Mental illnesses, has an impact on 19% of the adult population, 46% of teenagers and 13% of children each year. People affected by mental illness, may be around you every day, whether that be in your family, your work colleagues or someone you walk past in a shop.

 

What exactly is Mental Health?

Mental illness, is a physical illness of the brain which causes a disturbance in behaviour, thinking, energy and emotion which makes it difficult to act on everyday demands of life. The 2 most common mental health conditions, are:

Anxiety disorders- more than 18% of adults each year, struggle with anxiety disorder. Some anxiety disorders, include PTSD, OCD, Panic attacks, general anxiety, or phobias of some kind.

Mood disorders – depression and bipolar depression, both underly the mood disorder. It affects up to 10% of adults each year.

With all the above information to take into consideration, it comes to realisation when only half of those affected, receive treatment. Yes, I said half, which means the people who aren’t ongoing treatment, suffer mostly alone. With not seeking the treatment, it can lead to contributions in everyday necessities, such as poor performance in school or work, increased risk if suicide.

One thing that is always good to remember, is that you are NOT alone in this journey and that people care.

 

See some below tips, which could help you and others feel better daily:

• Exercise;
• Sleep well;
• Write down your goals and things to achieve;
• Eat healthy;
• Connect with others regularly; &
• Be nice to yourself/allow yourself time to relax.

 

If you want more tips and extra information with some of the above, then please see the following LINK.

If people are seeking help, but don’t know where to start, please see the following LINK which explains how to find support groups.

Further phone lines and email addresses for different help sites can be found HERE.