Four Things That Affect Your Mental Health No One Told You About

Mental health is the total well-being of a person; psychologically, emotionally, and character-wise. And there are myriad of reasons a person’s mental health may be unstable. Daniel Onikola explains…

Mental health is beyond random mood swings, SAPA-induced vibes, and the overused term “depression.” It speaks about the total well-being of a person, their behavioural patterns, thought patterns, emotions, and cognitive effort.

Your mental health plays a vital role in your life. It determines the overall performance of your life. In this article, we’ll identify five factors that affect your mental health you are not aware of. 

1. Biological Factors

After extensive research by Senior researchers, Fu and Ptáek, they identified three members of a family who are all affected by a mutation in the PER3 gene after interviewing and examining hundreds of people with odd sleep disorders. The scientists inserted this gene into genetically modified mice to better understand this gene’s effects on circadian rhythms and seasonal depression.

The main concept behind this research is this; when something goes wrong in the PER3 gene, you become easily sad and depressed even if everything is going perfectly in your life. Some folks call it the “Depression gene”

2. The Way You Think

Have you ever heard this line that says; “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he”? 

If you pay close attention to your life, you will realize how powerful your thoughts shape your day.

I bet that if something has enough power to shape your day, it also has the power to change your life. Perhaps, if you could change your thoughts, you might transform your life.

Your thoughts serve as the foundation for your perception of life. If you believe, “Life is hard”, which is not entirely a lie. Life choke. Wicked people everywhere. But within this chaos there lies remnants of beauty, but you can not see it because your mind is fixed on the negatives of life.

The truth is, negativity is littered everywhere. From the news at ten to the streets of Twitter, it’s an array of bad news. We can not do anything about these unfortunate events, but we control how we respond to them.

We must choose to hold onto hope, believing that bad times are like the night, they disappear by morning. Yes, this is not denial. It is you taking responsibility for your mental health. I believe that if we allow every sad thing in life to bring us down, we would live a wretched life.

So, choose to see the good in life. Change your perspective, and you will ultimately improve your mental health.

3. Experiences

It is easy to connect trauma and abuse to mental health, but what about the effect that having a good time has on our mental health?

The truth is, if you took out time to enjoy yourself, it would improve your overall health.

Yes, problem no dey finish. 

Without any controversy, joyful people are less likely to suffer from mental illnesses. Stress, depression, and anxiety are less common among them. They consequently experience both psychological and physical wellness.

Hold that thought! 

Does this mean happy people don’t get depressed? Nah. However,  the numbers are really low.

The central idea here is to create as many beautiful experiences as possible while you still have breath in your body. Yes, it improves your mental health.

4. Family History

Epigenetics, a recent branch of genetics, demonstrates how our behaviours and emotions have an effect on our body makeup- effects that run deep into our genes.

And these genes are passed down from one generation to another. Simply put, if your grandparents or great-grandparents had a mental health disorder, there is a probability of such a disorder altering their genes and you inheriting it. 

Sometimes it’s not your fault, it’s a family issue. Identifying this is the first step in getting your life together.

Now that you know a little more about your mental health, please stay healthy. Stay positive. It gets better from here.