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Mental Health Section 1

What is “Mental Health?”

Mental health is the phrase used to describe your emotional and spiritual well-being. Just as it is important to take care of your physical health, it is important to take care of your mental health, too. You can do this by talking about your feelings with people you trust, setting good personal boundaries, or by doing things that make you feel good about yourself.

What does good mental health have to do with being a good student?

Depression

What is depression?

Depression is a very common health problem, especially for women. It’s important to recognize whether you may be vulnerable to mental health problems like depression and identify the symptoms in the early stages and seek treatment if they occur.

Depression isn’t easily defined and is different for every person. It’s sometimes brought on by a loss of some kind, such as the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship or the termination of a job. It is usually caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and is often genetically linked—you may be predisposed to depression if it was present in earlier generations

What are some of the symptoms that I can pay attention to?

Each person may demonstrate some, all or no symptoms but still feel depressed and sad. Specific things to look for are: a persistent feeling of sadness; loss of interest in activities that used to be fun; consistent sleepiness or inability to sleep; changes in eating habits; irritability; or physical side-affects such as headaches and stomachs.

How do I make my depression end?

Every individual must find out what will work best for her as she deals with depression. Some options for treatment include seeking out counseling through one-on-work with a therapist or through a support group. Many people choose to also take medications that can be prescribed by a doctor or psychiatrist. Other people may touch base with a crisis line until their strong feelings become less hard to handle. Other people may use their personal support system, such as friends and family members. It is very important to eat well and exercise every day as well.

Why do I feel anxious too?

Anxiety and depression often go together. Read the next section to understand anxiety more.

What is anxiety disorder?

Anxiety is one of the most common and most treatable forms of mental illness. All people experience some anxiety, but people who have panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders or social phobias due to their biochemistry may find life overwhelming. Knowing that there is help is very important.

Anxiety Disorders

I do deal with anxiety, but how do I know if I have a “disorder?”

It’s true that everyone has some stress in the life that may cause anxiety. Unfortunately, for some people this anxiety makes it impossible to even function on a daily basis. If you’re finding that it becomes incredibly difficult to do something like be in social situations or leave your home, you may have an anxiety disorder.

Does anxiety have physical symptoms?

Yes! In fact, a lot of symptoms that are part of an anxiety disorder are physical. These include shakiness, muscle aches, racing heart, dry mouth or dizziness. These physical symptoms may happen as you’re facing what makes you anxious, like going to the first class of the term, for example.

Are there different types of anxiety disorders?

There are two main types of anxiety disorders, phobias and panic disorders. Phobias are an intense fear of something, such as closed spaces or certain animals. Panic disorders are often overwhelming terror of something with no apparent reason, like the fear of choking or smothering. However, most anxiety is not as intense or overwhelming as phobias and panic attacks.

What is a “panic attack?”

Panic attacks are the physical reactions of your body when you are at the height of your anxiety. For example, you might be in a crowded space and suddenly start to have shortness of breath or dizziness. If this happens to you, it is important to go to a safe place and sit down! Concentrate on your breathing and try to go slow. If you can, call a friend ora crisis line. If it is very painful or uncomfortable, try to get to the hospital or call your doctor. Panic attacks that happen on a fairly regular basis will probably require medication.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

What is PTSD?

PTSD is a long term response to past trauma. It is very common to spend time looking back at the things that have already happened to you. You might remember something great that happened because it makes you feel happy. Or, you might have a hard time forgetting something that you regret or wish you could do again. Eventually, each person tries to move on with her life. For some people, however, moving forward isn’t easy. Some individuals survive a traumatic event, but it begins to interfere with regular activities. When this happens, a person may be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

PTSD is often a result of an incredibly traumatic experience, such as domestic or sexual violence, witnessing the death of a loved one, a natural disaster such as fire, or a car or plane crash. Symptoms can range from constantly reliving the trauma to general emotional numbness. Individuals with PTSD may find it hard to focus on daily tasks.

How do I know if I have PTSD?

Specific symptoms and their intensity vary with each individual, so it is possible for two people with PTSD to be affected in different ways. There are three different categories that go along with PTSD, and one element from each category must be present before a diagnosis is made. These include: nightmares and flashbacks, withdrawing from friends, family members and/or activities and sudden anger or irritability. Most people with PTSD also experience depression and/or anxiety.

How do I know if I’m having a flashback?

A person having a flashback may think she is actually experiencing or seeing the traumatic event again. Even though she may be safe in her home, she may actually smell or feel the same things that she experienced during the traumatic event. If you feel like this may be happening to you, get help as soon as you can! Call a friend or a crisis line and talk through what you’re experiencing. Focus on what is right in front of you, count to 100 or hold something that is comforting to you. Many people have emotional or sensory flashbacks without memory of the event that frightened them.

Can I ever recover from PTSD?

In most cases, people with PTSD recover without treatment. Other people will be troubled for many months, or even years, and will not get better unless treated by a professional. There are many thing that can help you recover from PTSD, including therapy and self care. Some individuals use medication as well.

Domestic Violence

What is Domestic Violence

Domestic violence affects one in four women in the United States. These statistics show that everyone, whether from their own experience or the experience of someone they know, is affected by domestic violence.

Domestic violence is only when there is physical violence, right?

Unfortunately, domestic violence can sometimes be hard to detect. Many people believe that domestic violence is specifically physical abuse, and the only evidence of it isthrough black eyes and broken bones. However, domestic violence spans a much larger spectrum and includes emotional, verbal, sexual, financial and spiritual abuse. Basically, domestic violence occurs when one person tries to use their power to control their partner. This control can be not allowing your partner to call their friends or family, having impossible expectations that are never clear or consistent, or getting angry if you don’t feel like having sex or being intimate.

What is it like to be in an abusive relationship?

Sometimes, there are patterns in what happens in an abusive relationship. This is commonly known as the cycle of violence. Often, it begins with the abuser creating a lot of tension, like getting angry over little things or not being happy about anything the other person does. This feels like “walking on eggshells.” Then, there is usually an “explosion” of abuse through physical assaults or verbal threats.

Soon after, the abuser may apologize, verbally or through gifts, or pretend the incident didn’t happen or wasn’t his fault.

If you’re partner is so terrible and abusive, why don’t you just leave?

This can be a very common question, and one that has a lot of different answers. Many people who are being abused by their partners have very little financial security. They might not have any money to their name or nowhere to go. Many women who seek shelter are turned away because of lack of space. Also, women with children have an even harder time getting away from their abuser because of a lack of resources. Another scary thing is the fact that the abuse often escalates once the woman leaves, and she might be in even more danger once she’s moved out. Other obstacles include not speaking English as your first language and not finding a shelter that has interpretation services. And of course, there is always the hope that your partner will change and still be the person you fell in love with. Wouldn’t it be more important to ask the question: “Why is this person abusive at all?”

What mental health problems can be caused by past domestic violence?

Survivors often experience depression, anxiety and/or PTSD. They often feel shame and low self esteem. Therapy and support groups can make a significant difference in healing these feelings and beliefs.