Recognize When You Need More Help
If you are struggling to cope, or the symptoms of your stress or anxiety wont go away, it may be time to talk to a professional. Psychotherapy and medication are the two main treatments for anxiety, and many people benefit from a combination of the two.
If you are in immediate distress or are thinking about hurting yourself, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline toll-free at 1-800-273-TALK . You also can text the Crisis Text Line or use the Lifeline Chat on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website.
If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Read more about getting help.
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Helping A Suicidal Friend Or Relative
If you see any of the above warning signs:
- get professional help for the person
- let them know they’re not alone and that you care about them
- offer your support in finding other solutions to their problems
If you feel there is an immediate danger, stay with the person or have someone else stay with them, and remove all available means of committing suicide, such as medication.
Over-the-counter drugs such as painkillers can be just as dangerous as prescription medication.
Also, remove sharp objects and poisonous household chemicals such as bleach.
Diagnosing And Treating Depression
There’s no physical test for depression.
If you experience depression symptoms most of the day, every day, for more than two weeks, you should visit your GP. This is especially important if:
- you have symptoms of depression that aren’t getting any better
- you have thoughts of self-harm or suicide
- your work, relationships with friends and family, or interests are affected by your mood
It can be hard for people with depression to imagine that anything can help them but the sooner you seek help, the sooner the symptoms start to get better.
Your GP may examine you and perform blood or urine tests to make sure there isn’t another condition causing your depression symptoms, like an underactive thyroid.
When you see your GP, they’ll try to find out if you have depression by asking you questions. These are likely to be about your health, how you’re feeling, and how that is affecting you mentally and physically.
Telling your doctor your symptoms and the affect they are having on you will help your GP to tell if you have depression, and how severe the condition is. It’s important to be as open as possible.
Your conversation with your GP will be confidential. This rule can only be broken if your GP thinks there is a significant risk of harm to you or others, and that telling a family member or carer would make that risk lower.
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How Can You Get Over Your Attachment Obsession
You need to be precise about what you exactly need and look for in a relationship or friendship. Otherwise, jumping into a relationship without first figuring this out will lead you to get hurt if both parties dont show mutual effort.
When it comes to love relationships, its important to not be physically intimate with a person as soon as you get to know them since it can make you emotionally attach yourself to them soon. Holding off a little longer if you get emotionally attached easily is beneficial for you.
Be strict with yourself when it comes to spending too much time with your new love interest or friend since everyone needs their space and time alone at times. You need to be respectful of that and even take time to yourself to explore a new hobby that you can enjoy by yourself. This not only builds self-confidence, but you also start appreciating yourself.
Be in the present moment as much as possible. Try not to have obsessive thoughts about the future and the past. When you obsess over something, your feelings develop over exaggerating tiny moments, which can be very dangerous to your relationship.
You need to know your worth as well. Going in front of the mirror every morning and saying reassuring words to yourself might sound silly when you think of it, but it does help you envision the goodness in you and helps build your confidence in subtle ways.
Fake It Until You Make It
Its one thing to know your triggers and how to deal with them in theory, but learning to control your emotions or change your perspective takes time and practice. Until you get there, dont be afraid to fake it until you make it.
Smile, even if you dont feel like it. Force yourself to count to 10 before responding to a situation thats irritating you. Do whatever you need to do in the moment to keep your cool. Over time, these techniques will become second nature, and youll find it easier and easier to manage your emotions.
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Lack Of Exercise & Sleep
Youll likely be more reactive and irritable if youre not getting enough exercise or sleep. Exercise releases endorphins that have mood-boosting effects, so even a moderate amount of physical activity can make a big difference.
Aim to get at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. If youre struggling to find the time or motivation to work out, try breaking up your workouts into smaller chunks or finding an activity you enjoy.
Similarly, sleep deprivation can lead to irritability and impatience. Most adults need between 7 and 8 hours of sleep per night. If youre not getting enough shut-eye, try changing your sleep habits. Establish a regular sleep schedule, create a relaxing bedtime routine, and avoid screen time in the hours leading up to sleep.
How Is Depression And Anxiety Treated
If you broke your leg, you wouldn’t just struggle on without help. You’d get in seen to. Mental health is as important as physical health and can be treated successfully. There are several treatments available often a combination of treatments is needed.
If your symptoms are mild, your GP may take a ‘wait and see’ approach. They may give you some advice on how to cope with symptoms then see if symptoms improve within a few weeks.
Talking treatments
Theres something called ‘talking therapies’ now, which can really help people who are feeling low, anxious or out of sorts.
Talking treatments allow you to talk to a trained professional who can help you manage your thoughts and feelings and the effect they have on your mood and behaviour.
Examples of talking treatments include cognitive behavioural therapy and counselling. They may be one-on-one sessions or in a group environment.
If you are considering talking treatments, be sure to mention any cultural, language or religious needs you have or any hearing or sight problems, so they can be addressed when arranging therapy for you. Talking treatments are effective and available for free on the NHS.
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Your Thoughts And Feelings Affect Everything You Do
Not feeling right can cause you to think and act differently and this can affect all aspects of your life, sometimes in the most unexpected ways.
When somethings not right you could experience it in different ways. You might get sick or just feel generally run-down. You may feel like youre not your usual self – you dont want to be around anyone when usually you love company. You may cry a lot for no apparent reason or easily lose your temper, or even wonder what your life is all about.
Getting an overall picture of yourself helps to make sense of whats happening in your life, and what can help you feel better. One way to do that is to think about whats happening in different aspects of your life your body , your spirit , your social circle and your mind .
- Physical : Thinking about your tinana means focusing on how you look after and care for your body.
- Mental : Thinking about hinengaro means focusing on emotions and how you communicate, think and feel.
- Social : Thinking about whnau means focusing on the relationships you have with people who support you. Their support might be physical, cultural or emotional.
- Spiritual : Thinking about wairua means focusing on things that give your life meaning. That might mean your religion. It could also mean thinking about your links with the environment , your heritage, and your connections to ancestors .
Know and understand those unseen things that can cause worry, anxiety and fear – Mori proverb.
Behaving Anxiously Activates The Stress Response And The Stress Response Can Cause A Heightened Sense Of Urgency
This heightened sense of urgency can cause anxious personalities to want to analyze quicker and more effectively. But if others arent living up to your expectations of doing things more quickly and effectively, you might become more easily frustrated with the less effective pace of others. And, as anxiousness and hyperstimulation increase, so can the urge to do things more quickly and effectively, which can cause an increasing sense of frustration.
When you combine this factor with the previous point, many anxious personalities become more easily frustrated as their anxiety and stress elevate.
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Mild And Moderate Depression
These are the most common types. More than simply feeling blue, the symptoms of mild depression can interfere with your daily life, robbing you of joy and motivation. Those symptoms become amplified in moderate depression and can lead to a decline in confidence and self-esteem.
Recurrent, mild depression
Dysthymia is a type of chronic low-grade depression. More days than not, you feel mildly or moderately depressed, although you may have brief periods of normal mood.
- The symptoms of dysthymia are not as strong as the symptoms of major depression, but they last a long time .
- Some people also experience major depressive episodes on top of dysthymia, a condition known as double depression.
- If you suffer from dysthymia, you may feel like youve always been depressed. Or you may think that your continuous low mood is just the way you are.
Take Care Of Your Body
A healthy body can help you manage stress. Get 7 to 9 hours of sleep, eat healthy food, stay hydrated and exercise regularly. Go easy on the caffeine. Shorting yourself on sleep, and especially pulling an all-nighter, robs you of energy and your ability to concentrate. A healthy diet improves your ability to learn. Don’t skip breakfast.
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Different Responses To Stress
The following are different potentially unhelpful responses to stress, but its important to note that we can only do the best we can in the situation we are in. There are many reasons why someone might respond to stress in the following ways, and if any of these resonate with you, you should not judge yourself too harshly.
Shutting down or detaching yourself
This can happen emotionally, mentally and physically. Under severe stress, you may find that you emotionally close off, the original stress-induced feelings of anxiety or worry instead replaced with numbness or apathy. You may also find that you have a tendency to detach yourself from people physically, spending less time with your friends or partner. You may also find that you mentally shut down, unable to access the more abstract or creative parts of your thinking. Falling asleep, or suddenly feeling immensely tired, in the face of stress is also a coping mechanism whereby the individual chooses to disengage from what is happening around them, or inside them.
Turning to substances
If we respond to stressful situations by turning to alcohol or drugs, we can become dependent on these substances and our primary response when faced with new stress might be to self-soothe using our chosen vice.
People Cope With Stress Differently
When presented with a stressor, a person makes two kinds of judgement:
- What is needed to cope with this situation?
- Have I got the resources to cope with this situation?
A stressor can be interpreted as a threat or as an opportunity. People vary along a personality dimension of optimism versus pesimism. Optimists are more likely to see the future as benign and a stressful situation as giving rise to an opportunity. People vary in the extent to which they believe that they have the resources to deal with new and threatening situations. Poeple high in hardiness or resilience believe that they have the competence to control the world around them. This perception of competence and control makes them find a threat less stressful than others might.
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Treatment For Depression In Young People
Encourage young people to talk about how they feel with someone they know and trust, such as a parent, teacher, school counsellor, family member or friend.
An important next step is for the young person to visit their doctor to learn whether they have depression and what can be done to treat it. Support for people with depression can include psychological therapy that focuses on building skills to deal with life stresses and to change negative thinking patterns, as well as lifestyle changes .
Your doctor may also add antidepressant medication to the treatment plan. It can take up to six weeks to feel better after treatment with medication begins, but most young people will notice an improvement. Encourage them to speak with their doctor about any changes in their moods.
Self-help tips for improving mental health include:
- exercising regularly
Where Do I Go From Here
In addition to talking to your family doctor, check out the resources below for more information on mood disorders:
Mood Disorders Association of BCVisit www.mdabc.net or call 604-873-0103 or 1-855-282-7979 for resources and information on mood disorders. Youll also find more information on support groups around the province.
BC Partners for Mental Health and Substance Use InformationVisit www.heretohelp.bc.ca for info sheets and personal stories about . Youll also find more information, tips and self-tests to help you understand many different mental health problems.
Canadian Mental Health Associations BC DivisionVisit www.cmha.bc.ca or call 1-800-555-8222 or 604-688-3234 for information and community resources on mental health or any mental illness.
1-800-SUICIDEIf you are in distress or are worried about someone in distress who may hurt themselves, call 1-800-SUICIDE 24 hours a day to connect to a BC crisis line, without a wait or busy signal. Thats 1-800-784-2433.
Resources available in many languages:*For the service below, if English is not your first language, say the name of your preferred language in English to be connected to an interpreter. More than 100 languages are available.
About the author
The Canadian Mental Health Association promotes the mental health of all and supports the resilience and recovery of people experiencing a mental illness through public education, community-based research, advocacy, and direct services. Visit www.cmha.bc.ca.
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Is There A Disorder For Being Attached To Someone
In a 2020 study conducted by the US National Library of Medicine, a patient showed signs of dependent personality disorder. When studied, it was shown that when the patient in her life didnt have someone to care for, a downward spiral of emotional breakdown ensued along with feelings of worthlessness.
This type of anxious personality disorder often makes you indulge in overwhelming feelings of submissiveness and helplessness. You may have problems with making even the most straightforward decisions on your own without the aid of another. However, this is treatable by using reassuring methods of improving self-confidence and self-reliance.
If youre concerned about this disorder, here are some symptoms of the disorder as revealed by the US National Library of Medicines:
Will Treatment Help
Its hard to predict which treatments will work best for someone with depression. How well a specific treatment works also depends on the type of depression a person is experiencing. Its important to work closely with your doctor and/or a mental health care professional as you are exploring different treatment options.
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Who Does It Affect
Mood disorders are among the most common mental illnesses. In fact, about one in seven Canadian will experience a mood disorder at some point in their life. Theyre more likely to affect the following groups of people:
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Women: Women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, dysthymic disorder and SAD. But bipolar disorder seems to affect men and women equally
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Young people: While mood disorders can affect you at any time in your life, many people start to experience symptoms in their teens and twenties. About 3.5% of children and 3% to 7% of teens are diagnosed with depression. Many people are diagnosed with bipolar disorder between the ages of 15 and 19.
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Family members: Having a close relative who has a mood disorder increases your risk of having one
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People who experience substance use problems: Some substances can cause a mood disorder, trigger an episode of mania or depression or make a mood disorder worse,
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People living with other health and mental health problems: People with long-term health problems like cancer, AIDS, heart disease or Alzheimers disease are more likely to experience depression. People living with an anxiety disorder or eating disorder are also more likely to experience depression