What is Mental Health?

Before I branch into anything, I want to raise the question of what is mental health? When we think of mental health, it's far too easy to think of certain disorders or having a nervous breakdown. Or we can think of people who are mentally ill.

However, mental health is simply our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing. It's how we think/feel. It's how we handle stress. It's how we make choices. We all have mental health, some of us healthy, some of us unhealthy and some of us in between. If a person has good mental health, they may have good social skills, or be able to handle stress well. If a person has ill mental health, they make struggle to cope with things such as stress or their thoughts.

But where does ill mental health come from?

This question is more complicated to answer. There is no exact known cause of mental illness, but research suggests that many of the conditions are caused by a combination of genetic, biological, psychological, and environmental factors.

There are various reasons why a person might have ill mental health. These may include (but are not limited to):

- a chemical imbalance in the brain, such as overproducing Dopamine (which can cause psychotic symptoms) or not enough Serotonin (which can cause depression).

- Trauma. This can refer to a particularly highly stressful event in someone's life. This can include (but not limited to) childhood neglect or abuse, sexual abuse or harassment, a traumatic accident or severe bullying.

- Bereavement.

- Drug and alcohol misuse.

- Homelessness.

What can be done for ill mental health?

There are various treatments for ill mental health. The most common is usually a mix of medication and talking therapy.

Talking therapies can provide patients with a safe space with a professional to talk about thoughts and experiences. Talking therapies include:
- Counselling.
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
- Dialectal Behavioural Therapy (DBT).
- Cognitive Analytical Therapy (CAT).
- Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR).
- There are also art therapies, music therapies and mindfulness therapies.

These therapies can help someone to:
- Learn to deal and question irrational thoughts.
- Deal with specific problems.
- Cope with upsetting memories.
- Develop coping skills.

Medication can help ease core symptoms of ill mental health and help a patient to cope with day to day living. Such medication can include:
- Antidepressants.
- Antipsychotics.
- Mood stablisers.
- Anti-anxiety medication.
- Sleeping tablets.

What should I look out for/what should I do if I'm becoming mentally ill?

If you or someone you know is becoming unwell, there are some signs and symptoms to look out for:
- Becoming socially withdrawn or isolated.
- Changes in appetite and/or weight.
- Panic attacks and anxiety.
- Mood swings.
- Unusual thinking or beliefs.
- Crying for no known reason.
- Sleeping too little or too much.
- Low energy levels.
- Intrusive thoughts (thoughts that pop into the head without permission).
- Obsessive thoughts or rituals.
- Feelings of emptiness.
- Poor hygiene.
- Poor communication skills.
- Physical symptoms such as headaches and aches/pains.
- Flashbacks of a traumatic event.
- Urges to self harm or attempt suicide*

If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these symptoms, it may be time to visit your GP/doctor for help in coping with these stressful experiences.

*If you are having urges to attempt suicide, please speak to someone. This can be a friend, a family member or you can anonymously call:
- The Samaritans (UK & ROI) on 116 123
- Suicide Prevention Lifeline (USA & Canada) on 1-800-273-8255
- Suicide Ecoute (France) on 01 45 39 40 00
- Telefonseelsorge (Germany) on 0800 111 0 111

I will be making a separate post on Suicide Prevention and Coping With Self Harm urges next.

Stay strong,

Leigh x