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Common Reasons to Receive Counseling

Physical Inactivity

When it comes to physical inactivity, people usually mistake it for being sedentary. Someone who is sedentary means remaining in one position for a long time.

While being physically inactive means when someone is not doing sufficient physical activity.

Hence, the person is not meeting the required guidelines for a healthy workout.

There is no harm in being sedentary, however, a physically inactive person is at risk of coming down with some physical, mental, and psychological consequences if care is not taken.  

One of the major effects of being physically inactive is, that it increases the chances of circulatory diseases.

When someone is physically inactive, it can induce the buildup of fatty materials in the arteries.

If the arteries that take the blood to your heart become clogged and damaged, it can cause a heart attack. If it happens in the arteries, it can cause a stroke. To step down the risk of happening, you need to get more physically active.

Free From below back view of crop strong runner walking along running track in athletics arena while doing warm up exercises during workout Stock Photo

The heart is a muscle that needs proper physical activity to function properly.

When you are physically active, the lungs work better by supplying oxygen into the blood so that it can be circulated to all the body cells and tissues.

With regular physical activity, you can control your blood pressure, to keep it at healthy levels. More so, it reduces the bad cholesterol level and increases the good cholesterol level.

Additionally, regular physical activity can reduce the chances of Type 2 diabetes by controlling your blood glucose levels.

To reduce the chances of being physically inactive, you need to put some measures in place like going to the gym or working out at home.

According to a good rule of thumb, it is advised to perform a minimum of 150 minutes of physical activity each week. This can be distributed into 3-4 days a week.

Apart from reducing the physical health consequences of not being physically active, you can get your body into great shape when you become used to working out.

What is Addiction

Addiction can be defined as a disease that negatively affects your brain. When addiction is in play, there is an intense urge to keep performing the habit even when the adverse signs are there.

Generally, addiction is divided into two categories: Behavioral and Substance addiction.

Behavioral addiction

Behavioral addiction is a disorder where an individual is addicted to some habits that come with unpleasant consequences.

Examples of behavioral addiction are sex addiction, video gaming addiction, gambling addiction, shopping addiction, etc.  

When someone is addicted to any of these addiction types, they are likely to approach them with the highest priority.

This means that they may not be productive in other areas of their lives because of the recurring addiction. Most times, the signs of behavioral addiction are mental, emotional, and psychological.

Substance addiction

Substance addiction is the opposite of behavioral addiction. It is an addiction type where an individual is addicted to drugs and alcohol.

When individuals are addicted to these substances, you will be able to tell easily from the physical symptoms.

However, this doesn’t understate the fact that they will still experience mental, psychological, and emotional effects.

Steps in addiction treatment

When it comes to addiction treatment, it is quite similar to behavioral and substance addiction.

The first step of addiction treatment for substance addiction is detoxification. And this is because toxins buildup as a result of drugs and alcohol, need to be removed.

Hence, detoxification is peculiar to substance addiction. The next stage is counseling, which applies to behavioral and substance addiction.

Counseling helps the individual to uncover the root cause of their addiction, which would make it easier to create a treatment plan.

Additionally, the individual learns some coping strategies that will make them fight off addiction cravings and triggers.

After the counseling stage, the next is inpatient or outpatient treatment, where the patient either stays within the treatment facility or goes from their location respectively.

The last stage is aftercare treatment which is a post-recovery phase. This is where the individual builds upon the knowledge and skills they have when it comes to evading addiction cravings and triggers.

RAPE CULTURE

The rape culture is an atmosphere or environment where rape thrives and sexual violence against women particularly, is prevalent.

If you observe closely, the sexual violence on the media is termed as normal and men do not really care about the consequences. All they are after is having their way, and providing themselves with pleasure.

Rape culture is carried out by the use of perverted words, the visualization of women as sexual objects, and the promotion of sexual violence. This creates a society that does not care about the rights and safety of women.

Every woman is affected by rape culture, and when a woman or a girl is raped, it affects all women, and creates terror in their hearts.

A good number of women and girls do not live in confidence anymore, rather they live in fear because they do not know who is next. While men do not live in fear, because there are few cases of men being raped.

To fight against the rape culture, the change has to be from men. Young boys need to be told that girls are to be seen as their partner in progress and not a sex object.

Girls need to be respected as human beings and not some objects that bring pleasure. This would go a long way in reforming the minds of young boys who are growing up.

Also, sexually explicit jokes should be brought to the barest minimum and stopped abruptly. Any form of sexual harassment should be stopped because if it thrives, there is a tendency that it would result in rape in the end.

In addition, womanhood should not be seen as the sexually passive and submissive, and manhood should not be seen as the sexually aggressive and dominant. This goes a long way in stopping the rape culture.

It is important for more communities and volunteer groups to rise up and educate people on the sexual violence against women. It is a movement that should operate on a continuum till it dies out.

MALNUTRITION

Malnutrition is either the excess availability or under-availability of some nutrients. Malnutrition can cause chronic health problems like heart disease, eye problem, stunted growth and a host of others.

Based on studies, it is known that malnutrition affects many people globally. For some countries, malnutrition is prevalent while it is on a low ebb in other countries.

When under-nutrition is in play, it implies that the individual is not getting enough micronutrients, protein or calories. So, symptoms like stunted growth, underweight and others are likely to occur.

For over-nutrition, it implies that some nutrients are taken in excess and it results in obesity or overweight. Individuals who are under-nourished have deficiencies in vitamins like Vitamin A, and minerals like Zinc and iodine. And the same thing applies with over-nutrition.

An individual can be overweight from too much consumption of calories. And foods that contribute to over-nutrition are fried foods, and foods that have a high sugar and fat content.

The causes of malnutrition stems from medical, economic and environmental conditions.

One of the common causes is food insecurity, which is a condition whereby there is no ample access to affordable and sufficient food. And this is a problem that is common in developing nations, and fewer incidences in developed countries.

Digestive problems, excessive alcohol consumption, mental health problems and amongst others are the reasons why malnutrition exists.

In order to help prevent and treat malnutrition, it is important to address the underlying causes and this is the role of independent organizations, Government agencies and schools.

There is a huge need to educate people on the numerous benefits of eating healthy and the disadvantages of not eating healthy.

If you think you are malnourished or you know someone who is, it is best to reach out to a healthcare provider to assist. Malnourishment is not a good condition for the body, because the health and wellness of the individual is at stake. For a good and healthy lifestyle, it is important to stick to a great diet plan.

MENTAL ILLNESS

Mental illness is also referred to as mental health disorder, and it is known to be a broad range of mental health disorders which adversely affects your mood, thoughts pattern and your behaviour as well.

A good number of people are usually down with mental health concerns, but they usually have no idea what it is all about exactly. However, mental health concerns transcend to being mental illness when the signs induce regular stress, and the ability to function properly.

Coming down with mental illness has the capacity to make someone miserable, and could introduce problems in the regular life of an individual. It could also cause problems in relationships, financial status, career and a host of others.

The sign and symptoms which are associated with mental illness are quite a number and they vary across individuals who are down with them.

First off, one of the commonest signs of someone who is down with mental illness is, the individual would always feel sad or down. Usually, the person would be left to himself or herself and would always wear a long face. A good number of times, if further enquiries are made, you would discover that the reason for their being sad is actually not too serious.

Also, the person would find it hard to think properly; the ability to concentrate would be greatly reduced, and such person would be prone to making mistakes because he cannot properly direct his thoughts.

In addition to this, the person is also likely to experience unnecessary anxiety and fears, sometimes the individual would express feelings of guilt. Other times, the person would have frequent mood swings.

Someone who is down with mental illness would not be able to cope with the problems and stress which comes with the everyday life. There are also some physical signs which are associated with mental illness. Headaches, back pain, stomach ache and the likes could be experienced as well.

It is advised that someone who is down with mental illness should promptly see a healthcare professional, as it is hard for someone to undergo self-medication or self-treatment when it comes to mental illness treatment.