Mental health, Anxiety, Depression are some of the most common terms of this era. Mental illness has become common these days because life has been difficult. With this competitive work-life where everyone is hustling hard to earn more, we have forgotten to take a break and live life. One of the major reasons behind increasing mental illness is stress. This generation is moving so fast that we do not have time to take care of ourselves. Our busy life schedule does not affect our physical state but also our emotional and mental well-being.

Mental health includes our emotional, social, psychological, and physical well-being. It affects how we feel , think and act and helps us to determine how we handle stress, makes choices, live life, etc. Mental health is important because it helps us to work effectively, cope up with stress, enjoy, and realize our full potential.

Here are some of the early signs of poor mental well being:

• Eating and sleeping way too much or very little
• Low energy level
• Feeling numb
• Suicidal thoughts 
• Thinking of harming others
• Experiencing severe mood swings like confusion, angry, scared, worried, etc.
• Difficulty in focusing
• Not enjoying activities that once you loved 
• Extreme anger and violence
• Negative thoughts

Traumatic experiences, history of mental illness in the family, Alcohol, and drug use, brain injury are some of the factors that increase the risk of poor mental health in a person.

Mental illness has many subtypes, some of the most common mental illnesses are:

1. Anxiety: It’s the fear of what to come
2. Depression: A mood disorder that makes you feel hopeless and sad all the time. 
3. Bipolar Disorder: A mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings like emotional highs and lows. 
4. Anorexia: Eating disorder 
5. OCD: Obsessive-Compulsive disorder 
6. PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder 

Mental health needs to be taken seriously as it can lead to severe problems ahead. We need to pay attention to the warning signs and if needed seek professional help. The best way to avoid mental and physical illness is a healthy lifestyle. Practicing a healthy lifestyle is a cure to many health issues. A proper sleep routine, regular exercise, healthy eating, taking time for yourself, and resting are some of the ways you can ensure a good lifestyle. Traveling, Good music, Playing your favorite sports, spending time with your loved ones are some of the good ways to relieve stress. 

You owe yourself the love that you so freely give to other people, a good mental well-being includes self-love. We need to love ourselves and understand that it’s okay to not be okay but not taking care of your mind and body is not okay.