Everyone experiences difficult times in their life. Sometimes these experiences don’t go away and we struggle to solve them on our own. They impact on our work, our relationships with family and friends and our general sense of wellbeing. It is important to seek help during these difficult times as eventually they can have a serious impact on our physical, emotional and mental health.
The research done by Lifeline Australia and MTAA Super shows that the first person most people want to talk to is a mate.
The readthesigns initiative was developed four years ago with the aim of helping people help their mates. This joint initiative between MTAA Super and Lifeline Australia asks you to keep track of how your friends are doing and how you’re feeling yourself. And if things start to feel overwhelming, the readthesigns program can show you where to get help.
Why it is important to seek help
Good mental health is a vital part of overall good health and wellbeing. It is just as important to maintain good mental health as it is to maintain good physical health.
Mental health problems can be varied in terms of nature and severity. In many instances it just represents a difficulty coping with day to day issues. This is often caused by a combination of life events leading to a higher level of stress. Getting help can put things into perspective and provide you with information, strategies and support to better deal with issues. However sometimes it takes courage to ask for help and deal with issues.
How do I know if I need help?
Common signs that can suggest your mental health is suffering include:
» Increased use of drugs and/or alcohol or an increase in gambling activities
» Feeling tired and restless
» Experiencing headaches, muscle tightness and weight gain or loss
» Increased nervousness or agitation and feeling out of control
» Feeling depressed and having difficulty concentrating, or feeling worthless
» Loosing interest in activities that you usually enjoy and lacking energy
» Feeling isolated, withdrawing from others and becoming increasingly distant
» Mood shifts and angry outbursts
» Your normal coping skills don’t seem to be working
Not seeking help could lead to:
» The situation becoming worse and if left unresolved, symptoms will not only continue, but may worsen over time and could lead to depression and anxiety
» Prolonged drug and/or alcohol abuse which can severely impair a person’s ability to make healthy choices and decisions
» Increased suffering as the mental health problem could start to affect other aspects of your life such as relationships and work
» A decline in physical health and the possibility of developing illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, ulcers and sleep disorders
» A greater risk of developing feelings of hopelessness, helplessness and suicidal thoughts
Seeking help could therefore stop a mental health problem interfering with a person’s quality of life.
» Approach your friend and reassure them they don’t have to go through this alone.
» Listen to your friends problem. Often, our instinct is to focus on finding a solution to the problem, but this, may not be helpful. It is more important for you to listen and allow your friend to express what they are thinking and feeling and how they are coping.
» Know that you have the ability to influence your friend to get help.
» Inform your friend that help is available
» Encourage your friend to get help early before things get worse
» Be positive about how seeking support can help
How you can help someone going through a difficult time
It can be difficult to watch someone you care about going through a hard time. They may be more comfortable talking to you, a trusted friend, mate, before they talk to their family or a professional. You are not expected to have all the answers but there are some things you can do to begin to help.
readthesigns- a joint campaign between Lifeline and MTAA Super promoting mental health awareness, help seeking and suicide prevention.
|
