Mental health issues has emerged as a major concern worldwide. To understand various aspects of mental health and how to handle the problems that arise due to mental health issues, Rising kashmir’s Farzana Syed interviews Ms Pakeeza Carrim, a South Africa based clinical and counseling psychologist with a vast experience of training at hospitals, schools, clinics, rehabs across the globe.
Ms Carrim has studied and conducted various support groups, art groups, workshops for implementing cognitive behavior therapy, emotional intelligence, family therapy, imago, narrative therapy, art therapy, meditation and relaxation. She has had the opportunity of working with a diverse client base in South Africa and Kashmir as well.
What is mental health?
We all have mental health which is made up of our beliefs, thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Mental health is about being able to function to your full potential, cope with day-to-today stress, feel connected to others and live your life in a free and satisfying way. One in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. 20% of adolescents may experience a mental health problem in any given year.
70% of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age.
Mental health problems includes anxiety and panic attacks, Bipolar disorder, Post traumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia.
Mental health illness or mental health disorder is defined as patterns or change in thinking, feeling, or behaving that cause distress or disrupt a person’s ability to function.
What causes mental health problems?
Challenges or problems with your mental health can arise from psychological, biological and social issues as well as life events. Childhood abuse, trauma, social isolation or loneliness, experiencing discrimination and stigma including racism, social disadvantages like poverty or debt can all contribute to mental health problems.
Losing someone close to you, severe or long-term stress, having long-term physical health conditions can also cause mental health problems.
What are the warning signs of mental health problems?
A behavioral change becomes evident in a person having mental health issues. Such changes may include loss of interest or feeling low, doing ordinary things get harder, taking more dangerous risks, withdrawal or feeling overwhelmed, using alcohol or drugs to escape.
Changes in sleeping and eating patterns, difficulty in sleeping, frequent headaches or stomach aches, difficulty concentrating, withdrawing or avoiding social interactions, hurting oneself or talking about hurting oneself, talking about suicide or death, drastic changes in mood, behavior or personality etc are the warning signs of mental health problems.
Therefore if you sense any of these changes in a person he/she might be suffering from mental health issues.
What should a person do if he/she is worried about his/her mental health?
The most important thing is to talk to someone you trust.This might be a friend, colleague, family member or group. In addition, talk to someone who may be useful to find out more information about what you are experiencing. These things may help to get some perspective on what you are experiencing and be the start of getting help.
How can one know if he/she has mental health issues?
If your beliefs, thoughts, feelings or behaviour have a significant impact on your ability to function in what might be considered a normal or ordinary way, it would be important to seek help.
What should one do if worried about a dear one having mental health problems?
This may depend on your relationship with them. Gently encouraging someone to seek appropriate support would be helpful to start with.
How to seek help if one is having a mental health problem?
It is often more realistic and helpful to find out what helps with the issues you face. Talking to a loved one, a family member, a close friend, counseling, consulting a psychiatrist and psychologist will help.
How to reduce stigma attached to mental health?
We need to show compassion and love to the people with mental illness. We must encourage equality between physical and mental illness, and make it our moral responsibility to educate ourselves and others about mental health.
Let us choose empowerment over shame and do not label or stereotype people with mental illness. We should talk openly about mental health and do not use disrespectful terms when we talk about people or mental health.
Can you share few tips on how to develop good mental health?
Talk to friends and don’t be afraid to tell people how you feel, share your feelings with friends and family, challenge your negative thoughts, learn what your stress triggers are, invest time developing your confidence, and don’t be afraid to seek help.
Learn how to solve problem effectively, learn some strategies to manage your stress, and take time to relax and reflect. Stay active, eat properly, relax and practice some deep breathing.
Set up a mental health checklist for the week. For instance, just once a week talk to a friend, plan all seven days accordingly like listen to podcasts, indulge in meditation and fix a day to get outside for sometime.
How is Art therapy used as a cure for mental health problems, what are other creative ways?
A more holistic approach towards dealing with mental health problems is Creative Art Therapy (CAT) that encompasses the use of diverse creative methods such as visual art, music, dance, creative writing etc. to treat the issue. As you engage the patients in these activities their stress or depression levels go down.
Other ways to distress oneself can be by gardening. Studies show gardening has immediate and long term effects on your mental health. Gardening for just a few hours provides instant reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms. Gardening daily is associated with reduced stress and increased life satisfaction.
Does proper nutrition contribute to good mental health?
Anything that affects the gut will always affect the brain. Recent evidence suggests that good nutrition is essential for our mental health and that a number of mental health problems and conditions may be influenced by dietary factors.
The food plays an important contributing role in the development, management and prevention of specific mental health problems such as depression, schizophrenia, attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Nearly two thirds of those who do not report daily mental health problems eat fresh fruit or fruit juice every day, compared to less than half of those who do report daily mental health problems.
Those who report some level of mental health problem also eat fewer healthy foods and more unhealthy foods like chips, crisps, chocolate, ready meals etc.
A balanced mood and and feelings of well being can be protected by ensuring that our diet provides adequate amount of complex carbohydrates, essential fats, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and water.
