Caring for Mental Health
Angela Rogers
January 16, 2008
With the number of physical conditions that can lead to death, it is not surprising that the health of the mind gets overlooked. While we do not fully understand this complex and impressive organ that controls our thoughts, speech, feelings, and emotions, we do know that sometimes things can go wrong in the brain and psychiatric help is needed.
Depression is the most common mental illness and many adults will suffer from some form of chronic depression during their life time. Thoughts of suicide, frequent sadness and bouts of crying are common for women and in men the latter is replaced with anger. Whether this is due to cultural condition or a physiological difference in the male brain is not known. But if left untreated, depression can cause other health problems in the body or can lead to death. It also causes chronic fatigue and a greater need for sleep in its victims.
Depression is only one common mental illness, many people suffer from anxiety disorders. These can include social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and post traumatic stress disorder. The symptoms of each of them vary and panic disorder often requires hospitalization. A person must be exposed to a traumatic event to suffer from PTSD and the symptoms must be present for a year or greater.
But even this is not a complete catalog of mental illnesses, often a diagnosis may be made by a psychiatrist and it turns out to be wrong. This is why talk therapy is a necessary part of the treatment for many of these disorders. The therapist can guide the patient through and notice the symptoms while he talks about his problems. Medication may help control it, but unless a chemical imbalance in the brain is the cause, medication itself is not a long term solution.
For our short term mental health, taking time to relax and relieving stress is a great way to relieve the anxieties of the day. They can also help prevent chronic conditions, but sometimes a mental health screening is necessary to diagnose the presences of a more serious disease. An initial diagnosis is only part of the picture, unlike other forms of medicine, the patient must work with the therapist and doctor to determine his needs and help solve his problems. Even then, therapy is not a cure rather than a method of teaching people mechanisms to cope with their stressors.
Depression is the most common mental illness and many adults will suffer from some form of chronic depression during their life time. Thoughts of suicide, frequent sadness and bouts of crying are common for women and in men the latter is replaced with anger. Whether this is due to cultural condition or a physiological difference in the male brain is not known. But if left untreated, depression can cause other health problems in the body or can lead to death. It also causes chronic fatigue and a greater need for sleep in its victims.
Depression is only one common mental illness, many people suffer from anxiety disorders. These can include social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and post traumatic stress disorder. The symptoms of each of them vary and panic disorder often requires hospitalization. A person must be exposed to a traumatic event to suffer from PTSD and the symptoms must be present for a year or greater.
But even this is not a complete catalog of mental illnesses, often a diagnosis may be made by a psychiatrist and it turns out to be wrong. This is why talk therapy is a necessary part of the treatment for many of these disorders. The therapist can guide the patient through and notice the symptoms while he talks about his problems. Medication may help control it, but unless a chemical imbalance in the brain is the cause, medication itself is not a long term solution.
For our short term mental health, taking time to relax and relieving stress is a great way to relieve the anxieties of the day. They can also help prevent chronic conditions, but sometimes a mental health screening is necessary to diagnose the presences of a more serious disease. An initial diagnosis is only part of the picture, unlike other forms of medicine, the patient must work with the therapist and doctor to determine his needs and help solve his problems. Even then, therapy is not a cure rather than a method of teaching people mechanisms to cope with their stressors.
Print
Email
