Everyone has mental health just like physical health. Good mental health is about having a basic sense of self-worth, and effective ways of coping with your life. All of us go through times when we feel stressed, anxious or down. Usually, we begin to feel better after a few days or a couple of weeks.
But what if those feelings won’t go away? If you have strong feelings of anxiety, sadness or distress that last for weeks, and get very intense, it can really affect your ability to get on with your life. That’s when you need to read this articles and get some help to find out what’s really going on.
Bipolar disorder is also sometimes known as’manic depression’. One of the main features of bipolar disorder is extreme changes in mood – much more than is usual. People go through periods of feeling incredibly “high”, happy (or manic), and very “low” or depressed. These periods can go on for weeks, or even months. Continue reading
Not many people are completely happy with their bodies or what they eat. But some people’s relationship with food is extremely intense. It can dominate their lives.
The most common eating disorders are anorexia (anorexia nervosa) and bulimia (bulimia nervosa). In both these conditions people control their food and eating as a way of try to cope with their feelings and anxieties. It’s important to remember that people with eating disorders sometimes have a normal bodyweight and the condition can go unnoticed for a long time. Continue reading
Everyone feels sad, fed up or miserable sometimes. But for some people, depression goes on for longer, and becomes so severe that they find it hard to carry on with their normal lives.
When depression gets serious, it’s called “clinical” depression. People experience symptoms like having no pleasure in life, withdrawing from other people, anxiety, problems concentrating, and deep feelings of being worthless or hopeless. There can also be physical symptoms like changes in sleeping patterns, and changes in eating patterns. People feel bleak and helpless and sometimes they want to harm themselves. Continue reading
First, it’s important to say what schizophrenia is NOT because there are a lot of myths and misunderstandings about it. Schizophrenia ISN’T about having a “split personality”. And it DOESN’T automatically mean someone will be violent, ill, or in hospital for life. In fact, people with schizophrenia are much more of a risk to themselves than anyone else. And about a quarter of people with schizophrenia will make a complete recovery. Continue reading
At times, we all feel anxious or stressed. For instance, most of us worry about what other people think of us, which can affect our confidence or make us feel self-conscious. But for some people anxiety becomes overwhelming and continues for a long time, and can seriously affect their quality of life.
Sometimes anxiety can take the form of panic attacks. During a panic attack, the heart starts pounding and the person can feel shaky, sick or unable to breathe properly. Serious panic attacks can make people avoid going out or going to school or work.
When people have a very strong fear of a situation or object, it’s called a phobia. People can be afraid of going outside, or of being in a crowded place, or of particular animals or insects. People can also get intensely afraid of social situations, and find it very painful to be around other people because they are worried of being embarrassed or judged. Another anxiety disorder is obsessive compulsive disorder. Continue reading
Self harm is the carrying out of intentional acts which harm your body. Self harm is usually a way of trying to deal with feelings of distress or pain which have built up and up and which the person doesn’t feel they can express in other ways. People can turn to self harm as a way of trying to get control over painful feelings, to punish themselves, or to try to “wake themselves up” because they feel numb or dead inside. Continue reading
People with obsessive compulsive disorder experience repeated, unwanted and unpleasant thoughts, or feel driven to carry out certain actions over and over again. Continue reading