Having a good state of wellbeing sits at one end of the continuum, where people feel able to cope with challenges without becoming overwhelmed. Your Emotional Needs are met in balance.
Stress is the crossover point bewteen wellbeing and mental ill health. Too much anxiety, depression and other conditions.
When people are exposed to stress over a long period of time, they can begin to feel anxious and risk developing anxiety disorders. 1 in 4 of us experience mild-to-moderate anxiety and/or depression in any given year
Anxiety Disorders include: PTSD, OCD, Phobias, Panic Attacks and Insomnia
People experiencing depression may appear to be down and flat. However, depression is a highly Emotional state. When we become Emotional we are less able to think clearly – access to Rational Thinking is reduced – which is why people experiencing strong depression often find concentrating on tasks or making decisions difficult.
People diagnosed with bipolar disorder experience swings in mood, from periods of overactive, excited behaviour known as mania or the manic phase, to deep depression. Everybody experiences mood shifts in daily life, but with bipolar disorder these changes are extreme. 1 in 10 of us will experience severe mental ill health in our lifetime.
Borderline personality disorders are mental health conditions which affect people in some of the following ways:
- Being easily overwhelmed by strong Emotions such as distress, anxiety, anger or feelings of low self-esteem
- Avoiding other people
- Seeking Control over strong Emotions through self-harm
- By becoming very attached to a romantic partner in a short space of time, then ‘pushing’ them away before they can be let down
Schizophrenia is a diagnosis given to people who experience a range of symptoms which fall into one of two groups:
- Loss of motivation, flat emotional expression, loss of the ability to take pleasure from activities the person used to enjoy, difficulty with moving and sometimes physical tremors akin to parkinsonism. Psychotic symptoms which include delusions, auditory and visual hallucinations – hearing and seeing things which other people don’t – holding unusual beliefs
- and disordered thoughts.
Psychotic symptoms can also accompany severe depression and bipolar disorder, which makes diagnosis difficult. People who have experienced psychotic symptoms may be more at risk of depression as a result.
When suffering mental ill health, the most likely outcome is recovery – a reason to be optimistic.
