Mental Health Awareness Month

Discussing depression, anxiety or other mental health problems is not always easy. Learning how to regularly check-in with yourself, discuss and understand emotional problems are first steps in learning how to cope. Your mental wellbeing is based on how you manage issues of stress, negative mood, loneliness or substance use. Because of the mind-body connection, taking care of your emotional state positively impacts your physical health.

Common signs of mental health problems are eating or sleeping too much or not enough, losing interest in people and activities, feeling hopeless or having aches and pains without a source. Other signs are using alcohol or drugs as way of coping, irritability and anger, feeling depressed and thoughts of harming oneself or others.

How you know you have an issue that is serious enough to require professional health is when it disrupts your daily functioning. For example, when anxious thoughts become intrusive or there is excessive ‘what-if’ worried thinking about relationships, health, work, finances, unexpected changes or in anticipation of big-life events. What causes anxiety may be genetic factors, negative events or stressful life experiences. Signs and symptoms of anxiety include:

·       Trouble  focusing or concentrating

·       Intrusive thoughts that will not go way

·        Avoiding certain situations out of worry

·        Using substances (alcohol, drugs, tobacco) to cope

·        Eating more or less than usual

·        Experiencing a sense of perceived danger or doom

·        Feeling nervous, on edge or excessively fatigued  

As for depression, we all feel down at times as a normal part of being human.
But here are the signs and symptoms of true clinical depression:

·        Loss of interest in your favorite activities

·        Feeling sad, anxious or ‘empty’

·        Overeating or not wanting to eat at all

·        Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much

·        Feeling extremely tired

·        Pains, headaches or digestive problems that are
not improved with treatment

·        Thoughts of death or suicide

Clinical depression may create a sense of wanting to hide the feeling from family or friends so as not to worry them. You may try to hide your really sad feelings even from yourself, as there is still the stigma of negative judgement attached to depression. This is what keeps people from getting the help they need. Being honest with yourself and seeking assistance is a better way to learn how to deal with this mood. There are various kinds of depression that depend on the length of time one has experienced it that disrupts sleep, appetite, work and renders a global sense of just not enjoying life. The sources of depression are many; for instance, after having a baby (perinatal depression ) or being effected by seasons (seasonal affective disorder). Some depression is genetically inherited running in ancestoral lineage.

If you are struggling with anxiety, depression, stress, burnout, social isolation or loneliness, know that there is therapeutic support for you. If you are experiencing an immediate need for help, mental health resources are available to you online or by phone. Visit the WHO (World Health Organization) for mental well-being public resources. You can also contact NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) by calling 1-888-950-6264 or emailing  info@nami.org. Or visit NAMI Louisville https://namilouisville.org/. NAMI can answer questions, offer support and provide practical next steps for those seeking help.