Posters

Posters on Mental Heath Finalisation:

I origionaly aimed to produce six posters on mental health, but I will concentrate on making at least three to the standarad that I wouuld like, and see whtat time I have for alongside everything else, so the other three might not be at quite the same standard, or they may just be proposed.

The posters will be on:

• Low Self-esteem.
• Postnatal Depression.
• Agrophobia.
• Dperession.
• Anxiety.
• Bipolar Dissorder.

Here is some information form official websites such as Mind and NHS that I would like to include:

Low Self-esteem

I wanted to create a poster on this, as i think it is a really important thing for people to consider about themselves and others. It is not somehting that is widely enough respected and considred as something that can be genuinly quite damaging to our health, yet it is something that touches so very many of us. I think that a poster on this therefore holds a pretty big potential for  for targeting people, especialy students who are at a young and potentially vulnerable stage in their lives 

If you have healthy self-esteem, your beliefs about yourself will generally be positive. You may experience difficult times in your life, but you will generally be able to deal with these without them having too much of a long-term negative impact on you.

If you have low self-esteem, your beliefs about yourself will often be negative. You will tend to focus on your weaknesses or mistakes that you have made, and may find it hard to recognise the positive parts of your personality. You may also blame yourself for any difficulties or failures that you have.

• If you find certain situations difficult because of low self-esteem, you may start to avoid them and become increasingly socially isolated. This can cause feelings of anxiety and depression that can develop into mental health problems over time. (See loneliness.)

• Low self-esteem can cause people to develop unhelpful behaviours as a way of coping, such as forming damaging relationships, taking drugs or drinking too much. This often causes problems in the long-term and makes life more difficult, which can then lead to mental health problems.

What can I do to build my self-esteem?

In order to increase your self-esteem, you need to challenge and change the negative beliefs you have about yourself. This might feel like an impossible task, but there are a lot of different techniques you can try to help you.

• Be assertive
• Do something you enjoy (work/hobbies)
• Try to build positive realtionships
• Learn to be assertive
• Look after your physical health (Physical activity, sleep, diet)
• Set yourself a challenge
• Learn to identify and challenge negative beliefs.

Postnatal Depression:

You may go through a brief period of feeling emotional and tearful – known as the 'baby blues'. It usually starts 3-10 days after giving birth and affects around 85 per cent of new mothers. It is so common that it is considered normal. New fathers may also feel it. And, although having the baby blues may be distressing, it's important to be aware that it doesn't last long – usually only a few days – and is generally quite manageable. 

However, around 10-15 per cent of new mothers develop a much deeper and longer-term depression known as postnatal depression (PND). It usually develops within six weeks of giving birth and can come on gradually or all of a sudden. It can range from being relatively mild to very severe.

"My postnatal depression snuck up on me as a dark shadow, every morning waking up and noticing a heaviness and blackness to my mood. The only 'comforts' were private fantasies about ending it all, running away, escaping my responsibilities, tearing myself to shreds to try and grasp why I felt so bleak."

There is no known cause for postnatal depression, and sometimes it can start for no obvious reason. However, some researchers have suggested a number of possibilities.

Some think it is likely to be biological; for example, changes in your body, including hormonal changes. However, although some studies show that changes in the level of hormones during pregnancy and after birth can trigger changes in mood, only some women go on to develop PND – so hormones are unlikely to be the single cause.

Others think the cause is linked to past experiences or social circumstances. Many suggest that a combination of different issues cause PND.

Some situations are considered to put you at particular risk of developing PND:

• previous mental health problems
• lack of support
• experience of abuse
• low self-esteem
• poverty and poor living conditions
• major life events.

"I thought I was a bad mother, until I told my health visitor how I was feeling. When she named ‘it’ postnatal depression and got me the right support, it felt like someone had opened the door and let a glimmer of sunlight in"

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is a fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult, or help wouldn't be available if things go wrong.

Many people assume that agoraphobia is simply a fear of open spaces but it's more complex than this. A person with agoraphobia may be scared of:

• travelling on public transport
• visiting a shopping centre
• leaving home

If someone with agoraphobia finds themselves in a stressful situation they'll usually experience symptoms of a panic attack such as:

• rapid heartbeat
• rapid breathing (hyperventilating)
• feeling hot and sweaty
• feeling sick

They will avoid situations that cause anxiety and may only leave the house with a friend or partner. They will order groceries online rather than go to the supermarket. This change in behaviour is known as "avoidance".

“I got to a point where my stomach dropped as soon as I woke up,” she says. “It’s like a feeling of grief and despair. You’re shaking, tired and you don’t really feel there. It feels as though you’re watching yourself.

“I tried to get through it, but I reached a stage when even the thought of going into my own garden made me panic. It was like coming up against an invisible wall.

“Everywhere it happened, I avoided that place. Instead of thinking it was me, I associated the panic attack with the place where it happened. I was such an outgoing person, that the idea it was all in my head never occurred to me.”

Depression