Mental health is a that topic that isn’t talked about much often and it’s a real big issue that should be Discussed more, because trust me a lot of people are going through a lot, but still put up a smiling face
In this part of the world where I come from they don’t take mental health seriously, when someone says have mental health issues people always feel that they might be crazy or mentally insane and that’s so wrong in everything.
First of What is this mental health thing and What is it About?
In my definition I will say mental health is a state where your mind isn’t functioning normally
Growing up as a child I was this child that easily got anxiety and panic attacks. I was that little child that could overthink and worry a lot, I mean I still do though, But back then I didn’t know what it was called but I knew I wasn’t really your everyday happy child. You could see me some times laugh and play but then to me that was my coping mechanism to avoid the whole anxiety and nervous attacks. I wasn’t really an outspoken child because I grew up in an African home where children weren’t allowed to express themselves or talk back so that kind of affected my self-esteem and personality. people around me didn’t really understood me back then some thought I was this little b*tch lol.
I remember back then, when people saw me laugh too much or play too much they will always be like keep quite you laugh too much. But little did they know that me laughing and trying to play was my defence mechanism. And when they told me to stop laughing they never knew how those words affected my mental health.
fast forward to now in the future I have been able to figure out that the anxiety, nervous attacks, traumas, overthinking and all that made me depressed were all affecting my mental health so now as an adult vie learnt to pay attention to my emotions, thoughts, how I feel mentally and emotionally healthy. Allowing me to take care of my mental health asking myself how I feel, and Observe and monitor how I feel, and avoiding anything that triggers my mental stress.
According to ‘WHO’ Key facts is that 1 in every 8 people in the world live with a mental disorder.
Mental disorders involve significant disturbances in thinking, emotional regulation, or behaviour There are many different types of mental disorders Effective prevention and treatment options exist Most people do not have access to effective care A mental disorder is characterized by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotional regulation, or behaviour. It is usually associated with distress or impairment in important areas of functioning. There are many diverse types of mental disorders.
So, here’s a list of mental health issues that you didn’t know.
Psychological stress: This involves the following Emotional stress (resentments, fears, frustration, sadness, anger, grief/bereavement), Cognitive stress (information overload, accelerated sense of time, worry, guilt, shame, jealousy, resistance, attachments, self-criticism, self-loathing, unworkable perfectionism, anxiety, panic attacks, not feeling like yourself, not feeling like things are real, and a sense of being out of control/not being in control), and Perceptual stress (beliefs, roles, stories, attitudes, world view).
Mood disorder: Or Clinical depression as other call it. Are mental health illnesses that involve emotional challenges. Often, mood disorders cause intense feelings of joy (mania) or sadness (depression) that are hard to manage. While many people have emotional “ups and downs,” individuals with a mood disorder find that these extreme emotional states can last for an extended time. Some of the most common mood disorders include Depression called ‘depressive disorder’ where you feel emotionally down drowning thoughts for days, weeks, even months. And then we have Bipolar disorder so the first time I heard the word bipolar was from the movie Empire were the character Andre had the disorder and I thought about someone who was mentally crazy lol. But what is it really is the behaviour of someone who snaps from different moods that they cant control you see people that were happy this moment and the next there sad or angry and they can’t explain why that’s because it’s a mental disorder that they cant control. So, when next someone tells you there bipolar do not be quick to judge them that they are crazy try to help by calming them down.
Anxiety disorder: According to mental health Group… Many people experience some anxiety in their lives, but they find that it comes and goes. Individuals who have anxiety disorders don’t see their anxiety go away. Without treatment, an anxiety disorder can progress to the point that the individual feels anxious all the time. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health illness in the United States, impacting an estimated 18.1% of the adult population.
Dementia: is not a specific disease but is rather a general term for the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities. A lot of people have this I had this issue while growing up where I tend to quickly forget and that affected my academics I wasn’t dumb but because I had the issues I was made to believe in school that I was dumb not until when I started growing up I had to create a coping mechanism to help me remember I remember going to get a little note to jot down stuffs to help me remember and believe me it has really been helping me.
ADHD ( Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood. It is usually first diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviours (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active. This is another issue I had as a child learning to focus and boy… it was tough believe me. I had difficulty to focus. People with ADHD have these symptoms: daydream a lot, forget or lose things a lot, squirm or fidget, talk too much, make careless mistakes or take unnecessary risks, have a hard time resisting temptation, have trouble taking turns, have difficulty getting along with others.
Obsessive compulsive disorder: Now these are for those people you see that have some obsessive behaviour of doing things like the fear of stuffs, or the urge to clean and arrange stuffs.
PTSD Post traumatic stress disorder: A lot of people have heard of this word and even use it on a daily basis but don’t really know what it means. So, here is what PTSD really means. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition triggered by a terrifying event, causing flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety.
Know all these now we should stop thinking that when someone says they have mental disorder or mental breakdown, you start thinking they’re mad not every disorder is madness you’re not just functioning normally. when you’re not functioning well emotionally and physically you’re having a mental disorder that needs to be taking care of immediately so you won’t lose it and act negative either by hurting yourself or someone else so anytime you get the opportunity to take a break and focus your mental health take it and go away from everything and everyone be in peace before you come back.
If you notice or figure out any situation that triggers you mentally or emotionally either worry, fear, anxiety, depression just take time off that situation
If it’s a relationship breakup and take space and heal and come back
If it’s your job quiet and take a break
Anything that makes you overthink, fear or worry makes you depressed or anxious let it go and take a break and focus on your peace of mind and live in the moment
