Health Upp Do you feel sad and depressed often? In the past few years, many people have fallen victim to mental health illnesses. Some suffer from anxiety, while others have drowned themselves in depression. Have you ever stopped to think why? One of the worrying reasons is because people have stopped taking their health seriously. They indulge in unhealthy practices, engage in substance abuse, and isolate themselves.
Likewise, rising economic uncertainty and financial problems are other reasons for mental health issues. The job market is shrinking consistently due to a lack of investment activities, increasing unemployment. The ongoing situation is making people anxious, depressed, and stressed about the future. But unfortunately, people keep ignoring mental health issues and deem them not to be too alarming. Perhaps, because of the stigma attached to the subject of mental health.
In the 21st century, it is time for everyone to take charge of their mental and physical health. You must recognize the triggers behind stress and anxiety and seek help if necessary. Here we are listing five reasons why mental health issues are rising.
1. Unemployment & Financial Instability
Today, the global market is uncertain, volatile, and unstable. Fresh graduates are unable to find well-paying jobs even after spending millions of dollars on education. Similarly, employees working for organizations are insecure about their jobs due to technological disruptions. The rising uncertainty about the future is giving birth to mental health issues. After all, people feel distressed because of financial difficulties and rising unemployment.
However, most people tend to ignore these mental health issues until it starts affecting their cognitive functioning. If you wish to help them out, learn how to become a therapist and encourage people to live stress-free life. With proper knowledge, you’ll be able to dig deep and identify the root causes and help people cope accordingly. You can teach them how to adopt an optimistic approach towards life by replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.
2. Substance Abuse
These days, many people have turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with failures, problems, and challenging situations. It can make people feel energized quickly but has devastating effects in the long term. In addition to physical health problems, it can trigger mental illnesses and possibly cause permanent cognitive damage. Addicts often feel anxious and stressed due to the withdrawal symptoms. In case of acute intoxication, they suffer from distressing psychiatric symptoms, impacting overall well-being.
Honestly, drug-induced mental illnesses can get much worse without healing intervention. Therefore, people should seek help immediately. You can find various rehabilitation centers offering treatments for substance abuse and mental illness.
3. Neglect, Trauma, Child Abuse
You might hear people say, ‘the child will forget once he/she grows up,’ but that’s not true. Traumatic childhood experiences stay in children’s minds forever and have adverse impacts later in life. Children who experienced abuse from parents are more likely to be aggressive and anxious. Likewise, people who have grown up with displaced parents suffer from depression. These early life adversities can also develop behavioral and psychological problems in adults. They are likely to suffer from bipolar disorder, depression, and personality disorders.
In instances where a child has experienced an accident, he/she is likely to re-experience trauma throughout their lives. That’s the reason why so many adults have post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, they also experience severe depression, fear and find it arduous to trust others. Besides this, parents’ negligent behavior towards the child can contribute to increased drug use and addiction.
4. Excessive Usage of Social Media
Do you enjoy staying online? Although human beings are social creatures, overuse of social media can fuel depression, anxiety, and isolation. Sometimes, people start feeling insecure about their appearance after looking at manipulated images on social forums. Likewise, they develop feelings of envy and dissatisfaction while reading about friends’ new promotions at work.
Moreover, social media has become a hub of cyberbullying. Users come across offensive comments, hurtful rumors, and lies. Such kind of cyber abuse can leave lasting emotional scars, making people feel anxious all the time. Thus, no matter what is influencing your social media usage, reduce the time you spend online. Perhaps, you can join a club, find a new hobby, or hang out with your friends.
5. Unhealthy Habits
In today’s hustling life, people have adopted many unhealthy habits that can trigger mental health problems. For starters, not getting enough sleep or consuming a healthy diet can exhaust the brain. Similarly, the practice of overthinking situations can trigger anxiety and stress. You might come across negative thoughts and feelings of failure, hindering your ability to succeed. Apart from this, some people also experience perpetual feelings of guilt.
Instead of letting this overrule your mind, try to break the chain by thinking positively. Additionally, you can improve your mental health by exercising regularly. Physical activity releases endorphins – the happy hormones, easing depression and stress. Exercise also distracts your mind from worries while helping you improve mental health.
Wrapping Up
One could argue that people weren’t aware of mental health issues back then, and increased awareness has let people recognize mental health problems. It might be correct, but today, we have bigger things that trigger depression, anxiety, and stress. The tech-driven world is increasing everyone’s expectations from life, leading to higher dissatisfaction. Likewise, financial instability, unhealthy habits, and childhood trauma are also growing mental health problems.