Being diagnosed and dealing with a medical condition, especially a chronic illness, may subject you to several emotions. You may be overwhelmed by extreme frustration and even fear. Additionally, choosing the right treatment options may also add up to these overwhelming feelings, which may ultimately keep you away from living your life the way you want and sometimes even result in depression. Most individuals are unaware of how a disease can affect your overall mental health. This blog post explores how chronic illness impacts one’s mental health and ways to prioritise mental well-being while managing such medical conditions.
Relationship between chronic disease and mental health
Did you know that people diagnosed with diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart diseases are likely to have depression? According to a study, people with diabetes are likely to have depression two to three times more than people without. However, only 25% to 50% of the patients get diagnosed and treated. If you do not take proper care of your mental health, it may also damage your physical condition. On the other hand, it is also studied that if there is an improvement in any one of the physical or mental health, it also has a positive impact on the other. The most challenging part of making your physical and mental health better is identifying whether you are mentally healthy. Let’s look at a few examples that will help you know the relationship between mental and physical health.
- Change to the brain due to Parkinson’s disease and stroke may lead to depression. Another example includes multiple sclerosis (MS), in which the brain, spinal cord and nerves are affected. Therefore, patients who are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis may also undergo depression.
- A chronic illness can also disrupt your daily activities, relationships, work life, etc.
- Your mental health can also be affected based on the type of medication. For example, medication containing steroids may affect your mental health.
What can you do on your part to improve your mental health?
To take care of your health, you should highly focus on self-care. Being under stress and depression can make the process more difficult. Therefore, you first must face your illness actively. Apart from this, you should:
Have a healthy diet:
A healthy diet is the key to good physical and mental health. Also, manage your blood sugar level well through your diet.
Get good sleep:
Having a good sleeping schedule will help you reduce stress and improve your focus levels.
Be active:
Being active doesn’t necessarily mean you must carry out extensive physical tasks. You can simply take a walk, play with your dog, or do activities such as gardening.
Talk to our experts and experienced medical professionalsto address your mental health issues. Our professionals will understand all your medical history, sleeping habits, appetite change, moods, inability to perform daily activities, and so on to diagnose and treat you better.
Understanding your problems is our topmost priority. You don’t have to worry about getting the right solution to your mental health issues. Also, if you are finding a child immunisation clinic or a medical centre in Dee Why, reach out to Beaches Medical & Cosmetic Clinic.