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Mental Health Matters
Mental HealthMatters!by Dawn Anderson
Mental health is a linchpin to many of the top social issues of our time, including the COVID-19 pandemic, racial trauma, addiction, homelessness, and gun violence. A scientifi c brief released by the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by 25% in the fi rst year of the pandemic. But mental health should also be a daily concern for each of us as individuals and in our family structures. 37% of US high school students report regular mental health challenges in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey. For this our annual Health & Beauty issue, we hope to provide awareness, information, and coping strategies to work toward healing and overcoming the stigma of mental illness. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, “Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.” Mental health problems can affect your thinking, mood, and behavior. Contributing factors include genetics, brain chemistry, trauma, abuse, and family history of mental health problems. Additional causes of mental health problems are stressors such as social isolation, experiencing discrimination/stigma/racism, fi nancial diffi culties, unemployment, homelessness or poor housing, grief, head injuries, neurological conditions, other long-term physical health conditions, and longterm caregiving. Even the most positive life events - getting married, moving, having/adopting a baby - can cause stress.
Early warning signs of mental health problems are: • Eating too much or too little • Excessive sleeping or insomnia • Lack of energy, changes in libido • Apathy or numbness • Unexplained aches and pains • Feelings of helplessness or hopelessness • Substance abuse • Inordinate confusion, forgetfulness, nervousness, anger, • worry, and fear • Severe mood swings • Persistent thoughts and memories • Delusion, paranoia, hallucinations • Thoughts of self-harm or violence toward others • Executive dysfunction: diffi culty with planning, organization, concentration, mental focus, information analysis/processing, emotional and behavioral management, memory, time management, multitasking, problem-solving, etc.
These early warning signs can potentially develop into mental health disorders if left untreated. Some common mental health diagnoses are: • Anxiety Disorders: Panic Disorder, Phobias, ObsessiveCompulsive Disorder (OCD) • Behavioral Disorders: Attention Defi cit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Conduct Disorder, OppositionalDefi ant Disorder (ODD) • Body-Image & Eating Disorders: Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia, Binge Eating • Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders • Mood Disorders: Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Self-Harm • Personality Disorders: Antisocial Personality Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Histrionic Personality Disorder, etc. • Psychotic Disorders: Schizophrenia • Suicidal Behavior • Trauma and Stress-Related Disorders: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) So what are some ways to help prevent mental health problems or improve our mental health? • Reach out to others and get professional help if you need it. Keep up with routine medical care. • Practice positive thinking. Recognize negative thoughts and replace them with helpful self-talk. • Exercise and immerse yourself in nature. • Help others. • Get proper sleep with comfortable bedding, climate control, white noise, no electronic devices, etc. • Develop coping skills. On behalf of the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), mental health advocate Emmie Pombo suggests some self-help techniques for coping with mental illness:
• Radical Acceptance: According to Marsha Linehan, the creator of dialectical behavior therapy, radical acceptance is “completely and totally accepting something from the depths of your soul, with your heart and your mind.” Accept what is happening and how you feel to “act, prepare, and keep yourself safe.” • Deep Breathing: 5-3-7 breathing, for example. Inhale for 5 seconds, hold for 3 seconds, and exhale for 7 seconds. Deep breathing exercises send positive signals to the brain, slowing the heart rate and relaxing the body. • Opposite-To-Emotion Thinking: Act in opposition to your emotions. For example, if you are upset and feel an urge to isolate yourself, force yourself to get out and be around others instead.
• 5 Senses/Grounding: The 5-4-3-2-1 coping technique for anxiety relief engages the fi ve senses to calm and help focus when you feel panicky or out of control. Acknowledge 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. • Mental Reframing: Take an emotion or stressor and think of it differently. “This traffi c is bad, but I’ll still get to where I’m going. There’s nothing I can do about it, so I’ll just listen to music or an audiobook to pass the time.” • Emotion Awareness: Accept how you feel, feel the feeling, and take healthy action. •
RESOURCES:
Online mental health counseling, apps, and telehealth prevalence have increased dramatically in recent years. With so many options and the reality of decision fatigue or indecision due to mental health struggles, choosing the best fi t can be diffi cult. Just last month, Forbes Health published a ranking of online therapy providers developed from an analysis of therapist credentials, price per session, insurance options, free consultation availability, therapist selection options, and therapist availability. • Forbes Health Best Online Therapy of 2022: LiveHealth® Online livehealthonline.com Talkspace talkspace.com Cerebral® cerebral.com Amwell amwell.com MDLive® mdlive.com BetterHelp betterhelp.com Doctor on Demand doctorondemand.com Teledoc® Health teladoc.com Open Path Psychotherapy Collective openpathcollective.org
Louisville Metro Government’s Offi ce for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods (“Helping create a city of safe neighborhoods, where everyone is secure, supported, free of violence, and prepared for lifelong success.”) has published A Brief Mental Health Catalogue of resources, services, and Crisis Support hotlines: louisvilleky.gov/offi ce-safe-healthy-neighborhoods/document
