Mental illness can be confusing for you and your loved ones. Find answers to common question about mental health, treatment tools, and general wellness information.
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Wellness Tools
If you manage a large team or even a few people over a number of years, chances are you’ve encountered an employee struggling with an anxiety disorder. React well as a leader/manager and you’ll help the struggling employee recover and contribute to your organizational success. Pile onto their problem and you’ll help send that employee, and your results, into downward spiral.
First, we’d like to wish a very Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there. We know that being a father can be difficult at times, but it is also very rewarding. Since today is the day to recognize you for everything you’ve done, we also wanted to show you just how important you are in the world of mental health.
You don’t need to have a lot of money or time, just a few simple actions each day can aid you on your mental health journey.
Technology is great, isn’t it? There are all kinds of helpful resources out there that are just a few clicks away. Those wanting to lose weight can search for healthy recipes to get started. Those who want to start their own business can look up guides on where to begin. Even those who are looking to improve their mental health can find services online to help jumpstart their journeys.
Stress management is something that we know is incredibly important to our overall health. Those things that affect the mind and the heart, they also affect the body, and vice versa.
You have a friend experiencing a mental health crisis and you have no idea what to say or do. That can be scary, huh? Anna shares two simple steps to help support them:
Supporting someone with an eating disorder can be confusing, and even downright scary at times. It’s even worse when you don’t really know how to help. What do I say? How do I act? In most cases, it’s as simple as being there and showing support.
Sleep: It’s the one thing no one seems to get enough of. Did you know that almost half of surveyed Americans report not getting enough sleep? And even worse, most don’t actively try to get more on any given night. But why? It’s easy to get caught up in work, school, and life in general, but it is also very important to remember that your sleep habits can affect your mental health.
Start being grateful for the little things in life, like your morning cup of coffee or the easy commute home. By doing so, you might find yourself noticing more and more things to be grateful for every day instead of the difficult parts.
We know that mental health issues do not discriminate by gender. Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, eating disorders and other major mental health issues similarly affect both men and women. So why are men, on average, three times more likely than women to die by suicide?
Accurately recognizing the warning signs of a mental health condition is sometimes difficult, and sometimes men (and women) are not in-tune with their emotions. Men may feel added social pressures to be bold, confident, and stoic. Popular culture reinforces the image of the “masculine man” as powerful, courageous, competitive and successful.
While these traits are admirable, they are deserving of compromise. The social construction of masculinity is problematic because it does not leave room for anxieties, doubts, misconceptions or struggles. Reality tells us that life is full of little (and big!) anxieties and struggles. We want to help our men prioritize their mental health habits and manage their “emotional teaspoons”. Let’s #RedefineNormal and let our men know - You are not alone.
Visit our Learning Center to learn more about men's mental health! Also, check out some other "manly" support systems:
Starting in 2014, the Affordable Care Act (sometimes referred to as Obamacare) will begin to take effect. A comprehensive summary of the entire Act can be found here, but here’s a quick overview of some of the changes that will take place:
Meditation is a form of complementary and alternative medicine. There are numerous reasons to practice meditation. One common reason is for health related purposes. In fact, some people use this therapy to cope with illnesses. It is a great stress reliever that can be used to increase calmness and physical relaxation. Mediation can also improve practitioner’s psychological balance in aiding with the treatment of Depression and Anxiety disorders such as conversion disorder. By practicing meditation, one can approach their thoughts and emotions more positively. It can refine practitioner’s ability to focus their attention as well. Recently, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) studies reveal that meditation can also improve attention-related abilities. This is very useful to those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or Attention Deficit Disorder.
According to the NCCAM, previous research has demonstrated that mindfulness meditation may reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression as well. This form of meditation focuses attention on breathing techniques to develop increased awareness of the present. A study was completed about meditation and it’s affect on the brain utilizing a mindfulness-based stress reduction. The study’s purpose is to distinguish specific brain regions of the participants. The results showed that “Brain images in the meditation group revealed increases in gray matter concentration in the left. The hippocampus is an area of the brain involved in learning, memory, and emotional control, and is suspected of playing a role in producing some of the positive effects of meditation.” This proves that an underlying brain mechanism is associated with the mindfulness meditation in mental health. Overall, meditation can be great tool to help aid in treating mental illnesses. It would work best used in combination with other treatments. Meditation should not be used as a replacement for conventional care or as a reason to postpone seeing a doctor about a medical problem.
[tabs][tab title="Depression"] (Def.):" a mood disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty with thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal thoughts or an attempt to commit suicide." (Medline Plus Dictionary)
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[tab title="Anxiety"] (Def.)": any of various disorders (as panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, a phobia, or generalized anxiety disorder) in which anxiety is a predominant feature—called also anxiety neurosis, anxiety state."(Medlineplus Medical Dictionary)
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[tab title="Bi-polar Disorder"] (Def.):"any of several mood disorders characterized usually by alternating episodes of depression and mania or by episodes of depression alternating with mild nonpsychotic excitement."(Medlineplus Medical Dictionary)
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[tab title="ADD/ADHD"] (Def.):"Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurobiogical disorder seen in both children and adults that is comprised of deficits in behavioral inhibition, sustained attention and resistance to distraction, and the regulation of one’s activity level to the demands of a situation." (Adhdaware.org)
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[tab title="Schizophrenia"] (Def.):"a psychotic disorder characterized by loss of contact with the environment, by noticeable deterioration in the level of functioning in everyday life, and by disintegration of personality expressed as disorder of feeling, thought (as in delusions), perception (as in hallucinations), and behavior."(Medlineplus Medical Dictionary)
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[tab title="Eating Disorders"] (Def.) :"any of several psychological disorders (as anorexia nervosa or bulimia) characterized by serious disturbances of eating behavior." (Medlineplus Medical Dictionary)
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Light therapy (sometimes referred to as phototherapy or bright light therapy) is a type of treatment that uses light to treat many different disorders.
Acupuncture is defined as “an originally Chinese practice of inserting fine needles through the skin at specific points especially to cure disease or relieve pain.” It is a form of Asian medicine and alternative therapy which can treat physical, mental, and emotional conditions.
Also called psychotherapy, talk therapy is mainly focused on resolution of problems through patient centered discussion. Sometimes, all that’s needed is for a patient to talk through their problems with a professional therapist.
