Blog Post: Mental Health and Music

We often live life at break neck speed and often we forget to take time to recharge our batteries, in this blog post I wanted to share a few thoughts with you all in regards to Mental Health.

Mental Health is a term used to describe our psychological, emotional and social wellbeing. Our current mental health can affect the way we think, act, feel and interact with the world around us and it helps to determine the way in which we handle stress, relate to others and make our own choices in the world. We all have mental health and it is as important as our physical health and so we need to learn to take care of and value our own personal mental health.

Mental health, defined by the World Health Organization, is “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”.

A Mental Health Problem is a condition which can affect your thoughts, mood and behaviour. A Mental Health Problem can often be easily masked and most people would not realise the signs of symptoms in day to day life, we often refer to mental health problems as being a hidden condition. If you break an arm or injure yourself then this is often visible for everyone to see but when someone is facing a battle with their own thoughts then it is not as visible and potentially could be harder to understand. 

There are many mental health conditions which can include the following:

1. Anxiety Disorders which can include generalised anxiety disorder (better known as GAD), this can also be displayed through panic attacks, obsessive or repetative behaviours and phobias.

2. Mood Disorders which can include depression, bipolar disorder, substance induced disorder and dysthymia.

3. Eating Disorders.

4. Personality Disorders.

5. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

6. Psychotic Disorders which can include schizophrenia. Many people experiencing psychotic disorders also report having hallucinations and delusions.

I have often found myself exploring what makes individual suspectible to mental health problems and I wanted to share some of the causes of mental health problems which are included below:

1. Childhood experiences.

2. Genetics.

3. Environment. 

4. Traumatic or stressful events.

5. A negative though process or continued negative thoughts.

6. Brain chemistry.

7. Unhealthy Habits.

8. Misuse of drugs and alcohol.

Mental Health can have a different impact on people and can include the following signs:

1. Excessive worry, paranioa or anxiety.

2. Changes in eating patten either eating a lot more or a lot less.

3. Withdrawal from social activities. 

4. Changes in mood which can often be extreme.

5. Sadness which lasts for an extended period of time. 

Mental Health problems often go unrecognised and a person can often go for quite some time before seeking support. A person suffering from a mental health problem may try to self medicate by over eating (also known as comfort eating), excessive use of alcohol or drugs, self harm.

Luckily there are ways in which we support someone who is within our friendship group, brass band, or musical organisation.

1. Set time aside where there are no distractions to have a conversation.

2. Let the person share as little or as much as they want to in a non judgemental environment. Let the individual lead the discussion and lead a friendly attentive ear as you could be the first person that they have spoken to about this issue.

3. Don't try to diagnose or second guess a person's emotions, we are not medical professionals and therefore we cannot make assumptions or suggest a potential problem, this can lead to problems in the future. 

4. Keep all the questions that you ask open ended. 

5. Talk about well being and talk about ways of de-stressing which can include breathing exercises, physical exercise, healthy eating and getting a good night sleep. 

6. Listen carefully to what is being said you can do this by showing positive body language and repeating what has been said back to them to show that you understand what is being said.

7. Provide information on seeking professional support. 

8. Seek and ask for professional advice and support, if you are a professional working with a student then record the information and always report this immediately to your safeguarding lead.

Professional support can be sought in The United Kingdom by contacting a GP or the NHS 111 Helpline.

If you are interested in this subect or would like further training on this subject matter than I would fully advise going on a Mental Health First Aid Course.