The conversation
around mental health is starting to enter the
mainstream and an ever-increasing number
of people are coming forward and being honest
about their struggles with various mental health issues. By doing so,
the stigma surrounding mental illness is beginning to ease a little, making it
less daunting for people to seek out the help and treatment that they need to
be able to live their lives to the full.
If you are reading this article, the
chances are that you suspect something might be wrong and this issue, however
big or small, with your mental health, needs to be treated.
To help you to
confront this issue for the first time, this handy
guide is going to take you through some of the essential things you should know
about how to move forward. The sooner you address your mental health and start
trying to find the help you need, the sooner you will begin to feel like your
old self again.
Working out
what’s wrong
Many individuals will refrain from seeking
out help because they think that the things they are going through are not as bad as they could be, but this
doesn’t help anyone, least of all yourself.
Instead, what you need to do is get better
acquainted with some of the symptoms
associated with mental illness in general and make an honest
assessment to see if you need to get some more help. If you find yourself
feeling sad more often, have less ability to concentrate, are tired all the
time, extreme mood changes, and/or
persistent feelings of guilt, these could all be signs that something is not
quite right.
If this is the case, the next step is to
work out how to find a good therapist
as talking this all through with a professional will help them to identify what
is wrong and get you the help you need.
Think
outside of the box
When you are beginning to tackle a mental
health issue, it is important that you
keep an open mind about what could be helpful to you. The traditional methods
of talking therapy and medication have proven useful for many people, but this
doesn’t mean these are the only two options available to help you out.
Oxfordvr.org,
for example, has recently published ground-breaking research to demonstrate how
Virtual Reality (VR) technology can be used to automate mental health therapies
and deliver a positive effect for those going through mental health issues. Oxford VR is developing a range of clinically
validated, cost effective and user centred cognitive treatments for clinical
conditions such as anxiety disorders, psychosis, depression and addictions.
Coping with
the everyday
Of course, sometimes even when you are
going through various therapies, your issue can skill knock you for six at
times, which is why it is so important to know some practical
methods to cope with difficult days.
Finding breathing exercises is a great way
to get yourself through a panic attack or bout of anger and can even be useful
when trying to stop yourself from crying.
Another good
method is to carry around a small book to write down your emotions in when they
get too much.
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