For many of us, work is a major part of our lives. It is where we spend much of our time, where we get our income and often where we make our friends. This article covers what mental health problems are, and how to detect them and how to deal with them.
What are mental health problems?
There are times when we feel down, stressed or scared. Most of the time these feelings are temporary and pass in time, however, sometimes they can progress into a mental health problem such as anxiety or depression, which can affect our daily lives. For some people, mental health problems become so intricate, that they require support and treatment for life.
Research shows that the majority of people have some experience of a mental health problem,and the latest extensive survey in England suggests that one in every six people experience the symptoms of a mental health problem in any given week.
Different mental health problems affect people in different ways and it’s crucial to comprehend an individual’s experience. There is no certain way to diagnose a person’s experience.
How do you recognize a mental health problem?
If we have significant challenges or changes in our home or work life, the chances are that it has an impact on our mental health.
Mental health problems can have a lot of different symptoms and signs. As a rule, you should seek help from your GP if you are experiencing feelings that are:
• Preventing you from getting on with life
• having a big impact on the people you live or work with
• affecting your mood over several weeks
• triggering you to have suicidal thoughts.
You can look for signs such as if you notice that you are more tired than usual at work. If you make unusual mistakes, if it’s hard for you to motivate yourself, or you may get short-tempered.
You start isolating yourself from colleagues. You start procrastinating more or stop working altogether.
Or the contrary, you might get faster or become confused. Or you start meddling into others’ work or end up working more than you can manage.
We should take some extra care to build our resilience and improve our own mental health. Self-care is a skill that needs to be practiced.
Try looking through the 10 evidence-based ways to improve your mental health below.
1. Talk about your feelings with your colleagues, friends, family.
2. Regular exercise can boost your physical as well as mental being.
3. Say NO to junk food and drinks. Focus on your 5 a day and drinking enough water.
4. Drink alcohol sensibly.
5. A work-life balance is important. Also, keep yourself in touch with your family and close friends.
6. Do not hesitate to ask for help.
7. Give yourself some ‘me time’ by taking a break. Ensure you have good sleep patterns on a regular basis.
8. Give sometime to your hobbies or do some activities which you will enjoy.
9. Good self-esteem will go a long way when it comes to your mental health. Hence,meditation is very helpful.
10. Helping and caring for others, and contributing to social causes will help you to feel good about yourself.
