Mental Health: The Importance of Awareness
We often question ‘what is a mental illness?’.
A mental illness is a physical illness of the brain that causes disturbances in thinking, behavior, energy, or emotion, making it difficult to cope with everyday demands.
A mental illness is a physical illness of the brain that causes disturbances in thinking, behavior, energy, or emotion that make it difficult to cope with the ordinary demands of life. Well-known mental health author with 25 years’ experience of therapy, Jean Holthaus, mentioned that mental illness has affected 19% of the adult population, 46% of teenagers and 13% of children in every year. Moreover, Jean said that anxiety disorders and Mood Disorders are the two most common mental conditions.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Panic Attacks, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder are examples of anxiety disorders. Bipolar illness and depression are among the mood disorders in the meantime.
Although living with a mental disorder is challenging to one’s life, the stigma and society’s perception against mental illness can be the most difficult part. Not only do negative stigmas affect the number seeking treatment, but it also affects numbers of resources available for treatment.
Social support and a positive environment are necessary to help mental health patients, showing respect and acceptance to those with a mental health problem can help them cope with their illness. Advocating within our circles can help ensure these individuals will still have the same opportunities as other who does not suffer with a mental illness. We can also help by being open to learning about mental health, this will allow us to provide support for those affected.
An important note on this matter, is that we must understand a mental illness is not caused by personal weakness or personal failure instead it is caused by genetic factors, environmental stress, biochemical imbalances and many more.
Emotional support is essential to patients who suffers with mental conditions, if you know a friend or family member who struggles with any mental condition, simply show your support and care as it is very much needed.