Mental Health

(Disclaimer – There is a lot of sensitive subjects being discussed and as always this is my personal opinion. Please do not treat it as professional medical advice. This information is for general purposes only. If you have any particular concerns, please speak to an adult.)

Nowadays we have shifted a lot of focus on our mental health. Nowadays we struggle a lot with many issues with regards to our mental health. Mental health is one of the bigger issues we face nowadays. I think that we should not ignore it when we feel down. Your feelings are valid, so if your sad don’t hide how your feeling. It’s okay

Some of biggest mental health issues-

· Anxiety

· Depression

· Eating disorders

· Paranoia

Depression is one of the biggest mental health issues today

I want to focus a lot more on anxiety:

Nowadays, it is so easy to feel anxious about things, especially since there is a lot more to stress about. Honestly, my heart goes out to each and every person who goes through something like this every day. No one should have to suffer like this at all.

Some causes of anxiety:

Anxiety is the natural response of the body to fight stress

1) Stress about many things like school, financial stress, friendships, stress relating to your job

2) Trauma

3) Something huge that might be happening in your life

The five symptoms:

1) Feeling very very nervous

2) Panic

3) Difficulty in breathing

4) Trembling

5) Feeling weak and sick

Here’s a perspective of someone who goes through anxiety and has anxiety attacks:

I feel my heart rate rising, my hands and palms get so sweaty. My breathing is unsteady and I am gasping for air. My hands are shaking and I can’t focus on anything. I feel like I am losing control over my body. I get scared that my attack might scale from a three to ten very fast. My body goes numb. My mind is blank, I can’t remember anything. All I am doing is trying to calm down and not let anything scale and I’m trying to focus and trying to stay steady. I feel like I might pass out

Here’s how someone tries recovering from it:

Everyone has different coping mechanisms but these are just some recommended by a really close friend of mine

While undergoing the anxiety attack:

- Try steadying yourself

- Focus on your breathing and take some deeps breaths

- Tell yourself its temporary that it will pass eventually

Focus on your surrounding-

It’s a simple distraction like your mind is taking a break naming objects you see, feeling familiar surroundings, moving your hands and feet. There’s a game you can play where you have to name things. It’s called 5-4-3-2-1

Name 5 objects you see

Name 4 sounds you hear

Name 3 things you feel

Name 2 smells you smell

Name 1 thing you taste

you can also count backward from a hundred in twos or threes

- Try tipping paper chewing Ice/gum or shaking your hands

- Move your muscles if you feel the attack building up, like close your fists and letting go

- HOWEVER, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE FIRST THING ONE DOES DURING YOUR ATTACK IS SIT DOWN. IN CASE YOU FALL.

- Tell somebody you’re going through the attack like your parents or your friends, it can help tremendously

- Distract yourself (watch a YouTube video something that is funny and will make you laugh)

- Listen to music but try not to listen to it very loud

Now after your anxiety attack is over, here are some things you can do: -

1. Take a while for yourself

2. Move around

3. Tell someone

4. If it is a common occurrence go to a therapist

5.drink water

6. Rest if possible

7. Focus on something else

Think of this blog as kind of part two to the earlier anxiety blog I did!

I think some of the ways to keep your mental health in check and make sure your mental health does not deteriorate is:

1. The biggest thing you can do is pamper yourself- SELF-CARE. Please take care of yourself it is so important that you do so. This includes the following:

- Sleep in on days you feel tired

- Manage your time so you’re not stressed

- Take a day off here and there and dedicate it to yourself

- Take breaks when you need

- Don’t overwork yourself

2. Talk to someone about how your feeling, call up a friend and just talk, tell them about how you feel (however much you feel comfortable telling them)

3. If it gets really bad then seek medical care

I feel like we teenagers are very fragile and break with the slightest of things. It’s important we always check in with ourselves and make sure we do okay. We should just take it day by day and not bite off more than we can chew. Try not to overwork yourself because the main cause of all this is stress.

One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give you is- stop stressing over things you can’t control. It’s out of your hands so just let it go, try making sure that whatever is in your control is going okay. If it’s out of your hands it deserves peace from your mind too.

(Question of the day: what are some ways that help you cope with a lot of your work?)

(Ps: follow my Instagram: @blogbanterandbigwords where I share polls and put teasers for my upcoming blogs, you might also find some nice quotes in there)

Thanks for reading

Xx Mahika