It wasn’t until the last decade or so that mental health awareness campaigns enlightened people about recognizing, understanding, and treating mental illnesses. Fortunately, we’re now at a point where mental health is considered just as important as physical wellbeing. While there’s still lots of room for learning, we have a basic awareness of mental illnesses, and how to prevent them.
Generally, mental health involves our psychological, social, and emotional well-being. It plays a crucial role in all areas of life. It impacts our thoughts, feelings, actions, behaviours, and habits. It also governs how we approach stress, interact with other people, and make decisions. No matter if you’re young or old, taking care of your mental health is essential in all stages of life.
Running into some form of mental health problems occasionally is normal, and probably inevitable. Just like you fall physically sick sometimes, your mental health can sometimes take a tumble. When that happens, your mood, thinking, and behaviours change.
The direct cause of mental illnesses isn’t usually clear. However, some general factors that play an important role in your mental health include biological factors, upbringing, or external catalysts that may present anxiety, stress, or trigger traumatic memories.
Doctors and scientists are aware of a large variety of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, anorexia, BPD, schizophrenia, and body dysmorphia, and so on.
It’s tough to find out that you or one of your loved ones has been diagnosed with a mental illness. Some warning signs include sleeping poorly, low energy, low mood, distancing or isolating oneself from others, frequent and severe mood swings, and higher stress levels.
Just like some foods promote good mental health, some foods work against it. To make sure your mental health improves, you’ll also have to avoid eating certain things. For instance, drinks filled with sugar, fruit juices, and fizzy sodas can cause inflammation, harming your microbiota health. Diets involving a large number of sugary drinks can take a toll on your mental health.
Moreover, cooking your meals in vegetable oils isn’t the best idea either. They’re cheap, but highly processed and loaded with omega 6 fatty acids. Consuming too much of this type of fatty acids can lead to increased inflammation, ultimately worsening your mental health. According to some studies, increased vegetable oil intake has been linked to higher suicide risk.
Processed meats also deserve a mention here as a major food group you should stay away from, due to their negative impact on the brain. Refined carbs should also be avoided as they have no nutritional value and cause inflammation. Lastly, alcohol—as it’s linked to an increased risk of anxiety and depression, according to many studies.
Even to this day, we don’t know too much about mental health and how we can preserve and improve it. However, we do know that we are what we eat. There’s a direct association between our diet and how our brain operates. Following a healthier diet plan and leading an active lifestyle can make a huge positive impact on our mental health. It’s also crucial to get sufficient sleep and find time for relaxation during the day.
Making the right lifestyle changes is necessary to generally nurture your mental health. However, if you’re struggling with anxiety or depression, the best thing you can do is get help, whether by talking to your loved ones or booking an appointment with your doctor to privately discuss what you’re experiencing. There’s always a way to share your burden and find relief. Remember, mental health issues affect all of us at certain stages of our lives, and suffering in silence is never the right course of action.