Shareefah Al’Uqdah, PhD, a Washington, DC-based licensed clinical psychologist, stated that maintaining good mental health is essential to overall wellness. Al’Uqdah provides mental health services through her business, Your Neighborhood Clinic.
“When you think or feel bad, you tend to overspend; overeat or undereat; have poorer quality relationships; and engage in more harmful behaviors,” said Dr. Al’Uqdah.
She noted that job loss concerns can affect a person’s mental health in this less stable economy.
“The amount of work stress, particularly, in the DMV area has increased exponentially. We are having to help clients with career planning and financial stress a lot more.”
Family Bonds Matter
Dr. Al’Uqdah’s specialty includes providing therapy to clients from diverse backgrounds. The family wellness expert stated that bonding with family members can help individuals to cope with mental health pressures. Dr. Al’Uqdah also mentioned benefits associated with returning to spending family time together, socializing, and enjoying each other’s company.
“Minority families can get together for game nights, weekly walks, or monthly potlucks.”
She further stated that families who established group chats can share and send a positive weekly mental health post with each other. Family group chat users can start a weekly roll call to share good news.
“I also encourage everybody to learn about one resource that may be helpful for the family. If one person knows about jobs, another person learns about mental health resources, and another learns about educational resources, the family becomes a springboard to wellness,” the psychologist also said.
Why Maintaining Good Mental Health Matters
Use of substances and other coping behaviors can be an indicator of how individuals are feeling or managing stress. According to Dr. Al’Uqdah, drug use and alcohol use are inextricably linked to every mental health disorder.
“Anxious individuals love to smoke weed or drink to relax. Depressed individuals love to drink alcohol,” she explained.
Underserved Populations Need Mental Health Support
Destigmatizing therapy, increasing the number of diverse mental health therapists, and making therapy more accessible through telehealth have helped increase therapeutic access. However, some people in communities still need to be reached, including younger individuals. Dr. Al’Uqdah informed that this population frequently does not understand insurance, or they must ask their parents about their health insurance.
“They may have limited financial resources to pay, and thus, they have a harder time entering therapy unless they receive services from a school or university. Despite this, I believe younger individuals want therapy and seek it out.”
Dr. Al’Uqdah also believes that everyone with state or federally funded insurance should pursue eight therapy sessions annually. She especially recommends adolescents and young adults.
How Poor Mental Health Affects Relationships
When a person’s mental health plummets, he or she may become angry, reclusive, impulsive and say or do things he or she would not normally.
“You may increase your use of alcohol and other drugs. You may cheat and push people away. I have also seen people jump into relationships or try to hang with a worse crowd when their mental health is suffering,” Dr. Al’Uqdah stated.
Seek Help and Incorporate Mental Health Resources
Dr. Al’Uqdah advised that insured individuals can call the number on the back of your card if they need help locating in-network mental health providers.
The web can introduce you to national resources. Additionally, follow mental health pages on social media that provide real tips and tricks on how to feel better and think better.
Reading diverse books about mental health topics can help people with less mental care access to gain knowledge about the topic.
“If you want to learn how to eat for a better mood, you can. If you want to learn how to practice breathing for better mental health care, you can. Please use the library and engage in bibliotherapy—using books as a form of therapy,” Dr. Al’Uqdah suggested.
Do not underestimate the power of spending some time in nature by going for walks, touching dirt or grass, and breathing fresh air every day.
“Your mental health requires you to learn how to love your life and see the good while you are trying to improve the rest,” Dr. Al’Uqdah added.
Visit www.yourneighobhoodclinic.org for more information about Your Neighborhood Clinic. Dr. Al’Uqdah offers telehealth to clients nationwide.
