Akua Mind and Body

Most symptoms associated with mental health disorders are invisible creating self-doubt when compared to a physical condition or injury.

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, December 21, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Imagine someone with a major depressive disorder, aka depression. Do they exhibit sad facial expressions with deep dark circles under their eyes? Are they in a black and white photo with their hands pressed up against their head? What about someone with anxiety? Does the image depict an individual with jumbled words coming out of their brain? Those are the images that our society portrays of individuals living with a mood or anxiety disorder. Those images are both simple, powerful, and only half accurate. These widespread stereotypes are depicted in the media, in books, and in television shows and movies. The problem with stereotypes associated with mental illness is that they can invalidate someone’s experience living with a mental illness. They can invalidate “hidden” or “uncommon” symptoms.

Most symptoms associated with mental health disorders are invisible. Because of this, they are more likely to create self-doubt when compared to a physical condition or injury such as a broken arm or congenital disability. These often include sadness, racing thoughts, extreme mood changes, excessive fear and worry, anger outbursts, hallucinations, and difficulty concentrating. But what about the symptoms that nobody mentions? Recognizing the “hidden” warning signs is extremely important for early intervention and may even save someone’s life.

- Physical pain
Mental health is tightly connected to physical health and vice versa as the mind and body are intimately connected. If your body is sick, it can affect your mental health and vice versa. Studies show that up to 50% of individuals with chronic pain experience symptoms of depression. Mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression can result in headaches, body aches, and gastrointestinal side effects. Additionally, individuals with autoimmune disorders have a higher risk of depression because these disorders often are the culprit of chronic pain.

Research has also shown depression to be linked to an increased sensitivity to pain due to the complex interactions between brain chemicals associated with depression and pain sensation. In other words, individuals with depression have a lower pain threshold and may experience more pain more frequently and on a grander scale compared to others with depression.

-Chronic fatigue
Living with a mental illness is physically exhausting. Individuals with mental health disorders often experience trouble falling asleep and staying asleep (a well-known symptom associated with depression), leaving one exhausted throughout the day. But regardless of the sleep/wake complications, intrusive thoughts, extreme fear and worry, compulsive actions, and many other symptoms can be physically draining and lead to chronic exhaustion. Chronic fatigue may also occur because someone is trying to manage their mental health symptoms while juggling work, family, and other critical daily obligations. In addition, battling the stigma associated with mental health disorders and learning to navigate the mental health system in the United States can leave an individual chronically fatigued.

-Lack of emotion
Lack of emotion is a common symptom associated with mental illness that is rarely talked about. Individuals living with mental health disorders often talk about having mood swings, feeling irritable, sad or angry, or anxious. Although all of these feelings are highly valid, it is essential to acknowledge that people can also experience something of the exact opposite: Blankness, nothing, emptiness, and blatant disregard for yourself, others, and the world around you.

-Relationship sabotage
Individuals living with a mental illness, especially undiagnosed ones, often struggle with healthy relationships. They may find themselves constantly fighting with friends or family, jumping from one dating relationship to another, and struggling to make new friends. Individuals may avoid people altogether, alienating individuals who are closest to them. Self-sabotage is one of the hidden key components in borderline personality disorder.

-Obsession with weight, food, and or exercise
Individuals with depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and personality disorders may often use food and exercise to cope with their internal thoughts, emotions, and feelings. Exercising beyond exhaustion is an unhealthy coping mechanism that may temporarily relieve the unwanted inner thoughts associated with a mental health disorder. Controlling the diet when someone cannot control their emotional state is another common coping mechanism. Starving of carbohydrates, running 40 miles a week, and weighing daily are unhealthy ways to relieve the signs and symptoms associated with anxiety, OCD, and trauma-related disorders. Still, often these behaviors are mistaken for an eating disorder. These unhealthy obsessions with weight, food, and exercise are just that; obsessions but can have the potential to develop into a full-fledged co-occurring eating disorder.

-Work-obsessed
Burning the midnight oil, working weekends, being obsessed with climbing the corporate ladder, and working yourself into a state of incoherence are mental health warning signs that are often pushed under the rug. Society celebrates people who work hard and people who strive to earn a reputable salary, but at what cost? Mental health disorders are associated with workplace burnout in more ways than one: toxic work environments can trigger mental health disorders, and obsessing over your work can be an unhealthy coping mechanism for individuals living with a mental health disorder.

Akua Mind and Body is more than just a treatment center or residential facility; it’s a revitalizing retreat that provides holistic therapy programs for those who are in need of mental health treatment and substance use addiction. Akua’s integrative approach combines Eastern traditions with Western science to provide the highest quality of care combining physical, psychological, spiritual, and science-based approaches in detoxification, outpatient, and residential treatment. With facilities throughout the Sacramento Region, Los Angeles & Orange County Region, and San Diego Region, Akua aims to provide its clients with the best mental health and addiction treatment possible. Akua’s goal is to help patients build a solid foundation for healing so they can live happy and healthy lives in recovery.

Akua Mind and Body is recognized as one of the Best Addiction Treatment Centers in California with a reputable behavioral treatment facility. Learn more about all of our locations and programs throughout California on our website.

Andrea Dressler
Akua Mind and Body
+1 888-408-1110
info@akuamindbody.com
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