{"id":1549,"date":"2020-01-07T17:52:21","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T00:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/?p=1549"},"modified":"2020-01-07T17:52:21","modified_gmt":"2020-01-08T00:52:21","slug":"mental-health-awareness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/mental-health-awareness\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental Health Awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

January is Mental Health Awareness month. We all know someone who has encountered a
\nmental health issue. Due to the stigma attached to this group of illnesses, individuals are often
\nhesitant to get help. Awareness starts with knowledge and understanding.<\/p>\n

The definition of mental illness is defined as a behavioural or mental pattern that causes
\nsignificant distress or impairment of physical functioning. These illnesses encompass anxiety
\ndisorders,\u00a0eating disorders,\u00a0mood disorders, personality disorders, psychotic disorders and
\nsubstance abuse disorders are the most common but also include others.<\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

Anxiety Disorders<\/h4>\n

Anxiety disorders, including phobias, affect approximately 11% of Canadians (www.canada.ca)
\nand cause significant feelings of fear and anxiety. Individuals worry about past and future events
\nand fear current events. People experience physical symptoms such as increased heart and
\nbreathing rate, increased pulse, sweating, shakiness and shortness of breath.
\nAnxiety disorders can occur with other mental illnesses. The symptoms need to be present for
\nany least 6 months and include a decrease in normal functioning in order for an accurate
\ndiagnosis to be made. Treatments include medication, lifestyle changes and cognitive behavioural
\ntherapy (counselling).<\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

Eating Disorders<\/h4>\n

Eating disorders are abnormal eating habits that affect a person\u2019s physical or mental health.
\nFemales and female athletes involved in a judged sport such as dance, gymnastics and figure
\nskating are at an increased risk of developing an eating disorder. There are 2 major eating
\ndisorders that many people are aware of \u2013 bulimia and anorexia but include others such as pica
\nand avoidant\/restrictive food intake disorder.
\nBulimia is the excessive intake of food followed by self-induced vomiting.\u00a0 Anorexia is the intake of
\nvery little food due to a fear of gaining weight. Pica is the consumption of non-food items such as
\nice, paint chips and soil. Pica can be associated with mineral deficiencies.\u00a0 Avoidant\/Restrictive
\nFood Intake Disorder is less known and an eating disorder where individuals have a lack of
\ninterest or avoidance of food. This could be related to a past negative experience or based on
\nfood characteristics such as texture, smell, taste etc.<\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

Mood Disorders<\/h4>\n

Mood disorders may be the most common and are characterized by disturbances in a person\u2019s
\nmood. They fall into 2 major categories- elevated mood and depressive mood.
\nAn excessively elevated mood is classified as mania and includes abnormal elevated affect and
\nenergy level, increased rate of speech and ideas, decreased need for sleep and hyperactivity.\u00a0 It
\noften occurs with bipolar disorder (which individuals alternate between elevated mood and
\ndepressive periods) although it may occur in conjunction with other mental disorders.
\nDepression is diagnosed when an individual experiences at least 2 weeks of low mood
\naccompanied by low self-esteem, excessive sleep or sleep disturbances\u00a0loss of interest in
\npreviously enjoyed activities\u00a0decreased appetite. Common treatments are counselling and
\nmedications although further investigation may be needed to rule out other diagnoses such as
\nsleep apnea.<\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

Personality Disorders<\/h4>\n

Personality disorders are a set of maladaptive patterns of behaviours, cognition and early
\nexperiences that deviate from what is accepted as society\u2019s socially normal. These patterns develop
\nearly in life and are often accompanied by distress and\/or disability as well as difficulty with
\ninterpersonal relationships,\u00a0cognitive function and emotional regulation.<\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

Psychotic Disorders<\/h4>\n

Psychotic disorders are abnormal functioning of the brain causing the individual to have
\ndifficulty determining what is real and what is not. Some people experience hallucinations and
\nhear voices, others may have inappropriate behaviours for the situations and still, others may
\nhave problems with delusions.
\nThere are many different causes including\u00a0(but not limited to) sleep deprivation,\u00a0 schizophrenia,
\nbipolar disorder, medications as well as consuming alcohol and drugs. Treatment includes
\nprescription medications,\u00a0counselling and social support and early treatment can improve the
\noutcome.<\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

Substance Abuse Disorders<\/h4>\n

Substance Abuse Disorders is defined as when consumption of one or more substances
\n(examples include alcohol, drugs \u2013 illegal and prescription,\u00a0tobacco, food, etc) is at the root of<\/p>\n

problems in an individual&#39;s life by causing a loss of control, problems in interpersonal
\nrelationships,\u00a0and withdrawal symptoms. Abuse can be classified as mild, moderate and severe
\nand affect approximately 5.5% of the population worldwide (wikipedia.org)<\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)<\/h4>\n

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is depression that is related to seasonal changes. It often
\nstarts in the fall when the weather is starting to cool, and we are confined indoors more often.
\nSAD tends to end in the spring when the weather starts to warm, and we can get outdoors more.
\nSince we, as Canadians, live far from the equator and experience decreased sunlight hours in the
\nwinter, we are all at risk for SAD. Symptoms are like depression with sadness being the number
\none symptom SAD sufferers experience along with a loss of interest in things they normally
\nenjoy, insomnia (which can exacerbate the depression aspect), low energy, experience changes in
\ndiet, weight fluctuations and possibly thoughts of suicide. Treatments can include using a special
\nlightbox (called phototherapy), along with talk therapy, exercise, medication, meditation and
\ngetting outdoors, even when it is cold outside.<\/p>\n

If you experience any of these symptoms make an appointment with your doctor to discuss a
\ntreatment plan. There are many different approaches aside from medication that can be looked at
\nand assessed to see which the best treatment plan is for you or your loved one. If you need help
\nor know someone who does, please phone Alberta\u2019s Mental Health Helpline at 1-877-303-2642.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

January is Mental Health Awareness month. We all know someone who has encountered a mental health issue. Due to the stigma attached to this group of illnesses, individuals are often hesitant to get help. Awareness starts with knowledge and understanding. The definition of mental illness is defined as a behavioural or mental pattern that causes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[69,71,177],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1549"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1549"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1551,"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1549\/revisions\/1551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}