“You are what you eat.”

By now you’ve probably heard that hundreds of times throughout your life. However, it turns out that it’s not just a quirky saying—it’s actually true.

It makes perfect sense when you think about it: Your brain is working 24/7 to control everything inside your body. And, in order to do that, it needs fuel. You can either fuel up your brain with high-premium fuel (nutritious) or low-premium fuel (processed). Eating high-quality foods—such as fruits and vegetables—nourishes your brain with vitamins and minerals, whereas eating low-quality foods—such as refined sugars—promotes inflammation.

According to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA), approximately six million people in the United States suffer from panic attacks or panic disorder — both of which are classified under the umbrella of anxiety disorders. Panic attack symptoms are most commonly seen in women and individuals in their 20s. However, it can affect anyone.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States. Organizations from around the country use this month to bring awareness and resources through conversations, testimonies, and resources. Through nationwide advocacy, we have seen an improvement in the stigmatization of mental health conditions, however, the percentage of Americans suffering still remains high.

There are many external factors that can determine one’s mood, such as the weather, relationships, and finances. However, there are also four natural chemicals produced by your brain that also play a large role.

These are:

1. Endorphins

2. Dopamine

3. Serotonin

4. Oxytocin

These hormones, called neurotransmitters, communicate with other parts of the brain when released. During this process, your brain receives signals to calm you down, feel the sensation of love, or even experience euphoria.

Have you been feeling stressed lately? Maybe even a little anxious or depressed?

While some individuals find that exercise, creative outlets, or talking with a friend helps to increase their mood, others are decompressing through the acts of cleaning and organizing. As a matter of fact, there is clinical evidence that supports the claim that cleaning can uplift your spirits and give you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

When we feel like our emotions are out of control, cleaning and organizing most certainly is within our scope of control. Researchers claim that this may be the reason why so many of us feel calm and liberated afterward.

You have probably heard the expression, “woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

A saying commonly associated with being in a bad mood, there’s more clinical factuality than you may think. Our sleep patterns and quality of sleep directly correlate with our daily attitudes and have links to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Moreover, a lack of sleep may worsen pre-existing mental health conditions.

It is estimated that anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of psychiatric patients report chronic sleep deprivation in comparison to 10 to 18 percent of overall adults in the United States. (Reference 1). Although poor sleep and/or insomnia—as well as mental health disorders—are all complex issues that researchers are still actively studying, there appears to be strong evidence that improving one’s sleep may also improve psychiatric disorders.

Mental health issues are among the leading issues causing stress, overwhelm, and anxiety in US adults today.

Struggles with mental health affect our everyday life, and can lead to poor:

• Job performance

• Engagement

• Communication

• Daily functioning

Those with mental health disorders also have to take care of their physical health. And the cost of treatment for co-existing health issues is approximately two to three times more costly than for those without that hurdle.

If one positive came from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s the magnification of the importance of addressing employees’ mental health concerns. The stigma that surrounds speaking about these issues has become outdated. Employers are now encouraging employees to receive the help they need—unashamedly—and are offering resources to do so.

As the nation prepares to come upon three full years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are watching the demand for mental health services soar to an all-time high. our youth‘s need is even starker. While some children flourished in their newly-found remote environments, many are struggling psychologically.

Pre-pandemic, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that approximately one in five kids in the United States suffered from a mental health disorder, but only about 20 percent of those children ever received any type of care from a mental health provider. Especially now — due to the amount of trauma, isolation, loss, unpredictable routines, and fear — our nation’s youth need more resources and support than ever before.

A proposed house bill would provide annual mental health screenings for sixth through twelfth grade on a voluntary basis. If Bill 23-1003 passes, these evaluations will be carried out by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).

Identifying and accurately diagnosing mental health and substance use issues early can alleviate tremendous amounts of suffering. For both young people, adults, and their families, early care and effective treatment plans allow all involved to recover quickly, obtain a better education, provide access to meaningful employment, develop relationships, and ultimately lead more productive lives overall.

At Mental Health Technologies, we celebrate and bring awareness to mental health concerns daily. However, each year everyone quickly goes from the hustle and bustle of the holiday to feeling worn and weary starting a new year of work or school. That is why every year during the month of January, the nation focuses on mental wellness as a whole — when almost all of us are feeling its exhausting toll.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates approximately one in five adults suffer from mental health problems each year. However, as you may have noticed, the effects of mental illness quickly spread and are capable of directly or indirectly affecting us all — such as experiencing depression from seeing a loved one suffer from their own mental health issues.

The first six weeks of a New Year’s Resolution are all many of us actually do. Even the most manageable and realistic resolutions can seem daunting. Especially when we mess up for the first time — it seems easier to accept that we cannot pull it off for an entire year and completely give up instead of shaking it off and starting over.

Our mental state is commonly overlooked in how we approach and succeed at our resolutions. And, when our new year goal is something that creates a healthier us (such as eating healthier or exercising more often), we need all the help we can get to stick to our resolutions.

We’re going to dive into five mental health resolutions you can make for the coming new year. But first, let’s talk about how you can prepare yourself to succeed.

Celebrating the holidays while grieving is difficult. Finding appropriate ways to cope with bereavement and loss can be especially challenging during this season. While finding ways to work through your emotions, it’s essential to check in with yourself often and evaluate what is—or isn’t —working for you.

It’s vital to keep in mind that what works best for you may not work for others, and vice versa. Moreover, the coping mechanisms that have worked for you in the past may begin to shift as time goes on.

Whether you find solace in a support group or you do better with skipping out on festivities altogether, there are many options you can go through to help support yourself emotionally during the holidays.

Below are six key coping strategies you can incorporate this year.

The holiday season — for a variety of reasons — can bring one’s mood plummeting.

With families gathering together, the overall cost of celebrating and the demands of cooking, cleaning, as well as entertaining all have the capability of having extreme time and financial constraints. With this, it is no wonder that stress and depression around the holidays are a typical array of feelings many people experience.

However, with some simple tips, you can help yourself minimize the stress felt during the holiday season. In fact, you may find yourself even enjoying it.

Anger is a normal feeling to experience. But when we lose control of it, anger can be one of the most damaging emotions.

At its core, anger is a driving force to find resolutions. It’s considered a necessity for human survival. However, out of control or excessive frustration can harm our mental and physical health. It can also damage ourrelationships with others

For those who have difficulty controlling their anger, psychologists can help identify specific triggers, andgive you tools to manage them before things spiral out of control.

Technology has helped aid and enable workers in nearly every industry to be more productive. One area lacking innovation? Mental healthcare.

Not everyone you see around you on a daily basis is fully mentally fit. In fact, most adults in the United States are battling mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety.

Technology is allowing mental health treatment to be more effective than ever before. Nowadays, both cognitive and behavioral therapies are readily available online for anyone to utilize. The question that remains is this: how can technology improve care and patient outcomes even more?

The emotional toll and overall trauma of being in combat cause many of our service men and women to struggle with mental health issues.

A report published in June of 2021 reveals that four times as many active duty service members and veterans have died by suicide versus our military members who died as a direct result of combat throughout the 9/11 operation. (Reference 1)

Although each presiding presidential administration has attempted to gain control over the number of suicides seen among our soldiers, we try to bring to light some possible reasons why these numbers continue to rise.

Suicidal ideations and attempts—like any other mental health condition—have the ability to affect people of any age, gender, creed, or culture. In fact, suicide is frequently the result of an untreated mental health issue. Even though suicidal thoughts occur more often than many realize, they should never be brushed off as something one will eventually “get over.”

Suicide Prevention Awareness Month occurs each September and it is used to raise awareness of this heartbreaking topic. Often stigmatized, Suicide Awareness Month is used to address public perception of the taboo subject, spread a message of hope, and share important information regarding suicide and the data surrounding it.

More than ever, school-aged children need the support of their families and communities.

Since 2020, what is considered the “new normal” has been a source of constant debate.

• Are classes fully remote or in person?

• Do they attend remote classes only during an outbreak?

• Are masks required?

• If not, will they be in the future?

This constant state of change has caused an upheaval in the mental health of American youth.

While helpful for work, school, and staying in close contact with family and friends, internet social media platforms have reached the point of overuse—and it is taking a toll on our mental health.

The amount of information available online is unfathomable.

We can:

• Follow others’ personal lives, which sometimes includes intimate details

• Learn critical information about happenings around the world

• Forego waiting rooms and medical bills and self-diagnose symptoms

And much more!

In moderation, the above is not necessarily a bad thing. However, many people take things too far. With many jobs requiring work tasks to be completed on the computer, the majority of our lives appear to revolve around the usage of the world wide web — which encourages unhealthy habits.