Mental health stigma is when someone sees you in a negative way because of your mental illness.This stigma against those with mental health difficulties can be in any form. From the unkind word, social exclusion to even higher insurance premiums in some cases. But this is all because of the lack of knowledge and understanding of certain people.

Despite growing awareness the stigma has not decreased. Recent studies indicate the contrary. That stigma against people with mental illness has increased over the past half century and is still increasing. A couple of studies have also shown that the major cause of this stigma is the perception that some individuals with mental illnesses are dangerous. Given this fact, it seems that stigma will not be decreased.Campaigns to decrease stigma by simply trying to educate people are not sufficient. This is unbelievable to hear even though live in a world that has advanced in many ways. But issues like this are not tackled in our societies.

What are the effects of this stigma you may ask. From this week I can say it leads to various negative effects. The main one being it creates self doubt within the individual who struggles with their mental health. They start to receive less opportunities because of the way “their mind works”. People may even bully or harass them which leads to self doubt.

There are some ways we can all reduce the stigma. Firstly by educating ourselves and spreading of knowledge to others. This starts a chain of people passing their knowledge and the chain gets longer and longer. We can also show equality between mental and physical illnesses. People wouldn’t make fun of illnesses like diabetes etc but why with mental illness. The last tip would be to talk openly to mental health. You could learn a lot more than not engaging in a conversation about it at all.

Self-esteem is the opinion we have of ourselves. It is obvious that when we have a good self esteem we more or less feel positive about ourselves. So we can deal with the obstacles that we will face in life. Where‘as if our self esteem is low we feel the opposite and think negatively about everything.

Low self-esteem often seems to starts in the first stage of life – childhood. The people who surround us from parents,friends and to teachers bestow upon us positive and negative comments about ourselves. The positive messages sometimes we often forget unlike the negative ones that stay with us. Negatives could be that you may have found it difficult to reach others expectations or from stress and certain life events.

Having low self esteem can harm your mental health. It would lead to problems such as depression and anxiety. Your behaviour and attitude towards life would be negative because of not valuing yourself and not knowing your worth. It is understandable for people to find it difficult to have good self esteem but with small steps it could be improved. There are some ways that I came across in reaching a stage of having good self esteem.

The main step suggested is to identify what you yourself are good at and excel in. This could be simple things which would lead to boosting our mood. Surrounding yourself with people you feel comfortable and safe around could play a part in your self esteem. As we become happy with ourselves rather than feeling worthless. People sometimes with low self esteem seem to say yes to things that they don’t or would like to do just for pleasing people. This is unhealthy as it could leave us being resentful or overburdened. So by starting to say no to things that you feel uncomfortable to do. You would start to value our own opinions and actions taken. Finally to boost your self esteem try to challenge yourself. As people who have “high self esteem” won’t think of how others see them. Instead they do it to achieve goals for their themselves and not for others. Never underestimate yourself or how valuable you are.

If we all just think for a moment, we would realise our brain is always “on”. As in it is controlling every emotion and movement in our bodies. So it wouldn’t be surprise to know that we need to “fuel” our brain to function normally.

Substances from “low-premium” fuel (what you get from processed or refined foods) get to the brain, it has little ability to get rid of them. Diets high in refined sugars are harmful to the brain. Multiple studies have found a connection between a diet high in refined sugars and worsening of symptoms of mood disorders e.g. depression.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate sleep and appetite, mediate moods, and hinders pain. Since about 95% of serotonin is produced in your gastrointestinal tract. The gastrointestinal tract is lined with a hundred million nerve cells which guide our emotions. That is why having a healthy diet is important for the production of serotonin.

A certain investigation suggests that a traditional diet which includes fresh fruit and veg reduces depression by an immense 25-30% in contrast to a diet with processed and refined food. I also came across food that boosts your overall mental health. Oily fish reduces anxiety and negative emotions. As well as berries, yogurt and leafy greens. But the “superfood” for mental health I was amazed to discover was beans. Due to beans containing fibre and antioxidants which help burn energy which is important for mental health.

So from the research I did this week, the sources I came across all imply that food does greatly impact mental health. Which is why having a balanced and healthy diet is important not only just for us physically but mentally.

Social media facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information through virtual networks and communities. Social media can have both its advantages and disadvantages for us.

First of all the positives, social media allows you to communicate virtually. It is a platform that overcomes barriers of distance and time. Social media allows us to connect and reconnect with others and can expand and strengthen our interactions with people. It also allows people to communicate with people who share similar interests or have the same experiences. In addition to letting people to express themselves and make them happier.

But everything has its negatives as well. The main one being that social media is addictive. Experts have not been in total agreement on whether the addiction is a real thing, but there’s some good evidence that is exists. This “addiction” is unhealthy and effects our mental health in ways that are oblivious to us sometimes. The more we use social media, the less happy we seem to be was what one study concluded from their research. It seemed that social media platforms such as Instagram only provides moments of happiness and lessens your satisfaction of life.

Due to the increased usage of social media it has increased a main problem – comparing our lives with other which is mentally unhealthy. We fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others as we scroll through our feeds, and make judgements about how we measure up. This is bad for our mental health as it makes people not value themselves which results in low self esteem. As well as not having a lot of confidence in ourselves.

From the websites I looked into, many suggest that as long as we are mindful users it could be beneficial than being hurtful. I personally feel it is taking over our mental health. And leading us to sometimes not living our lives to the full. But it is something we have control over and if we decrease our usage of social media it could lead us to having better mental stability.

Sleep is as important to our health as eating, drinking and breathing. It allows our bodies to repair themselves and our brains to process information.

Sleep and mental health are closely connected which we may know of. Firstly, it relaxes your muscles and heart rate and breathing slows down. As it is important for your body to have a time to slow down.Sleep gives the brain some time to process all of the information and store it in our memory banks. So when we may need this information it can be quick to remember. This is why especially students are reminded to get the recommended amount of sleep. As well as for improving concentration levels, creativity and learning information quicker and easily.

The sleep category REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, is the period when people dream. Reports show that REM sleep enhances learning and memory, and contributes to emotional health — in complex ways. This also allows us to produce physiological changes and have better functioning of our systems.

Sleep deprivation affects your psychological state and mental health. The negative effects of poor sleep are well-documented as well. Including the profound impact on mental health and emotional well-being. But studies suggest that a good night’s sleep helps assist in both mental and emotional resilience. Where as chronic sleep deprivation leads to negative thinking and emotional vulnerability. Poor sleep can make it much more difficult to cope with even minor stress. Daily hassles can turn into major sources of frustration if a person is sleep deprived or don’t even get a good night sleep. Sleep may have a larger importance than expected on mental wellbeing.

From the research I did this week, I was astonished to discover that music has its advantages on both our body and mind. If you mentally feel unwell, listening to music may lead you to a peaceful mindset for many reasons.

The first reason being that listening to music can improve overall well-being. Music can help regulate emotions, and create happiness and relaxation in everyday life. Listening to ‘relaxing’ music has also been shown to decrease stress and anxiety in healthy people. Many studies have shown that music can boost mental and physical stimulation. Mental and physical stimulation is doing activities which enriches the mind and body.

Also research has shown that the elements of songs ( e.g rhythm and melody ) help our brains form patterns that enhance memory. In a study of stroke survivors, listening to music helped them experience more verbal memory and better focused attention. It also help lessen anxiety and improve your physical abilities to do exercise. Music helps in expressing your emotions. For example creating music as simple as making lyrics can make it easier to process your own emotions.

Music therapy has also been used to help enhance better communication and is being recommended by numerous health professionals. It also assists with coping with feelings such as fear, loneliness and anger. It has been proven that music releases mood enhancing chemicals into our body which music therapists can grasp onto help in the medical treatment of patients. Music therapy has been getting a lot of praise as it has shown positive results from professional health institutions. As you can see music has many benefits as it may assist in abolishing challenges or hardships that we may face.

Physical activity can be defined as any movement of the body that requires energy expenditure. It includes activities such as having a short walk or even cleaning your house. There’s many benefits to physical activity.As it helps reduce the risk of pulmonary diseases and obesity. Everyone knows that it helps prevent physical illnesses but it also assist with having a stable mental health. This is underestimated I feel by us of having an influence on mental health.

Many researches show that physical activity releases chemicals in our brains called endorphins. The release creates feelings of happiness and euphoria. It can boost self esteem which is very important and improves concentration levels. This all assists in having a stable mental well-being. Physical activity reduces the pressure of unhealthy prolonged cognitive activity as well. Studies have shown that exercise can alleviate symptoms of clinical depression. It could reduce anxiety sensitivity as well. Many health professionals have suggested exercise to helps with their physiological problems.

Other benefits include many we have known of. Exercise improves sleep patterns and reduce the chances of getting insomnia for example. As well as having a healthy appetite and better management of our feelings. It can reduce emotions of anger and frustration. I also discovered that having a healthy diet and moderate exercise can help shore up the brain against cognitive decline that begins after the age of 45. A simple run or walk around the park can have a big impact on us or other individuals. It could change your mental health and you might not even think about it. So go on a run or do half an hour of simple exercise cause it leaves with you a sense of achievement and have some stability mentally.

Mental health means having a general sense and ability to cope with everyday challenges we may face. It’s more than the absence of a “mental illness”. Having a good mental health is vital.It can help with overcoming difficulties and harsh times throughout our lives. All of us experience problems with our mental health in our lives. At least one in four of would or will.

But some of us may not be able to overcome this and may get stuck in a negative mindset. This isn’t something anyone should be hiding or ashamed of. As there are many helpful resources around us. Help can be just as simple as writing your worries down. Or talking to someone you trust. Getting help earlier on is better so you can get to a better mindset.

Many studies that I’ve investigated into seem to show that mental health “illnesses” are increasing worldwide. No country is immune to it either. It has a strong prevalence in young adults and teenagers. This may be due to many reasons. Scientists have said it’s not just due to one specific reason. It may start from genes that we all possess. Also due to life experience such as trauma or stress. But many of them seem to say it could be due to the vast social media platforms that may cause problems for young adults and teenagers.

There are many services both nationwide in Ireland and worldwide to help people navigate through their challenges. There’s places such as Shine in Cork and Jigsaw in Dublin.Pieta House, Mental Health First Aid and many more. But helplines are also available which can be accessed easily. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help because there are people out there who are ready and interested in helping.

My name is Meril Jacob and I’m a transition year student. As part of my Gaisce award,I have started this blog. I have chosen the topic of mental health. As it’s important part of our lives starting from our childhood and adolescence through into adulthood.

Not only due to that but I believe mental health is a very important issue to discuss especially in our modern society. Secondly, I want to raise awareness from this blog about many aspects and impacts of mental health. Finally, the prevalence of some mental health disorders has risen in the past few years and we should be able to have open discussions about it rather than hiding it and hurting ourselves further

This blog is based on online sources that I’ve personally researched. I have tried to use credible sources to make this as accurate as possible. I would like for this blog to be read by people of any age,who may find my blog informative and help them in some way.

I will be posting a blog weekly every Friday. Hopefully you will find it easier to understand all about mental health from my blog.

“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.” – Glenn Close.