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Each mental illness affects people differently. It alters their thoughts, behaviors, and feelings in negative ways. According to the book, Information about Mental Illness and the Brain , one in four people suffer with some type of mental illness. About five percent of adults are affected by mental health issues to the point where they lose their ability to function properly within their personal relationships. There are about eight million people every year who live with depression, and those are only the cases that have been reported. Unfortunately the rate of mental health problems in young people is on the rise by 50% since 2015. This is due to the stresses of school, family problems, pressure to be perfect, and many more. When people feel depressed they tend to close themselves off from their trusting friends who can help them, because they are afraid of the judgement they could receive or their friends not taking their problems seriously. I have seen this happen to the people around me multiple times. If I see my friend and they look sad, I always try my best to help by asking them if they are ok and want to talk. Sometimes they say "I'm fine" when they really aren't because they are afraid of the judgment that they think they will receive but its okay to not be okay.

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We don't really think about the affect mental illness has on us physically but can impact you severely. Lack of physical health can contribute to poor mental health issues the same way poor mental health contributes to physical health issues. According to the NHS (National Health Service) people with higher stress levels are 32% more likely to be diagnosed with some type of cancer. Depression has also been linked to the increased risk of coronary heart disease by 67%. Our physical health can also be affected by the ways we choose to cope and unfortunately some people indulge in unhealthy things thinking it will help them with their problems. These indulgences can be things like over eating, under eating, drinking, or smoking. They feel euphoric during the act but when its over they end up feeling the same so they keep doing those risky actions to get that short moment of happiness. These actions can lead to weight gain, weight loss, or addictions which can take a toll on your body. I have a friend who has been in and out of the hospital for mental health issues. Her form of coping was under eating which caused her to be severely underweight and weak causing her organs to fail. She was kept on bedrest until she built up the strength to start walking on her own again. She is currently out of the hospital and doing very well. There are also things we can do to lessen the effects of mental health such as working out. Working out has been proven to increase mood and lessen anxiety by about 25%. Sometimes exercise is used by therapists as a form of therapy for their patients.

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As mentioned earlier, people are more likely to isolate themselves when they are struggling with their mental state. At times our emotions can get the best of us and we end up releasing all our pent up emotions on someone who doesn’t deserve it. Some symptoms of depression and anxiety are irritability, agitation, and mood swings which connect directly to how we could act in social relationships. If the person feels irritable they will most likely explode their emotions causing an unnecessary argument. Talking to people about your issues is proven to help alleviate them much more than to just keep it to yourself. People who don’t have good relationships in their lives tend to become more depressed than the people who have good relationships with their parents, friends, siblings, etc. When my friends are mad it’s very obvious because they give the silent treatment and try to act like nothing is wrong just to avoid the situation. Similarly when I don’t feel amazing I isolate myself and push it as far down as I can, which is not the healthy way to cope. I tend to wait for people to ask me what’s wrong before I say anything.

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There are many ways to treat mental health. You can be prescribed with different types of medicine or go to therapy sessions with a therapist to talk about the problems in your life. With more severe cases people will be hospitalized or placed in an inpatient home for around the clock supervision. For some people home remedies like meditation, essential oils, or tea work really well with lessening the affects of anxiety and depression. The rate of people taking antidepressants has risen by 65% in the past 15 years, and about 16 million people in the US alone take antidepressants as treatment. Out of all the kids hospitalized, 1 out of 10 is due to a mental health problem. About 4.4 million kid from ages 3 to 17 have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and 20% of doctors appointments are related to anxiety disorders. Last summer I scheduled an appointment with my doctor to talk about how I felt. She told me that I have mild ocd, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) with associated panic, meaning I get typical symptoms of anxiety and sometimes panic attacks. My parents and I decided to not get me medication because I didn’t want to have to rely on that to make me feel better. To lessen the affects anxiety, I do stuff to distract myself. I like to watch Netflix, play with makeup, or take my dog for a walk. I also sometimes drink this tea that helps calm you down and help you fall asleep. It makes me sad to see how common anxiety and depression are lately but I just want people to know that they aren’t alone and it’s ok to ask for help.

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(US), National Institutes of Health. “Information about Mental Illness and the Brain.” Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 1970, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20369/.

“Exercise for Stress and Anxiety.” Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA, adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/managing-anxiety/exercise-stress-and-anxiety?scrlybrkr=04cc0ac0.

“Home.” Economic and Social Research Council, esrc.ukri.org/news-events-and-publications/evidence-briefings/mental-health-and-social-relationships/.

“How Mental Health Affects Physical Health.” In What Ways Can School Counselors Positively Influence the Lives of Students? | Bradley University Online, 19 Dec. 2018, onlinedegrees.bradley.edu/blog/how-mental-health-affects-physical-health/.

In-text Citation

“Physical Health and Mental Health.” Mental Health Foundation, 27 Aug. 2018, www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/p/physical-health-and-mental-health.

Sifferlin, Alexandra. “13% Of Americans Take Antidepressants.” Time, Time, 15 Aug. 2017, time.com/4900248/antidepressants-depression-more-common/?scrlybrkr=61f866ea.

Sochting, Ingrid. “OMG! Anxiety.” IMPACT Magazine, 1 May 2017, impactmagazine.ca/health/health-wellness/omg-anxiety/.

“Social Relationships.” Department of Health | Discussion of the Four Key Health Issues, www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/mental-pubs-p-mono-toc~mental-pubs-p-mono-bas~mental-pubs-p-mono-bas-alt~mental-pubs-p-mono-bas-alt-soc.

“World Mental Health Day: It's Ok to Not Be Ok.” SAFETY4SEA, 11 Oct. 2018, safety4sea.com/cm-world-mental-health-day-its-ok-to-not-be-ok/.