Everything's in the Mind

Most of us will admit to have taken days off to recover from winter coughs and colds, but how many of us will admit to have taken days off to recover from an emotional breakdown? 1 in 4 people are estimated to suffer from a mental disorder.

Courtesy:

How To Improve Mental Health & Prevent Cognitive Decline, By Dhruv Wahal, Mar 4, 2019

How many times have we heard someone say, "I had a mental breakdown." Or, "I had an anxiety attack." Almost never, because people think it's abnormal to have a mental disorder or mental illness. That's not true. Around 5 years ago, the singer- songwriter Zayn Malik, former member of One Direction, opened about his constant battle against anxiety. He also mentioned that it was tough on him since he loved performing and it is a conatant battle within yourself because you want to do something you love, but anxiety gives you a different story.

Hiding a mental illness becomes pretty easy in most cases. Just putting on a smile, joking, laughing makes people think that you are okay. What people miss, is what's going on behind that laughing happy face. Where you are actually crumbling, but nobody except for you knows about it.

For most people, waking is up, getting ready, cleaning, getting around your day, is like climbing one step at a time. And the day progresively gets better as you keep accomplishing your tasks for the day, and by the end of the day you're satisfied. For people with anxiety, depression, stress the day keeps getting more tiring, frustrating and the day progressively worsens.

People who are suffering from some sort of mental illness or disorder often feel that "other people have it worse than them" and that's why they hide it, or simply because of the fear as coming out weak or being embarassed.

This leads to a lot of further drama and trauma for the person who is going through it.

Just because a person didnt answer your call, or respond to your text doesn't mean that they dislike you, it could be because they are feeling low. Or if they don't hang out with you so much, or they are drawing themselves away from you, doesn't mean they want to end your friendship. Somtimes people think that the other person is lazy or not dedicated because they are not meeting deadlilnes, or they cant see the person put in enough hardwork and they go up to the person and yell at them or preassurise them. That can affect the person in a negative way. It can bring down the person's self-respect and they start feeling that they are letting people down. Which in turn worsens their mental illness.

Mental Illnesses have an adverse affect on the body. It can impact the diet, sleep patterns and even their cognitive ability.

1 in 5 people attempt suicide due to a mental illness. That's why it is importannt that mental health is taken more seriously and not just shaken off saying it will get better with time.

There are multpile ways to improve your condition, some are easy, some are not so easy.

One most important thing is, changing your view on your mental status.

Instead of constantly telling yourself that you're lazy, you can accept the fact that you're going through a rough patch and that is draining your energy.

Some ways to improve mental health can be-

1) Talk About it: Accept the fact that you're not Okay and talk to sommeone you trust

2) Get Some sleep: Keep a fixed sleeping and wake up time.

3) Excecise: Try to remain physically active, physical activity is known to invigorate the mind

4) Pen your thoughts: Write down what happened during your day and try to figure out what triggered your sudden anxiety or depression. It will help managing it the next time.

5) Self Respect and Self esteem: Do something that you're good at because it will help you feel proud of yourself.

6) Stay Positive: Think of something postive or relaxing.

7) Music: Listen to some uplifting music. Music touches souls.

8) Step Back: Distance yourself from things that dont feel good.

Easier said than done, but it has to start someday, and why not here and now ! With the support from people around us, we can do this! I truly think that the world can become a better place, if we look out for each other, listen to each other and stand up for each other. I am all ears to my friends, when they want to talk about things.

I really hope that this blog helps the readers! Let me know in the comments if these work out for, and fell free to share some more tips to improve mental health:)