The Root Causes of Mental Health Problems
The awareness surrounding mental health is increasing day by day. People are talking more, seeking help and the stigma of having a mental health problem is not as profound as it was. However, despite all of this, year on year the statistics on mental health seem to be increasing. As it stands, each year, 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience some form of mental illness, and suicide is now the biggest killer of men aged 49 and under. So why do we think this is happening?
In the UK, the most common mental health conditions are anxiety and depression. The symptoms and characteristics of both conditions are fairly well known and often discussed, however, the actual causes of these conditions are rarely discussed and generally unknown.
The causes of mental health conditions are generally categorised into two areas: physical and non-physical. The majority of the time, it is the physical causes of mental health that are focused on. Neurological research has shown that some people with a mental health problem either have a chemical imbalance, or a structural change in the brain, which are treated with physical interventions, for example, antidepressants. However, the root causes of mental health conditions aren’t always physical. Physical changes may eventually occur, however, if the root cause is non-physical, and this is identified early on, certain interventions can be adopted which could potentially put a stop to the physical causes from taking over.
We at T2 have identified root causes of depression and anxiety:
Social Isolation
Nutrition
Exercise
Purpose/Meaning
Sleep
Exposure to Nature
Freedom
Association
Social Isolation
Humans are not meant to be, or to feel, alone. According to a recent survey, over 9 million people in the UK say they are always or often lonely; that’s almost a fifth of the population. Many studies have shown that social isolation and loneliness have negative affects on both our physical and mental health. Loneliness and isolation have been linked to stress, depression and suicidal behaviour, as well as heart disease and strokes. In fact, research shows that loneliness and social isolation is a comparable risk factor for early death as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and is worse for us than well known risk factors such as obesity and physical inactivity.
Loneliness is often associated with the older generation, however, increasingly, younger generations are reporting feeling lonely and isolated from their peers. This can perhaps be put down to this generation stereotypically using social media to communicate, and therefore, decreasing their face-to-face communication time.
Nutrition
Nutrition is often overlooked when it comes to mental health. Just like the heart, stomach and liver, the brain requires certain types of complex carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals in order to remain healthy. Research shows that what we eat and drink affects how we feel, think and behave. There is growing evidence that nutrition plays a key role in the prevention, development and management of mental health problems, including depression and anxiety.
We all know that in order to have a healthy body we need to eat a healthy balanced diet, and the same goes to maintain a healthy brain. Feeding the brain with a diet that provides adequate amounts of complex carbohydrates, essential fats, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and water, can support healthy neurotransmitter activity in the brain and protect it from the effects of oxidants, which have been found to have a negative impact on our mood and mental health. The table below shows how being deficient in certain nutrients can impact our mental health.
Two groups of foods have been identified as to having a negative effect on brain function:
1. The tricksters - foods that trick the brain into releasing neurotransmitters that we may be lacking in, and as a result, create a temporary alteration in mood. e.g. caffeine and chocolate
2. The damagers - foods that damage the brain by preventing the conversion of foods into nutrients the brain requires. e.g. saturated fats such as butter, lard and palm oil.
Unfortunately, due to the number of processed foods now on the market, the amount of damaging foods that we consume has increased over the years, and study’s have shown that a higher intake of these foods are linked to poor mental health.
Exercise
Health professionals have known for a long time the benefits exercising has on our mental health. In fact, physical exercise is actually ‘prescribed’ to those who have been diagnosed with certain mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. When we exercise, our brain releases endorphins which have been described as ‘feel good’ hormones. The more endorphins in our brain, the better we feel mentally and as a result, our mental wellbeing increases. A lack of exercise therefore means less endorphins and poorer mental wellbeing.
Exercise also comes with many physical benefits. It has been found to decrease the chance of heart attack, stroke and diabetes, to name a few. Another thing that is strongly correlated with a lack of physical activity is obesity. Obesity is a massive problem in the UK, with 64.3% of adults being either overweight or obese. Putting aside the obvious physical problems that come with being overweight, those who are obese are more likely to suffer from mental health problems compared to those who are a healthy weight. A collection of studies have found that those who are obese have a 55% increased risk of developing depression, and those experiencing depression have a 58% increased risk of becoming obese.
Purpose/Meaning
First and foremost, human beings main purposes are to survive and reproduce, however, what truly makes us happy is having a feeling of self-fulfilment. When we feel fulfilled, our brain releases three different types of ‘feel good’ chemicals: dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin. Whether we feel fulfilled or not depends on our sense of purpose. All human beings have a sense of purpose which is either created from our own thoughts and experiences, whether they are positive or negative; or it is inherited, for example, we’re born into a family that that is influenced by a certain set of beliefs. Whether our sense of purpose is created or inherited, there are four types of sense of purpose which most human beings tend to develop:
Prove - this sense of purpose is driven by desire. Those who fall into this category want to prove a point. Whether that’s a point to prove to themselves, or it’s a point to prove someone else.
Provide - those with this sense of purpose have a desire to provide to their families and loved ones. They want to make sure they have a roof over their heads, are comfortable financially, and feel safe and secure. People with this sense of purpose are likely to have grown up without these things and don’t want their loved ones to experience what they did.
Achieve - people who have a sense of purpose to achieve, are highly driven and have a desire to achieve something tangible; whether that’s recognition, a certain goal, a qualification or an award, they want to leave behind a legacy of some sort.
Avoid - those with a sense of purpose to avoid are driven by fear. This can be a fear of embarrassment, fear of failure, or fear of struggling. They want to avoid all of those at all costs.
In order to feel fulfilled, it helps to have an idea of what your sense of purpose is. Having this understanding will help you to make sense of why you have a drive to do certain things. It is when we are not doing things that are in line with our sense of purpose that it affects our mental health. For example, if a person’s sense of purpose is to achieve, and they feel like they haven’t achieved what they wanted to achieve, they will feel unfulfilled. Similarly, if someone with a sense of purpose to avoid feels like they have failed at something, they again will experience negative feelings. We all want to feel like we’re doing something that is worthwhile and making a difference. Feeling like you have no purpose in life can have a negative impact on our mental health and this can quickly develop into a mental health problem.
Sleep
Sleep affects almost every type of tissue and system in our bodies - from the brain, heart, and lungs; to metabolism, immune function, mood, and disease resistance. Research shows that a chronic lack of sleep, or poor quality sleep, can increase the risk of developing disorders such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and obesity.
There are two basic types of sleep: non-REM and REM. You can read more on these and the sleep cycle here.
Deep sleep is crucial for physical renewal, hormonal regulation and growth. Research shows that there is a link between a lack of REM sleep and ill health. If we don’t get enough REM sleep, we are more likely to get ill, feel depressed and gain weight.
As well as affecting us physically, a lack of REM sleep can also have an impact on our mental health. During REM sleep, the brain processes and synthesises memories and emotions, activity that is crucial for learning and higher-level thoughts. Therefore, if we do not get a sufficient amount of REM sleep, it results in slower cognitive processing, problems with memory and difficulty concentrating.
Sleep is heavily involved in maintaining the levels of cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, in our brains. Sleep drops the cortisol in our brains to a healthy level. When you don’t get enough sleep, these levels do not drop and therefore, your cortisol levels are elevated. After a bad nights sleep, you wake up feeling stressed which makes it harder to sleep the next night, so you become trapped in a vicious cycle.
Studies have also found that sleep can have an impact on the amygdala - an area of the brain that processes emotions. If we are sleep deprived, activity in the amygdala is heightened, which can increase feelings of anxiety, affecting emotional regulation. Getting a good nights sleep is important as it enables us to deal with stressful situations in a more rational manner.
Exposure to nature
‘Nature deprivation’, or a lack of time in the natural world, is associated with poor mental health and wellbeing. Due to the advanced technology we have at our fingertips, the time we used to spend outside amongst nature, is now spent in front of the TV, computers and tablets.
Spending time outside and being exposed to nature has been found to benefit both our physical and mental wellbeing. Whether it’s gardening or taking the dog for a walk, exposure to nature comes with many benefits such as mood improvement, stress reduction, increase in confidence and self-esteem and improvement in physical health. Being in a stressful environment can trigger feelings of anxiousness, sadness and helplessness. This in turn elevates your blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle tension and suppresses your immune system. Being within a pleasing environment reverses all of that.
Being exposed to nature on a regular basis has been found to help those who suffer from anxiety and depression. Being in nature, or merely viewing scenes of nature, have been found to reduce anger, fear and stress. In fact, research that has been carried out in hospitals, offices and schools has found that even one plant in a room can have a significant impact on stress and anxiety. During the winter months where the amount of daylight we get within a day is shorter, people can suffer from something called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is a type of depression that occurs as a result of a deficiency in Vitamin D, something that we get from exposure to sunlight; therefore exposure to nature can help decrease the effects of this disorder.
Freedom
Feeling like we are trapped or oppressed can have a huge affect on our mental health. There are many reasons as to why someone may feel like their freedom is compromised. Often, the feeling of being trapped emerges from the personal situation someone is in. Someone can feel trapped due to several reasons:
Relationships
Whether the relationship is romantic or not, relationships are one of the biggest reasons as to why someone may feel trapped. This is often due to the fact that they feel they cannot cut ties with the other person. This could perhaps be because the relationship they are in is an abusive one and they are scared to end it, they may have lost feelings for the other person, but don’t want to hurt the other person, there may be third parties involved, such as children, which ending the relationship could also have an impact on. They may even be a carer for the other person. The stresses of looking after someone who is disabled or ill can have a massive strain on the relationship, and on the care-givers mental health.Job
When someone says they feel trapped within their job, the obvious solution to this would be to leave it. However, it’s not always as easy as handing in your resignation and finding another job. Depending on what industry a person works in, some jobs are few and far between and so finding an alternative job may not be an easy task. Some people may want to change career paths, and need to complete qualifications in order to do this. However, not only is undergoing further education time consuming, it is also costly, and a lot of people are not in the position to be cutting their hours down, or pay tuition fees. We spend a huge amount of our lives at work, and if we’re not happy in our careers, it can have a detrimental effect on our mental health.Money
Money (or lack of) and poor mental health, unfortunately come hand in hand. Currently, 1.5 million people in the UK are experiencing both problem debt and mental health problems. Similarly, those who suffer from mental health problems are significantly more likely to be experiencing financial problems. With a lack of money comes a lot of stress and worry. People say that money isn’t everything, however, for a lot of people, it is. In order to pay the bills and put a roof over their and their families heads, many people have to make cut-backs elsewhere, such as socialising, family days out and food. Making these cut backs means not being able to go on a night out with friends and staying in instead and buying pot noodles instead of fresh meat and vegetables. This then has a knock on effect on our mental health as well as our physical health. A lack of money takes away our freedom of choice. We’re unable to do what we want to do because we can’t afford to do it.Disability/Illness
Almost of half of people with a disability or long-term illness also have a mental health illness. When someone is disabled or ill to the point in which they are unable to work, or even leave the house, they are much more likely to suffer from mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. Those who are house bound due to their illness or disability, rely heavily on others to complete simple day to day tasks such as getting dressed, cooking, washing and going to the toilet. This results in not only them feeling like their freedom is compromised, but also it comes with feelings of humiliation, frustration and helplessness, all of which can lead to serious mental health problems.
Association
The final non-physical root cause of negative mental health we have identified is association. The theory of association is popular amongst behaviourists and psychologists and is basically the idea that associations between certain objects and behaviours are formed through learning.
To explain this a little better, we’re going to refer to probably the most well-known association study by Russian psychologist, Igor Pavlov. Pavlov’s study demonstrated how easy it is for associations to be formed between certain objects, experiences and behaviours, or as he labelled it, classical conditioning. The image below shows how the study was conducted:
Dog salivates at the sight of food
Dog doesn’t salivate at the sound of a bell ringing
Dog salivates when presented with food and a bell is rung
Dog salivates at the sound of a bell ringing
Pavlov’s study demonstrates that an association between two unrelated stimuli can be learned.
Despite Pavlov’s study involving dogs, his findings have been expanded on and proved in many other studies, and now his study is used to explain how we as humans learn. So how is association a root cause of mental health problems?
Imagine a person is involved in a car accident. Before their car made contact with the other vehicle, they hear a car horn. A few weeks later, they are walking down the street and a driver presses their car horn. The feelings of fear and anxiety they felt during and immediately after the car crash come flooding back. This is an example of classical conditioning. The person has learned an association between a car horn and feeling scared, therefore, every time they hear a horn or a similar sound, it will induce feelings of fear and anxiety.
This is just one example as to how association can be a cause of mental health problems. It is from experiencing events such as this that people develop mental health disorders such as PTSD, anxiety and depression.
In Summary: in this blog, we have identified 8 non-physical root causes of mental health problems. For causes such as exercise, nutrition and exposure to nature, there are things that we can do to help ourselves and decrease the likelihood of us experiencing a mental health problem. Other causes such as isolation, freedom and relationships, are more difficult to prevent and overcome. However, by educating people that mental health conditions can be the result of causes other than changes in brain chemicals, we can perhaps be more inclined to try different treatments and try physical interventions as a last resort.