Mood
Psychological states refer to how individuals feel and think. They can affect a person's health as well as how they interact with their environment. Stress, nutrition, social interactions and mental health conditions such as anxiety depression bipolar disorder all can contribute to mood.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be an effective approach to treating mental illness. CBT involves altering unhealthy thought patterns and behaviors that interfere with functioning normally in order to enhance mood and promote wellbeing, such as changing unhealthy patterns of thinking or behavior that could exacerbate mental distress. Therapy sessions may be provided by psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists or primary care physicians. Furthermore, medications such as antidepressants, benzodiazepines or anxiolytics may help alleviate some symptoms related to certain disorders - these medications can aid recovery as well as help prevent future relapses reoccurrence. Mental health issues can cause serious distress so it's essential that when professional help is sought when necessary.
Anxiety
Anxiety can be beneficial, as it keeps us alert and motivated. But when anxiety persists for extended periods of time or becomes severe enough to affect everyday activities, it could be an indication of an anxiety disorder.
Anxiety disorders may arise for various reasons. A family history increases your risk, as do experiencing traumatic events; worrying about someone with serious medical needs or being their primary caretaker could trigger anxiety disorder; while using alcohol or illegal substances as a means to combat stress and anxiety may also trigger anxiety disorders.
People suffering from anxiety disorders typically seek psychotherapy in addition to medications. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), for instance, teaches new ways of thinking and behaving that help alleviate symptoms; exposure therapy allows people to face their fears head on; mind-body therapies like yoga and meditation have also proven successful; experimental therapies including neurostimulation and acupuncture show promise too.
Depression
Depression is more than feeling "down in the dumps" or just being sad for a few days; it is a serious mental illness affecting over 20 million Americans and impacting daily activities, including sleep and appetite, as well as increasing risk factors associated with heart disease, such as an overproduction of clotting factors and changes to heart rate. People experiencing depression may also suffer unexplained aches and pains such as headaches or back or joint tenderness.
Depression can alter various parts of the brain that control movement and pleasure sensation. One type of depression sees the caudate nucleus shrink, while studies have demonstrated that people suffering from depression experience changes to the prefrontal cortex - which normally controls high-level thinking - that causes it to shrink and less active over time, leaving them more likely to engage in self-blame or negative thought processes.
Stress
Minding your emotions and finding healthy solutions to life's challenges are fundamental for mental wellbeing. Feeling anxious, worried or upset can put strain on the body leading to high blood pressure or stomach ulcers if left unmanaged.
Psychological treatments, commonly referred to as therapies, can assist individuals in adopting healthier thought patterns to help enhance their psychological state and reduce depression and anxiety risk. Psychologists, psychiatrists and primary care physicians all offer psychological therapies.
People living with mental illnesses are at increased risk for chronic physical health conditions and vice versa - this phenomenon is known as the mind-body connection. Three pathways (biology, illness experience and social determinants of health) increase the probability that individuals living with a mental illness will also have coexisting chronic physical conditions that adversely impact quality of life or lengthen illness duration and increase healthcare costs.
