Do you know how to spot a person suffering from a mental illness? Although these signs can be very subtle behaviors, a mental illness always gives clues. Usually, these signs tend to be much more apparent when the condition is quite severe.

Signs of Mental Illness

For example, people with schizophrenia can start talking with themselves, or experience events or respond to other people that exist only in their mind.

Another example is people suffering from severe depression, since they tend to shy away from people and their energy levels are usually very low. People with severe depression tend to avoid any type of activity, since they do not feel like doing anything.

For people with bipolar disorder, mood swings tend to be very extreme. For example, one day they can feel very happy and the next one totally depressed. These changes are usually very visible to the people who live with them.

Mentally Healthy?

If you think about it, mentally healthy people do not attract attention. You could say that mental health is discrete in most cases. In contrast, mental illnesses are very easy to spot, but in many cases people who suffer from some form of mental illness try to hide the symptoms.

There are some aspects that a person suffering from this condition can do to improve their mental health.

1. Planning decisions: it is normal during the day to take many decisions, although most of these tend to be impulsive, or in other words, they are not reasoned. When making any type of decision, being aware about the personal needs and the ones from other people can help take better decisions.

2. Take care about your physical health: it is undeniable that there is a direct relationship between mental health and physical exercise. Of course, there are exceptions, such as people who have some physical damage but are mentally healthy. Unfortunately, this is not the case for most people. For that reason, it is important to have a specific time during the day to exercise the body. The activity doesn´t have to be tough; you just need to increase your blood circulation and heart beats.

3. Avoid intoxicating substances: some substances like drugs or alcohol can cause a person to have a distorted view about them. This is so serious that the person suffering from mental illness can deny they have a problem, since the drugs make them feel good.

4. Sharing your feelings: the inability to express feelings and social isolation are some of the aspects that increase the effects of mental illness. Many people suffering from mental illness have benefited from having someone who will listen to them, or attending support groups. Also, there are other means available to express the feelings such as drawing or writing.

Whether you have a mental illness or not, these tips will help you have a happier life and improve your overall mental health. Be aware that prevention is the best solution to any problem.

Are you afraid of storms, lightning or thunders? Then you are suffering from a phobia called Brontophobia. Although it may sound like a strange disease, this is a very common anxiety disorder worldwide. Nowadays, there are many alternative treatments to deal with this condition. One of the techniques that has proven effective is hypnosis, since it is capable of eliminating the anxiety caused by storms.

What are Phobias?

A phobia is an extreme fear to an object or event. This can even disrupt a person's life, because they will do anything to avoid the anxiety caused by a phobia.

Symptoms of Brontophobia

People suffering from Brontophobia may feel that their heart begins to pump harder, they can begin to sweat more intensely, and their fear tends to increase to the point that they can feel really sick. This can happen simply by noticing a distant thunder or lightning.

In some cases, this anxiety disorder can be so severe that people are afraid just to hear a loud noise resembling thunder.

In most cases, this anxiety disorder begins in early childhood. During this stage, it is common for children to hide under the bed covers when they hear a thunder and see lightning. This can cause a big trauma to the child, since they usually feel powerless against the weather conditions.

Even though this phobia happens more frequently in children, Brontophobia may also develop in adulthood. For example, many people have been traumatized after experiencing a hurricane or other natural disaster.

Treatment

There are several treatments for Brontophobia such as psychotherapy and anti-anxiety medications, but none of them are as effective as hypnosis. One advantage of this technique is that it has no side effects and, for this reason, is highly recommended for children.

Hypnosis therapy is often very effective because it manages to relax the person suffering from this anxiety disorder. When a person feels relaxed, it's much easier to start the treatment. Most phobias are related to negative stimuli or images associated with a deep fear. For example, when a person notices some thunder clouds, he or she could relate that image to an incoming storm and have a panic attack because of this association.

Ericksonian Hypnosis

Ericksonian Hypnosis is one of the therapies which is often used to treat phobias. This therapy is quite effective because it focuses on the unconscious mind of the person suffering from this condition. This approach prevents the conscience from refusing the treatment due to the mind's defense mechanisms.

Neurolinguistic programming

Another technique that has proven to be very effective in treating phobias is known as neurolinguistic programming. This technique proves effective in treating anxiety disorders because it transforms negative thoughts and images into positive ones. If a person is able to change the associations of an image, he or she will be able to eliminate the fear.

Both Ericksonian hypnosis and neurolinguistic programming have a great advantage over conventional hypnosis, because they can be used to treat any type of phobia. This is often of great help if a person has other types of phobias.

Additionally, these treatments often give fast and permanent results, which allow the person suffering from this anxiety disorder to go back to their normal live. By using the techniques mentioned above, virtually anyone can free themselves from Brontophobia in a permanent way.