Expert Reviewed
SHARE
Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, mental health is a part of each of our lives. The state of our mental health is comprised of emotional, psychological, and social aspects, and evolves throughout our lifetime.
As life happens, assessing mental health for most doesn’t typically occur until issues arise. By this time, we’re affected by triggers and working to reverse or cope with the tensions on our mental state. Even with support from friends, or a killer self-care routine, mental illness is not something that can be dealt with alone.
Mental Health is Everyone’s Concern
A staggering 450 million people worldwide are affected by mental and neurological disorders. Mental illness does not discriminate, it can strike at work, during certain seasons, in the lives of celebrities, and more. Its effects can run rampant on social media, sneakily affecting unsuspecting victims who are seeking to feel connected, perhaps as a means to cope.
With so much evidence on its devastating effects on the nervous system, as well as how it affects those who do not seek help, we must speak about mental health with everyone we know.
Transference to the Body
Though mental health regards the activity of the brain and consciousness, it can very much become a psychical issue. As untreated mental health worsens, its effects on the nervous system begin to show up in physical symptoms.
Ever wonder why it’s referred to as a “nervous breakdown?” This is because your nervous system responds by igniting issues with breathing, blood flow, movement of limbs, digestion, and enables feelings of panic, dizziness, nausea, and more.
Trouble in Relationships
When we’re struggling with mental health, our relationships tend to suffer without proper isolation of the issues at hand. Without open dialogue and addressing the problem, issues may take on the logic that is unrelated to the bottom of the struggle, therefore causing additional tension and eventually putting the relationship at risk.
As dynamics shift, the person struggling with their mental health may begin to act in unusual ways and alienate themselves to avoid confrontation.
Employment Struggles
Struggling with untreated mental health concerns can lead to feelings of hopelessness and exhaustion, which greatly affect the ability to perform in the workplace. Many people struggle to share their mental strains with their workplace, making it a place that feeds the cycles of pushing it to the side. Job burnout is common among these types of cases.
This, in turn, can affect standing at work, which makes things even worse until overall employment becomes an issue.
Prompts Substance Abuse
The abuse of substance can co-occur with mental health problems, as well as arise as a product of them. Approximately 50 percent of those with severe mental disorders also experience substance abuse, and more than half of drug abusers have at least one mental illness.
A Step Closer to Suicide
Ignoring the symptoms of declining mental health, unfortunately, enables the worsening of symptoms. It can result in the need for more serious treatment down the line, along with a higher risk of severe, life-threatening symptoms.
More than 90 percent of suicides are due to untreated mental illness.
Early Detection Matters
Close to 3.5 million adults who are suffering from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in the U.S are going untreated every single day. These numbers account for approximately half of individuals with severe psychiatric disorders that are not receiving treatment and are the most likely to engage in suicidal acts.
Addressing mental health early on can prevent the worsening of symptoms and the tragic effects of full-blown mental health decline.
A Note from GR8NESS
If you or anyone you know is experiencing difficulty with their mental health, know that it is never too late or too early to seek help. Speak with a mental healthcare provider and know that there are options and that you are not alone.
Treatment can vary from individual to individual, but counseling, medication, Neurotherapy, and other holistic methods are available to help transition you back to optimal health. Know that mental illness does not define you.
The URL has been copied
