Seeking help for mental health can seem like a daunting task. Especially when the roller coaster of mental illness has you trapped on the ride. Making recovery impossible and shameful. There is no shame in seeking help. You are not alone on your battle or roller coaster of mental illness. There are other people in the world going through the same thing.
Seeking help starts with yourself. Self-help is vital to the journey to recovery. Self-help begins with self-awareness and self-discipline. Self-awareness helps identify certain triggers of your mental illness. While also being aware of what helps relieve them. These triggers can range from high levels of stress, family, friends, relationships or even world events.
Whereas, self-discipline is the cornerstone of recovery. Once you’ve identified your triggers, self-discipline improves your ability to manage them. The lack of self-awareness and self-discipline can lead you down a destructive path of self-medication. I’ve been down that path, it’s a lonely one.
Give yourself permission to seek help by taking care of yourself. Exercise more often and go on that walk after work. Start watching what you eat, get extra sleep, but most importantly find out what works best for you. The most important self-care tip of all is to value your time and energy. Start small, take your time, and be patient with yourself.
A disorder associated with episodes of mood swings ranging from depressive lows to manic highs. In the manic phase of bipolar disorder, it's common to experience feelings of heightened energy, creativity, and euphoria. If you're experiencing a manic episode, you may talk a mile a minute, sleep very little, and be hyperactive. You may also feel like you're all-powerful, invincible, or destined for greatness.
Manic episodes may include symptoms such as high energy, reduced need for sleep and loss of touch with reality. Depressive episodes may include symptoms such as low energy, low motivation and loss of interest in daily activities. Mood episodes last days to months at a time and may also be associated with suicidal thoughts. Treatment is usually lifelong and often involves a combination of medications and psychotherapy.
A mental health disorder characterised by feelings of worry, anxiety or fear that are strong enough to interfere with one's daily activities.
Examples of anxiety disorders include panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Symptoms include stress that's out of proportion to the impact of the event, inability to set aside a worry and restlessness. Treatment includes counselling or medication, including antidepressants.
A mental health disorder characterised by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life.
Possible causes include a combination of biological, psychological and social sources of distress. Increasingly, research suggests that these factors may cause changes in brain function, including altered activity of certain neural circuits in the brain.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder in which time people have recurring, unwanted thoughts, ideas or sensations (obsessions) that make them feel driven to do something repetitively(compulsions).
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterised by unreasonable thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead to compulsive behaviours. OCD often centres on themes such as a fear of germs or the need to arrange objects in a specific manner. Symptoms usually begin gradually and vary throughout life.
A disorder characterised by failure to recover after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. The condition may last months or years, with triggers that can bring back memories of the trauma accompanied by intense emotional and physical reactions.
Symptoms may include nightmares or flashbacks, avoidance of situations that bring back the trauma, heightened reactivity to stimuli, anxiety or depressed mood. Treatment includes different types of psychotherapy as well as medications to manage symptoms.
Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may result in some combination of hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior that impairs daily functioning, and can be disabling.
Schizophrenia is characterised by thoughts or experiences that seem out of touch with reality, disorganised speech or behaviour and decreased participation in daily activities. Difficulty with concentration and memory may also be present.