Can Your Mental Health Deteriorate?

Mental and physical health are noteworthy components of overall health. Our bodies and minds aren’t separate entities, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that mental ill health can affect your body, generating severe complications, such as heart disease, a weakened immune system, obesity, asthma, and gastronomical problems. There are no standards to measure what’s “normal” mental health. At times, the answer is clear, but more often than not, the distinction isn’t so clear. Cultural norms and social expectations are vital in defining the “proper” way to behave.  

It’s possible that the high prevalence of mental health symptoms can lead to deterioration. In the past years, mental deterioration has been on the rise, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and the political climate. Trauma is considered to be purely physical, but it can have profound psychological effects, resulting in a change of perception or behaviour. It’s essential to recognise the signs of deteriorating mental health before it’s too late. You feel stuck, overwhelmed, or incapacitated, therefore becoming unable to cope and function in life. 

Mental Deterioration Is Common, And It’s One of The Most Feared Consequences of Trauma 

Recognising and responding to mental deterioration should be your priority now, above anything else. Your mental health can deteriorate due to various reasons, including but not limited to childhood abuse, neglect, social isolation and loneliness, experiencing discrimination, and poverty or debt. You can no longer undertake your tasks with the same speed, accuracy, or efficiency you used to. That is to say, you lose your ability to think clearly, recall events, express yourself coherently, make decisions, or solve problems. As a rule, professional help is needed if you’re overwhelmed with stress, anxiety, and sadness on a daily basis. 

Trauma can make you more vulnerable to experiencing a decline in mental health, so life’s demands become physically and emotionally overwhelming. One-time, multiple, or repetitive events affect everyone differently, so while some people may plainly exhibit symptoms, others don’t go through emotional distress. How trauma impacts a person depends on several factors, including the type and characteristics of the event, the meaning of the trauma, and sociocultural factors. These factors can bring about a progressive impairment or decline in intellectual and personality functions like reasoning, memory, communication, or concentration. 

Signs You Should Be Concerned About Your Mental Health 

A situational trigger can start an unfortunate downward spiral that leads to mental deterioration. The question now is: How do you know if something is wrong with your mental health? The following symptoms could be signs of mental deterioration. If you have several symptoms at the same time, this could mean you have a mental illness, so talk to your doctor or therapist about improving your coping skills. 

• You Can’t Get to Sleep or Stay Asleep – If your sleep is uninterrupted or you’re not getting enough sleep, it can affect your physical health. Insomnia can be a symptom of deteriorating mental health, but it can also contribute to the worsening of health problems like hypertension or kidney disease. 
• You Feel Unusually Irritable All the Time or On the Edge – It’s normal to feel irritable from time to time, but if you’re feeling more irritable than usual, a mental health condition may be the cause of your peevishness. Going from one extreme to the other is always a cause for concern. 
• You Find Less Happiness and Enjoyment in Activities You Used to Love – You feel numb or less interested in the things you once loved, so something’s not quite right. You feel there’s no point in trying anymore, and this state of mind becomes problematic. The brain is responding more and more to threats and less and less to rewarding things. 
• You Can’t Concentrate on The Smallest of Things – Try as you might, you find it impossible to concentrate on seemingly small things. Concentration issues are common when you live with serious mental illness. Focus requires a great deal of mental energy. 
• Physical Symptoms Come on Suddenly – There’s a two-way interaction between mental and physical substances. Symptoms of mental deterioration sometimes appear as physical problems, such as rapid heart rate, dizziness, sweating, and gastrointestinal issues. This can be very distressing. 

It’s important to recognize when you need to get help. If therapy doesn’t fit into your budget, there are alternatives that might open doors that are now shut. More exactly, if you’ve suffered psychological damage due to no fault of yours, you may be able to claim compensation for the trauma. For some advice, read a guide on how to sue for compensation to know what to expect in a lawsuit as it progresses from beginning to end. 

You Can Take Steps to Improve Your Mental Health and Get the Most Out of Life 

Self-care techniques and general lifestyle changes can help manage psychological and behavioural disturbances, preventing some problems from developing or getting worse. If they work well for you, you might not need formal treatment. Only time will tell. First things first, approach things with a positive outlook, as it’s good for your health and wellness. It won’t work immediate miracles, but positive thinking can benefit you in the long run. Negative emotions have something to teach, so don’t insist on being positive all the time; let yourself feel anger or sadness. 

Equally important is to practise gratitude to strengthen your immune system and improve sleep patterns. Be thankful for the good things in life, such as a chat with a friend or a peaceful stroll in nature, seeing and consciously choosing a different perspective. The thought of cultivating gratitude might sound cheesy, but it can have real benefits, reducing a multitude of toxic emotions. Last but not least, you must develop coping skills for uncomfortable emotions to avoid getting overwhelmed. Not only will you feel better physically and psychologically, but you’ll also perform at your best. For example, you can practise relaxation techniques such as deep breathing or make a to-do list to provide structure. 

Conclusion 

All in all, the human mind is difficult to understand. Everything works perfectly until there’s a disturbance. If you feel like your mental health is deteriorating, you should speak to a trained counsellor to get the most appropriate treatment for your needs. Recovery from trauma is still possible.