5 Ways to Promote Positive Mental Health

Positive mental health is a great way to ensure you lead a long, happy and healthy life. Maintaining your mental health is easier than most people think and will have a significant impact on your everyday life.

Would you like to have more energy? What about a good night sleep? How you would like to go an entire year without catching the flu once? Achieving a positive mental health state will not guarantee these things, but it sure will help.

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Here are the top 5 things you can do to help promote positive mental health in you and your children:

1. Eat Healthy. Eating fast food 3 times a week and downing a few cold ones before bed might be easier than making a home-cooked meal and more enjoyable than drinking a cold glass of water but it won't do a whole lot for your health. Eating home-cooked foods (especially fruits and vegetables) and staying away from the fast food joints will help you achieve the healthy lifestyle you desire.

2. Drink Lots of Water. To maintain a healthy lifestyle, average individuals are expected to consume at least eight glasses of water a day. And while this seems like it may be a lot, it's actually not. Eight glasses is almost equivalent to filling up your water bottle a few times between waking up and going to bed. Remember, if you work out, you will need to increase your water intake to compensate for the water you're burning off while exercising. Drinking water will detoxify your body and restore it back to a healthy state - especially after drinking coffee or alcoholic beverages.

3. Kick the Bad Habits. We've already mentioned it a few times but eliminating significant alcohol intake will have positive results on your mental health. Likewise, kicking other bad habits like smoking and drinking considerable amounts of coffee will also help keep your mental health at its best.

4. De-Stress. Stress is one of the leading causes for poor mental health. When you're stressed out, your body has to work harder to keep up and, overtime, it will take its toll on your body and your brain. Next time something stressful happens, try lighting some candles and taking a bath. If that doesn't work for you, try letting off some steam by going to the gym or going for a run. Keeping a positive frame of mind will promote positive mental health and eliminate undue stress on your brain.

5. Book Regular Check-ups. Unfortunately, you can do all of the things listed above and still suffer from mental health problems. In fact, you might have a mental illness and not even know it. Make sure you're mental health is in good condition by booking regular appointments with your doctor. He/she will be able to confirm whether you're lifestyle is healthy or identify where you may need to make some changes.

5 Ways to Promote Positive Mental Health

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Occupational Therapy and Mental Health Treatment - Why You Need It

With the aging of the population, more and more people are relying on occupational therapy and mental health treatment along with their long term care plans. The point of occupational therapy is to give people the support and training to be able to live independently particularly in areas relating to daily living activities such as feeding, bathing, and grooming.

Occupational therapists for example, are responsible for teaching and facilitating skills in cognition, self awareness, interpersonal and social skills, stress management, self sufficiency, daily living activities, as well as a wealth of other important skills. The therapy sessions are usually centered around very goal oriented activities that teach these skills.

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The services that people seek when they go to see an occupational therapist include:

-adapting to the home and work environment after release from the hospital
-providing treatment groups and classes for experiential learning
-goal setting and rehabilitation planning to find the optimal therapy sessions

You can find many occupational therapists employed in places like adult day care centers, home health agencies, clubhouse programs, group and private homes. If you want to seek assistance, you can go to your case manager, psychiatrist, social workers, nurses, family physicians and other health professionals to help you find occupational therapy and mental health treatment that works for you.

Depending on the type of service you want, whether it is covered as outpatient therapy by your insurer or other state funding, you can use the services for as long as 6 months. Occupational therapy certainly is not for everyone and most people will opt only to use physical therapy, but with a well rounded therapy program you can make great strides in your recovery.

Occupational Therapy and Mental Health Treatment - Why You Need It

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The Importance of Mental Health

What is mental health?

Though no concise definition exists, mental health is basically your attitude and approach to life. Psychological, environmental, genetic, or physiological factors have a profound effect on overall mental development.

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What is mental illness?

Mental illness impairs your ability to perform routine tasks, foster healthy relationships, or cope with anger or stress. It may be classified on the basis of extreme mood swings, irrational or destructive thought patterns, and behavioral problems.

How important is mental health?

Your mental health has a huge impact on every aspect of your life.

o Self-image

Good mental health means appreciating your achievements and accepting your shortcomings. A mental illness can cause an inferiority complex, a negative body image, and intense feelings of self-hate, anger, disgust, and uselessness, which could mutate into extreme depression, psycho-social disorders, or eating disorders.

o Education

Students with mental problems socially isolate themselves, and develop anxiety disorders and concentration problems. Good mental health ensures an all-round educational experience that enhances social and intellectual skills that lead to self-confidence and better grades.

o Relationships

Mental health largely contributes to the functioning of human relationships. Mental illness can hamper even basic interactions with family, friends, and colleagues. Most people suffering from mental illness find it difficult to nurture relationships, have problems with commitment or intimacy, and frequently encounter sexual health issues.

o Sleep

An inability to handle stress or anxiety can cause insomnia. Even if you mange to fall asleep, you may wake up a dozen times during the night with thoughts of what went wrong the day before or how bad tomorrow is going to be. You may develop severe sleeping disorders which leave you exhausted and less productive.

o Eating

People with mental disorders are more prone to indulging in comfort eating or emotional binges. Finding comfort in food is something we all do from time to time. But with a mental illness, it becomes difficult to control yourself. Overeating can lead to obesity, which puts you at a risk for heart disease and diabetes, in addition to creating an unhealthy body-image.

o Physical health

Your mental state directly affects your body. For example, stress can lead to hypertension or stomach ulcers. People who are mentally healthy are at a lower risk for many health complications.

So make a conscious effort to improve and maintain your mental health.

The Importance of Mental Health

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Mental Health - Why Does Depression Hurt?

That television advertisement that asks; 'Where does depression hurt?' And the answer, 'Everywhere,' is painfully true, (no pun intended).

But why does depression hurt? After all, it's a mental illness, isn't it? So why do I keep having aches and pains for no apparent reason? Well, yes, it is mental, but it marches in lockstep to your physical make-up. By marching in lockstep, I mean that although depression is partly mental, and this is evidenced by, and in the way that, depressives dream, it has a direct bearing on our physical well-being.

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Some years ago, when I suffered major, or clinical, depression, I used to have the most peculiar and vivid dreams. Until I learned more about depression, I had no idea at all that these dreams were actually the cause of my feeling aches and pains all over my body during my waking hours. The point is that people with depression dream three times as much as those who don't suffer from the condition.

The depression-free person dreams about two hours a night, two hours in twenty four, if you like. The depressive, on the other hand. dreams three times that amount. Six hours in twenty four, so he or she spends no less than a quarter of their life dreaming!

The unfortunate part is, though, that while they're dreaming, they're not having the deep, restful sleep that their bodies need to repair themselves. They're in the Rapid Eye Movement, or REM, sleep stage, which is when you dream. To put it very basically, you dream in order that the brain can flush away all the old rubbish that's been built up by your thinking during the previous day. Hardly a medical description, but since the question is; 'Why does depression hurt?' and not the causes of depression, this description will suffice for the moment.

The important point is that the depressive goes through the night in the REM sleep stage for six hours, and a mere two hours in deep sleep. With the non-depressive, this is reversed. Now, because the person with depression is only having two hours, (if they're lucky), of good, deep sleep, their bodies are simply not receiving the rest that they so desperately need. There's nothing restful about the REM sleep stage. It's called Rapid Eye Movement because your eyeballs are constantly moving very quickly from side to side as you dream.

Another problem, and another reason for the aches and pains, is that your serotonin levels drop. Serotonin helps to keep your pain threshold up, so when the levels drop, you become far more susceptible to pain and chronic fatigue.

The big mistake is in thinking that serotonin, or the lack of, is the factor that causes depression. This is totally wrong.

But that's why depression hurts. Too much REM dream sleep and vastly insufficient deep sleep, with a corresponding drop in serotonin levels. Hence, aches and pains.

Mental Health - Why Does Depression Hurt?

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