Causes of Mental Health Issues in Communities and Towns
In every community or town, mental health issues are very common. There are many reasons due to which such problems originate among the people. For instance, in today’s fast moving and competitive world, everyone is suffering from mental health problems like that of anxiety and depression. These are very common problems which are seen among people today. However there are many mental health issues which are rare in nature. These include bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. According to Townsend & Morgan, (2017) the mental health issues originate because of many reasons. The person could have had a very bad childhood which leads the child to become mentally ill when he/ she grows up. There are many kinds of psychological trauma which can lead the person towards mental illness. The person might be suffering under anxiety for professional troubles, personal problems or physical health issues. These could lead the person towards a poor mental health condition. Moreover, negligence is a very important reason which makes the child or a person mentally sick. A child being neglected or a person during his/ her crisis period or adolescence being neglected can gall mentally ill and go into long term depression.Basically all the people in the community or the town at different stages in their life and due to varying reasons are vulnerable and likely to get affected by these mental issues. These include the children, who are in their budding stage and need care, love and attention; the teens who are in their adolescence and feel the difference in attitude with others and face adjustment problems, the middle aged people who are struggling in their career paths and the old people who are feeling the burden of age, physical illness and also negligence.
The major determinants of mental health issues are excessive competition and ambition in the professional life, work load, stress, materialism in personal life, lack of time for close ones, communication gap between people, lack of spiritualism in old age, etc. The entire population of the town or the community is getting affected by these determinants. Most of the people are commonly passing through the above mentioned phases and problems. The life which we all are leading today is so fast that we do not have time to communicate and talk about our problems. There are many measures being taken by the different governmental and non-governmental organizations in order to improve the mental health of the people in the community. The methods used are: meditation, counseling and professional helps from the psychologists and psychiatrist, talking openly and sharing the problems with their close ones, eating well and at regular intervals, exercising and working actively, drinking lots of water and controlling the intake of alcohol, staying in touch with family, friends and others even when the person is at an isolated and remote location, taking a break from work when feeling saturated with work load, giving time to hobbies and exploring something new, going out on long vacations or short trips, etc. Everyone is aware of the mental health issue which is affecting the people currently in the community. The gap between knowing and doing, i.e. being aware of the health problem and treating it timely is widening day by day. The main reason of this increasing gap is that the people do not prioritize their mental health as much as they give importance to their physical health. The people around us may not agree to all that we say or want. However we must be able to cope up with the differences and face the challenges which we come across in life. In every phase of life through childhood, teenage, youth and adulthood, one needs to take care of their mental health. The way the care givers, doctors, counselors, nurses, psychologists and psychiatrists, etc. handle the patients suffering from mental health issues also impacts the determinants of mental health condition. When the patients also face negligence in care from the person or the professionals in charge of their health, they feel mentally even sicker. The professionals in health care field must extend their warmth to the patients so that along with the physical, their mental health condition is also improved. Work load, stress, competition, breaking relationships, etc. are all determinants of mental health issues. These can be made better if the care givers take better care and show more concern towards their patients. More than the doctors, the nurses are more involved with the patients at the care facilities. According to Fortinash & Worret (2014),from rehabilitation centers to the mental asylums, the nursing and care by the nurses cater to the physical and mental health requirements of the patients. In fact the personal touch of care and affection from the nurses can improve the health of the patients.
Common Mental Health Issues Faced by People in Communities and Towns
While working on this project based on mental health issues I personally realized the importance of taking care of mental health along with the physical health of the person. Mental health impacts the physical health and so a complete well-being is important. The nurses have a vital role to play in the life of their patients. Thus those who are involved in this profession need to be more concerned and compassionate towards their patients. While working with the community members I have realized the need for awareness regarding mental health. The people need to know that they must approach the counselors when they face problems in handling some life issues instead of feeling depressed and suffocated in that situation. An extreme state of anxiety or depression can lead to suicidal acts. In everyhouse there is a person affected by mental health illness. The health of the people in the community is adversely impacted by their vaulting ambition and failure to handle relationships.
Description: Health is an asset for every human being and this includes both mental as well as physical health of a person. However, we often consider and attend to our physical health needs forgetting completely our mental health condition. Body and mind has to be balanced to have a healthy life. I have learnt to pay attention to my mental health needs and also being empathetic and compassionate towards others hearing their problems. This field work has been educating and useful for me as I have learnt the importance of mental health and the need for professional help in case of mental sickness.
Feelings: The feeling which I had while working in the field and dealing with the community people is that I realized how ignorant and indifferent we are to our mental health status. As we all are trying to suppress our problems, we all feel suffocated faster. This lack of venting out our problems makes us weak and depressed. When we fail to achieve something we are overpowered by depression and anxiety. We lack awareness that we must consult counselors for help in case of mental illness.
Evaluation: The good experience which I had was that I came across many people and got to know of their mental health problems. When I surveyed 5 people, among them almost 4 people report of mental health issues. The bad side of it is that I was turned down by many when I tried to inquire about their mental health problems.
Analysis: Now I see the mentally sick person behind every physically healthy and fit person. The entire well-being is important and not only a good physical health. The emotional state, psychological condition, well-being, etc. of a person is impacted by the mental health. Thus catering to the needs of the body as well as the mind is equally important. The way we understand, think or behave, all depend on our mental health. We all go through stress and crisis which we need to be able to handle.
Conclusion: In my next attempt or field work I will try and interview people about the major driving force which makes them mentally ill. I will convey to people that instead of making the mental health issues a secret and hiding it from people, one needs to talk about it and resolve the issues. This will be a more personalized case study.
Action plan: Next time with the gained information I can try and work better with the people in the community, conducting belter survey, preparing better questionnaire and having a better interview session. This assignment has been very informative and has helped me in my personal development. I have learnt to prioritize the mental health problems and not to neglect it thinking it to be less important than the physical health problems. Approaching the counselors is very important and going for consulting the psychologists can be very natural as an affair like consulting a doctor for cold and cough.
References
Fortinash, K. M., &Worret, P. A. H. (2014). Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing-E-Book. London, UK: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Townsend, M. C., & Morgan, K. I. (2017). Psychiatric mental health nursing: Concepts of care in evidence-based practice. New York, USA: FA Davis.
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