Reading: Mind-Body Connection

When individuals talk about health, they frequently attribute it entirely to their bodies' health. But by ignoring their mental health, they risk their physical health. In addition, they often don't know that everything that affects the mind impacts the rest of the body. The fact is that the body's functioning is linked to one's mental wellness.
 
While worrying, our bodies respond with tears and an increased heart rate. And high blood pressure, erratic breathing, muscular and stomach tightness. One idea triggered millions of biological processes.
 
                                                        **-The Women's Center Mind-Body Health
** 
According to the Women's Center for Mind-Body Health, a single negative thought triggers several bodily reactions. Long-term exposure to these anxieties puts your health in danger of many ailments; your mind and body are intertwined. So, please don't underestimate your mind's power or the importance of the Mind-Body Connection, especially when it comes to your health.
 
People typically avoid talking about their mental health because they don't want others to assume they're in a mental hospital. Unfortunately, this has led to modern culture associating mental disease with a state of "mental wellness." But imagine you contact the WHO, the UN's primary global health organization. In such a scenario, health is defined as:
 
Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
       **-World Health Organization, 1948
** 
Health is defined as the "physical, mental, and social well-being" of all people. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Being healthy does not begin after you have been sick and seen a doctor. Instead, being healthy involves adopting behaviors and practices that enhance bodily and mental wellness.
 
Similarly, mental health problems should not be restricted to individuals in a mental hospital. Many prevalent mental health disorders are seen in contemporary society. Unfortunately, sometimes people are unaware that they have a significant mental health problem. Mental health specialists can help you determine if you are at risk of having severe mental diseases and disorders.
 
Common Mental Health Issues
 
What are the examples of common mental health issues? Consider whether you have experienced any of the following descriptions in persons you know or in people you have just heard about or read about (maybe fictitious).   Furthermore, reflect on your own experiences and sincerely assess whether you are in danger of developing this disorder.
 
Anxiety disorders
 
Anxiety disorders cause people to respond to particular objects or situations with fear and panic. These disorders would cause a person to have a panic attack and other manifestations of this fear at their most extreme. Some anxiety disorders are more commonly known as phobias, such as arachnophobia, (fear of spiders), agoraphobia (fear of public places), acrophobia (fear of heights), and claustrophobia (fear of tight spaces), among others.
 
Mood disorders
 
One of the more complex forms of mental health issues is an illness that has to do with a person‘s mood, particularly depression. This is problematic because people who suffer from depression are more susceptible to commit suicide. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that almost 1 million lives are lost to suicide every year. This means that suicide is an even greater risk than the combination of homicides, wars, and acts of terrorism.
 
Eating disorders
 
Because of societal pressures regarding being thin as the standard of beauty, some individuals are prone to eating disorders. Some common illnesses associated with eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is an extreme fear of gaining weight; it causes persons who have this disorder to be unnaturally thin. Bulimia is also a harmful disorder because it involves purging or vomiting the food that a person eats to remain slim.
 
Impulse control and addiction
 
Addiction is a serious issue that relates to one‘s mental health. It is one‘s inability to control impulses and urges. Some individuals become addicted to different forms of vices, such as alcohol and illegal drugs. Some cannot control their harmful activities, such as stealing (kleptomania) or engaging in compulsive gambling. Whatever their problems are, people who develop addiction endanger their relationships because of their behavior.
 
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
 
Sometimes, people use the term OC, or obsessive-compulsive, to refer to perfectionists to the last detail. There is nothing wrong with this personality trait; but when it is elevated to the next level, you are already talking about a person having an
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD. People with OCD are plagued by specific fears That cause them to perform rituals or routines that may be thought of as highly unnecessary (such as washing hands many times a day because of their fear of germs).
 
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
 
When people experience a traumatic situation, they tend to hold on to negative emotions and memories about that said event. As a result, they become afraid of anything that reminds them of the horror that they have experienced. Some examples of PTSD are when a person who has gotten into a car accident avoids riding cars or when a super typhoon survivor becomes scared of all forms of thunderstorms. PTSD is also common for those in the military after they come back from a war zone.

Reading: Mental Health and Self-Concept

A lot of mental health issues begin with a person‘s self-concept or how one thinks of oneself. A well-known American psychologist, Carl Rogers, proposed that often one‘s anxieties come from inconsistencies that people have with their self-concept. When you hear or learn something about yourself that you think is inconsistent with your personality, you display different reactions.
These reactions could determine how mentally healthy you are.
 
          For instance, try to think about your self-concept. List three things that you like about yourself or that you are proud of. What do you think are your strengths as an individual?
 
          When this kind of situation arises, people typically react in two ways: they simply reject the information outright (denial) or come up with an explanation (distortion). These two reactions are the most common defense mechanisms utilized to do not need to change your self-concept. When you deny the information, you convince yourself that the contradiction or inconsistency is not present. You may convince yourself that ―maybe they weren't talking about me‖ or ―they did not say
that.
 
 On the other side, you may choose to misrepresent the facts of the situation and fabricate an explanation for why a contradiction exists. For example, if you believe yourself to be a good student but receive a low grade on a test, you may convince yourself that your intellect is too sophisticated for school. Another example maybe when you beg that other people think that you are too conceited or arrogant, you say, ―They are probably just jealous of me somehow. Although these defense mechanisms help alleviate your anxiety about the situation, they do not address the problem. You do not try to accommodate this new information and make sense of it by denying it or making excuses. Instead, you just shun away from it to protect your self-image.

What then is the proper reaction of mentally healthy individuals? On the one hand, you should not believe everything that people say about you; but on the other hand, you should also not ignore everything they say. When you experience a contradiction about your self-concept, you should first learn to think over the new information that you have received about yourself. It doesn’t mean that you should accept this information entirely and change how you see yourself at once. It simply means that you should try to evaluate whether this new information is accurate or not. Then, you should accept this information and decide for yourself if it indeed describes who you are. Do not let others determine your self-concept.
 
When you allow these inadequacies and insecurities about your self-concept to continue, you may exhibit what psychologist Karen Horney labels as being
“neurotic? Horney mentions three types of neurosis that are damaging to the personal relationships of individuals who possess them. These kinds of neurosis also hinder a person‘s growth as a human being. These three categories are the following:
 
 
3 Types of Neurosis
 
Moving toward people
These are individuals who become too attached and too dependent on their relationships. They have a desperate need to be loved and accepted. They believe that if they find love, everything will be all right. The problem is that they cannot love nature because they view other people to prevent loneliness. Instead, they tend to be too clingy, which would eventually driveway those who care about them.
 
Moving against people
These individuals push people away literally (those who bully and use physical violence) and figuratively (those who often use sarcasm and display a lot of contempt for others). Their hostility may give them a sense of power for a moment. Still, in reality, they have difficulty gaining real friends because they display aggressive behavior on the outside, but on the inside, they want to build genuine relationships with others.

Moving away from people  
An individual who has this kind of neurosis may be called a loner or an outcast. They often display shyness and isolate themselves from others, but they do not want to be alone. These individuals suffer from social anxiety; they are very concerned with what other people will think of them, and they quickly become ashamed and embarrassed. To prevent rejection, since they always expect to be rejected, they move away from people.

Reading: Fully Functioning Individual