Despite advances in medicine, mental ill health is becoming more common amongst young people. What do you think are the causes of this problem and what measures can be taken to solve it?

According to

recent studies, mental

disorders

are one of the leading causes of disability, which mainly affects young

people

. Despite

this

fact, the problem is tending to be ignored and discriminated against by society, especially in post-Soviet states. In my personal opinion, ignoring

this

social and medical problem is unacceptable, because mental

illness

affects mostly the working-age population, leading to a huge economic impact. Mental health problems have a wide range of causes which can be generally divided into external and internal factors. A clear example of internal ones is being a highly sensitive person (HSP), which means you are more likely to feel things deeper than other

people

.

This

sort of person could be easily affected by certain things,

such

as violent movies, the moods of other

people

, and different environmental stimuli. It has been found that HSP is more susceptible to suffering from depression and anxiety

disorder

. There are some strategies which could be helpful to cope with anxiety and overwhelming emotions: avoiding stressful situations that trigger bad feelings, boosting your mood by doing something new or communicating with supportive friends, and discussing your feelings with someone you trust.

On the other hand

, there are many external risk factors for developing mental

disorders

. The top three are childhood trauma, hereditary predisposition, and exposure to environmental stressors. It is generally agreed today that childhood trauma significantly increases the risk of being diagnosed with an anxiety

disorder

, bipolar

disorder

or obsessive-compulsive

disorder

later in life. It is

also

a well-known fact that certain genes can increase the risk of developing a mental

illness

,

for example

, family history is the greatest predictor of schizophrenia. It is true that mental

illness

is a leading cause of disability because of severe emotional, physical health problems. Regardless of the reasons for mental

disorders

, they should be diagnosed and treated by medical workers,

such

as psychiatrists and psychotherapists. In many cases, combining psychotherapy and medications may be more effective than either treatment alone.

However

, patients with mental

disorders

still tend to be stigmatized and,

as a result

, discriminated against. It leads to some harmful effects,

such

as bullying, physical violence, lack of understanding by family and so on. Patients should start treatment on time, join a support group or even speak out against stigma to handle it. The presented facts prove that a mental

disorder

is truly an important issue which needs increased attention from society. Untreated mental

illness

causes severe behavioural and physical problems that lead to disability and loss of ability to work. Not only timely diagnostics and treatment but

also

educational measures are needed to take proper care of

this

group of

people

.