Sahmie's Health Education; MENTAL HEALTH

INTRODUCTION

Being humans, we are all free to think, feel, and make goals and plans. All these are achieved through using of the brain. This also determines our behaviours towards things around us, however, things affect our ability to think properly, therefore what are those things that can affect our thinking and how do we overcome them?

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Objectives of this Lesson;

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At the end of the lesson, followers alike would have learnt the following;

• What is Mental Health all about
• Importance of mental health
• What can affect our mental health
• How to handle mental health challenges.

With this in mind, let's go into the lesson proper, shall we?

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What is mental health?

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"Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community." World Health Organization (WHO).

Hence, when we talk about Mental health, we talk of cognitive and behavioural well-being. Occasionally, it is also referred to as the absence of a mental disorder.

Mental health is the well-being whereby someone realises their prospect and can deal with life shifts and uncertainty. That is to say, the ability to think and work smoothly in any and every condition one finds himself.

Mental health is an essential and integral part of Healthy living. It is made up of a person’s psychological, emotional and social well-being. It is all about the mental function of a person, hence, proper mental health impacts the proper mental functioning of a person, which in turn results in the person being productive in actions, having healthy affinities with other people and also, the power to get along and adapt to adversity.

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How important is mental health to us

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Mental health like every other health aspect is very important and it is connected to the qualities as a whole of that person. Thus, it is of utmost importance that we safeguard our mental health.

Healthy living is not merely the measure of good physical fitness alone. Rather it comprises the mental aspect as well. Hence, mental health is as important as physical health if not more, to live a healthy lifestyle.

The minds need to be healthy as well as the body to function effectively and meet the demands of our daily demands and functions in society. If one is not mentally healthy, he or she can not function properly even with a physically healthy body.

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The brain (mind) is the central processing unit of the human body, therefore, using the analogy of computer "Garbage In, Garbage Out", so will the body. This is how important mental is to living creatures.

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What can affect our mental health

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"The mind is a powerful place. And what you feed it can affect you in a power way" - NF (the search).

The above is a line I drew from one of my favourite music artists, NF. This is that we are in control of our mental health and what we do or say to feed it will affect us equally, not forgetting the situations around us.

However, in the course of our lifetime, we can encounter mental health problems at some point. Affects not just our mood and behaviour but also our way of thinking, our perspective of life and challenges.

But then, mental health is a personal thing, meaning what affects me may or may not affect the next person; nonetheless, some critical factors contribute to mental health problems such as;

• Life experiences (trauma or abuse)
• Genetic factors, and
• Family history of mental health.
• Stressful work conditions
• Social changes
• Discrimination,
• Social exclusion,
• Physical illness etc.

All the above-mentioned have a way of affecting our mental health either by changing our perspective of things, moods, and relationships or worse mentally draining us.

Other signs of mental health issues include feeling inferior, having low self-esteem, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, feeling helpless, fighting, losing of temper in quick sessions, harming themselves and those around them etc. Examples of mental health challenges includes;

• Sadness
• Depression
• Anxiety disorders
• Bipolar disorder
• Schizophrenia, and
• Addictive behaviours

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How to handle mental health challenges

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Our mind is the engine room for our social, emotional and cognitive well-being, therefore, we should learn to take care of it.

Handling our mental health is beyond getting help from specialists when needed but also relating to those around us, getting active in physical activities, helping others, getting enough sleep and staying positive that there is a way out.

Having positive mental health (mind state) allows us to discover our full potential, cope with life stress and work productively, hence making significant contributions to the community.

Taking care of our mental health preserves our ability to enjoy life, and we can do so by;

• Listening to positive speeches
• Listening to calm music
• Doing what we love
• Having loving people around us
• playing mindful games like cheese and Scrabble
• Being positive etc

These and many more methods are employed to help those having mental health issues.

CONCLUSION

Mental well-being is as important as the air we take in to live for both those with mental health issues and those without. Therefore, we should value and take care of our mental health. To end this class, here is the sound bit for this lesson.

References
WHO | Mental Health
Mental Health

Previous Class:
Introduction to Sahmie's Health Education

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NOTE: A Smile on your face, is the best and most affordable medicine and the beginning to recovery. So, always have a Smile on your face.