unhealthy is he is mentally sick and here are some symptoms of mental illness
Each type of mental illness has a different categories of symptoms. For example, let’s consider an extreme dieting, it may be a sign that someone has an eating disorder. Hearing voices could be a sign of psychosis. An ongoing feeling of hopelessness after childbirth could be a sign of postnatal depression. People with depression can have a lasting sadness or low mood. People with anxiety often have excessive worry or fears. Sometimes feelings of anxiety happen without any apparent reason.Drastic changes in a person’s thoughts, moods or behaviour can be a sign they have a mental illness. Changes can be sudden or come on gradually over a long period. A person who usually copes well with life may start to have trouble doing their normal activities. These changes can cause them, or their loved ones, distress. These signs could indicate a mental illness.
Here are some signs of mental illness to look out for:
unusual or illogical thoughts
unreasonable anger or irritability
poor concentration and memory, not being able to follow a conversation
hearing voices that no one else can hear
increased or decreased sleep
increased or low appetite, or preoccupation with control over food, calories or excessive exercise
lack of motivation
withdrawing from people
drug use
What causes these mental illnesses? From research it has been discovered that there are multiple causes of mental illness, not just one cause
These can include genetics and aspects of social learning, such as how you grew up.It can also be impacted by how your brain works and the interplay with your environment. Your social group, your culture and life experience can also play a part in the development of a mental illness.
There are some examples of this factors and they include:
Genetic factors — having a close family member with a mental illness will further heighten the chance that you might get a mental illness. However, just because one family member has a mental illness doesn’t mean that others will.
Drug and alcohol abuse — illicit drug use can trigger a manic episode (bipolar disorder) or an episode of psychosis. Drugs such as cocaine, marijuana and amphetamines can cause paranoia.
Other biological factors — some medical conditions or hormonal changes can cause mental health problems.
Early life environment — negative childhood experiences can increase the risk of some mental illnesses. Examples of negative childhood experiences are abuse or neglect.