 When we think of mental health, we can often brush aside any worries or concerns we have on the matter and instead choose to only focus on our physical health, but this can be a mistake. While some may choose to ignore their emotional well-being, others realize that mental health is an important part of our health as a whole. It is certainly far from nothing. In fact, physical health and mental health often coincide. If you are emotionally unhealthy, you're likely to see physical symptoms as well as mental ones. If you're physically unhealthy, your mental health could be affected. Did you know stress can cause your hair to thin and become brittle? Or what about chest pains you've been having? That could be a sign of stress as well. So why is it that we treat our physical and mental health so differently if they're both linked closely in a chain reaction of symptoms? According to the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly one in five American adults will have a diagnosable mental health condition in any given year. And according to a comparative study, 46% of Americans will meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition sometime in their life, with half of those people developing conditions by the age of 14. The number of US adults with a mental illness? A whopping 44 million. And those with a mental illness are at higher risk of physical disease and have reduced access to adequate health care. That's only the beginning. Take depression for example. According to a study published in the Lancet Psychiatry, those with depression have a 40% higher risk of developing cardiovascular and metabolic disease than the general population. People with serious mental illnesses are nearly twice as likely to develop these conditions. Hmm, sounds pretty important to me. We wanted to let you know that your love and support helps us on our journey to make psychology and mental health more accessible to everyone. Because of you, we can continue in our goal to spread awareness about mental health and psychology. Thanks for the love. Now on to the video. So, why do some of us still brush off our mental health as nothing? We all deserve the time and attention needed to address all of our problems and concerns, mental and emotional, as well as physical. Mental health is not only our emotional well-being, but physiological and social as well. It affects how we think, feel, and react. It affects how we handle situations and stress, how we relate to others and our decisions. There are many ways in which our mental health can affect us. Here are just a few to start you with. I'm sure a lot of us suppress our emotions. It can happen without us even fully realizing it. Suppressing emotions is yet another example of how our mental health can affect us. If we choose to ignore certain symptoms and suppress negative emotions, we're only doing more harm than good. Just because you consciously suppress your emotions does not mean they go away. Instead, they build up. You should instead express emotions such as sadness, anger, or anxiety to someone you trust. Research, published in the APA's Journal of Experimental Psychology, showed that expressive writing reduces suppressed and intrusive negative thoughts and can improve our working memory, which can then allow us to use our cognitive resources to focus on what's important to us and improve how we handle stress. Still choosing to ignore your symptoms or emotions? Let's say you haven't been feeling well lately and have suppressed a lot of anger that you've been feeling. You tell yourself you have more important things to do. What if you let that anger build up? Well, holding in that anger means the emotion lasts longer as it's hidden inside of you. It can have a physical impact on you as well. Get ready for a long list. Anger has been linked to obesity, low self-esteem, migraines, drug and alcohol addiction, depression, sexual performance problems, increased heart attack risk, lower quality relationships, higher probability of abusing others emotionally or physically or both, higher blood pressure and stroke, says Dr. Schinner, an anger management coach who was also a consultant on the Pixar movie Inside Out. You know, the animated film about emotions? Anger can also lead to insomnia, anxiety, self-esteem issues, and mental or brain fog, to name a few. This is just anger. There are physical and mental problems that can arise from any suppression of emotion, it seems. Because if these emotions build up, they will eventually rise to the surface and likely explode out of you like a volcano. Just giving you a visual example. So what are we supposed to do about all of these feelings? Well, Schinner suggests one way to break this cycle, and that begins with mindfulness. One way to do this, he says, is by becoming more aware of when you're angry in the present moment, then looking at the emotion in a non-judgmental and curious way. So instead of beating yourself up, acknowledge how you're feeling and think about ways to cope. Still not convinced? You want another example of how your mental health can affect you. Okay, well perhaps you don't suppress your emotions, but instead, let your insecurities get the best of you. Insecurities are a perfect example of a small mental health struggle that we can all relate to. An example that not only affects our health, but our behavior as well. Everyone has insecurities. It's a normal part of being human, but if you're constantly thinking of your flaws and how others might judge you, it can be the beginning of a very unhealthy habit. Even if you want to change yourself for the better and improve yourself, don't beat yourself up over it. It's a great goal to try to improve yourself in many ways, perhaps starting with your mental health, but telling yourself that these goals are the only thing that can make you happy is a recipe for disaster. Because even if you do accomplish the goals you're striving for, the added weight and importance you place on them can make the great feeling of achievement and accomplishing your goals not all that you thought it would be in your mind. We tend to build things up in our heads and that's the reality we tend to strive for, but maybe the life in your head is not all you thought it would be. When you finally reach the mountaintop and take a look at your long-awaited vista, there's always a time when you'll have to start the long trek back down, because not every moment will feel as high as the mountaintops and that's normal. The point is to keep moving forward on your path, on your journey. Bettering our mental health takes patience. It takes time and patience to heal these wounds, big or small. And while others may tell you what you're feeling may be nothing, you know better. You know it's time to give your mental health the time and attention it deserves. So, how do you view your mental health? Did you learn something new? Let us know in the comments below and feel free to share this video with someone who could benefit from it. Make sure to like and subscribe to Psych2Go for more psychology content and, as always, thanks so much for watching!