Significance of Mental Health

Mental Health is significant at every stage of life of a person, as it covers different aspects such
as emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences as well, a person’s thinking,
sense and action. According to Claire Foster and Abbey Stanford (2020), being distracted
easily, excessive tiredness and worrying, having hard time to make decisions and controlling
emotions are some early signs or might as well be the warning signs of poor mental health.
Most of these were usually ignored and considered normal even though it was not, as it closely
similar to some daily behaviors of an individual.

Mental health of an individual can be affected by some factors, can be from physical, mental,
social, and certainly, emotional aspects. Poor mental health does not just come to one’s life
right away, problems happened due to some causes or reasons. Few causes of poor mental
health are childhood trauma or neglect, loneliness, bullying, discrimination, bereavement and
stress. Moreover, it can also caused by physical factors such as head injury and domestic
violence.

Symptoms or signs of mental health problems are sometimes sought to be just normal or mild
but may also lead to more worrying cases if not noticed nor treated. Having a poor mental
health increases the risk for harmful behaviors, like commiting suicide, and many kinds of
problems in terms of physical aspect, such as long-lasting conditions like heart disease, stroke
and diabetes. Additionally, mental health conditions, such as depression and schizophrenia
have been linked to chronic diseases, and higher risk of heart and respiratory diseases,
respectively. Furthermore, WebMD Editorial Contributors (2021) stated that people with poor
mental health are more likely to have sleep problems, being associated with smoking and
having difficulty in taking care of their physical health.

There are different ways for these problems to be avoided and improve mental health of a
person. First one is being active, regular exercise helps relieve stress, improve sleep and
memory, which is considerably a good way to develop an individual’s emotional and mental
well-being. Second is to socialize or have a social connection with others, talking to people who
energize them, especially their love ones or friends may set their mood and lessen their stress.
Another one is a time for relaxation, practice of meditation, yoga and deep breathing also
reduce overall levels of stress. Fourth is to find purpose and meaning, finding the purpose of life
may help a person to be optismic, which is really a big factor for a better mental health. Last but
not the least, seek help if needed, there are many resources that can help an individual who
needs support regarding their mental health.

Having awareness of causes and signs of mental health problems, and ways to improve one’s
mental health, is really an important knowledge to have, whether an individual is part of the
youth or the adults. This does not only clear up the misconceptions but also help those
individuals with mental health issues to be understood and heal. Additionally, an individual’s
mental health must be taken seriously and not treated as a joke to laugh at, as it may not only
affect someone’s emotional health but also other aspects of a person, like social relationships
and physical health. In conclusion, mental health is significant for an overall health of an
individual.

https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm#:~:text=Mental%20health%20includes
%20our%20emotional,others%2C%20and%20make%20healthy%20choices.&text=Mental
%20health%20is%20important%20at,childhood%20and%20adolescence%20through
%20adulthood.

https://www.bupa.co.uk/health-information/workplace-mental-health/signs-poor-mh

https://namica.org/warning-signs-of-mental-illness/

https://www.bupa.co.uk/health-information/workplace-mental-health/signs-poor-mh