Mental health is a part of self-care. With everyday demands, tasks, and responsibilities, properly taking care of mental health can be a challenge for anyone. Every age has its own challenges and difficulties that can take a toll on a person’s mental health, leaving a negative impact that is detrimental to his or her well being.
It’s important to take care of your mental health, no matter your age and your circumstances. Of course, some hardships in life are more challenging than others, but learning how to deal with them in a healthy way that will promote positive mental health is crucial. Here is a short guide on how to deal with mental health for every major stage of life:
Mental Health is Important to Pay Attention to At Every Age
Adolescents deal and cope with things differently than adults, perhaps not being able to channel and process their emotions in a beneficial way. Similarly, adults deal with things differently than seniors might, maybe putting too much focus on their work and job responsibilities, thus allowing them to become anxious and stressed out to the point of exhaustion or depression. Regardless of age, getting to know mental health at all stages of life is important to understand in order to deal with it in a healthy manner.
Staying On Top Of Mental Health in Adolescents
Adolescents, young adults from the age of 10-19, are very susceptible to poor mental health because of the various changes they endure. These changes include coming of age situations, new and confusing emotions, and physical changes; this is especially true for adolescents in the puberty stage of their life. All of these changes can present extreme mental health changes in adolescents.
It’s important for parents, teachers, and any other adult that will be present in an adolescent’s life to understand how to promote healthy mental health to him or her.
Common Mental Health Issues in Adolescents
- Changes in sleep, appetite, motivation, or energy levels
- Increased feelings of anxiousness
- Feelings of depression or thoughts of suicide
- Anger issues
If an adolescent in your life has been experiencing these changes/ feelings for over a few weeks, it’s important to contact a medical professional in order to get him or her the assistance that they need to cope with these mental health issues before they turn into something greater. There are a number of things that could be making an impact on an adolescent’s mental health, such as social situations, making and keeping friends, getting good grades, doing well in sports and other recreational activities, and any at-home issues.
In order to best deal with mental health in an adolescent, it’s important to remain as supportive as possible and try to talk to the adolescent in your life as much as possible. In addition to seeking professional help, a few other ways to begin dealing with mental health in an adolescent is to identify any stressors that are attributing to his or her behavior and try to work with them one on one with it. Counseling could also be a great way to deal with mental health in adolescents.
Creating Awareness of Mental Health in Adults
Adults (in reference to people between their adolescent and senior years) often look over their own mental health because they are caught up in trying to make sure that the people in their life are practicing healthy mental health tactics. Mental health issues in adults are very similar to those in adolescents, however, they are triggered by different things and may be more intense. Some mental health issues and symptoms in adults include:
- Intense feelings of sadness
- Excessive fear and worrying
- Extreme mood shifts
- Excessive anger and stress
- Thoughts of suicide
- Detachment from friends and family
If you or a loved one have been experiencing any of these symptoms of mental health issues for a prolonged period of time, seeking professional help is imperative. Sometimes, mental health treatment may not be something to simply, “learn how to deal with,” and this could be because of brain chemistry, inherited traits, or past experiences. Contacting a medical professional may be the best option if you or a loved one’s mental health issues seems severe.
However, if your mental health contributors are likely to come from the stress of a job, the anxiety of caring for your children, or from financial stressors, dealing with it on your own is completely manageable.
Coping with Mental Health Issues in Your Adult Years
Other ways to deal with mental health in adults can include, seeking counseling, picking up new hobbies and activities, attempting to stay social, and learning to prioritize responsibilities and demands of your career and family. Many adults enjoy taking up physical hobbies such as yoga or running in order to channel their unhealthy mental stressors. Similarly, being able to identify and manage what is causing you to poor unhealthy mental health is one of the best ways to manage and deal with mental health issues in the adult stage of life.
Mental Health Upkeep is Just as Important for Seniors as it is For Any Other Age
Senior mental health is often a topic that is rarely discussed, yet it’s extremely important to understand and spread awareness about disorders such as Alzheimers and dementia. Though every person is susceptible to outside triggers that contribute to mental health, seniors are especially susceptible to mental health issues because of disorders, but also because of their increasing loss of physical functions, such as walking, seeing, hearing, and taking care of themselves. Loss of these functions can lead to feelings of frustration and sadness.
Seniors’ mental health should be checked on with regular visits. Some warning signs of mental illness in seniors include:
- Ongoing headaches
- Hopelessness
- Increased feelings of anxiety or stress
- Obsessive and/or compulsive behavior
- Increased feelings of sadness
Mental health upkeep is just as important for seniors as it is for any other age. In addition to dealing with senior mental health with regular checkups, making sure that seniors stay active and social is a great way to prevent any mental health issues that may come from feelings of loneliness, sadness, or frustration.
Staying Active is Crucial for the Mind
Staying active and social will have a significantly positive impact on seniors’ mental health. Seniors will have less likelihood of feeling depressed because they will be occupied and will have things to look forward to. An active lifestyle will create a healthy mind; this is true for both seniors living at home with in-home senior care, and those living in nursing facilities.
The Importance of Treating Mental Health Within All Age Groups
No matter a person’s age, dealing with mental health is important and can be done in a variety of different ways. Getting to know and understand the various ways to deal with mental health issues, and how to prevent them, will allow you to live and promote a healthier lifestyle.
