Depression and anxiety are more common than you might realize. In the UK, approximately 1 in 10 adults experience depression and 1 in 5 adults experience anxiety. In fact, the UK is one of the most depressed countries in the world. The causes of depression and anxiety can vary from person to person. Some common causes are stress, major life changes, physical health issues, trauma, and genetic factors. Stress from work, family, and social pressures can lead to depression and anxiety. Life changes such as a new job, death of a loved one, or breakup can also lead to depression and anxiety. Physical health issues such as an illness or injury can also lead to depression and anxiety. Lastly, trauma such as abuse, war, or natural disasters can trigger depression and anxiety. Depression and anxiety can also be triggered and maintained by negative thinking patterns, distorted beliefs, and avoidance of difficult emotions. Negative thinking patterns are thoughts that focus on the negatives of life and ignore the positives. Distorted beliefs, such as “I’m not good enough” or “nothing will ever get better”, can further fuel depression and anxiety. Finally, avoidance of difficult emotions, such as pain, sadness, and shame, can cause these feelings to build up and lead to depression and anxiety. Now that you know some of the causes and maintenance of depression, here are 10 strategies to help manage or prevent depression:
Connect with others: Reach out to friends, family, and/or professionals. Having social support can help you stay grounded and connected to your feelings.
Engage in relaxing activities: Take a bath, listen to music, read a book, etc. Anything that helps you relax and feel calm and content.
Exercise regularly: Exercise releases endorphins, which help regulate moods and improve your overall mental health.
Create structure: Having a daily routine can help give your life some predictability and consistency which can reduce stress.
Get plenty of rest: Lack of sleep can increase depression and anxiety. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
Monitor your thoughts: Notice any negative or distorted thinking patterns and actively challenge them.
Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness helps you focus on the present moment and can help reduce stress.
Eat healthily: Eating balanced, nutritious meals can help promote mental wellbeing.
Establish boundaries: Say no to things that you don’t want to do and take time for yourself.
Ask for help: Don’t feel ashamed to reach out for help if you need it. There are many professionals and support systems available. Depression and anxiety can be treated and managed effectively, but it’s important to have a plan and make sure that you’re taking care of your physical, mental, and emotional health. Practice self-care and make sure you’re taking time for yourself. Remember, you’re not alone – there is help and support available to you when you need it.
What do the words mean to you? What emotions are stirred up when you read them? What is the small pit of dread which occurs in the base of your stomach when you hear these words?
Over the past few months, we’ve heard these words being spoken and communicated. The uncertainty surrounding them has caused a mass hysteria across the globe. Healthcare workers, supermarket workers, teachers and all key workers are being branded frontline hero’s in leading the fight against this new unknown virus. This immediate reaction as a globe to fight and protect against a threat is instinctual and innate within us, known as the fight or flight response. However, the issue which is being overlooked currently is the impact this crisis has on us emotionally, the comedown after this battle we are all in, which will hit the globe hard post-crisis.
It is very well documented the innate F+F response we have is our fundamental human instinct to protect ourselves from harm. Harm can be anything we perceive to be a threat to our person and livelihood. This threat could be a blue-bottle house fly, a travelling car, open water, a common-cold or a mountain lion etc etc. Most of the time we have some knowledge of our threats, so we understand how we should respond when we are exposed to them for example if I see a wasp I know it can sting me and cause me pain or a severe allergic reaction so my response is to run away or swat the wasp away or just scream. Now let’s understand this threat are a larger scale, one which we have minimal knowledge about and unsure of how the threat will present it self to us, because of this we don’t know how to protect ourselves or others around us. This is what we are feeling in relation to the current crisis the globe is facing.
On a daily basis individuals will suffer from anxiety, depression, PTSD, paranoia or OCD etc to name a few. These can often be triggered by potential threats the person perceives in their reality, for example being unable to control a situation or being unable to go outside and enjoy your freedom. This anxiety then combined with the above feeling of being in fight or flight continuously can lead to heightened and pro-longed anxiety which in the long term is going to negatively impact of the individual mental well-being.
In addition, to those who already suffer from mental health conditions, a concern is now this crisis will trigger high levels of emotions in people for many reasons. One reason being we are all continuously going to feel in a state of fight or flight, this adrenaline rush will last as long as the threat is present. But what happens after the threat goes away? An adrenaline dump, this is when you rapidly decline from a heightened state to a very low state as the adrenaline levels drop to a normal level. This can develop into depression or anxiety as the body and mind are unable to regulate as it normally would. This dip in our mood can be challenging to our mental wellbeing and how we then begin to perceive our new reality post-crisis. Another reason is the shock and over-whelming feeling which arises when you take a seat back and reflect on what has just happened. You begin to realise the enormity of the issue, the high number of deaths you’ve dealt with, feelings of helplessness as you witness an individual losing the battle against this unknown virus etc. I can only imagine the emotional turmoil this crisis will have on all frontline and key workers across the globe.
There were no warning signs, no prediction or knowledge that such a crisis would occur during our lifetime. But it happened, it crept up on us like a dark shadow which consumed the globe in one quick act. We may feel trapped, isolated and unable to breath as the virus takes hold of the globe. But as we have learnt from history that all pandemics have a life span like a tornado they come and go causing mass destruction. The question is always the same when the tornado hits: how long will it last? will anyone get hurt? how much destruction will it cause? Unfortunately, these same questions we now ask of the current crisis.
I find in amongst all the fear, worry, scaremongering, and facts, there are some positives that will come of this crisis. We can see the mortality rates will be high, nearly everybody on Earth will have been affected by this virus in some way. This shared experience we are currently living through will show the power of humanity and expose the weaknesses we have in this generation. It comes as shock that the first lesson learned was how selfish we can be in a crisis, when the perceived threat arose, we only look to defend ourselves and forget there are people around us that are unable to protect themselves like we can. The mass panic buying and clearing shelves of food and cleaning supplies, was the first weakness shown. It shows the majority of us are egocentric and very much independent of each other, which works against us when we need each other the most. However, despite this it also showed the altruistic and empathic side to humanity the side where we quite literally will put ourselves in harm’s way to protect others that can’t. This heroism and strength we have is indescribable and outweighs any weaknesses we hold. Furthermore this crisis is benefiting Mother Nature, as the globe is healing, the Ozone layer is finally showing signs of repairing, the air pollution globally is the lowest it’s been for decades, all around us in the midst of all this chaos there are signs of new life, growth and new beginnings. Let’s take this crisis, as a chance to reset and change the way we live our lives. This has shown us the fundamental art of face-to-face social interaction which was decreasing due to social media, is now the only thing we have and want. The little things we take for granted such as our freedom to walk the earth, to live life the way we want to live it have been taken away. But when it is returned to us let’s express gratitude.
Following this crisis no one knows how life will be post-crisis, what emotional burden it will it leave us with? This is a turning point in history and our lives. Let’s embrace the change and learn from this crisis, as a human race we move on together.
Lastly, for many staying inside on lockdown is difficult and can be emotional and almost seem like a challenge. So here are a few things to try which may help break the day up:
◦ Make a short list of things to do and tick them off as you accomplish them. They don’t have to big tasks or even long for example read one chapter of a book, listen to a new/old album, clean my closet, or watch a movie. The task doesn’t have to be extravagant or amazing it just has to be realistic.
◦ Take time away from social media or mainstream news. There is so much noise and information that is communicated to us every second and during times like this even in lockdown it’s vital we switch off from the world to help process what we have heard or read and to reconfigure. This will aid our emotional well-being as we are allowing ourselves to process everything and reset. This can be done through mindfulness or meditation or just by sitting still in a quiet room for a few minutes. Try it it will surprise you how relaxed you may feel after doing this.
◦ Reflection- during these unprecedented times keep a journal, voice notes or take time to think about what is happening, your feelings, thoughts and reactions. Understand how you have been impacted, what this means for you as a person, how will change after this over? Having this time is important for us to release and explore what is going on for us. As by not having an outlet to reflect this will build up inside you and can lead to anxiety attacks for example.
Finally please follow the government or official guidelines on social distancing, how to protect yourself and others from risk of spreading the virus and how you can help those in need in your community. By each of us doing our small part we will form a larger solution.
If you need medical help for any reason, do not go to places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
If you have symptoms of coronavirus (a high temperature or a new, continuous cough), use the 111 coronavirus service.
If you need help or advice not related to coronavirus:
for health information and advice, use the NHS website or your GP surgery website
for urgent medical help, use the NHS 111 online service – only call 111 if you’re unable to get help online
for life-threatening emergencies, call 999 for an ambulance
Written by an anonymous individual who experienced mental health issues and wants to share their journey.
Mental health is such a raw subject. I am 22 years old and have struggled through mental health problems since the age of 11. It’s so hard, people underestimate the pain people go through. Having your own thoughts turn against you, you get so impulsive that it makes the world spin. You don’t know what your next move is going to be, will it be a dangerous act against my life or will be an act of self care and self worth? Now that is a question I was never able to answer. I never knew what my day had in stall for me. I never knew if that day I was going to wake up and try to kill myself or I’d go for a nice walk in the park with friends.
I had this devil inside me called borderline personality disorder. This meant that I couldn’t hold friendships, I would make everyone turn against me on purpose. I would purposely start arguments so I didn’t have to communicate properly with people. Now I hate arguments and I can’t stand being around arguments. They scare me and that was caused by my own insecurities. I was so impulsive that one minute I’d be laughing and joking then the next I’d be self harming alone on my bathroom floor. I was so unpredictable to myself but most people would say I was ‘predictable’ even though I never knew what was around the corner for me. I’d go through phases of not eating and starving myself to eating normal amounts and purging all of that up. At one point I was so delicate, I was very poorly and had to force myself to drink endures in order to keep my rights from being on a section and being tubed. Although I was sectioned I still had a choice – eat or be force fed through a tube – now that was when I hit rock bottom.
Why should I be forced to make choices I don’t want to make? Why should I better myself when I’m so worthless and such a horrible person? I didn’t want to get better because I felt like I didn’t deserve a single ounce of it. I was scared of being happy, I thought if I was happy something would soon pop up to bring me down further and further.
Flashbacks that would take me back to horrible events in life that should never have to be remembered. Flashbacks that mentally and physically took over my body, hearing a voice, feeling a sensory feeling. Going paralysed. Banging my head against a brick wall just to numb my thoughts. It was a never ending battle between my body, my abuser and my mind.
But now…
I have an amazing boyfriend. I have a new diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder as well as bpd in remission. I have a loving boyfriend who reminds me every single day of my worth and how beautiful I am. I have just landed myself a job as a mental health recovery worker. I am so lucky to have overcome everything I have been through, I’d like to thank every single person who was involved in my care and helped me see the light in my darkest of days.
Mental Health in your words 