How Mental Health Affects Physical Health
The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that “there is no health without mental health.”
It doesn’t matter if you are a celebrity or athlete that has millions upon millions of dollars you can still have a poor mental health status.
It doesn’t matter if you are living on welfare then win the lottery your mental status will be the same, and you will wind up in the same mental and physical place as you were before.
People are constantly chasing happiness by prioritising monetary value and ignoring their mental health conditions, yet according to “The Visual Capitalists” countries with a lower GDP per capita are more satisfied with what they have.
By sacrificing our mental health for the monetary value, we are decreasing our physical activity by becoming more sedentary. Therefore our physical health wellness suffers, and on collectively, we are on a path of a mental break down.
There is a growing relationship between mental and physical health the associations are:
- Poor mental health is a risk factor for chronic physical conditions.
- People with serious mental health conditions are at high risk of experiencing chronic physical conditions.
- People with chronic physical conditions are at risk of developing poor mental health. (Canadian Mental Health Association)
There are many ways that people can fall into a state of mental health illness.
A few mental health stressors include:
- Social or cultural expectations
- Changing school or jobs
- Feelings of inadequacy
- Extensive desire
Mental illness in Canada
The incidences that result in mental illness are often unavoidable and sudden. Mental illness is on the rise in developed countries, due to desire, social and cultural expectations. In Canada, a country whose internal rankings claim it’s one of the happiest countries in the world, have at least 53% of its population dealing with a mental illness.
“By 2020, depression will be the leading cause of disease in Canada.” Mental health is a major issue in this country.
Poor mental health can lead you to be lazy and unwilling to do activities that you would usually say “yes” to, like something as easy as your friend asking you for if you want to go out for dinner. Not only that but your willingness to take part in physical activities will be affected, and you could start taking up bad habits.
You often heard that Canada has a drinking problem, which is connected with the lack of activity during long winters that translates into mental illness and laziness.
If you have a poor mental health status from overworking or underachieving you see bad habits piling up you can get help; you are not alone.
You can help yourself out of the scenario by setting personal goals and objectives to motivate yourself, getting physically active and focus on positive aspects, no matter how big or small.
There is no question that mental health victims are susceptible to heart disease because of the lack of physical activity they endure. Exercise is vital for the brain to work correctly and can help improve your mood, sleep, and response to stress.
If you feel your mental health is not in the right place, take the first step in helping yourself, read how to motivate yourself to exercise and know that there is always help around.
