Health & Fitness

Mental Illnesses/Disorders, and How to Cope With People Who Have Them


Mental ilnesses/disorders, and how to cope with people who have them.


Mental illnesses have been around for decades, killing people internally. It's an extremely difficult topic to talk about, but it must be done if you want to help the person.



There are obviously many variations of mental illnesses, and each one requires a different approach. This myTake can only talk about a few, unfortunately. The key to help somebody 'overcome' a mental illness is validation and talking.


Depression


Depression is a mood disorder, one I've had to cope with for years. It's extremely hard to get out of the depression bubble once you've entered it. Its grip on you is often just way too tight, and can unfortunately lead to suicide. Helping someone that has depression is a hard task that many don't want to take upon themselves, therefore unknowingly helping the depression grow. Depression can also be spotted way too late. So it's important to discuss the feelings a person has. If you do know or see someone is depressed, unable to get out of bed, crying a lot, feeling numb, etc, TALK TO THEM. Talking can do wonders and make them feel less alone. Do not make depression seem like it's not that bad. Don't tell them 'it will vade away' or it's just 'at the moment'. VALIDATE THEIR ILLNESS AND HELP THEM. Validate their feelings and discuss them, don't leave them. help them slowly heal.



It's also a disease with relapses. You don't have to have a relapse, but the occasional breakdown is hard to avoid. help them deal with these, stick by them and tell them how much you value them as a person.


Anxiety


There are several anxiety disorders. Anxiety is a natural response to dangers. But, it can also be an unnecessary feeling when there is no actual danger, which can lead to dangerous responses. This is out of the control of the person feeling these emotions, which makes it even harder to cope with. Someone that has anxiety may be fearful of social events (social anxiety) or other things.



Social anxiety is a fear of anything social. Parties are often a no go for these people, and even the things that seem normal to most people can trigger their anxiety. A busy corridor could be an obstacle to these people, while it is only of slight annoyance to others. They feel like they are constantly being judged, criticized or watched by others, thus are scared of doing anything that embarrasses them. You need to validate their feelings, and help them recognize that their fears might be irrational, as no one will care about that one time you did something embarrassing. Don't patronize them.



A panic disorder is a feeling of fear of something random. It strikes suddenly, without any warning. A panic disorder often means coping with panic attacks, which are attacks of hyperventilation, or rapid breathing, a heart rate gone up and often time dizzyness. I've had multiple panic attacks and still do, and they are horrible. You feel like the whole world is crashing, and you can't breathe. It's like drowning to many, including myself. If you want to help people with this disorder, you have to calm them. If they are having a panic attack, breathe with them. Slow their heartrate down and get them calm by helping them focus on anything other than what is making them feel anxious. Then, talk about it with them in a calm manner, not causing another attack.



Generalized anxiety disorder is an ilness of excessive and unnecassery worry and tension, even if there is no real danger. This one can be harder to deal with, since the person is often scared all the time. Talking is the best way to go, calming them when they are scared of doing something.



Phobias are the fears that almost everyone has. claustrophobia, arachnophobia etc. These phobias are easier to cope with. Attack the phobia head on, taking a step at a time. Carefully getting over the fear will lessen the pressure.


Eating disorders


There are multiple eating disorders, with three being the most common. These are bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa and the binge eating disorder. All differ from each other, and it is possible to have a disorder but not experience all symptoms, or experience symptoms of a different kind of eating disorder. These disorders are extremely hard to deal with, since these people are often very fragile.



Anorexia Nervosa is a disorder where the person is focused on losing as much weight as possible. They are obsessed with weight and try to eat as little as possible. Their body image is extremely bad, and they cannot see themselves as a good weight; meaning they'll always try to lose more weight. They cannot see their situation as severe and often think they're becoming healthier.



Bulimia Nervosa is when a person consumes large amounts of food, afterwards desperately trying to prevent weight gain by example, vomiting. They often feel out of control during these episodes and also have body related self esteem issues.



A binge eating disorder is very close to Bulimia Nervosa, as they also binge eat and consume large amounts of food. They also feel out of control during these episodes. The difference is they do not try to lose the weight they gained, instead eating when not hungry, eating to the point of discomfort, or eating alone because of shame about the behavior.



All of these need a certain approach, but a good start is helping them acknowledge their illness and seeing where it went wrong. They need to understand they are killing themselves slowly, not being healthy or helping themselves. Then, a proper diet and counseling needs to be thought of. Gaining or losing weight, talking about their feelings and why they started eating so little/ so much are a must.



These are only a few of the more common disorders, and they obviously need counseling and can't be fixed by just one person that isn't experienced in treating the illness. I wrote this to clarify some illnesses and raise respect for the people dealing with them. I truly believe no one can totally know what's going on with another person without experiencing the same, but talking about mental health can prevent disorders or help cope with them. Humans have emotions, which need to be released. Help the people you love.

Mental Illnesses/Disorders, and How to Cope With People Who Have Them
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