Mental Health Awareness

If you experience mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behavior could be affected. Factors contributing to mental health include biological factors like genetics or brain chemistry, life experiences such as trauma or abuse, and family history of mental health problems. 

Signs that will help you know that you might or are already experiencing mental health problems:

- Eating or sleeping too much or too little.

- Pulling away from people and usual activities.

- Feeling numb and having low or no energy.

- Getting unexplained aches and pains.

- Feeling hopeless or helpless.

- Feeling unusually confused forgetful, on edge, upset, worried, or scared.

- Yelling or fighting with family or friends.

- Smoking, drinking, or using drugs more than usual.

- Severe mood swings that cause relationship problems.

- Having persistent thoughts or memories you can’t get out of your head.

- Hearing voices or believing things that are not true.

- Thinking of harming yourself or others.

- Inability to perform daily tasks.

- Mental health and wellness.

However Positive mental health allows people to:

- Realize and exploit their full potential.

- Cope and deal with the stress of life.

-Work productively and efficiently.

- Make meaningful contributions to society.

Here is how we can maintain positive mental health by:

- Getting professional help.

- Connecting with others.

- Staying positive.

- Getting physically active.

- Getting enough sleep and food and developing coping skills.

Advantages of mental health wellness:

- Decreased risk of disease.

- Better immune functioning.

- Increased life longevity.

- More productivity at work.

Mental health problems are common but help is available. People with mental health problems can get better and recover completely. 

Talking to people, sharing your challenges, and investing time in things that bring you happiness are some of the ways you can look after your mental fitness- JOHN LONGMIRE