Mental illness makes one’s life dejected. It can cause recurrent stressful periods, sometimes to the point of making the individual unfunctional. Oftentimes, mental issues bring tremendous hurdles like divorce in marriages, loss of jobs and friends, stigma, and the like. Just to name a few, some conditions commonly associated with mental illnesses include schizophrenia, depression, anxiety disorders.
The alarming fact is that someone could be suffering from mental health issues without their knowledge or the knowledge of those around them. More often than not, however, there are various ways to tell if you have mental health wellness challenges. Below are some of the main reasons why you should take care of your mental health with much seriousness to evade the grievous aftermath.
1. It Affects Your Overall Health and Wellness
Mental illness cannot be divided from physical health, nor can it be separated from spiritual wellness. If you suffer from mental problems, your physical and overall wellbeing is affected one way or another. For instance, mental health issues can put you at a higher risk of developing other grave diseases like cancer, sclerosis, stroke, diabetes, and many others. Also, it affects your everyday life activities like bathing, keeping your home clean, exercising, studying, or going to work.
This is because the nervous system plays a vital role in the body. It coordinates all the body functions, just like an engine does in a car. If it fails to work to the optimum, it can negatively affect your physical health too. This is why the folks at Banyans Health and Wellness recommend speaking to a mental health expert if you or a close person is showing some signs of mental challenges. If drug abuse is the root of the problem, for instance, the experts can recommend the right treatment plan for your specific needs, such as detox, rehab, and counseling.
2. Poor Mental Health Can Cause Broken Relationships
Ending a relationship is never easy. But it gets much more difficult when one of the spouses leaves the other out of mental health issues. Living with someone who is mentally unwell can be a tall order. People feel trapped in such relationships, and end up quitting. This is because mental diseases come with their own challenges like mood swings, withdrawal, irritability, violence, and much more. This makes the relationship uncomfortable and the pressure causes a split up.
3. Affects Your Work and Productivity
When mental illness strikes hard, putting groceries on the table can be difficult. Your life could crumble right before your eyes. If you’re suffering from mental issues, you can’t meet deadlines, let alone deliver at the workplace. It becomes difficult to handle the delegated tasks. You instead find yourself taking sick leaves often, which can end up with a firing letter on your desk. In most cases, you might end up losing your job due to low productivity or poor performance. Hierarchizing your mental well-being is vital to ensuring you stay in a top-notch state.
3. Stigma Is Real
Unfortunately, mental illness is one of those conditions which bring extreme stigmatization to the affected. People with mental health challenges often find themselves segregated. Many face profound rejection in today’s society.
Furthermore, mental illness can affect the whole family if one individual suffers. It brings devastating ripple effects, such that if one of your family members is unwell, society starts isolating. It gets even more traumatic when the family members separate from one of their own. This is totally uncalled for, and it should never be the case. It’s always vital to support your loved ones when this kind of crisis hits them. Emotional support helps a great deal in reducing the disgrace on their journey to recovery.
4. It Can Be Hereditary
If you have noticed a trend of mental problems in your family tree, you may have a reason to get worried. Research has not told us why some mental illnesses run in the family, nor proved how it runs through families’ bloodlines. Having said that, the only option you’re left with is to keep mental health in check at all times and get professional help as soon as you notice anything out of the ordinary. Ensure your meals consist of a balanced diet, regular exercise; avoid stress, and get enough sleep.
5. Mental Illness Can Be Fatal
Mental illness is a life alarming condition. It has soaring mortality rates across the world. People suffering from schizophrenia tend to get despondent, which pushes them to commit suicide. It may also bring other unpreventable health difficulties like organ failure, heart attack, malnutrition, or overweight. This brings delusion, out of being overweight, and can end up committing suicide.
Mental illness brings tremendous frustrations to the victims. It produces significant stress levels, which affect the quality of the individual’s life. Preventing the problem before it emerges seems to be the best approach towards dealing with the condition. Pay attention to any warning signs, get a routine checkup, help a loved one, and generally take care of yourself.
