All facts, figures, information and symptoms mentioned in the course are based on common studies and data provided on the internet. The course is made for awareness and to educate the general public.
DO NOT SELF DIAGNOSE YOURSELF BASED ON THE SYMPTOMS WRITTEN IN THE COURSE. Kindly consult a specialist if you feel like you need one
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Introduction to mental health:
What is mental health?
Mental health, defined by the World Health Organization, is "a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.
Mental health is important at every stage in life, it allows you to recall your true potential, cope with stress and increases your work productivity.
Early warning signs: (based on common consensus, may not be applicable to you)
Having low or no energy
Feeling helpless or hopeless
Thinking of harming yourself
Inability to perform daily tasks
Feeling like nothing really matters
You can also check out these sites for additional information:
It is not necessary that everyone has the same common factors. There is no scale to measure the adversity of a situation and every person has their own facet which contributes to their mental health conditions.
Among teenagers: these factors often include but are not limited to; peer pressure, reproductive and stress hormones, studies, socialising etc.
Ways to maintain a positive mental health.
Getting professional help
You can reach out to social workers, counselors, mental health pharmacists, psychiatrists, psychologists etc. seeking mental health services is essential as a professional psychiatrist is best suited for evaluating your symptoms and determining the severity of your condition.
Listed are some sites where you can seek professional help:
Some sites to help you relax:
Connecting with others - Sometimes, it is crucial to let out your feelings and thoughts and air it out to a friend. People at times don't feel comfortable talking to a therapist and so it is important that you talk to someone you trust and someone who understands you, could be your friend or family.
Getting physically active - It has been observed that working out along with other forms of physical activity can ease symptoms of depression or anxiety and make you feel better.
Experiment - You can experiment with various types of new hobbies and activities. You could try making a new dish, paint a picture, try watching that new show you’ve kept on hold for so long. Stepping outside your comfort zone and making room for adventure keeps the brain active and keeps the sense of excitement alive.
How genes affect your mental health:
Almost all diseases are affected by genetic factors by influencing the severity and progression of the disease. Many people believe that genes and family have no role to play in one's mental health. To the contrary, your genes are a factor that contribute to your mental health.
It has been well established that the risk of mental illness runs in the family.
Family, twin and adoption studies have shown that schizophrenia, autism, ADHD, depression and anxiety the transmission of risk is due to heredity.
Note that even though most diseases are genetically determined, in the case of mental illness, the risk factor increases and environmental factors play a vital role as well.
One in 5 young people grow up in a family where one parent has experienced a mental health problem or substance use concern. Compared with their same-aged peers, these youth are at a higher risk of academic failure and acquiring a substance abuse and/or mental health issue. There is a paucity of accessible, age-appropriate interventions that address their needs.
An inconsistent, unpredictable family environment also contributes to psychiatric illness in children. What the reader needs to understand is that genes are only “one of the many factors” that contribute to a person’s mental illness.
If you do grow up in a household where mental illness runs within the genes, then you do tend to get more aware of the same. Be more attentive and take necessary measures to keep your mental health in check, which is a good step and is known to make a difference.
The chance of an individual having a specific mental disorder is higher if other family members have that same mental disorder. Though mental disorders can run in the family the severity of the conditions or symptoms may vary. One person in the family might have a severe case while the other a mild one.
Stigma around mental health:
Mental health has been a pressing problem worldwide for many years and many countries have been able to provide their citizens with the right resources to thrive. In India, citizens do have access to many resources such as mental health therapy or facilities, but the problem is the stigma associated with mental health.
Many Indians still believe that mental health is not as serious as it has become, and there is no need to receive professional help to fix mental health issues, that mental health isn’t a problem at all and thus it is something very commonly overlooked. This can be a problem for many who are mentally unstable as they have no resort to help better themselves.
WHO also estimates that about 7.5 per cent Indians suffer from some mental disorder and predicts that by the end of the year 2021, roughly 20 percent of India will suffer from mental illnesses. According to the numbers, 56 million Indians suffer from depression and another 38 million Indians suffer from anxiety disorders.
For anyone who is facing mental health issues and needs help, it is advised that they look towards many online therapy platforms based on the severity through which they can speak with other therapists online rather than facing the troubles of going in person which can be scary for many individuals because of this stigma.
Following is a testimony given by someone who chose to keep their identity anonymous due to reasons, but still the text is proof of what some people face on a daily basis :
“It is especially hard…it’s like the person is there, but it’s not really them anymore”— these were the words my father’s doctor said to me as we discussed his treatment in a society where mental health is a close to little understood reality. They accurately reflect my ordeals, as I struggled to make others comprehend what it meant for my loved one to be suffering from depression. There is something so incomprehensible about illnesses of the human mind being natural, biological phenomena, even today, for vast sections of the Indian society, that relatives would often prefer to cloak what was an unmistakable case of clinical depression with the next readily available explanation: what we traditionally call “buri nazar” or the “evil eye” in India. I soon realized that I could spend hours at the end trying to explain why my father was in the condition he was in, but at the end I would still be asked the same question —“par beta hua kya?” (but child, what happened?)— simply because the taboo surrounding mental health in our society is so deeply ingrained that we are unwilling to accept that which we cannot understand, ignoring the fact that we never truly tried in the first place.”
-Anonymous
How can we fight this stigma?
The stigma against mental health affects those suffering from disorders adversely. It changes how people feel about themselves, and slows down their recovery.
Here are some ways in which we can break the stigma around mental health :
Educating ourselves - Being aware of certain disorders, their symptoms, their origins, and method of treatment may not only be useful to us but also to the people around us.
Examining our own judgmental thinking - As humans we are bound to make mistakes and it is possible that you yourself at some point of time fed into this stigma. However you should try to improve yourself and be as understanding as possible. Often the environment we live in shapes our beliefs and thoughts and thus it is important we educate ourselves and form our own opinion based on those facts.
Supporting people - In case you are acquainted with someone suffering with mental disorders, be as supportive as you can. That's the most important thing someone with mental health conditions requires. You might not know but the person right next you to could be going through a lot.
Remember that change starts with you. Watching you go against the stigma, even if one person changes the way they perceive mental illness, it will still make a difference in someone’s life.
The pandemic and its effect on people’s mental health:
Stress and anxiety are natural and expected responses to a global pandemic. When your life takes a dramatic turn and you are completely put off from your usual daily routine, it is but natural to feel a bit odd.
The emotional fallout of social distancing:
Isolation keeps you safe from the virus outside but not the stress and anxiety that builds up inside you. When all you knew was how to party, socialise, go to school, or to work, and now all of a sudden, you are not even asked but forced to sit in your house and stay apart from your friends and that social life you built. It tends to take a toll on you. Especially for the people who live alone in apartments, you have no one around you and Netflix can't be that great a company.
Even so, spending all day with your family tends to be stressful and creates challenges no matter how much you care for them.
Recently, a study also found that 18% of individuals (including people with and without a past psychiatric diagnosis) who received a COVID-19 diagnosis were later diagnosed with a mental health disorder, such as anxiety or mood disorders.
In a study published by Cambridge university, giving statistics of mental health during the pandemic, it was observed that suicide rates, feeling of anxiety, PTSD and many more mental illnesses were seen to be more prominent.
Grief due to loss of loved ones:
This pandemic has brought grief to all of us in one way or another. Many people lost their family members and were not even able to say goodbye. Grief is the immediate response to loss of a loved one and in many cases related to the covid-19 pandemic it could also bring the feeling of regret and anger. As discussed in this article many people feel it was unfair to lose their family to a virus while many others recovered. Such people are subjected to overthinking and a feeling of guilt. Not only do they feel empty and sad due to sudden demise of their closed ones but also face the consequences of the aftermath of it, which includes feeling depressed, anxious, overthinking and in cases of civil workers PTSD.
Financial crisis:
This pandemic hit the working labour class the hardest. As constructions came to a halt, these workers lost their only source of income. Not only them but even middle class families were living in fear of not being able to earn money or worse lose their jobs.
Ways to cope with the pandemic:
Ways to cope with anxiety and depression during covid +(a glimpse of how teenager’s usually cope)
Even though COVID had been around for a while, and most of us teenagers have found various ways to cope up with the newfound anxiety that grew with COVID-19. Most adults may expect our generation to be somewhat used to this unusual feeling, but that’s where they are wrong. Anxiety is not something a person can become immune to, and pretending that anxiety does not exist only makes your case worse. Indulging in unhealthy ways of coping such as (TW) s*lf h*rm, vaping, smoking, or even drinking. As appealing as these methods might come off as, they are ways that only give pleasure for a small moment. You need to understand that there are much better and far healthier ways to cope with your problems. Don’t be afraid to ask for help in case you have turned to such methods. It is not your fault, when one is going through a tough phase, they do everything and anything they can to stop the suffering. Similarly, it is important that you don't let people who vape, smoke or do any sorts of drugs, feel discomfort or guilty. Rather help them overcome this addiction.
Healthy ways of coping may not sound as pleasing at first, but they are the right option. As a highschool or middle school student, find a list here that you can do which will not only help you cope with anxiety and depression but also help you grow as a person.
WRITE! Find yourself a diary or a notebook to vent out your feelings, maybe as random thoughts, a poem, a diary entry, a short story or even scribbles.
Talk to your friends. Even if you may feel like talking to your friends may not be the easiest way to cope, think about it this way- maybe your friend on the other side of the screen is feeling exactly like you are, but is too afraid to show it. Creating a bond where you can share can go a long way
We may not all be born artists, but sketching or even scribbling is a creative way to cope. Play around with crayons or paint, or even that one black pen that hasn’t been used for the past month. When you paint or sketch, not only does time pass by but studies have shown that doing so helps one cope with anxiety and depression.
Watch movies, listen to songs or just relax!
Make sure you take care of your body. Meditation, yoga or some stretches in the morning can bring a huge change in your day. Not only would you feel fresher and happier, but also you will give your body a chance to unfold. Like mentioned in the course, keeping yourself physically fit indirectly keeps you mentally fit.
Eat! Feed your body with nourishing foods! No, I’m not talking about the flat soda and packet of cheetos on your bedside table. Eat fruits, vegetables, and proper home cooked food. Reward your body for everything it does for you.
Get at least 7 hours of sleep. As tempting as the idea of staying up till 3 am playing GTA with your friends or binging Gilmore Girls sounds, you will be regretting that decision at 8 am while your teacher is about to send a letter to your parents for not attending lessons.
Here are a few professional resources out there which help students like us and you with anxiety. Here are a few links that you could check out!
A read for the parents or educators: https://www.apa.org/topics/covid-19/student-stress
Different mental health conditions that are prominent in the world:
Some common mental conditions are listed below with common symptoms and ways to cope.
DO NOT SELF DIAGNOSE BASED OFF OF THESE SYMPTOMS. If you feel like you need help or are suffering from a particular disorder, consult a specialist
Anxiety:
This is the most common disorder in the world. A mental health disorder characterised by feelings of worry, anxiety or fear that are strong enough to interfere with one's daily activities.
Though many people self diagnose themselves and say they have anxiety, you need to understand it is different to feel anxious and different to have anxiety disorder.
The different types of anxiety are : ( most common )
GENERALISED ANXIETY
It is normal to feel anxious before any stressful event, for example your exam, speaking in public, participating in a competition etc.
However people with GAD feel worried and anxious most of the time apart from particular situations. Their worries extend to several aspects of life from work, health, family and/or financial issues.
Common symptoms include :
Feeling very worried about a number of events or activities
Find it hard to stop worrying
Realising that your anxiety made it difficult for you to do everyday activities.
Feeling restless or on edge
Feeling irritable and finding it difficult to concentrate
SOCIAL ANXIETY
Majority people feel nervous when in social gatherings, some ease up faster than others while others don't ease up at all. However one must keep in mind that such obstacles at times can be overcome with grooming and therapy sessions, people with social phobia (sometimes known as social anxiety disorder),fear of being judged, criticised, laughed at or humiliated in front of others, even in the most ordinary, everyday situations. Social phobia can also be specific; where people fear a specific situation or a few situations related to a specific fear (such as being assertive at work or with their friends).
Common symptoms include, but are not limited to:
excessive perspiration, trembling, blushing or stammering when trying to speak, nausea or diarrhea.
Don't go to certain social gatherings to avoid social interactions, find it difficult to go about their daily habits.
Social phobia is treatable and seeking professional support is the first step to recovery.
SPECIFIC PHOBIA
These are basically concerns and anxiety related to a specific object or situation. Many people feel anxious when faced with a snake or spider, heights, or travelling by plane. Fear is a rational response to situations that can pose a threat to our safety.
These are associated with panic attacks during which the person experiences overwhelming physical sensations that include palpitations, choking, nausea, faintness, dizziness, chest pain, hot or cold flushes
Common symptoms include :
have a persistent, excessive and unreasonable fear of a specific object, activity or situation
Feeling the need to escape certain situations or avoiding them completely.
Anxiety and avoidance associated with deratin situation sand objects makes it difficult to go about with your daily life
Specific phobia is further divided into the following categories :
Animal type - phobia related to animals or insects
Natural environment - phobia associated with natural surroundings or phenomenon. For example fear of thunder or water.
Situational type - fear of certain situations like fear of being in an elevator.
blood/injection/injury - this is the phobia kindred with invasive medical procedures.
Specific phobia is treatable through psychology al heko and in some severe cases through medication.
PANIC ORDER
Panic disorder is used to associate panic attacks that are recurrent and disabling. Panic attacks reach their peak in 10 minutes and can continue upto half an hour. When panic attacks happen you might feel like you are losing control of your breath, having a heart attack or even dying.
Severe stress can cause panic attacks or moments when your emotions are at peak such as death of a loved one, divorce or loss of a job, physical causes or medical conditions.
Common symptoms include, but are not limited to :
The thought or feeling that you are “dying”, “choking” or losing control
Increased heart rate and difficulty in breathing
People experiencing a panic attack may also experience ‘derealisation’; a sense that you or the world around you is not real.
Treatment can be very effective in reducing the number and severity of panic attacks in most people. Seeking professional support is the first step towards recovery.
Obsessive compulsive disorder:
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition that
involves distressing, intrusive, obsessive thoughts and repetitive,
compulsive physical or mental acts.
The symptoms for OCD usually show up in an early stage, during childhood
or adolescence. People with OCD usually have thoughts and images or urges that they feel unable to control. It is more than just making things neat and tidy.
OCD can affect people in different ways :
Concerning with checking - People with OCD may want to double check everything. For example checking if the door is locked or not, checking alarms, locks, house lights and house appliances for leaks.
Fear of contamination - Some people suffering from OCD have the constant urge to wash their hands and sanitize themselves. They feel that objects they touch are contaminated and hence this leads to excessive tooth brushing or hand washing, avoiding crowds in fear of coming in contact with a virus.
Intrusive thoughts - Intrusive thoughts are thoughts that are stuck in your head and you can't seem to control your own thought process. People often feel guilty for such thoughts and may fear that they are a pedophile, even with no evidence to support this.
Mood disorders:
Also known as affective or depressive disorders, mood disorders are a type of mental health condition characterized by being persistently depressed or having lack of interest in any activity. These people have major mood swings from having periods of high energy to feeling depressed.
Examples of mood disorders include:
Major depression - In this a person feels extremely low and loses all interest in activities. They are constantly in a low mood.
Bipolar disorder - A person suffering from bipolar disorder has their emotions all over the place they go from being extremely happy to sad and depressed. Periods of high mood are known as manic phases, while depressive phases bring on low mood.
Seasonal affective disorder - Reduced daylight triggers during the fall, winter, and early spring months trigger this type of major depression. It is most common in countries far from the equator.
Schizophrenia:
This is a highly complex mental health condition and is still debated upon whether to be classified as a single disorder or group of disorders. According to NIMH, symptoms of schizophrenia develop between the ages of 16 to 30 years. Schizophrenia has negative and positive symptoms. Positive symptoms include delusions, thought disorders, and hallucinations. Negative symptoms include withdrawal, lack of motivation, and a flat or inappropriate mood.
Common symptoms include:
confused speech that is hard for others to understand
lack of facial expression, emotional expression and motivation.
difficulty concentrating
People suffering from this might experience hallucinations or have delusional episodes. Schizophrenia is a lifelong condition, but effective treatment can help a person manage the symptoms, prevent relapses, and avoid hospitalization.
How to help others around you:
Supporting others and offering help could make a significant impact in the lives of those who are struggling badly. If you have issues about anyone you love, consider talking with them about your concern. They may also require your assistance while they seek expert assistance.
It's a stressful moment for everyone concerned. It is, nevertheless, as vital to look out for oneself. Assisting someone who is struggling with a mental health condition may be tough and tiring, both physically and psychologically, which can have a negative impact on your own personal wellbeing.
While we have to make sure that we are doing well mentally, it is imperative to check up on people around you. People die silently everyday because they don't have anyone to talk to. Here are a few small things that will help people around you.
Making conversation - Small talk can lead to a deep conversation if you are talking to the right person, and for someone maybe you are the right person. Start a random conversation with anyone who might be showing subtle signs of any mental health condition. They might just end up talking to you about it.
Initiate small virtual meetups! Whether it be movie night and binging to bollywood movies or playing call of duty with your friends. Randomly send a zoom or google meet link to the group chat. On a weekend, binge watch horror movies or bollywood movies, or have a jam session with them. It's the closest thing we have to meeting in real life.
Make a playlist for them! Make a nice playlist for your friends and you to jam to. “Music is free therapy” is a common saying for a reason.
There are people who at times resort to less healthy ways of coping with their stress and depression like vaping, smoking, alcohol consumption and drugs. We should try and make these people understand that these are unhealthy ways of coping and help them resort to healthier and safer ways to cope with their mental health.
You can take the initiative of creating study groups where not only do you and your friends get together to work, but also get some stuff off of your chest by talking to each other.
Furthermore, recommend our “Ways to cope with the pandemic” article to your friend! I’m sure we could help her/him/them.
Please remember that assisting others with their problems is a bit difficult and could also take a toll on you. Make sure you are in a good place before you go off helping others. Put yourself before others, just this once.
Sad or depressed:
The purpose of this section is to get a deeper and better understanding of what depression is and how even though some people claim to be depressed, are not really depressed but “sad”.
10 out of 9 middle schoolers when asked if they are depressed or not would answer saying yes. Sadness is a human emotion that all people feel at certain times during their lives. Feeling sad is a natural reaction to situations that cause emotional upset or pain. There are varying degrees of sadness. But like other emotions, sadness is temporary and fades with time. In this way, sadness differs from depression.
You need to understand the weight of making such claims as this could alter and affect the decision of someone who is actually depressed. You could not be aware of it but unwillingly “faking” depression by making claims to be depressed.
That is why it is important to understand if you are just feeling low or actually depressed.
Depression is a longer-term mental health condition. It impairs social, occupational, and other important areas of functioning. Left untreated, symptoms of depression may last for a long time. When you are sad there are moments when you are able to laugh even if it's for a minute.
However, someone who is depressed does not see any point in happiness whatsoever. Depression is not a word you can throw around anytime you feel low. It is a serious medical condition which takes years to recover from.
Mental health professionals use the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5 criteria) to help determine if someone is sad or depressed. You may receive a diagnosis of depression or persistent depressive disorder if you meet the criteria.
The DSM-5 criteria include nine potential symptoms of depression. The severity of each symptom is also weighed as part of the diagnostic process. The nine symptoms are:
feeling depressed throughout each day on most or all days
lack of interest and enjoyment in activities you used to find pleasurable
trouble sleeping, or sleeping too much
trouble eating, or eating too much, coupled with weight gain or weight loss
irritability, restlessness, or agitation
extreme fatigue
unwarranted or exaggerated feelings of guilt or worthlessness
inability to concentrate or make decisions
suicidal thoughts or actions, or thinking a lot about death and dying
Links to sites and Instagram pages that can help you relax or provide further information.
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Course Writers:
Pranjal Reen ( course development head )
Anvitha Kollipara
Hriday Deepak
Rhea Goel
So insightful, a must know for every person.