As May is Mental Health Awareness Month in America and here in the UK Mental Health Awareness Week runs from the 15th to the 21st of May next week, I’ll be exploring the topic over the upcoming weeks.
Firstly, it’s important to note that there is no single cause of mental health issues, as they can be influenced by a wide range of factors, including biological, psychological, physiological, and social factors. Mental health disorders are complex, and a combination of these factors can contribute to their development. Additionally, everyone is unique, and the causes of mental health issues can vary from person to person.
However, in my work, I see clear reoccurring patterns that lead to or exacerbate mental health issues and that’s what we’ll be looking at this month.
I believe it’s really important to highlight these factors because so many people experience mental health issues and may even get a diagnosis yet unless they are consulting a professional who takes a holistic approach, they may not have a clue that their symptoms could be reduced or even resolved by changing habits or behaviours that are in their full control.
Food & Eating Habits
I’m starting with what I believe is one of the most common reasons for people dealing with mental health issues. I see it time and time again with clients, friends, and family.
I’ve also discussed this many times in blog posts but it’s worth me saying it again and again as so many people mismanage their food and eating habits, which leads to stress, anxiety, mood issues, and often sleep issues.
Many people who are struggling with anxiety, menopause issues, ADHD, and even autism could lessen or even resolve their symptoms by eating the right combinations of foods, in the right quantities at the right times. I am not the only one who recognises this – there are many experts who have studied the impact of diet and autism for example, with truly remarkable results.
The main issue I see is that when people are stressed, their eating gets off track because they lose their appetite and/or they don’t make time to eat because they’re too busy and disorganised – this leads to skipping meals, not eating enough, then craving carbs and stimulants.
This way of eating impacts the blood sugar causing highs and lows which is a major stress to the body. Your body goes into a ‘threat’ response, and you are then wired on stress hormones. If someone then consumes caffeine and/or mostly carbohydrates, which is the body’s natural response to regulate blood sugar asap, this just makes things worse. Then a vicious cycle is usually created, which is very hard to break, especially if the individual has no knowledge of the connection between food, blood sugar, stress, and mental health.
If you struggle with your mental health, I would urge you to also look at your eating habits and learn about blood sugar regulation. Read more on the topic here.
One last comment on eating habits and mental health; I have seen huge improvements when people remove caffeine – someone I know was having regular panic attacks, she removed caffeine and has never had one again!
Poor sleep
When you’re not getting the sleep that you need it undoubtedly impacts your mental health. One night of poor sleep can make you feel irritable and groggy the next day … but prolonged sleep disturbance can lead to chronic stress, anxiety, depression, and even poor or risky decision-making.
Then the knock-on effects of poor sleep can lead to other behaviours, habits, or symptoms that further exacerbate stress and mental health issues.
Going back to the first point around blood sugar, it’s also very common that poor blood sugar control and eating habits lead to sleep issues – typically finding it hard to fall asleep or waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep for 1-2 hours.
If you’re living with long-term sleep issues, it’s important you look into doing and trying whatever you can to get your sleep back on track – I recently wrote a number of blog posts on the topic of sleep and my own personal experience with insomnia, you can read them here and here.
Sedentary lifestyle or over-exercising
I have said this many times before as well, but humans are meant to move. Think of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle or a more modern-day version of traditional living would be where people are on their feet for much of the day, tending to their plants, and animals, carrying heavy things such as bags of food, water, supplies etc. That’s what our bodies have evolved to do and need to do.
Regular movement and weight-bearing activities keep our bodies strong and agile, there is also some fascinating science that recently revealed muscles, when used effectively through movement, release feel-good chemicals that boost our mood. It’s important to make an effort to be active during the day – for example, walks, standing desks, taking the stairs, and mini moments of activity. For ideas read my recent blog post on simple ways to move more here.
However, of course in the West there is a tendency to go to extremes – so the opposite of lack of activity is too much activity frequently referred to as ‘chronic cardio’. Intense exercise is a stress to the body and when someone does too much their body can literally be wired on stress hormones with no outlet. There’s also stress on the physical body in the form of injuries, a weakened immune system, and excessive wear and tear over the long term.
Chronic stress – Lack of rest/peace
Humans are meant to experience a heightened stress response every 2-3 months, whereas, in the modern-day world, the average person can be experiencing a heightened stress response 2-3 times a day! This is what leads to chronic stress, something we’re not designed for, which is why stress is one of if not the leading causes of disease and illness.
We definitely experience more stress in the modern-day world, but the issue is that most people don’t know how to effectively manage their stress – we need to intentionally create stress outlets, otherwise, it builds up in the body and causes mental and physical health issues. If we learn how to effectively ‘dissolve’ stress and bring ourselves back to a calm state, we will be able to cope far better with stress. Of course, for some people, they also need to work to reduce the level of stress in their lives.
Stress should be viewed as a cycle; you go through a stressful phase, and you need to follow that with a rest phase to recharge. If you’re aware something stressful is coming up (a big work deadline for example) you can even precede the stressful period with some downtime to prepare yourself and then rest afterwards as well to complete the cycle.
Athletes rest as hard as they train – if they don’t, they won’t perform as well, and they may even get injured if they push their bodies too much. You need to think of yourself and your mental health in the same way – match the intensity and duration of the stress with rest as best you can. Read more on how to manage stress here.
In this post, we focused on more of the physical factors that impact mental health – next week we will continue the conversation by looking at common unhealthy mindsets and negative thinking patterns that lead to or exacerbate mental health issues.
Remember, if you’re struggling with any of these issues I talk about here please reach out and get intouch for a complimentary consultation where we can discuss your situation and how I might be able to help you.
Kate x
