How is My Mental Health?
Through research, it is clear that mental health can be affected by many reasons and there is no limit to these causes or factors. Mental health illnesses can be caused by a combination of multiple factors like biological, psychological, environmental, or societal.
Whether you are a teen, adults, veteran, medical doctors, student, family member or a child. Anyone can suffer from mental health challenges. We live in a busy world where a lot happens and a lot to take in every moment. We deal with an insane amount of information, thoughts, feelings, and emotions every day. So it is difficult to identify exactly what stressors or triggers affecting your mental health the most and how bad is it? This is where you may seek help from a therapist or counselor who is trained professionals and help you identify your challenges and struggles related to mental health and what can be done in order to take care of it.
Other than that, online screening is one of the common quickest, and easiest ways to determine your mental health state if you are experiencing any symptoms of mental illnesses or not. You can take the 7 Cups Wellness Test here for the same.
Common Mental Illnesses
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) lists all the symptoms and mental illnesses. The mental health professionals follow this manual to diagnose any mental illness one may be experiencing. There are about 300 mental health disorders listed in DSM-5. However, the most common mental illnesses are
Anxiety
Anxiety is further categorized in various anxiety conditions like Generalized anxiety disorder, Social Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Health Anxiety, Test Anxiety, different phobias, etc. These anxiety types go beyond everyday regular stress or nervousness. In this condition, one becomes extremely anxious and worried about many things.
Depression
When extreme sadness and hopelessness hit someone, then they probably are experiencing major depressive disorder or clinical depression. In this mental health state, they become so upset and hopeless about their lives that even start thinking suicidal.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
It is a mental illness triggered by witnessing some traumatic events in life. Experiences that can cause PTSD can range from war, disasters, or any form of abuse.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Under this mental health illness, one experiences constant and repetitive thoughts that might develop into obsessions. These obsessions may develop due to unreasonable wants, thoughts, and desires which even the sufferers admit are unreasonable but they are unable to cope up with them.
Schizophrenia
Under this, it affects one’s ability to differentiate between the perception of reality and the world around them. The common symptoms of it are hearing voices, hallucinations, being delusional, and putting the sufferer in a dangerous mental health state if left untreated.
Bipolar Disorder
It is a mental disorder characterized by episodes of mania (high and extreme energy), sometimes even lows. It affects one’s ability to think and act reasonably and rationally. The common symptoms of it are mood swings but they are more severe than the regular ones that people mostly experience on a daily basis.
Other than that there are other mental health illnesses like addiction, self-harm, substance abuse, eating disorders, etc. The symptoms of many mental illnesses can get worse if they are left untreated. And this is where it is important to seek and get all the help one can get in order to get the right support, treatment plan, and guidance to cope up with the mental health challenges one may be experiencing.
Treatment: What Is Right For You?
There are several options of mental health services and treatment for mental health problems that include:
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Psychotherapy
It is one of the common treatments for mental health problems. It involves talking about your problems, experiences, and challenges with trained mental health professionals like therapists or counselors. The different types of psychotherapy include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Also known as talk therapy.
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Medications
Medication is another form of treatment where therapists diagnose your mental health condition and prescribe you certain medicines that may help you balance your body and brain chemicals and help other forms of treatments to be helpful in treating the condition like psychotherapy. But, it needs to be prescribed by your doctor as they would be able to share more information on it and guide you on what dose would be beneficial for you and what could make it worse too.
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Support Groups
There are various support groups available to support people struggling with mental health conditions. These groups are available in both [online communities] (https://www.7cups.com/connect/groupChatrooms.php ) and offline centers. These support groups help you practice self-reflection and improve your self-awareness through a wide range of questions. These groups provide you connections, validation, and make you feel less alone and encouraged to cope up with your mental health condition.
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Other Therapies
And, there are other therapy types that are recommended and used to treat a mental health condition as per its symptoms. Some of these therapies include brain stimulation therapy, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), and hospital or other treatment programs and online resources.
Not every treatment is the best fit or required for everyone. Some people get help through individual treatment types or some from a combination of treatments. But, to know what would be the right fit for you, your doctor would be able to help with that.
Fostering Positive Emotional Growth
To foster feelings of positivity and balanced emotions, start with some simple and easy daily habits you can practice.
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Practice Gratitude
Starting your day or practicing gratitude in any part of the day would help you feel better, joyful, and happy. It allows you to take a moment to realize and recognize what all you have and you may be appreciative of them. You can start simply by naming 1-3 things you are grateful for every day and experience the difference on your own.
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Practice Kindness and Compassion
Doing good things for others or oneself makes one feel happy and positive about themselves and others around them. It helps to boost the mood and encourages one to take small steps to do nice things.
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Practice Mindfulness
Ruminating on the past or worrying about the future will only drain your energy and keep you distracted from the present. But when you practice mindfulness, you start focusing on the present and live in the moment. It allows you to recognize and observe your current thoughts and feelings without any judgment and improves your emotions to turn them into positive ones.
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Practice Self- Care & Self- Love
Taking a moment to reflect and break helps you recharge your energy levels and feel better. It helps you restore your focus and enhances your cognitive and physical abilities. That is why practicing self-care and self-love help you foster positive thoughts and balanced growth.
Dealing with General Mental Health and Feelings of Fear Through Psychotherapy
If you’ve already tried some of the steps mentioned in this post and yet nothing you feel helpful or changed anything. Then, it may be helpful to [connect with a therapist] (https://www.7cups.com/online-therapy/?_cta[type]=therapy&_cta[location]=expert+topic&_cta[subLocation]=general-mental-health ) to seek therapy. Working with a therapist will help you figure out what is impacting your general mental health and what could be done to tackle those challenges. It is okay to reach out and seek help.
Therapists plan the therapy sessions to work with their clients closely to guide, listen without any judgment and support them through the process to heal. These therapy sessions can be either video chat, live chat or phone call, or through face-to-face appointments. Mental health struggles are as similar as physical health challenges. Like for physical health challenges and concerns, you reach out to a physician or doctor and take steps to stay healthy. Similarly, when struggling with mental health problems, it is okay to reach out to a psychiatrist, therapist, or professional counselor, social workers to get help with identifying your mental health issues, what symptoms or roots are causing it, and follow the improvement or recovery plan.
7 Cups offers you access to emotional support through its various programs. You can join us today by signing up easily and start exploring all the options it offers to provide mental health support. The various services you may access are connecting with listeners to seek support in 1-1 live chat, joining group live sessions in the user chat rooms, exploring various forums to post your questions, issues, or concerns. All the above services are available at zero cost to everyone regardless of the location they are in. You can also check out its online therapy services where you will be able to connect to experienced and compassionate mental health professionals like counselors, therapists, and psychologists.
You can access 7 Cups through its free mobile app at any location, anytime, and start sending messages to seek support in a safe space. The compassionate listeners and counselors will be glad to listen and support you with your general mental health, other mental health conditions, or other specific needs or struggles you may be going through.
Finally, please know that you are not alone. We are all here with you to listen and support. Mental health matters.