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Dr. Lisa Firestone, who has worked extensively with individuals, couples, and children, thinks the biggest mental health challenges we face are often based on the adaptations we made while growing up — the psychological defenses that do not serve us in our current life.
"These adaptations were developed as survival mechanisms, and it can feel 'life-threatening' to challenge them," she told Bored Panda. "An example might be feeling self-protective and guarded in relationships. This may have been the best adaptation we could make to caregivers who were not attuned to us. But in our adult life, it may be interfering with our ability to form close, satisfying relationships."
"As an adult, you are no longer dependent on others, and we can choose to relate to people who can attune to us. But if we put up walls and don't let others know how we feel or what we want, we reinforce the beliefs that support the defenses we formed early in our lives," Dr. Firestone, the author of Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion, explained.
According to the World Health Organization, in 2019, 1 in every 8 people, or 970 million people were living with a mental disorder.
Of them, 301 million had an anxiety disorder (including 58 million children and adolescents) and 280 million were dealing with depression (including 23 million children and adolescents).
Health systems have not yet adequately responded to the needs of those with mental disorders and are significantly under-resourced in many places around the globe. For example, only 29% of people with psychosis and only one-third of people with depression receive formal mental health care.
Furthermore, a large-scale international study co-led by researchers from Harvard Medical School and the University of Queensland based on more than 150,000 face-to-face surveys across 29 countries discovered that one out of every two people in the world will develop a mental health disorder by the age of 75.
The researchers also found that mental health disorders typically first emerge in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood — the peak age of first onset was 15 years old, with a median age of onset of 19 for men and 20 for women.
Of course, memes such as the ones shared by 'How Mental' are funny and all, but Dr. Firestone believes people who are looking to improve their mental health on a day-to-day basis can begin with identifying and challenging their adaptations and defenses that she mentioned earlier.
"We can try new, more vulnerable behaviors, and take a chance on having a different outcome," she said. "We can develop a sense of inner security over time, challenging our beliefs about how relationships go. To start to identify our patterns, we can look back over past relationships, talk to friends about what they have observed, and look for our role in why things have been difficult."
"The idea is not to blame ourselves ... but rather [to practice] self-compassion [and] develop an understanding of how you are getting in the way of getting what you want."
"I believe finding someone you can trust and talk to is almost always helpful," Dr. Firestone added. "To my mind, if you want to improve your mental health, therapy is an excellent vehicle."
"If you are struggling with your mental health, feeling depressed or anxious, or find yourself using unhealthy coping strategies, therapy may be essential and even life-saving," the psychologist said, highlighting that seeking mental health treatment is a sign of strength, not weakness.
