Bryan Busch

Valentine’s Day can instill feelings of dread and annoyance, so make sure to prioritize your mental health and well-being this holiday.

Halloween we dress up as someone else, but reality is that most of us, whether intentionally or unknowingly, do the same throughout the year. And doing so plays a direct role in our mental health.

Graduation is a time in which graduates cross at least one of several metaphorical thresholds toward adulthood. And this transition period can bring with it a great amount of stress and anxiety.

Research has shown that hope is associated with increased resiliency, improved coping abilities, healthier lifestyle habits, lower impacts of anxiety and trauma, higher productivity and goal attainment, improved recovery from physical illnesses, greater well-being and higher overall life satisfaction.

But women are about twice as likely as men to be affected by depression, generalized anxiety and panic disorders as they battle for equal wages, access to political positions or corporate leadership roles and general equal treatment across society.

Too often we use the term trauma gratuitously in the same vein as we assign the phrase PTSD to our facetiously nostalgic feelings toward something. In reality, trauma is a highly complex, multilayered subject and PTSD is one possible disorder that can occur as a result of experiencing trauma

Lofty expectations, set individuals up for almost inevitable failure. No matter how strong the resolve, even the most dedicated people will miss a day in the gym or indulge in the occasional dessert. And when these missteps happen in the face of idealistic expectations, our mental health suffers.

Simply thinking optimistic or pessimistic thoughts about physical health can positively or negatively impact our overall state of health and state of mind.

While the season can be a special time that, hopefully, brings joy and innocence, it also can sometimes be accompanied by stress, tension and anxiety.

More than 80 percent of the people in the United States have social media and spend an average of about two and a half hours on such platforms every day. Yet research has consistently shown that social media usage has been associated with low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, self-isolation, disrupted sleep, difficulty concentrating, memory loss, and even physical health challenges.

Using social media activates the brain’s reward center by releasing dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical linked to pleasurable activities, and too much or too little of it has been linked with mental health disorders and challenges.

This year students are returning to school amid a pandemic. This period of adjustment can lead to or exacerbate mental health issues, particularly for individuals already experiencing things like anxiety or depression.

At the Olympic Games in Tokyo, a movement is happening that carries with it potentially far reaching and lasting impacts as it pertains to how we as a society perceive mental health and well-being. When Simone Biles withdrew from gymnastics competition and Naomi Osaka took to the tennis court on the heels of withdrawing from the French Open, both athletes noted their mental health struggles.

While physical disorders like chronic disease and neurological disorders like dementia are key issues for those over the age of 60, around 15 percent of seniors suffer from a mental disorder. The most common of which are depression and anxiety disorders.

Racial, ethnic, gender and sexual minorities are less likely to receive proper mental illness diagnosis and treatment and have less access to quality mental health care compared to majority peers.