The Nitty Gritty of Mental Instability.

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Understandably, the economic situation of most African countries right now, is enough to drive an average person insane, but today I actually heard the story of a woman who had a case of mental instability, and I became really worried about her kids. In Africa, we are very quick to associate loosing of one’s mind (mental instability) to spiritual problems, we completely disregard the fact that certain lifestyle and habit could even contribute to this condition.

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Mental instability is a general term used to describe various emotional and acting disabilities. Anyone with mental instability will find it extremely difficult to concentrate in anything, the mental instability is often managed with prescribed medications or counselling and in certain cases, the both are required for healing, depending on how deep the condition is. Some common mental instability conditions are;

Behavioural and emotional disorders.

Anxiety disorders: This entails anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, phobias, compulsive disorder (OCD).

Depression: Having a lower mood, lack of interest in enjoyable activities, extreme thought and worry, or even a case of extreme sadness which would result in a suicidal behaviour and thought.

Bipolar affective disorder: This is characterized by an extreme level of mood disorder.

Eating disorder. Eating disorders can result in a psychological and physical consequences.

Obsessive compulsive disorder: This is an anxiety disorder, obsessions, unwanted and intrusive recurrent thoughts.

Psychosis: This entails the experience of hallucinations and confusion. Often found in cases of drug-induced mental conditions.

Schizophrenia: This affects emotion and thinking decisions, resulting in hallucinations, social withdrawal, absence of motivation.
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A person with mental illness can be identified with some of these symptoms.

  • Reduced ability to concentrate.
  • Constantly feeling sad or down.
  • Inability to cope with regular work hours.
  • Having problems related with people and situations.
  • Suicidal thoughts.
  • Change in eating habit.
  • Excessive anger/violence.
  • Change in sex drive.

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Mental illnesses are known to be associated with either genetic or environmental factors.

People who have a family history of those with mental illness, are likely to have an increased rate of mental illness.

Excessive exposure to environmental toxins, drugs and alcohols can also be related to the increased likelihood of experiencing medical illness.

When neural networks associated with chemicals responsible for the transport of brain chemicals to the brain and other parts of the body are impaired, and this results in depression and other emotional disorders.

There are certain medical conditions like diabetes that could possibly lead to an increased rate of medical illness.

There are some infections that have been discovered to have a similar association with mental illness and brain damage. (e.g)PANDAS

Some kids experience disruption of fatal brain development at the time of birth which could be a loss of oxygen to the brain at that time, therefore resulting in prenatal damage to the child.

Improper nutrition could contribute to the growth of mental development.

The constant abuse of drugs.

History of abuse or neglect.

Serious injury or large blow to the head.

The absence of healthy relationships. 2

How stress relates with mental instability.

Intense stress has been identified to be one of the reasons behind mental instability, and it is of course worth addressing. When an individual goes through intense stress, the body fails to function appropriately, extreme stress in the human body would result in: Troubled sleeping, change in appetite, inability to concentrate, headaches and frequent mood swings.

Extreme stress exposes the brain to an increased hormonal level known as cortisol, this exposure in turns makes the immune system become weak and of course this gives room to easy and frequent cases of illness. Every human should be able to effectively avoid things that would make them get extremely stressed, let me drop some points that would help us reduce stress to a great extent.

  • Practice relaxation as often as you can, taking a break from work to relax for a few moments would so a lot of help.

  • Make daily exercise a part of your routine: Simple exercise like walking, jogging or anything that makes you move your body and help you have fun in the process of doing that, is good enough.

  • Manage your time appropriately: Setting a time for work different from the time to relax and have fun is really a good way to get things done.

  • Eat healthy meals: Simple, unprocessed meals with lots of vegetables could contribute to mood stabilization and as such a healthy brain also.

  • Stop holding situations to heart, speak to someone you can confide in.

  • Avoid alcohol and drugs.
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Mental instability could be associated with some complications if not handled early enough;
Poverty and homelessness.
A case of insanity.
Self harm and harm to others.
A weak immune system prone to ailments.
Heart and medical problems.
Family problems.
Difficulty in relationships.

How to prevent mental disorder.

There are situations when mental disorder cannot be prevented, especially if it is a genetic transfer. However, there are still simple steps that could help us avoid possible complications of this condition.

The first is to understand your body, this will help you realize when there is a problem that requires attention. Speak with your doctor, and together you will be able to realize the need for attention in somebody changes.

With a noticed occurrence of certain medical attitudes, a medical help should be sorted immediately, nothing should be left to fate and chance.

Ensure that your health and self-care is of important priority, eat healthy, sleep well and have a regular medical schedule. 3

References.

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/servicesandsupport/types-of-mental-health-issues-and-illnesses

https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Individuals-with-Mental-Illness/Taking-Care-of-Your-Body/Managing-Stress

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mental-illness/symptoms-causes/syc-20374968

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-causes-mental-illness

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Hi, I am Tobi a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people. Want to hear me speak on relationships and general life issues, you can find my podcast channel Here and listen to any episode for free, do not forget to subscribe and share with friends. I sincerely appreciate every love I get from members of the community, do well to keep them coming.



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11 comments
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Because of the COVID pandemic, I have been exposed to so many students being heavily affected by mental instability. This is very emotional and hard to handle, of course for the students but also for us. We want to help, but it is unclear how... The current world is a very sad one...

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Dear @lemouth, over here the increased number of hungry families and increased medical bills isn't even making things any easy.

The current world is a very sad one...

Really sad one, may we find help.

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Different strokes fro different folks. I guess the needs of man just keep evolving. For now, hunger is the major problem of developing countries.

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Indeed a big issue in every corner, thanks for stopping by.

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And hunger will only become worse with the current war... (from what I have read regarding supplies).

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Sometimes it's people who are at the top (like dictators) who kind of transmit their mental instabilities to other people through their actions. Sometimes it's people who spread conspiracy theories (again, because they are mentally unstable) and then regular people don't know who to believe and are overwhelmed with stress. Just 2 recent examples.

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You are really correct, dictatorship is a very common example in a country like mine, driving hard-working citizens almost insane.

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I totally agree with this!

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Thanks for your contribution to the STEMsocial community. Feel free to join us on discord to get to know the rest of us!

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Thanks for your contribution to the STEMsocial community. Feel free to join us on discord to get to know the rest of us!

Please consider delegating to the @stemsocial account (85% of the curation rewards are returned).

Thanks for including @stemsocial as a beneficiary, which gives you stronger support. 
 

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Thanks for this post, I am featuring it in my daily posts.

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