Mental health disorders can be episodic or chronic. They can affect a person’s ability to get along with others and function in daily life. While there are steps to improve overall mental health, some disorders are more serious and may require professional intervention.
Now, more than ever, mental illness is at the forefront of public health discussions. Recent research suggests that mental illness is both more common and more serious than previously thought. People are no longer told to “toughen up” or “don’t think about it.” Instead, they receive the same level of emergency treatment and care as if they were physically injured.
Mental health disorders can affect people of any sex, age, gender, race, or socioeconomic group. Illnesses can range from mild to severe, and like any disease, many factors can trigger an illness. Those with mental disorders have difficulty coping with everyday life because of changes in thinking, mood, or behavior. More than 50 percent of people will be diagnosed with a mental illness in their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Another data collected by CouponBirds showed that nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population, almost 50 million people, were diagnosed with a mental illness. Actually, there are many mental health disorders around us, but some illnesses are more common than others.
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Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety, the most common mental health disorder, affects about 40 million American adults. Nearly 30 percent of adults experience this disorder. Anxiety disorders usually begin in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood.
Anxiety disorders cause people to experience painful and frequent fears and worries. We all have anxiety at some point in our lives. Many people may experience these feelings during a job interview or public speaking event (as it may be a normal response to stress), but people with anxiety disorders often experience these feelings during typically non-stressful events. Anxiety episodes can last six months or more at a time. “Anxiety” is actually a catch-all term that covers a specific set of disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, and other phobias based on anxiety.
Source: theblackberrycenter.com
Sources of anxiety include anxious thoughts or beliefs that are difficult to control, uneasiness, difficulty in concentration, trouble falling asleep, fatigue, irritability, or unexplained pain. Different people may have different symptoms of anxiety than others.
What natural remedies can be used to treat anxiety?
Lifestyle changes can be effective in alleviating the stress and anxiety you face every day. Most natural “cures” involve taking care of your body and engaging in healthy activities while eliminating unhealthy ones.
The natural remedies also include getting enough sleep, meditation, staying active and exercising, having a healthy diet, avoiding alcohol and caffeine, quitting smoking, etc.
If these lifestyle changes seem like a positive way to help you eliminate some of your anxiety, read up on how each one works and get more good ideas for treating anxiety.
Depression
Depression is one of the most misunderstood mental illnesses, affecting 18.5% of U.S. adults each year, according to estimates from trusted sources of data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the past, people with depression were sometimes dismissed simply as sad or “stuck in a rut”; However, scientists now understand that the effects of a depressive episode last much longer than just a bad day.
Depression is classified as a mood disorder. It can be described as feelings of sadness, loss, or anger that interfere with a person’s daily activities.
Depression is insidious. It affects not only your mood, but how you feel, think, and function. It diminishes feelings of happiness, cuts off connections, stifles creativity, and, worst of all, hope. It can cause deep emotional pain not only to the sufferer but also to close family and friends.
Depression has a range of different symptoms and affects everyone differently. These include feeling very cry-prone, feeling hopeless and sad, and losing interest in things you used to enjoy. It’s also common for people with depression to have anxiety symptoms.
Depression can also have physical symptoms – including feeling tired all the time, poor sleep quality, loss of libido, loss of appetite, and pain.
How to treat depression?
No matter how severe a person’s depression is, treatment should include learning new skills like problem-solving, making lifestyle changes like reducing stress, increasing exercise and physical fitness, and avoiding alcohol or other drugs. If it’s moderate to severe depression, then there are two main treatments to consider, antidepressants and psychotherapy.
PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health disorder that some people develop after experiencing or seeing a traumatic event. Traumatic events can be life-threatening, such as combat, natural disasters, car accidents, or sexual assaults. But sometimes events don’t have to be dangerous. For example, the sudden, unexpected death of a loved one can also lead to PTSD.
PTSD is thought to affect 7-8% of the credible population, and women are more likely to be affected than men.
Instead of feeling better, patients become more anxious and fearful over time. PTSD can disrupt a person’s life for years, but therapy can help them recover.
These are some common symptoms that you might recognize. Everyone’s experience is different, so you may experience some, none, or all of these things. The common symptoms include reliving aspects of what happened, alertness or feeling on edge, avoiding feelings or memories, difficult beliefs or feelings, etc.
How to treat PTSD?
Treatment usually involvesTrusted Source psychotherapy and counseling, medication, or a combination.
Positive coping is the key to recovery. It enables a person to accept the impact of the events they have experienced and to take action to improve their situation. Here are some ways to help people achieve this goal: understand post-traumatic stress disorder and persistent reactions are normal and that recovery takes time, being cured doesn’t necessarily mean forgetting, gradually becoming less troubled by symptoms, and having confidence in your ability to deal with bad memories are the goals of healing.
In addition to these three common mental illnesses, many people suffer from other mental illnesses such as phobias, eating disorders, paranoia, schizophrenia, etc. If you have such a disease in your life, don’t stress yourself too much. First of all, you should be familiar with the symptoms of mental illness, understand the relevant knowledge, and actively seek the help of doctors for corresponding treatment. In addition, proper self-help tips are also very helpful in recovering from illness.
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