Mental illness refers to all diagnosable mental disorders and is defined as a health condition that changes a persons thinking, emotion or behaviour. This can be a combination of all three and causes a person distress and difficulty in functioning. A mental disorder can be mild to moderate or even severe and can fluctuate due to different circumstances and stressors involved.
Common mental disorders
I myself have dealt with chronic anxiety for most of my life and have had a few periods of mild to moderate depression over the years. When I first started taking anxiety medication, I kept it secret from my family and only told my very close friends. I was ashamed. I saw it as a flaw, a weakness in myself. Not wanting to admit that I was broken. I saw myself as a mom first, taking care of others. Not someone that needed to be taken care of herself. Living with mental illness needs to be talked about from a personal perspective and shared to reduce and eliminate the stigma.
Joining Kung Fu increased my anxiety and also forced me to acknowledge and understand how greatly it has affected my life. There have been many times when just standing on the mats before class increased my anxiety. My breathing becomes shallow and my legs turn to jelly. Concentration, memory and coordination is all affected. I need to process everything. Anxiety has also created resilience and the ability to push through and because of this I keep stepping into the kwoon and onto the mats. And it does get better. Every year that I am on the IHC team brings me a step closer to successfully managing my illness and living a fuller life to become the best version of myself.
It wasn't until I was in my late 40's that I even knew I was living with a mental illness. And it has just been recently that I am understanding how this has affected most of my life over the years. As I manage this illness, I am developing tools to reduce the negative impact.
Common mental disorders
Depression.
Anxiety disorders
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Bipolar disorder.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Schizophrenia.
Mental illness does not discriminate; it can affect anyone regardless of your age, gender, geography, income, social status, race/ethnicity, religion/spirituality, sexual orientation, or background. While mental illness can occur at any age, three-fourths of all mental illness begins by age 24.
Symptoms can range from loss of motivation and energy, change in sleep patterns, extreme mood swings, changes in thoughts or perception, confusion, agitation, withdrawal or overwhelming obsessions or fears. Mental illness interferes with relationships and can affect a person’s ability to function on a day-to-day basis, and even lead to social isolation.
Mental health and mental illness are not the same. Mental health refers to a persons current state of well-being and the ability to manage life's highs and lows. Everyone of us will struggle at some point in our lives with our mental health or well-being. Not everyone will experience mental illness though. Someone with a mental illness could have excellent mental health or poor mental health.
Even with all the information over the recent years and evolving communication there still exists a stigma attached to mental illness. Yes, more and more people are expressing their understanding and supportiveness of friends, family and colleagues living with a mental illness. However, a larger majority of people living with a mental illness are still reluctant to divulge their condition to others and are sometimes not wanting to acknowledge it to themselves. If there really is a larger majority of acceptance then where is the disconnect and why is there still an associated stigma?
Anxiety disorders
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Bipolar disorder.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Schizophrenia.
Mental illness does not discriminate; it can affect anyone regardless of your age, gender, geography, income, social status, race/ethnicity, religion/spirituality, sexual orientation, or background. While mental illness can occur at any age, three-fourths of all mental illness begins by age 24.
Symptoms can range from loss of motivation and energy, change in sleep patterns, extreme mood swings, changes in thoughts or perception, confusion, agitation, withdrawal or overwhelming obsessions or fears. Mental illness interferes with relationships and can affect a person’s ability to function on a day-to-day basis, and even lead to social isolation.
Mental health and mental illness are not the same. Mental health refers to a persons current state of well-being and the ability to manage life's highs and lows. Everyone of us will struggle at some point in our lives with our mental health or well-being. Not everyone will experience mental illness though. Someone with a mental illness could have excellent mental health or poor mental health.
Even with all the information over the recent years and evolving communication there still exists a stigma attached to mental illness. Yes, more and more people are expressing their understanding and supportiveness of friends, family and colleagues living with a mental illness. However, a larger majority of people living with a mental illness are still reluctant to divulge their condition to others and are sometimes not wanting to acknowledge it to themselves. If there really is a larger majority of acceptance then where is the disconnect and why is there still an associated stigma?
I myself have dealt with chronic anxiety for most of my life and have had a few periods of mild to moderate depression over the years. When I first started taking anxiety medication, I kept it secret from my family and only told my very close friends. I was ashamed. I saw it as a flaw, a weakness in myself. Not wanting to admit that I was broken. I saw myself as a mom first, taking care of others. Not someone that needed to be taken care of herself. Living with mental illness needs to be talked about from a personal perspective and shared to reduce and eliminate the stigma.
Taking meds to reduce my anxiety made me realize how much anxiety had been a part of my everyday life. There was a sense of ease and it was wonderful. I took them for about 6 months and then slowly weaned myself off. Even though I felt better, I wanted to figure things out myself. I knew that It was possible to reduce and manage my symptoms through healthy eating, exercise, breathing, meditation and avoiding caffeine. Consistency is the key and something I am still working on and getting better at all the time.
Joining Kung Fu increased my anxiety and also forced me to acknowledge and understand how greatly it has affected my life. There have been many times when just standing on the mats before class increased my anxiety. My breathing becomes shallow and my legs turn to jelly. Concentration, memory and coordination is all affected. I need to process everything. Anxiety has also created resilience and the ability to push through and because of this I keep stepping into the kwoon and onto the mats. And it does get better. Every year that I am on the IHC team brings me a step closer to successfully managing my illness and living a fuller life to become the best version of myself.
It wasn't until I was in my late 40's that I even knew I was living with a mental illness. And it has just been recently that I am understanding how this has affected most of my life over the years. As I manage this illness, I am developing tools to reduce the negative impact.
Personal impact of living with chronic anxiety
Difficulty making decisions
Difficulty making decisions
Overthinking
Need to process everything
Social anxiety
Watching instead of taking part
Tendency to procrastinate
Loss of feeling connected
Lack of confidence
Social anxiety
Watching instead of taking part
Tendency to procrastinate
Loss of feeling connected
Lack of confidence
Introverted
Exhausting
Exhausting
I feel like I am two different people - the person I am mean't to be is suppressed behind a veil of fear and anxiety. I know this to be true because I've experienced moments of confidence and drive at times where anxiety is almost non-existent. I feel like these moments are snapshots of the person I could be.
Living with a mental illness would most likely be seen as a negative by many and yet I would not be the person I am today without these difficulties and experiences. I am working to make friends with anxiety so that I can learn from it and appreciate all the resulting positive traits that living with a mental illness provides, and establish a better life balance.
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