Mental health issues that are caused by stress can range from homicidal or other violent acts towards oneself or drive others to addictions. The range of mental health disorders that are stress related is so broad that it can be difficult to understand how two situations fall in the same category. The days of shock therapy are gone for the most part, but it still is used for certain mental illnesses. Gone, too, is the routine procedure of frontal lobotomies to calm patients into total submissiveness.

A large key to dealing with stress related mental health issues is to know how to relieve stress. We now understand that men who are returning from wars endure thoughts and images that affect them in ways that we have only begun to be aware of. Post traumatic stress disorder which is caused by stress can affect victims of abuse and violence of all types. Only recently have we begun to understand how traumatic events can affect the people who survive them.

Despite the many types of mental health disorders that currently exist because of stress, some of them tend to be much more common than others. Mental health disorders are not discriminatory and affect everyone. They do not choose specific people or races to affect. Mental health disorders are equal opportunity problems. These disorders have been proven to be hereditary in some cases but that is the closest generalization that you can expect.

A very common mental illness that is caused by stress is manic/chronic depressive disorder. This is characterized by extreme highs and lows in moods for no apparent reason. Sufferers are irrational and quick to change, in terms of mood. For example, if you suffer from this disorder you are happy—very happy or sad—very sad for no apparent reason. Stress is a major cause of this problem.

Eating disorders, which are also quite common, include anorexia (not eating), and bulimia (binging and purging) are also caused by stress that arises from self esteem. Anxiety disorders are characterized by having an irrational dread of living one’s life, to the point where it is incapacitating.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a form of anxiety disorder where a person obsesses (thinks about) and is compulsive (does) about a particular action such as washing their hands, to the point where he or she repeats this action an inordinate amount of times. Stress is a major aspect of our lives and can lead to serious mental problems if not taken under control. Learning to contain stress can lead to your overall health.

If you watch much TV, read magazines, newspapers, tabloids, you will notice that more and more we are hearing the word dietary fiber and the importance of fiber in the diet: Fiber helps reduce weight. Fiber helps you think more clearly. Fiber helps reduce cancer. Fiber helps improve bowel activity, but what is it and how does it do that, and are there different types of fiber or is there only one type of fiber? Fiber, as it relates to our diet, is a carbohydrate.

All of the parts of a plant that digestive enzymes cannot break down in our body is considered fiber. When you eat a food high in fiber, it tends to slow down the release of sugars in food. As a side note, it also slows down the release of certain fats in food to be absorbed by our body. As far as weight is concerned and weight control is concerned this is good news, so fiber is our friend.

High fiber diets are definitely recommended for a variety of general health reasons. It is typically recommended that most human beings consume 25 to 50 g of fiber per day with an average being 35 g. People who eat more fiber do not usually suffer from constipation. They have a lower risk of getting bowel cancer, diabetes, and other types of bowel disease. Fiber is a natural constituent of fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, lentils, and whole grains, and if you eat plenty of these foods adding fiber to your diet is not necessary.

However, many of us eat processed foods, fast foods which actually contain very little fiber. In that case, it is important to add fiber to one’s diet. Fiber is calorie-free and it is a natural filler. Eating more fiber in your diet makes you feel full, less hungry.

Foods that are high in fiber are more satisfying because they absorb more water, so they become bulkier in our gut. Wheat fiber as in bran is not a very absorbant fiber compared to some vegetable fibers. Placed in water it can swell to 10 times its original volume. Glucomannan on the other hand, the fiber from Japanese Konjac plant, however, swells to 100 times its original volume. Glucomannan is given to diabetics in Japan because it helps stabilize blood sugar level by slowly releasing carbohydrates into the blood stream, consequently having a less drastic effect on blood sugar elevation.

There are two primary kinds of fiber in our diet or fiber in our foods: Soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Many foods contain both insoluble fibers and soluble fibers.

Insoluble fiber bulks up fecal content. It almost acts like broom. It cleanses the intestine, prevents constipation, and produces better stools.

Soluble fibers are different. They actually dissolve in the gut and form an actual gelatinous-like type substance. This kind of fiber slows down the release of glucose in the blood stream, so it is very beneficial for blood glucose management. It also slows the release of fat into our blood stream which also helps control blood fats.

Whole grains contain both kinds of fiber and slow down glucose release whereas ground fiber, the type you might find in bread, has very little effect in this way.

Fruit and vegetable juices that do not have fiber have a very adverse effect on blood sugar level because of a lack of fiber. It does not slow the digestive process. Sugars are released into the blood stream very rapidly, consequently, elevation of blood sugar level results in elevation of blood insulin levels. The soluble fibers found in beans, lentils, and oats are particularly effective at slowing down the digestion of food and thus blood sugar response.

Insoluble fibers make you feel full immediately after eating while soluble fiber reduces appetite up to 10 hours later and this could be because of the effect on blood glucose in the blood stream. You do not have the sharp spike and elevation of blood glucose and finally the sudden drop in blood glucose level, leaving you feeling hungry. There are quite a few different kinds of fibers in both these categories, but it is important to eat unprocessed whole foods to get the most fiber you possibly can. Of all the fibers, oat fiber is probably the best in terms of controlling blood sugar level which helps in controlling weight.

Some sources of soluble fiber used therapeutically to help with digestion, diabetes, and weight loss are even better. Psyllium and glucomannan, which I have previously mentioned, are soluble fibers that I have found to be the most effective in controlling blood sugar level, so for diabetics, people who are wishing to lose weight, these are the choices to make.

Alcohol abuse is the recurrent and excessive use of alcohol. Left untreated it could become a psychological or physical dependence referred to as an addiction. While each alcoholic is already engaged in alcohol abuse, it is possible for an individual to abuse alcohol and even not be an addict by the strictest definitions. Determining whether the line has been crossed between abuse and addiction is significant but regardless of whether an individual is a drug user or an addict, getting help is vital.

Behaviors often associated with alcohol abuse include DUI’s, unstable social relationships, and organ or neurological damage due to excessive and/or prolonged alcohol intake. Alcoholic addiction is characterized by an obsessive need to drink alcoholic beverage and physiological and or psychological dependence on its substance. The family relationship that exists between alcohol and an alcoholic could be likened to an all-consuming matter with an abusive lover that alienates its victim from every other relationship in his or her life.

The road to alcohol abuse and potential alcoholism starts in a high society where drinking alcoholic beverage is a preferred pastime and an acceptable way to let off steam and unwind. Business associates often meet for drinks after work. Special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries are often celebrated with champagne and mixed drinks. Sporting events and tailgating parties aren’t complete without individual favorite beer. Drinking is an accepted social behavior among grownups and a rite of passage for those turning 21. Unfortunately, social drinking could be the first step toward alcohol abuse.

An individual’s coping mechanisms and genetic makeup share equally important roles as predetermining factors in whether social drinking could potentially turn into an addiction. A history of mental disease or emotional instability could also increase the potential for alcohol abuse.

The earliest warning indicators of potential alcoholic abuse involve a subtle but growing preoccupation with the role that alcohol plays in an individual’s life.

•Social assemblies without alcohol become boring.

•Unwinding at the end of a stressful day is regularly defined by having a few drinks.

•Thoughts become preoccupied with consuming the next drink.

•Driving drunk becomes a more regular behavior, culminating in DUI’s.

•What starts out as a way to have fun goes on into the means of numbing out emotionally or dealing with pain?

•Mood swings onset that are not attributable to any other physical or mental health issue.

When an individual carries on to abuse alcohol, reinforcing its role of importance while relying upon it as a coping mechanism, addiction is the next step. A substance abuser who is well on his way to becoming an alcoholic will get down to drink, not just socially, but alone. He could also develop a ritual of when and how much he drinks. That will protect his behavior at the expense of friends or loved ones.

Alcohol addiction is considered by the mainstream mental health community to be a disease because it alters brain chemistry, creating a compulsion to consume one drink and then another, and another. Alcohol is a drug and those who abuse it can develop psychological and/or physiological dependence. When there is physiological addiction, withdrawal, referred to as detox, without suitable supervision and enough medical support, can lead to loss of life.

Symptoms of alcohol addiction include the following:

1. Drinking alone

2. Inability to control the amount of alcohol consumed

3. Hoarding alcohol

4. A chronic and compulsive desire to drink

5. Loss of interest in prior activities and relationships

6. A gradual build up of tolerance to increased levels of alcohol

7. Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal when not able to drink, this could include nausea, irritability, sweating, shaking, and hallucinations.

Social drinkers rarely give serious consideration to the possibility of getting a problem with alcohol abuse. A lot never will. The gradual onset of alcohol abuse is marked, however, with warning signs and indicators that highlight the truth that a problem exists. Still, those who abuse alcohol rarely see the danger signs that may be staring them in the face. Chronic abuse is simply minutes away from becoming the beginning of addiction.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism provides wide information both to public and professional populations to assist in education and self assessment for the potential of having a trouble with alcohol.

Help for alcohol abuse and/or addiction generally falls out as family and close friends see the warning signs and become proactive in encouraging a problem drinker to seek help.

How does stress affect health? Stress is a major element of being human — a state of bodily or mental tensions resulting from factors that tend to alter an existing balance.

Everyday we are faced with struggles, hardships and angst in our home, school or workplace that are all complementary components of stress. It would be rare for anyone not to undergo this kind of state every once in a while.

In this day and age, the question ‘How does stress affect health?” has brought tremendous concern for most of us, and it has been an increasingly talked about issue.

Stress is the body’s response to certain environmental changes. In relation to our health, this is any factor that may have an adverse consequence on our body and its proper functioning.

Eustress vs. Distress

According to Hans Selye, a well-known endocrinologist in the early 1930’s, not all types of stress are detrimental; thus, he came up with eustress and distress.

We all do undergo mild, brief and controllable moments of nervous tension that are considered to be common, and act as positive stimuli towards a person’s intellectual and emotional growth. Selye termed these eustress.

He defined distress to be something of the opposite and is characterized by severe physical and psychological distress that is disruptive to general health.

The physiological effects of distress on the body include:

- chest pain
- insomnia or sleep problems
- constant head aches
- hypertension
- ulcers

Stress is said to be a contributory factor to the production of a certain disease, or it may be the cause of negative behavioral response, such as smoking, drinking alcohol and drug abuse – all of which may make us susceptible to diseases. It can adversely influence the immune system, thereby causing our body to be less resilient to a number of health problems.

Stressors versus Response

To know how does stress affect health, you should understand the triggers. Stressors are events or environmental agents directly responsible for the body’s stress response.

On the other hand, stress response would mean how we react to these stressors and are intended to protect us against the threats they might bring. They can be physical, emotional, or mental reactions, or even all of them.

Adapting To Stressful Factors As A Way to Fight Stress

Our ability to adapt to these stressors has greatly helped us combat the detrimental effects.

Knowing how does stress affect health can help you manage better. Coping can be negative or positive. An example would be when a person is faced with a serious emotional distress because of a death of a love one. He can either cope with such loss positively by directing his thoughts towards more meaningful things that would help ease the pain, or he can cope with the loss negatively by maintaining an unhealthy eating habit and even threatening serious injury to himself.

How to Combat Stress

Studies and research tell us that treatment should be directed towards helping a person cope positively with its known adverse effects. After knowing how does stress affect health, you need to adopt some stress-reducing strategies:

1) Relaxation.

Mental and muscle relaxation are good ways to relieve tension. Too much muscle activity can bring forth anxiety and strain.

2) Massage Therapy.

Gentle strokes and application of pressure along the length of our body helps alleviate physical strain and muscle tension.

3) Scenic imagery.

In this kind of strategy a person is asked to sit and close his eyes and focus on a scene that is asked of him, usually by a therapist.

4) Music Therapy.

This involves listening to selected music as a means of reducing feelings of pain, loneliness and anxiety. Certain rhythms of selected music are said to harmonize with bodily rhythms, like heart and respiratory functions.

Depending on how does stress affect health, you get to choose the proper methods for relief.

Omega 3 fatty acids play a vital role in our health and well-being. But, are Omega 3 and mental health connected? If yes, how do the benefit the brain? Find out the expert answers to these important questions in this article.

Fish is one of the best “brain foods” due to its high omega 3 content. The amazing health benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids on the brain health are well known. It helps in the brain development and optimal functioning.

So, what is the connection between Omega 3 and mental health? A lot of research studies in the past couple of years have shed light on the positive contributions of Omega 3s in brain and mental health.

DHA is one of the most important types of Omega 3 fatty acids. It is vital for brain health. Around 60% of our brain mass is composed of fats and approximately half of that is made up of DHA!

Studies have shown that low level of DHA Omega 3 in blood levels have been associated with symptoms of attention deficit disorder and depression. On the other hand, a healthy intake of Omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to result in a more sober mood, cheerful attitude, stable mind and a sharper memory and concentration.

Omega 3 and mental health are highly correlated. Its sustained deficiency has shown mood swings and erratic behaviour. Due to the high importance of Omega 3s in the development and maintenance of brain cells, medical experts recommend using omega 3 fish oil supplements to complement the diet as a part of a healthy regimen.

It is not that just the intake of Omega 3 fatty acids would cure all mental disorders and neurological problems, but omega 3 supplementation definitely goes a long way in aiding the recovery in mental ailments and maintaining robust overall health. Omega 3s have also shown their positive role in various other health problems such as coronary heart disease, arthritis, skin problems and various other diseases.

Other good sources of omega 3 fatty acids are flax seed oil, Omega 3 rich eggs, nuts such as almonds and walnuts, fatty fish such as tuna, sardines, mackerel, herring, etc., grass-fed meat and purified fish oil supplements.