Recent surveys and data show frightening statistics that provide evidence of how mental illnesses have risen over a decade. Although the exact reason for these illnesses remains unknown to date, scientists and researchers believe that they arise from the combination of certain biological, psychological and environmental factors. Mental illnesses are found to be most common in groups of young adults and teenagers, then elder individuals in recent years and an important reason for this is due to their increasing dependence on drugs and social media, aiding in depression, anxiety, and self-harm.

In previous years, people would often die due to physical problems such as malaria, dengue, pneumonia or something as simple as influenza. Extensive research in this field soon caused the emergence of pharmaceutical drugs, enabling everyone to tackle them with ease. With mental illnesses on a rise, suicidal incidents have become extremely common among youngsters due to pressure from school or their private lives. Thereby, extensive research is being done on this issue but the most prevalent and rapidly spreading illnesses are:

·         Anxiety and panic attacks

·         Bipolar disorder

·         Eating disorder

·         Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

·         Personality disorder

·         Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

·         Psychosis

·         Schizophrenia

·         Self-harm

Biological factors involved

This refers to the chemical compositions involved in the brain and the genetic make-up of the person that gives rise to such illness. When speaking in terms of genetics, abnormalities in the genes of all individuals interact uniquely with the environment and certain factors such as stress, abuse or traumatic experience can trigger illnesses that have already been inherited, making them susceptible to the diseases.

Infections can also result in a person becoming prone to mental illness such as Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder; associated with Streptococcus Bacteria which has been observed to result in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Moreover, certain brain defects such as underdevelopment of a segment of the brain or problems with the hormone-secreting portion of the brain can cause mental illness such as anxiety and depression.

Substance abuse is seen to be one of the leading factors of mental illnesses today. Many teenagers are attracted to them for fun and end up becoming entirely dependent upon them for their happiness; resulting in paranoia and hallucinations that result in further degradation of their mental health.

 Ways to deal with mental illnesses

Living with a mental illness can be insufferable and feel like a consistent problem with no clear solution if the right approaches are not taken to deal with them. As much as it’s important to seek proper medical assistance to help cope with this, here are a few ways which can help you out:

·         Radical acceptance

This refers to completely accepting your mental illness, from your heart and mind. This is the first and foremost step on the vast road to curing your mental illness is fully accepting it in the first place so that you can you actually have space for improvising.

Understand the fact that not all things can be controlled by you and your mental illness is one such thing. The outcome, therefore, depends entirely on how you perceive your illness and the measures you take to treat them.

·         Deep breathing

Relax your mind. Breathing is an effective way of relieving stress and clearing your cloudy mind from all negative energy that might reside in your mind. Practice breathing in for 5 seconds, hold breathe for 3 seconds and finally breathe out for 7 seconds.

Doing this mental exercise can ease your mind and help you think with a lot more clarity, especially if you’re going through an episode of anxiety or panic attacks.

·         Opposite to emotional thinking

Yes, you read that right! You might consider doing the opposite of what your emotions tell you too. For example, if you’re feeling depressed and want to isolate yourself, do the opposite of this and go out to talk to a friend or family member. So, the next time you feel paranoia while asking for marketing assignment help in class; don’t let it get the best of you. This practice shows that you will power outshines your emotional sentiments and benefits you in more way than you can imagine.

·         Distracting your thoughts

At times, you might feel like your thoughts are too overpowering of your internal energy. This is when you can use your five senses to distract your thoughts, for example, if you’re in class and suddenly have a PTSD flashback in front of your eyes, you can use your sense of smell to focus on the smell of the chalk used by your teacher or the sweet smelling perfume used by the person sitting next to you, either way, this practice will definitely be useful.

·         Mental reframing

As humans, you have the ability to reimagine what you imagine, into something that is more positive. Although easier said than done, It’s important that you use this potential in ways that help you see the best in every situation, regardless of how trapped you feel.

Having the right response to stressful situations is the key to minimize your chances of triggering mental illnesses. Emotional awareness gives you the tools to feel better emotionally, spiritually and physically.

Natural methods to deal with mental illness

More convenient and effective ways of dealing with mental illness are now being researched upon. The National Center for Contemplating and Integrative Health (NCCIH) is one such organization that is working tirelessly to investigate non-traditional treatments. They look into alternative methods of treatment used, instead of established treatments and form a fusion of integrative methods combining various traditional and non-traditional methods as part of an extensive treatment plan.

It has been found that nature has medications in store, waiting to be explored and used by those who suffer through mental illnesses. These natural sources not only help you receive the complete nutritional benefits, but recent studies also show that unlike processed medications,  they do not have any side-effects.

 Some of them are included below:

1.      Omega- 3 fatty acids:

Found commonly in fishes and helps to reduce risks of developing chronic forms of schizophrenia.

2.      Folate:

A vital vitamin found in the form of folic acid and B9. It was seen that patients suffering from depression and schizophrenia had lower levels of this.

3.      Medical foods:

There are numerous examples of foods, enriched with nutrients that benefit the health of patients. A popularly consumed example is that of gluten-free foods that have the ability to treat Celiac disease.

Concluding, there are many other ways including Physical activities such as yoga, exercise and meditationare proven to reduce stress and anxiety. It is important that you care for yourself before you seek help from others; thus, remember to prioritize your mental well-being above all!