Month: August 2022

an estimated 29.2 million people are drinking alcohol weekly and an estimated 313,971 drug users (aged 15 to 64) across the UK, millions of lives are changed by dependency of alcohol and drugs. The mental effects spread like the plague, not just affecting the dependent individual but family, friends, work and health services. Poor mental health is on the rise in the UK,  many people turn to drugs or alcohol as an escape. There are an estimated 589,000 people who are dependent on alcohol in England and about a quarter of them are likely to be receiving mental health medication; mostly for anxiety and depression, but also for sleep problems, psychosis and bipolar disorder.When you have both a substance abuse problem and a mental health issue such as depression, bipolar disorder, or anxiety, it is called a co-occurring disorder or dual diagnosis. Dealing with substance abuse, alcoholism, or drug addiction is never easy, and it’s even more difficult when you’re also struggling with mental health problems.

 

In England around 3 million people take drugs and drug deaths are the highest on record at nearly 3,000 a year. In the last decade, heroin-related deaths have more than doubled and cocaine-related deaths have grown fivefold. The situation in Scotland is even worse and is now known as the drug death capital of Europe. Why do people take drugs? Drugs can act as a temporary coping mechanism to get you through difficult times. However, drugs can make these feelings and emotions even worse. And in the long term, any feelings of relief won’t last. You may find yourself using more and more drugs to deal with your problems and risk becoming dependent on them which can create new problems for you. Regular cannabis use can increase your risk of anxiety or depression. There’s also a link between using stronger cannabis and developing psychosis or schizophrenia.  Stimulant drugs can make you feel depressed, anxious and paranoid. Cocaine, a type of stimulant, can make previous mental health problems recur and trigger psychosis and schizophrenia. Ecstasy users can experience memory problems. Hallucinogenic drugs such as magic mushrooms can make any mental health issues worse. They can make you feel detached from your surroundings and cause flashbacks, which can be frightening or distressing.

 

Alcohol is a depressant, meaning it can disrupt the balance of chemical messengers in your brain and affect your feelings, thoughts and behaviour. Alcohol affects the part of your brain that controls inhibition, so after a drink or two, you may feel relaxed, less anxious and more confident. But these effects quickly wear off. The chemical changes in your brain can soon lead to more negative feelings such as anger, depression or anxiety taking over, regardless of the mood you’re in.

For the families and friends of someone suffering with dependency it can be a very difficult time, To remain patient and understanding can be hard. You can become frustrated as you watch them and the physical and mental health deteriorate. You want to help, but the individual must help themselves. Looking after one’s mental health would be a good first step, Fix the cause of the problem.

According to the 2019 World Happiness Report, negative feelings are rising around the world. Everyday life is becoming more mentally challenging in ways it never has before. From lockdowns, addictions, mental health, unsatisfied job, social media, money worries and so many more factors. British people are among the most depressed people in the Western world, according to new data. Unhappiness is lethal to everyone around you, just like second-hand smoke. Your mood can affect everyone around you, unhappiness can spread like a disease. s 10 years since the UK government began to measure happiness. As part of its annual population survey, the official statistics body now asks interviewer questions about their satisfaction, mood and sense of life being “worthwhile”. Not surprisingly, given present circumstances, the news at the moment is not good. While there isn’t a full decade’s worth of data yet, the most recent findings were on the gloomy side: measures of personal well being worse in 2020, while anxiety reached record highs. But what do you expect in a global pandemic, for sure not for happiness to improve.

 

“Chronic Unhappiness syndrome” Persistent depressive disorder, also called dysthymia, is a continuous long-term (chronic) form of depression. You may lose interest in normal daily activities, feel hopeless, lack productivity, and have low self-esteem and an overall feeling of inadequacy. Some signs someone is chronically unhappy: you focus on material items, your favourite conversation is gossip, act defensive, hold on to sad thoughts for a long period of time and take themselves too seriously.

 

Many of us experience unhappiness at some points in our lives, happiness isn’t an end goal, it’s a feeling and can come and go. Different circumstances and events in someone’s life can have a huge impact on someone’s mood and mental health. There’s a lot of simple things you can do to boost your mood:

 

Mood boosters

.walks

.keep your space tidy

.smile at strangers

.listen to music

.relax (burn candle and have a bath)

. eat minimum 1 healthy meal a day

. priorities sleep

. exercise

. see family and friends

. speak to someone new

. make plans to look forward to

. look at old photographs

. write down your thoughts

. find something new you enjoy

.play games with friends

Trying to find the work/life balance can be really hard, people spend so much of their day putting all of their effort into the work they do and spend very little time on themselves. Looking after yourself is extremely important and will improve every part of your life. This will even improve your performance at work as when you are in a good mood you are more motivated. Many people are either exhausted from a lack of sleep, frustrated for not getting everything done that they wanted to, or depressed because I don’t do enough to make myself feel taken care of and when a parent has to look after children as well as everything else. Leaving no time for them. We all need a little help sometimes… whether it’s a pep talk from a trusted friend, reading just the thing you needed to on a motivational blog post, praying or meditating on life.  But there are also simpler things you can do to help yourself that are quick and easy fixes for your mood.

Any one of these mood boosting activities is sure to help you move in a positive direction, be it short term or long, provided you engage in them regularly whenever needed.

Hope this has helped you:)