What Happens When Your Mental Health Suffers

When someone asks us about how your mental health is doing , normally we quickly respond with “I’m fine”.

Mental health is defined as the overall wellness of how we think, regulate our feelings and behave. When thought patterns change or even changes in feelings or behavior cause distress or disrupt one’s ability to function, a mental health disorder is found to be present and this affects how a person:

• maintains personal or family relationships

• functions in social settings

• performs at work or school

• learns at a level expected of them for their age and intelligence

• participates in other important activities

Mental illness or disorders are usually a wide range of conditions that affect mental health and even one’s mood, way of thinking as well as behavior. Common mental health disorders include anxiety, depression, addiction, eating disorders and schizophrenia.

Here are at least 5 warning signs of mental illness

• Excessive paranoia, worry or anxiety

• Long lasting sadness or irritability

• Extreme changes in moods

• Social withdrawal

• Dramatic changes in eating or sleeping pattern

Lately, my mental health has not really been that good. I tend to easily get angry a lot or even tend to harm myself by marking my arms using scissors. I also had frequent sleep disturbances wherein I keep waking in the wee hours from so much anxiety (much thanks to IG and FB’s errors) .