Mental health is something that was not always studied or looked at to be as important as it is today. Over past decades, there has been a rise in suicide and depression rates that stem from environmental factors as well as psychological factors too. I never really paid much attention to the importance of mental health until I was 16 years old and my dad committed suicide. My whole view on mental health and depression changed, as it hit very close to home and I was experiencing tremendous amounts of grief. I personally fell into this loop of depression and it was hard to find my way out. As our book states, genetic factors and abnormal brain factors do play a role in mental health disorders, but there is more to the picture.
Loneliness can be very powerful and an overbearing feeling of lacking intimacy and relationships with the people around you. Social loneliness is a concept of the link between ones’ desired amount of friends and the actual amount of friends that are present and there for them. Emotional loneliness is deeper as it is pertains to how you feel about the intimacy you desire and the intimacy you actually have from others. Loneliness is the start to depression, which is a very serious mental health disorder.
From a study in our book by Smith and Rhodes (2015), they evaluated seven participants who were seeking help for signs of depression by using qualitative research. The findings were that most of the participants had feelings of loss and emptiness. Like nothing mattered and there was essentially no point in living life. I believe that this is how my Dad felt during the months leading up to his death. He lived alone and I would stay with him occasionally, but he did not have a significant other for years prior and didn’t have many friends. At the time, I did not realize or see any signs, but most times people hide these hurtful feelings and keep it inside to a point where they can’t anymore.
The helplessness theory of depression is present when two factors are present which is vulnerability and negative environmental circumstances. Vulnerability can coincide with a negative attitude towards every aspect of life with believing that bad things always happen and there is nothing you can to do change it. Most times, a person cannot control the negative environmental factors around them and can influence feelings of loneliness and ultimately lead to depression. Mental health is as important as any physical health being that the brain and the body are essentially intertwined and not separate entities.