The Importance Of Counselling For Your Overall Mental Health
According to the World Health Organization or WHO, mental health is the state of well being where a person recognizes his or her potential. The person can work fruitfully, contribute to the community and be able to handle and cope with the stress life may bring.
In order for us to function well, our body as well as our mind should both be healthy. Our body and mind function as one. If one of them is not healthy, the rest will not be working as effectively.
Mental health is often taken for granted. People go on a diet or go to the gym to be able to keep fit and maintain our physical health. However, mental health is often neglected.
Facts About Mental Health
Mental health is more than just being free from any type of mental disorder. It is an important aspect of a person’s overall well being because if your mind is unhealthy, the rest of the body will not be able to function well.
The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that it is important to take care of our mental health because it is an important part of our human condition.
How can one assess if his or her mental health is healthy?
Determinants such as biological, socioeconomic and environmental factors can help gauge whether a person’s health is in tiptop shape. Any type of disturbance in these factors can affect the mind’s health.
Factors Affecting Mental Health
Significant life events can affect mental health.
A sudden passing of a loved one can trigger mental health deterioration. Socioeconomic factors such as social exclusion, alienation and the like are also mental health risks.
Too much stress, a poor and unhealthy lifestyle, and negativity in the surroundings could also contribute to the mind’s health deterioration.
Mental Health Disorders
Over 450 million individuals are suffering from mental disorders. One in four individuals have the risk of being affected by a mental health disorder.
Today, mental illnesses affect more and more people, but help is limited. There are still those, especially people who do not understand, who have doubts about mental health disorders and stigmatize those that suffer from them.
Types of Counselling
Counselling has many types. The key to successful counselling is to know which type you are comfortable with:
- Cognitive therapy – This therapy is based the theory that your actions and feelings are often due to the way you think. This form of therapy enables psychiatrists to help you change the way you are thinking in order to feel or behave better.
- Behavior therapy – This kind of therapy focuses on the modification of unwanted as well as unhealthy behaviors. Healthy habits and behavior are enforced through the use of rewards.
- Group therapy – An experienced personnel leads a group therapy session. It is a confidential environment where people with the same mental health issues get to share their feelings. The members support one another when they need it.
- Psychoanalysis – This type of counselling lets you think about your past. An experienced counsellor will help you understand the reasons behind the way you act, behave and think today.
How to Address Mental Health Issues
Mental health disorders are sometimes trickier to solve rather than physical injuries or conditions.
One of the reasons behind this is that when the problem arises, it is already too late to do anything. The person suffering from mental disorder is already consumed by their problems.
Early detection is the key to addressing mental disorders.
Counseling is one of the best ways to address the main cause of mental disorders.
Therapy sessions with psychologists can help in finding the main cause of the problem and find ways for the patient to deal with it naturally.
Therapy or counseling sessions can treat various mental health problems such as:
- Depression
- Eating disorders
- Anger
- Anxiety problems
- Grief and loss
- Addictions
- Compulsive disorders
- Abuse, and more
Counseling helps mental issues by helping you:
- Understand your condition. Your therapist can help you understand your mental condition. As you talk, he or she can help you comprehend the reasons behind your illness.
- Face challenges. Counseling enables you to face the different challenges in your life. Your therapist can help you determine the reasons behind your mental illness and help you face them in a healthy way.
- Change current behavior. Your therapist can help determine your current habits that alleviate your mental illness. He or she can help you create ways to change your current behaviors that contribute to your mental health issues.
- Give room for healing. Accepting your mental health issues is the way to healing. Let go of the past in order to make room for the present and future. Counseling can show you ways to let go of what triggered your condition and help you have the solutions you need to become better.
- Alleviate your stress. Talking to someone who has empathy or someone who knows how to understand you can help alleviate you from the stress you are feeling. This way, you can air out what you are feeling without being judged. As a result, you get to feel better and you can understand how to cope with what you are going through.
Counseling for mental health is a step-by-step process that requires time. Consistency is needed in order for the therapy to work. If one does not follow through with the treatment sessions, the patient will simply revert to his or her previous condition.
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Article Title: Counselling for Mental HealthArticle By: Jessica Wilson. Jessica is a professional health expert who works for some major health industry giants. She currently writes for Members Own and is dedicated to helping people learn more about health related topics along the journey. When she’s not a health advocate, she enjoys some down time traveling or talking with family.
Image Reference: Adobe StockWeb Address: www.visioncounselling.com.au
Published: 01/03/2018
