Your mind matters

Why minding your mental health is so important.

By Amy Wall.

We all know how important it is for us to take care of our physical health, but few of us pay attention to our mental health. When it comes to our mental health it is absolutely essential for us to take steps to care for it on a daily basis. But what do you need to do in order to keep your mental health in tip-top condition? We spoke to Dr Amy Watchorn, Senior Clinical Psychologist from Saint John of God Hospital to learn more.

“Mental health is looking at our thinking and our behaviour and it’s looking at our emotions as well. So it’s all those aspects that coincide with our physical health – what we think, how we feel and, also, how that then affects how we behave,” says Dr Watchorn. “So if you have problems with your mental health you’ll often notice you have more negative thinking, you’ll experience more negative emotions like sadness, irritability, anger, anxiety and you’ll often find you maybe become more withdrawn in terms of your behaviour. You might become more avoidant of situations.”

So why is it important for us to take good care of our mental health?

“It’s a fundamental part of how we have a quality of life. Our mental health is inextricably linked to having a good quality of life. If we don’t feel happy in ourselves, nothing in the world feels right to us, so it’s important that we keep an eye on it because that’s what makes life meaningful to us, along with our physical health as well,” says Dr Watchorn.

When it comes to understanding just how many people are affected by mental health difficulties, it can be hard to get solid statistics as difficulties are often unreported. In terms of the percentage of people affected in a population, Dr Watchorn says that when it comes to depression, up to 11 per cent of the population could be affected – if reports are accurate.

“It could be higher than that. A lot of people feel very stigmatised when talking about having mental health difficulties so often they may not actually report it,” explains Dr Watchorn. “It’s certainly quite pervasive and I think most people will experience some difficulties with their mental health. Now, maybe not severe, but everyone will experience some levels of anxiety in their lives and sadness at times. It just depends then on how severe it becomes and whether it becomes a serious problem that they need to get some help with.”

Common warning signs that you may need to reach out and get support for your mental health include noticing a low mood or constant anxious thoughts, increased irritability, lacking interest in things you previously enjoyed, very critical self-thoughts, noticing that you have started to isolate yourself and physical symptoms such as disrupted sleep patterns and issues with your appetite.

“A very big one, obviously, is if your thoughts get to a point where you’re starting to wonder if there’s a reason for you to be alive, if you start to think of suicide as an option, certainly seeking help is very, very important,” says Dr Watchorn.

And what should you do if you notice any of these warning signs in a loved one?

“I think it’s a really challenging situation to be in when you see someone you care about going through this and maybe they can’t see it themselves. But I think it’s probably trying to take a gentle approach with them and being very clear that this is coming from a place of concern and compassion, and maybe for them to try and explain the differences that they’re seeing [in their loved one],” says Dr Watchorn. “And it’s about probably encouraging them then to get support, professional advice, starting with going to their GP so that they can get the appropriate supports. There’s a lot of very good organisations out there like Aware, Pieta House, The Samaritans – they all do very good work and they’re options as well if someone is maybe reluctant to maybe go to the GP. As a first port of call, a GP is usually your best bet.”

The good news is that when it comes to minding our mental health, there are a lot of different things that we can do.

“Physical health and mental health are very strongly linked, so things like having a good diet, exercise, sleep, not overdoing it in terms of alcohol, making sure that you’re taking regular breaks and time to do things that you enjoy. Our worlds are very busy now and we don’t tend to leave a lot of time for what we call self-care, so engaging in hobbies and sports and things like that, meeting up with friends, all those things help us to feel better in ourselves,” says Dr Watchorn.

If you find that you need more support, there are also lots of treatment options available.

“Your GP is your best first port of call because often now GPs are linked in with primary care health centres and they would have access to things like the National Counselling Service or private counsellors who work there and psychologists as well. So you know your first level, it’s that immediate intervention so you might be sent to some short-term therapeutic work, so things like cognitive behavioural therapy for less severe difficulties,” says Dr Watchorn. “If your problems are more serious and more at a level where maybe you’ve tried previous interventions and they haven’t worked, medication is an option, but also you would often be referred to a psychiatrist or a community mental health scheme… There’s varying levels out there depending on your needs and certainly medication is one option and very effective for many people, but often the research shows that medication combined with some form of talking therapy is often the best approach for a lot of people.”

If you’re currently struggling with your mental health it can be hard to reach out and get support. For anyone reading this article who may be struggling, Dr Watchorn has the following advice: “Honestly, the best thing you can do is to take that first step. Once you do there’s lots of supports out there. If you feel uncomfortable talking about it there are confidential services like The Samaritans you could ring, but your GP is always a good bet. There is no shame attached to it. It can feel like that when you’re in that moment but actually when you look around and you see it, you probably know ten people who’ve been through similar things. “It’s really just about taking that first step and getting yourself on the road to recovery. It can feel very, very challenging at that point in time, but once you reach out, the help is there.”

Dr Amy Watchorn is a Senior Clinical Psychologist at St John of God Hospital. For more information log on to www.stjohnofgodhospital.ie