MENTAL HEALTH – Observe and Live Simply

·       A BEAUTIFUL SUNNY DAY

·       LISTENING TO A BLISSFUL MUSIC

·       HAVING GOOD FOOD

·       REGULAR EXERCISE &

·       PROPER SLEEP.

There is nothing new in these points. Everyone knows them. These are the key ingredients which we serve ourselves with, to have a valuable day/a happy day.

But why do we need them in our day-to-day chores and routine?

Some people are introverts. They don’t like to meet people or socialize. They just want to be with themselves, inside a shell, closed in a particular comfort zone. But forget that life does not allow you to follow a particular pattern. Once you start following a pattern, you start to make yourself a victim of a self-created prison. Slowly and gradually that pattern of living becomes your life which you define as your comfort zone. Similarly extroverts also form patterns of absorbing negative feedback and information through separate habits, company and interactions.

Always remember to be a little selfish person where you live for yourself first. Self care, self love is the key ingredients in the process of healthy, happy and prosperous life, and rest is just going to happen by itself. Only a happy, calm and stable person can help others too with concern.

Not all days are similar but when the sun sets, there is always a ray of hope that tomorrow the sun will rise again and everything will be in arranged manner again.

SO, dear readers!Make your days sunny and blissful by moving yourself, doing what you prefer rightfully, follow your heart and give your thoughts a flight of imagination. Imagination is the most beautiful thing that we have as humans. Directed well it can make life blissful and happy but if misdirected, it can create problems and unrealistic worries. Try to use it for your own benefit. Don’t make habits and patterns which are addictive and bring rigidity. Each day is a new day. Learn more, explore more, imagine more and stay busy. It will automatically break down monotony in life. It will bring peace, will release happy hormones which will make your mental health a better place to live life for.

 

Leave it to me - Taking Control

 ‘I recognize that I have to be in control, but as long as I am, I don’t mind how difficult the task is.’

When you decide to take control of the situations and act accordingly, is resilience. The thought processes automatically start working in a manner in which you try to give all your strength to a particular work. You accept things as challenges in your life. Constant engagement with electronic devices may disconnect you from your near ones. You won’t realize that you are working as machine, doing same things, engaging with the daily hassles. You don’t know what to do and how to make changes. In tough times, you need to decide your priorities first to work on those.

Taking control means -

• Quickly turning your attention to what can be done to solve any problem.
• Focusing on the positive actions required rather than how unfair or difficult a situation is.
• Do not wait for others to sort out matters for you.
• Securing the necessary resources to get things right.
• Influencing others around to your way of thinking.
• Being a positive role model.     

For most of us, our attitudes and beliefs determine our emotions, which in turn affect our behaviour. 

When I lose control, I usually take a step back. The key is to gather the thoughts, to self communicate some positive messages. Sometimes it may also be helpful to literally remove yourself from the situation for a while.

Losing control can have a negative impact on your ability to bounce back. To keep the control, there are some activities to help that are highly effective:

   ·     Taking deep breath, counting to 10, doing some exercise.

   ·   Writing an angry email ,but not sending it.

   ·   If you have tried all this, you still can have an odd outburst.

   ·  An odd  moment of outburst  is actually healthier than bottling things up and brooding on issues for months on end.

   ·  Remember , it is important to move on.

   ·  Apologize whenever necessary- but don’t beat yourself up.

It’s a saying, ‘A second ago is history, and you can’t change it. You can only think about how to put things right now.’      

PURPOSE OF LIFE

 

Once you start making the effort to “wake yourself up” that is being more mindful in your activities – you suddenly starts appreciating life a lot more – Robert - Biswas - Diener

 

A purpose consists of the central motivating aims of your life – the reason you get up in the morning. Purpose can guide life decisions, influence behavior, shape goals, offer a sense of direction and create meaning. For some people work is connected to vocation – meaningful satisfying work. Feeling that one’s life is significant, comprehensible or purposeful may be necessary for human psychology functioning.

In Indian mythology too Lord SHIVA said that every individual is born with a purpose in his/her life and that purpose has to be lived by him. The purpose of life is to understand the science of the self and get liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Every day we make choices and perform activities that we hope will bring us happiness and prevent distress. This is the basic goal of life by which we live.

We are spiritual beings who have taken physical form to form a purpose. Everyone has a special purpose in life – a unique gift or special talent to give to others and to every unique talent there are also unique needs. When we bend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy and exultation of our spirit. This is the goal of all goals.

Three components to the purpose of life:

Purpose of life implies our unique destiny, our place in the cosmic plan. One needs to have a vision to get success in life. Then we arrive at biggest mystery – what is meaning of our lives in the scheme of universe?  We know we have become part of cosmic plan when the universe upholds and supports us. Every person is never ending project of the universe.

Some famous thinkers of psychology also defined their meaning of life. Here is what they defined life as -

Ellis: “He took personal responsibility for your life. He stated that the best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realise that you control your own destiny.” The concept is often referred to as having internal locus of control. It refers to whether you see events in  your life as outside of your control or whether you feel that your actions can influence your destiny. People who have an internal locus of control often feel helpless, powerless and unmotivated to make changes in their lives.

 Rogers: He stated that “the good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination.” Have you ever been so focused on achieving a goal that you totally forgot to enjoy the journey itself ? Instead of focusing on the things that you think will ultimately lead to living a good life – having a big house, driving a nice car and going on exotic vacations, focus your attention on the everyday good things in your life. The things you learn, the family and friends you share your life with, the things that bring you happiness are the greatest indicators of happy, fulfilled life.

 Abraham Maslow:  If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.Maslow has his own theory of hierarchy of needs and he explained people life according to these needs. He explained the goal of the people is to achieve heights by reaching the state of self actualization. Individual should not think of not being capable of something they once dreamt of and stop, one should always try  their highest potential to reach that goal to feel the epitome of happiness.

 Carl G. Jung: “Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning, if it were not balanced by sadness.” So happiness and sadness are both part of our lives, if you will always be happy without any struggles and ladders in your path life will be boring. You need to achieve what you want for the ultimate happiness and success. 

 Different individuals have their own meaning of life. Some are spiritually connected, others are mentally. One has to find their own way to live their purpose and walk towards wisdom.

 

 

 

ANXIETY

 

We speak about people throwing their tantrums in the form of being loud and trying to be dominant towards others and in that process they often end up giving such unpleasant remarks that it becomes intolerant for their near ones resulting in fights. We talk about anxiety which has become a common name in the dictionary of people and unfortunately that is true. A little of anxiety is good but when we are not able to handle it and it prolongs then it is a matter of concern for us.

Anxiety is uneasy, fearful feeling of constant worry and tension. It has become so common that we won’t even realise that it has become a part of our daily lives. Some of the common anxiety symptoms are – excessive worry, fatigue and sweating, lack of concentration, increased heart rate, insomnia, restlessness, racing thoughts, trembling, weakness, tiredness. A little anxiety can be adaptive – if you weren’t anxious about exam, you may not have been motivated to study as much as you needed.

Anxiety disorders included a group of disorders in which anxiety either is a main symptom or is experienced certain maladaptive behaviors. There are four types of symptoms of anxiety – physiological or somatic symptoms, cognitive symptoms, behavioral symptoms, emotional symptoms. One form of anxiety disorder is gernalised anxiety disorder in which people experience a constant sense of tension and dread. They may be unable to relax or sleep well, and experience constant fatigue, headaches, dizziness and rapid heart rate. They may continually worry about potential problems and have difficulty concentrating or making decisions. Other anxiety disorders like phobias, panic disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders are focused anxiety.

Even seen in students, during exams a little of stress is good which makes them sit study in concentration but when it becomes too much that one cannot handle its effect then it becomes trouble. Most of students are seen having stage fear or performing in front of audience. This form of fear is known as Aroga phobia. This type of fear is common but not negligible. Speaking in front of public also cause panic as for them it is the most difficult talk. Students with this problem in school avoid participating in assemblies, in any activity or function. These students are also seen avoiding reading in class or when asked by teachers they are in great fear and end up ruining things. In obsessive compulsive disorder – there is either obsession or compulsion. For example, persons suffering from OCD he has a compulsive behavior of cleanliness it will be his habit to take bath again and again and clean his surroundings , changing bed sheet twice or thrice a day, taking too long to clean himself in bathroom and still not satisfied , changing clothes many times in a day. Obsession of cleanliness leads to cleanliness compulsive behavior of repeatedly taking bath or cleaning surroundings.

These common external factors can cause anxiety:

·                    Stress at work, school, personal relationship, financial stress

·                    Stress from an emotional trauma such as the death of a loved one.

·                    Stress from serious medical illness.

·                    Side effects of medication

WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH

 

      

    “THE ONLY JOURNEY IS

     THE JOURNEY WITHIN”

 

           

 MENTAL HEALTH

Mental Health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, related to others, and make choices. It is important in every stage of life from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. Mental health affects daily living, relationships and physical health. Mental health is a state of well being in which individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.

       

    5 components of mental health are

ü  Ability to enjoy life

ü  Resilience

ü  Balance

ü  Self Actualization

ü  Flexibility

STIGMA

Stigma is when someone sees you in a negative way because of your mental illness.

Discrimination is when someone treats you in a negative way because of your medical illness.

Social stigma and discrimination can make mental health problems worse and stop the person from getting help they need.

Listen to the person.

Empathize with that person.

लोग क्या कहेगे…forget what people say. Listen to what is right.

Repetitive thoughts – how to come out?

ü  Share your thoughts to your closed ones

ü  Take professional help because they wont judge you

ü  Stay busy

ü  Drink water- 1L /20 kgs

ü  Eat Bananas

ü  Exercise , walk , dance

ü  Do something to elevate your mood. Occupy yourself with something.

ü  Don’t use too much of your mobile phones

ü  Smile more often

ü  Slow deep breathing always helps

ü  Live in gratitude

ü  There is no stigma – talk with someone.

 

MENTAL HEALTH ILLNESS

 

Mental health illness is also called mental disorders. A person gets irritated, and disturbed and always aggressive.  His behavior or emotions have changes. He cannot make his own choices and decisions. When you cannot deal with challenges, deal with stressors. That is the time you need to consult your psychiatrist. Mental illness is associated with distress or problems functioning in social, work or family activities. Mental illness is something one should not be ashamed of. It is like any other disease like diabetes or heart problem. It is treatable and one should talk about it.

 

IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION

Communication has a key role in mental health recovery. You might have heard from many social media expertise or webinars talking to talk about it and speak out what is inside you. What people do is they hide their insecurities and feelings instead of fighting with them. They keep it within themselves and keep on collecting things and keep it in their mind which at the end gets overloaded with lots of negativity and insecurities that  lead to problems arising in the form of extreme behavior changes and cutting themselves  out from the society. A person starts living in isolation and avoids communication in search of peace but unfortunately it gets worse and is of no help to the patient. This leads to irritability, loneliness, aggression or crying. A person won’t stop thinking about the past or about the things which he started hiding from himself.

As a therapist the key role of a therapy is communication with a client. A therapist starts building a friendly relationship with the client so that he starts trusting the therapist and speak his heart out. It is the work of the therapist to see that the client won’t resist in speaking to her and talk to her like a true friend.

 

WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT – PHYSICAL/ MENTAL HEALTH?

 

In terms of health both are equally important. But why doctors ask you to consult a counselor when you have any physical health issue? Why is it that you feel so insecure and full of fear before your surgery of any of your body parts or why is it that during your treatment of cancer you are referred to consult counselor by your oncologist or radiologist. It is because when you are going through any of these issues to deal with your health patients mind is not prepared with the strong treatment he is going through. He starts feeling hopeless and helpless. His mind just thinks about all the negative outcomes coming his way. The role of a therapist or a counselor is to empathize with the patient and bring positivity and hope to deal with his treatment. When you are positively strong with your treatment it works as a medicine to you. The patient responds with the treatment very well and there are more chances for him to get well and healthy. The willingness to live makes the patient respond to the treatment. This is very important and this is what a counselor’s role is to make him fight with the disease through her therapies.

When a person is mentally strong he can fight with any difficulties in his life whether it is physical or psychological.

 

CORONAVIRUS SURVIVING THE LOOMING HEALTH CRISES

During lockdown days we witnessed so many problems taking place in people’s lives. Social isolation, lack of exercise, financial uncertainty will almost certainly lead to deteriorating mental health around the world. But you can take steps to soften the blow.

ü  From today until this is over, you have a new god and his name is ‘ROUTINE’.

ü  Build and repair relationships; you have no excuse now.

ü  Focus on the basics of health and wellness.

ü  Remember you are not alone.

 

REHABILITATION OF THE MENTALLY ILL

Rehabilitation of the mentally ill is necessary to improve their quality of life once their active symptoms are reduced.

 

The aim of rehabilitation is to empower the patient to become a productive member of society to the extent possible. In rehabilitation the patients are given occupational therapy, social skills training, and vocational therapy. In occupational therapy, the patients are taught skills training such as candle making, paper bag making and weaving to help them to form a work discipline. Social skills training help the patient to develop interpersonal skills through role play imitation and instruction. The objective is to teach the patient to function in a social group. Cognitive retraining is given to improve the basic cognitive functions. After the patients improve sufficiently, vocational training is given wherein the patient is helped to gain skills necessary to undertake productive employment.