MENTAL HEALTH WEBINAR

1. MENTAL HEALTH WEBINAR
MAR CHRISTIAN D. NICOLAS

2. What Is Mental Health?
Mental health includes our emotional,
psychological, and social well-being. It affects
how we think, feel, and act. It also helps
determine how we handle stress, relate to others,
and make choices. Mental health is important at
every stage of life, from childhood and
adolescence through adulthood.

3. What Is Mental Health?
 Adolescence is a crucial period for developing and
maintaining social and emotional habits important for mental
well-being. These include adopting healthy sleep patterns;
taking regular exercise; developing coping, problem-solving,
and interpersonal skills; and learning to manage emotions.
Supportive environments in the family, at school and in the
wider community are also important. An estimated 10-20% of
adolescents globally experience mental health conditions, yet
these remain underdiagnosed and undertreated.

4. Factors that can contribute to stress
during adolescence include:
Desire for greater autonomy,
Pressure to conform with peers,
Exploration of sexual identity, and
 Increased access to and use of
technology

5. Mental health determinants
 Emotional disorders commonly emerge during adolescence.
In addition to depression or anxiety, adolescents with
emotional disorders can also experience excessive irritability,
frustration or anger. Symptoms can overlap across more than
one emotional disorder with rapid and unexpected changes in
mood and emotional outbursts. Younger adolescents may
additionally develop emotion-related physical symptoms such
as stomach ache, headache or nausea.

6. Mental health determinants
Eating disorders commonly emerge during adolescence
and young adulthood. Eating disorders affect females
more commonly than males. Conditions such as anorexia
nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder are
characterized by harmful eating behaviors such as
restricting calories or binge eating. Eating disorders are
detrimental to health and often co-exist with depression,
anxiety and/or substance misuse.

7. Mental health determinants
 Suicide and self-harm - An estimated 62 000 adolescents died in
2016 as a result of self-harm. Suicide is the third leading cause of
death in older adolescents (15-19 years). Nearly 90% of the world’s
adolescents live in low-or middle-income countries and more than
90% of adolescent suicides are among adolescents living in those
countries. Risk factors for suicide are multifaceted, including
harmful use of alcohol, abuse in childhood, stigma against help-
seeking, barriers to accessing care and access to means.
Communication through digital media about suicidal behavior is an
emerging concern for this age group.

8. Coping with
Stress

9. What Causes Stress?
 examinations
 deadlines
 returning to study
 pressure of combining paid work and study
 difficulty in organizing work
 poor time management
 leaving assignments to the last minute
 out of control debts

10. What Causes Stress?
 poor housing
 overcrowding
 noise
 adjusting to life in a new environment or even
country
 difficulties with personal relationships (e.g. splitting
up)
 balancing the demands of a family with studying
 parents or problems at home

11. How Too Much Stress
Affects Us?
Physically
Mentally
Emotionally

12. Healthy Ways to Cope with Stress
Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to
news stories, including those on social media. It’s
good to be informed but hearing about the
traumatic event constantly can be upsetting.
Consider limiting news to just a couple of times a
day and disconnecting from phone, TV, and
computer screens for a while.
Take care of yourself. Eat healthy, exercise, get
plenty of sleep, and give yourself a break if you feel
stressed out.
Take care of your body.

13. Healthy Ways to Cope with Stress
Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate external
icon.
Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals.
Exercise regularly.
Get plenty of sleep.
Avoid excessive alcohol, tobacco, and substance use.
Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities
you enjoy.

14. Healthy Ways to Cope with Stress
Talk to others. Share your problems and how you
are feeling and coping with a parent, friend, counselor,
doctor, or pastor.
Connect with others. Talk with people external icon
you trust about your concerns and how you are
feeling.
Recognize when you need more help. If problems
continue or you are thinking about suicide, talk to a
psychologist, social worker, or professional counselor.