MIND Your Health
All batteries run low, including yours! Taking care of your mental health is an important aspect toward living a well-balanced life.
"To be healthy as a whole, mental health plays a role”
- Unknown
What is Mental Health?
There may have been an instance where you have heard a friend, family member, or colleague, mention that taking care of your mental health is important but, why? Well, your Mental Health includes your psychological, emotional, and social well-being, meaning that it aids in things like thinking, feeling, and our behavior. It also affects the way we deal with or handle stress. If your Mental Health is poor, all of these things can become negatively affected and could increase your risk of developing psychological disorders. However, there are other factors that may affect your mental well-being like, childhood abuse, your lifestyle, or even your biological makeup.
Some Benefits of Good Mental Health
Able to cope with life stressors stronger
Staying away from excessive alcohol/drugs, violence, etc... Can lead you to a stronger mental state. Having a stable mental state can influence healthier ways to cope.
Positive Self-Image
A good indicator of a healthy and stable mental state is confidence. "Overall mental wellness plays a part in your self-esteem" (Plumptre, 2021).
Better Quality of Life
Improving your mental state may also improve your quality of life as well. Having that better mental state will allow you to open yourself up to participating in community events or even volunteering. You may also decide to pick up a new hobby, travel more, or meet new people!
Mental Health Affects Your Overall Well-being
Having a good mental health is good for many reasons, like for example, your physical health. Your mental and physical health go hand-in-hand. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, “depression increases the risk for many types of physical health problems, particularly long-lasting conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and stroke” (About mental health). Likewise, dealing with chronic conditions may potentially increase the risk for mental illness.
What are Some Types of Mental Illness?
Mood Disorders
Mood disorders would be the most common mental illnesses. For example, depression and bipolar disorder are types of mood disorders.
Psychotic Disorders
Psychotic disorders include mental illnesses like Schizophrenia. In fact "a large proportion of people with PMI have a diagnosis of schizophrenia" (Leufstadius et al., 2006). PMI is short for persistent mental illness.
Trauma-Related Disorders
One of the most well known trauma-related disorders is post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. According to the High Focus Centers website, "It's estimated to affect around 8 million U.S adults in a given year" (Types of trauma disorders).
Eating Disorders
The most well-known eating disorder is Anorexia Nervosa. The other eating disorders consist of Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, Rumination disorder, etc...
Personality Disorders
There are three different categories of personality disorder: suspicious, emotional/impulsive, and anxious. Some personality disorders that are included within these three categories would be: Schizoid personality disorder, Narcissistic personality disorder, and Obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD or OCD).
Substance Abuse Disorders
Examples of substance abuse disorder would include opioid use, marijuana use, nicotine use, alcohol use, etc...
How Can I Improve My Mental Health?
Pamper Yourself
Take some time to take care of yourself. Having a time during the day, dedicated to your self-care is important. Here are some tips to help jump start that journey.
Sleep!
Sleep is important, but did you know how it affects your mental health? Read more to figure out why we should make sleep a priority.
Ask for Help
When things are not going as planned and are becoming too much for you to handle, do not be afraid to ask for help. Besides confiding in your family and friends, here's a tip on some things you could do.