World Schizophrenia Day 2024: How good diet and exercise can help maintain mental health

Timely recognition appropriate treatment along with proper nutrition exercise and family history may be key to fighting mental health conditions said experts on World Schizophrenia Day on Friday World Schizophrenia Day is observed every year on May 24 to raise awareness about the treatable mental illness that affects over 20 million people worldwidePsychotic symptoms such as hallucinations delusions disorganised thoughts and behaviour are some of the common symptoms of schizophrenialdquoMental health is of utmost importance to all of us Unfortunately because of limited information many myths associated with it and a lot of social stigmas that go alongside unnecessarily have added on to the issues in terms of patients not being able to recognise their problemsillnesses in time families not being able to recognise and seek appropriate timely help and getting the ailment treated effectively in a timely mannerrdquo Dr Sameer Malhotra Director and Head of Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences Max Super Speciality Hospital Saket told IANSSchizophrenia is a major psychiatric disorder and it has different subtypesIn schizophrenia there are predominantly two sets of symptomsThe first set is the positive set of symptoms where one would be hearing things that others cannot hear seeing things that others cannot see hallucinations or holding on to false beliefs delusionsThe second is the negative symptoms where the person feels a disconnect from the rest of the world and becomes socially isolatedDr Sameer said that genetic factors as well as environmental factors are major risk factors responsible for the onset of schizophrenic illnessldquoThere is a strong family history of schizophrenia or related disorders We also see that there is a significant role of substance misuse particularly drugs which can enhance the dopamine flow in certain areas of the brain which can be responsible for certain insecure experiencesrdquo the doctor explainedDr Jyoti Kapoor FounderDirector and Senior Psychiatrist Manasthali told IANS that poor lifestyle choices and inadequate nutrition can also pose the risk of developing schizophrenialdquoIndividuals who engage in unhealthy habits such as poor diet lack of exercise substance abuse and inadequate sleep are at a higher risk of mental health disorders including schizophreniardquo she saidThe doctor also pointed out ldquonutritional deficiencies particularly in essential fatty acids vitamins and minerals can impair brain function and exacerbate genetic predispositions to schizophreniardquoFurthermore chronic stress and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours can lead to neuroinflammation and dysregulation of neurotransmitters which are critical factors in the development and progression of this disorderThe doctors called for maintaining ldquoa balanced diet regular physical activity adequate sleep and stress management in mitigating the risk and supporting overall mental healthrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever