A Complete Guide to Mental Health

A Complete Guide to Mental Health 

A Complete Guide to Mental Health - Mental health plays an integral role in determining your overall health and well-being. It determines your emotional, psychological, and social well-being to enhance your growth or development. Nonetheless, exposure to different physical, biological, and environmental factors has led to various illnesses that significantly affect our mental health. The National Institute of Mental Health reveals that more than 52.9 million in the United States suffer from different mental illnesses. This article outlines everything you need to understand about mental health and mental illnesses.

What is Mental Health?

It’s a broad health topic that includes psychological, emotional, and social aspects of an individual’s life. Mental health generally affects how a person acts, feels, thinks, or reacts to a particular condition. In addition, it’s an essential mental aspect that may enhance your social life. It determines how you can handle stress, make healthy & appropriate choices, and relate with others in the community.

Health experts reveal that mental health is vital at every developmental or growth stage from childhood, adolescence, and while transitioning to adulthood. Mental illness and poor mental health are common terms when discussing or evaluating your mental health. Despite most individuals using them interchangeably, these terms have some significant differences.

You can have poor mental health, but the medical experts may not diagnose you with a mental illness. Alternatively, medical experts can diagnose you with a mental illness while you experience periods of mental, physical, and social well-being. Therefore, it’s vital to understand that these terms slightly differ; you can’t use them interchangeably when discussing your mental health.

Why Is Mental Health Vital for Your Overall Health

Your overall health is essential to enhance the proper functioning of your body systems and growth. Physical and mental health are fundamental features to keep your body healthy and enhance proper growth when enhancing your overall health. These aspects play a crucial role in various body systems or processes.

Poor mental health may have negative impacts on your different body systems. For instance, depression resulting from poor mental health increases the risk of various physical and psychological health issues. The condition may result in different long-lasting or chronic health conditions, such as heart diseases, diabetes, and even stroke. Similarly, these chronic diseases or conditions may increase the risk of contracting severe mental illnesses.

Can You Change Your Mental Health Over Time?

Mental health isn’t a static condition; thus, it may change over time. Your mental health can easily change from time to time due to various environmental or physiological factors. In addition, the change usually differs among different individuals due to the varying environments individuals stay in or working conditions and how they respond to different situations.

You can easily impact your mental health due to the demands or expectations. These demands may exceed your coping abilities or resources to deal with them. For instance, you may impact your mental health if you work for long hours without rest or experience different economic hardships. In addition, caring for a sick relative or friend may lead to poor mental health or issues.

How common are the Different Mental Illnesses?

Mental illnesses affect almost all individuals regardless of their race, gender, age, or ethnic group. Reports reveal that mental illnesses are common health issues among citizens from different states. Below is how common these illnesses are:

● In the United States, statistics reveal that medical experts will diagnose at least 50% of individuals with different mental disorders or illnesses. These illnesses occur at different points during the growing stage.

● Statistics reveal that 1 in every 5 Americans will have a certain mental illness in a particular year. These individuals may contract the condition at the different stages of life regardless of sex or ethnic group.

● Various studies show that 1 in every 5 children in the country may have suffered a severely debilitating mental illness. Additionally, these studies outline that the condition may occur currently or at a later stage or point in their lifetime.

● Reports show that 1 in 25 American citizens lives with at least one severe mental illness. These illnesses may range from major depression issues, bipolar disorders, to schizophrenia.

Major Causes for Mental Illness

We’ve various factors that may predispose you or cause mental illnesses. The factors that enhance the risk for mental illness may include biological, physical to environmental factors. Below are the leading causes for mental illnesses:

● Early Adverse Life Experiences

Various early adverse life experiences may affect your physiological well-being and lead to mental illnesses. For instance, experiences like a history of sexual or child abuse and trauma can lead to mental issues. In addition, witnessing violence or losing a parent at a younger age may cause mental illnesses.

● Experiences related to chronic medical conditions

Individuals may suffer mental illnesses following experiences with certain chronic diseases. Diseases like diabetes and cancer may have a huge toll on your mental help causing different mental illnesses.

● Chemical imbalances in your brains or biological factors

Different biological factors, including chemical imbalances in the brain, may lead to mental illnesses. Imbalances in the brain neurotransmitters that carry brain chemicals to different body parts and the brain may lead to depression or other mental & emotional disorders.

● Alcohol and drug use

Many individuals use alcohol and drugs for various purposes like to relieve stress or recreational purposes. These illicit drugs increase behaviors, such as severe hallucination, depression, violence, compulsiveness, paranoia, and aggression. These behaviors are the leading causes of different mental conditions.

● Feeling isolated or lonely

Various factors such as losing a loved one or job may affect your social well-being, making you feel lonely and isolated. The feeling of being isolated and lonely drives most individuals to depression and other harmful behaviors that may affect their mental health.

Conclusion

Mental health is an essential aspect of your overall health, as it affects your psychological, physical, and social well-being. The condition is more prevalent in the United States as most individuals suffer from different mental illnesses. It'll be imperative to understand the major causes of mental illnesses and get proper solutions to prevent their manifestation.