mENTAL HEALTH and Well-Being

Mental Health

The dictionary describes mental health as a person’s condition of their psychological and emotional well-being. According to the World Health Organisation, suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15-29 year olds, and about 10% of pregnant women and 13% of women after giving birth experience a mental disorder- primarily depression. In addition to this, maternal suicide is the leading cause of direct deaths taking place within a year after the end of pregnancy. With these statistics, it is crucially important that women, and in particular- mothers- have a range of strategies that will help to have a balanced life that supports healthy emotional well-being.

Taking care of mental health is perhaps more heightened now than it has ever being. Since the beginning of 2020 we’ve moved from pandemic to protest, and we are unsure what will happen next.  The uncertainty is enough to cause concern and worry and impact people’s mental health.

Things that can impact a person’s psychological well-being

Several things can impact a person’s psychological well-being. Things such as;

• Genetics
• Family of origin issues
• Early childhood trauma
• Lifestyle choice
• The cumulative effect of life – this happens when someone delays dealing with issues leaving them to intensify—for example, experiencing bullying at university and or work, unemployment, housing issues, financial concerns, isolation. Etc. Someone might be able to cope with one or two without getting help; however, as the problems increased and are ignored the feelings and emotions around them builds. This cumulative effect could be as devastating to a person’s emotional well being as any traumatic incident.

Each point from the list of factors affecting mental health, needs to be dealt with in its own right, however, because of space and time I will talk about some of the lifestyle choices that can impact our mental health and some simple things that you can do to help yourself.

Lifestyle choices

Having a high-stress job or living in a high-stress environment can be damaging to our mental health. Because overexposure to a stressful environment can be detrimental to our physical and psychological health. Therefore it’s crucial to assess your situation and put plans in place early to create change. In stressful situations, the body will either mitigate or adapt. However, the price of adapting could compromise your ability to respond in a timely way to signals that would influence change. It is always better to act sooner rather than later because prolonged exposure to environmental factors could trigger the body’s natural way to adaptation system. When this happens, some of the natural things that could happen is anxiety and other stress responses. Some other mental health conditions could include panic attacks, depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.

Coping strategies 

Nedley depression recovery program uses lifestyle treatments for common mental health problems such as depression anxiety and stress.  I’ve also list below some other things that you could often do that could help you manage and maintain good mental health.

Diet– Proper healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables helps the immune system to function, produce good blood and a host of other benefits.

Rest-Regularity in sleep helps restore the body and helps manage stress. Apply consistency; having time to go to bed and a time to wake up.

Regular exercise- Exercising on your own or in groups will help to relax the body and release happy hormones.

Small groups can also be useful in limiting loneliness and helping with social interaction.

Contact your GP or mental health professional

It is also important to add that if you feel unwell or feel your mental health might be impacted it is crucial that you see your GP as quickly as possible.  They are able to assess you and make recommendations for treatment if necessary. It is important to note that there are a range of mental health disorder that are not listed here. See the following link to the WHO for factsheets on different mental health disorders.

Useful Resources

For more information about mental health

https://www.rethink.org/advice-and-information/about-mental-illness

Learn more about Nedley depression recovery program here:- http://nedleydepressionrecovery.com/

World health organization:

https://www.who.int/mental_health/maternal-child/maternal_mental_health/en/

NHS 5 steps to mental wellbeing

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/improve-mental-wellbeing/

Breathing Exercise for Stress

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/ways-relieve-stress/

How to help someone with depression

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/signs-someone-is-depressed/

Easy Time Management Tips

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/time-management-tips/

References

Mental health

https://www.who.int/health-topics/mental-health#tab=tab_1

Maternal suicide still a leading cause of death in first postnatal year

https://maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/news/maternal-suicide-still-the-leading-cause-of-death-in-first-postnatal-year/