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MENTAL HEALTH

ANXIETY

Everyone can feel anxious sometimes, but people with anxiety disorders often experience fear and worry that is both intense and excessive. These feelings are typically accompanied by physical tension and other behavioral and cognitive symptoms. They are difficult to control, cause significant distress and can last a long time if untreated. Anxiety disorders interfere with daily activities and can impair a person’s family, social and school or working life.

An estimated 4% of the global population currently experience anxiety disorder (WHO 2024). In 2019, 301 million people in the world had an anxiety disorder, making anxiety disorders the most common of all mental health disorders (WHO 2024).

Symptoms of anxiety disorders

may include:

Trouble concentrating or making decisions
Feeling irritable, tense or restless
Experiencing nausea or abdominal distress
Having heart palpitations
Sweating, trembling or shaking
Trouble sleeping
Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom

Interventions used during psychotherapy can be an essential treatment for anxiety. These interventions can help people learn new ways of thinking, coping or relating to their anxiety, to others around them and/or to the world. They can teach people how to face the situations, events, people or places that trigger their anxiety.

DEPRESSION

Depression seeps into every aspect of your life. Maybe you have no interest in what used to matter. When things feel overwhelming, do you cry? Get angry? Feel numb? Maybe you push people away when you need them the most. If any of these sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Depression can happen to anyone, and it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. People who have lived through abuse, severe losses or other stressful events are more likely to develop depression.

Depression is different from regular mood changes and feelings about everyday life. It can affect all aspects of life, including relationships with family, friends and community. It can result from or lead to problems at home, school, or work.

An estimated 3.8% of the population experience depression, including 5% of adults (4% among men and 6% among women), and 5.7% of adults older than 60 years. Approximately 280 million people in the world have depression (WHO 2024). Depression is about 50% more common among women than among men. Worldwide, more than 10% of pregnant women and women who have just given birth experience depression. (WHO 2024)

A depressive episode is different from regular mood fluctuations. They last most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks.

Other symptoms are also present,

which may include:

Poor concentration
Feelings of excessive guilt or low self-worth
Hopelessness about the future
Thoughts about dying or suicide
Disrupted sleep
Changes in appetite or weight
Feeling very tired or low levels of energy

Psychotherapy is one of the first and effective treatments for depression. Treatment can be combined with antidepressant medications if needed. Psychotherapy can help teach new ways of thinking, coping or relating to others.

TRAUMA/PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.

Most people who go through traumatic events may have temporary difficulty adjusting and coping, but with time and good self-care, they usually get better. If the symptoms get worse, last for months or even years, and interfere with your day-to-day functioning, you may have PTSD. Getting effective treatment after PTSD symptoms develop can be critical to reduce symptoms and improve function.

Symptoms

Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms may start within one month of a traumatic event, but sometimes symptoms may not appear until years after the event. These symptoms cause significant problems in social, work situations, and in relationships. They can also interfere with your ability to go about your normal daily tasks; however symptoms can vary over time or vary from person to person.

PTSD symptoms are generally

grouped into four types:

Intrusive memories
Avoidance
Negative changes in thinking and mood
Changes in physical and emotional reactions

What are the risk factors for PTSD?

Not everyone who lives through a dangerous event develops PTSD - many factors play a part. Some of these factors are present before the trauma; others become important during and after a traumatic event.

Risk factors that may increase the likelihood of developing PTSD include:

Being exposed to previous traumatic experiences, particularly during childhood
Getting hurt or seeing people hurt or killed
Feeling horror, helplessness, or extreme fear
Having little or no social support after the event
Dealing with extra stress after the event, such as loss of a loved one, pain and injury, or loss of a job or home
Having a personal or family history of mental illness or substance use

Resilience factors that may reduce the likelihood of developing PTSD include:

Seeking out support from friends, family, or support groups
Learning to feel okay with one’s actions in response to a traumatic event
Having a coping strategy for getting through and learning from the traumatic event
Being prepared and able to respond to upsetting events as they occur, despite feeling fear

How is PTSD treated?

It is important for anyone with PTSD symptoms to work with a mental health professional who has experience treating PTSD. The main treatments are psychotherapy, medications, or a combination of psychotherapy and medications. A mental health professional can help people find the best treatment plan for their symptoms and needs.

Psychotherapy includes a variety of treatment techniques that mental health professionals use to help people identify and change troubling emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. Psychotherapy can provide support, education, and guidance to people with PTSD.

Some types of psychotherapy target PTSD symptoms, while others focus on social, family, or job-related problems. Effective psychotherapies often emphasize a few key components, including learning skills to help identify triggers and manage symptoms.

Here are some Self-Care tips you can do to help yourself while in treatment:

Talk with your health care provider about treatment options and follow your treatment plan
Engage in exercise, mindfulness, or other activities that help reduce stress
Try to maintain routines for meals, exercise, and sleep
Set realistic goals and focus on what you can manage
Spend time with trusted friends or relatives and tell them about things that may trigger symptoms
Expect your symptoms to improve gradually, not immediately
Avoid the use of alcohol or drugs

WOMEN'S ISSUES

Women's issues can refer to any concern that might impact a woman’s mental health. These concerns might be related to gender stereotyping or assumptions and concerns related to women's health, but they are also likely to include other challenges faced by women that have nothing to do with gender. It is typically considered best to avoid making assumptions based solely on gender, as a person's identity is multifaceted and no single aspect defines a person entirely.

Women may experience certain biological, environmental, and psychosocial challenges related to gender, and these concerns can have a significant impact on mental health and well-being.

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN'S ISSUES

Some mental and physical health concerns women face may be related to gender. A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that not only are women more likely to experience mental health concerns such as depression or anxiety, women also experience mental distress at higher rates than men do in all age brackets. Researchers continue to explore the various biological, environmental, and psychosocial factors potentially contributing to these differences.

Some mental health concerns commonly experienced by women include:

Depression
Anxiety
Eating disorders
Mood-related challenges
Postpartum depression

LIFE TRANSITIONS

Transition is change. They are life’s way of asking us to reexamine our present way of being and forces us to develop and grow as individuals. But even when we know that these life transitions are for our own benefit, they can still be very difficult to deal with emotionally. These transitions can be predictable, such as a move across country or upcoming marriage, or they can be unpredictable, such as the death of a loved one or a sudden loss of a job.

Regardless of the event, every transition we experience forces us to make changes to our existing life. We know that change is an inevitable part of life, but that doesn’t mean it’s always comfortable. This is especially true when the shifts are sudden or unexpected. At these times, we may struggle because our situations don’t match our expectations for how we thought our lives would be.

With change comes resistance. A major life transition closes one chapter of our life and opens a new one. It’s often a very difficult adjustment as we endure intense feelings of fear and uncertainty. Transitions can be expected or unexpected, welcomed or unwelcomed, chosen or imposed, sudden or gradual. Our natural tendency is to resist change in our routines. We can feel challenged by transitions that take us away from what is familiar. We may feel overwhelmed, disillusioned, or angry. We may blame ourselves for situations that are out of our control.

Examples Of Challenging Life Transitions

Marriage or a new relationship
Arrival of a new baby
Parenting an infant, child, or adolescent
Growing up and moving away from home
Adjustment to college or the workplace
Empty nesting
Divorce, separation, or recovery

from infidelity

Retirement, job loss, or career changes
Financial gain or loss
Serious illness or disability of self or

a loved one

Issues of aging
Death of a loved one
Questioning faith or spirituality
Questioning sexual or gender identity

Therapy For Change

When life changes prove difficult and lead to stress, anxiety, or depression, a therapist can also help treat those issues and help you explore coping strategies. Because change can cause stress, it can have an effect on one's daily life. A person facing a big change might, for example, experience depression, anxiety, or fatigue, have trouble sleeping, or abuse drugs and alcohol. When people know that they do not cope well with change, speaking with a therapist before any significant changes in life occur may be warranted. In this way, one can prepare for changes and become better able to face them in the future, even without prior knowledge of potential changes.

With every life transition, there can be a sense of grief at the loss you are experiencing. Even when you have been expecting, or even welcoming, a life transition, it’s still perfectly normal to feel sadness for what you are leaving behind. It’s important to deal with that sense of loss and fear of the unknown before you’re ready to embrace your new reality. When your regular support system isn’t enough it may be time to talk with a professional to help you move past self-doubt and fear.

BURNOUT

Burnout is a reaction to prolonged or chronic job stress. It is characterized by three main dimensions: exhaustion, less identification with the job, and feelings of reduced professional ability. More simply put, if you feel exhausted, start to hate your job, and begin to feel less capable at work, you are showing signs of burnout.

Most people spend the majority of their waking hours working. So, if you hate your job, dread going to work, and don't gain any satisfaction from what you're doing, it can take a serious toll on your life. This toll shows up via burnout symptoms.

Physical Burnout Symptoms

When you experience burnout, your body will often display certain signs. Research indicates that some of the most common physical burnout symptoms include (Verywellmind 2024):

Gastrointestinal problems
High blood pressure
Poor immune function (getting sick more often)
Reoccurring headaches
Sleep issues

Because burnout is caused by chronic stress, it's helpful to also be aware of how this stress, in general, affects the body. Chronic stress may be felt physically in terms of having more aches and pains, low energy levels, and changes in appetite. All of these physical signs suggest that you may be experiencing burnout. (Verywellmind 2024)

Mental Burnout Symptoms

Burnout also impacts you mentally and emotionally. Here are some of the most common mental symptoms of burnout (Verywellmind 2024):

Concentration issues
Depressed mood
Feeling worthless
Loss of interest or pleasure
Lack of confidence

According to a 2018 Gallup report, there are five job factors that can contribute to employee burnout:

1. Unreasonable time pressures

Employees who say they have enough time to do their work are 70% less likely to experience high burnout, while individuals who are not able to gain more time are at a higher risk of burnout.

2. Lack of communication and

support from management

Manager support offers a psychological buffer against stress. Employees who feel strongly supported by their manager are 70% less likely to experience burnout symptoms on a regular basis.

3. Lack of role clarity

Only 60% of workers know what is expected of them. When expectations are like moving targets, employees may become exhausted simply by trying to figure out what they are supposed to be doing.

4. Unmanageable workload

When the workload feels unmanageable, even the most optimistic employees will feel hopeless. Feeling overwhelmed can quickly lead to burnout symptoms.

5. Unfair treatment

Employees who feel they are treated unfairly at work are 2.3 times more likely to experience a high level of burnout. Unfair treatment may include things such as favoritism, unfair compensation, and mistreatment from a co-worker.

Self-care

eating a healthy diet
getting plenty of exercise
regularly scheduled breaks from work
engaging in healthy sleep habits may help reduce some of the effects of a high-stress job