Mental Health and Self-Esteem

According to WHO, mental health "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being rather than the absence of disease or illness."
As nutritionists it is imperative to know the state of mental health of the person we are orienting. Mental health is a very important issue and in turn in our country Guatemala can still be taken as a taboo subject. Mental health affects the way we think, feel, and act in dealing with life. Depending on the mental health of each person will determine the management of stress, relationships with other people and decision making. Mental health is very important in all stages of life.

The Global Problem
Statistics report that about 1 million people commit suicide, 450 million people suffer from mental disorders and 1 in 4 families has a member with this problem.
Mental illnesses are serious conditions that can affect a person's thinking, mood and behavior. There are several causes for mental illness; Genes, family history, life experiences such as stress or a history of abuse. As the last cause also exists the biological factor.

The mental health we possess will determine our quality of life, as an example:

• Psychopathologies: a variation is developed in the individual in which feelings and attitudes are determined that determine behaviors such as apathy, insecurity, melancholy among others that will keep the person in a bad emotional state and will not be able to integrate into society and If you do it will be harmful to it. 
• Psychosomatic: along with this emotional state begin to develop pathologies in the body that decrease our performance in everyday life. As an example, hypertension, dermatitis, etc.
• Behaviors: as we know a feeling leads to a thought, a thought in an attitude and an attitude in actions. People who are affected by mental illness develop behavioral problems such as sexual dysfunction, eating disorders, etc. 

 It is possible to know if a person is experiencing a loss of mental health when symptoms such as stress, depression, anxiety disorders and addictions occur and these have an impact on their social and individual functioning. Anyone can develop some of these traits, we have all experienced stress or anxiety. The problem is when these traits become stronger and interfere with our life, limiting our daily lives.

This may be because they have a poor perception of reality, the world around them and this is linked with self-esteem or self-concept.
Self-esteem is defined as a set of self-directed perceptions, thoughts, evaluations, feelings, and behavioral tendencies. The importance of self-esteem in relation to our being and the sense of our worth, therefore can affect our way of acting and relating to others.

Source : http://nutricion-y-cuerpo.blogspot.sg/2014/04/salud-mental-y-autoestima.html