Eating disorders

Having a negative body image, needing to loose weight or maintain a certain weight are feelings people often associate with eating disorders. However another important aspect is needing to excessively control what is being put in your body. 

For example an individual who for various reasons feel they cannot control what is happening in any aspect of their lives may begin to control their food intake as an attempt to have some control over their lives.

There is much more to an eating disorder that just feeling overweight although that maybe the prominent feeling they are able to express. There perhaps maybe a lot more going on for the individual that just having a negative body image. 

Some people find certain emotions unbearable and find that controlling what they eat helps to manage or escape those feelings. Once that control has been established a vicious cycle can then form. The more unbearable the feelings are, the greater need to control their diet. 

Depression

Depression can be a very hard thing to describe or to define. Similar to anxiety, depression can often remain hidden within an individual. Some people may find they are able to go to work, socialise with friends and even attend family functions but whilst that is going on theres a sort of emptiness that is felt. This emptiness can be very difficult to understand and can go ignored for a long time.

When someone who is depressed but can also function highly in other aspects of their life it can be very daunting to seek help because the individual may feel very self critical for feeling depressed in the first place. 

Depression can effect the most charismatic and sociable people as well as the most isolated. The depth of the emptiness that can be felt within can be so consuming but at the same time so hard to articulate. This is another aspect that can prevent people from getting help. 

Some people may feel there is an expectation when they seek help to fully articulate what they are feeling and their reasons for why they are feeling that way. In reality the causes of depression can ofen be hidden to the person. When someone is depressed there can be an absence of feeling. It is understanding why an individual feels this emptiness that they need help with as often they do not know why. Therefore expecting someone to know why they are depressed can be unhelpful. 

Social Media and Mental Health

Social media has had a huge impact on how people interact with each other and the world around them. More recently there is an increasing awareness into how this ever growing presence of social media effects peoples mental health. 

It is not that social media creates poor mental health but perhaps triggering what difficulties an individual may already have. As a society we already interact less face to face and the preference has now become to interact on various devices using certain apps.

With over 1 billion likes daily on instagram, there is an ever growing intense need to seek out validation and approval from from the click of button. For individuals who have well functioning relationships there may not be such an intense desire to seek out that constant approval through social media.

However for others who do not have well functioning relationships there is a potential for there to be a huge amount of pressure to be liked and to like on these social platforms. Whilst the disconnection to the outside world and to the individuals sense of self grows deeper. For some the constant feeding of hash tags and pictures fills an emptiness that actual relationships have failed to fill. Making it increasingly difficult for some individuals to take themselves aways from the constant presence of social media.

Anxiety

Every one will experience some level of anxiety at some point in there lives. The shape and form anxiety takes can vary according to the individual. Anxiety is affecting more people than ever and when anxiety takes over it can limit the ability to reflect on a situation. 

Some individuals can function even though they are experiencing varying levels of anxiety whereas others may not. Anxiety is a response to a situation, person or thought. It can come and go in different strengths. 

For some individuals anxiety will be felt in a very physical way. Fatigue, insomnia, nausea, constipation, shortness of breath, accelerated heart rate, perspiration, visual impairment, muscle aches, stomach pain and headaches are all common physical manifestations of anxiety.

Due to the variety of ways anxiety can manifest it is possible to feel anxious without knowing your suffering from anxiety, which can sometimes make it difficult for the individual to recognise what is happening to them.