Mental health revolves around a person’s emotional, psychological, and social welfare. So what exactly does this mean? Firstly, it involves a person’s emotions, thinking, learning, socialization, and overall well-being. Secondly, it’s a big contributing factor to how one behaves, handles stress, and makes decisions. And lastly, mental health is essential in relationships and community affairs.
Good mental health gives a person the ability to be more productive, socially healthy, and adaptable to change and life challenges.
When a person experiences mental health disorders, it could affect mood, behavior, and brain processes. Moreover, mental health disorders can happen to anyone regardless of age, race, sexual orientation, or background. In addition to that, life experiences, environment, and family history can affect one’s mental health. In the US, 1 in 5 adults experiences some form of mental illness.
A mental illness is a medical condition that can be treated and managed with the help of medication. While it can occur at any age, 60% of mental illnesses begin at the age of 24. It can manifest in different forms and can interfere with daily life activities.
Some mental illnesses are mild and can easily be avoided or dealt with, like specific phobias. Some mental health disorders can be so extreme that they might need hospitalization for proper treatment.
How Long Does It Take to Get a Mental Health Diagnosis?
Mental illness involves mental disorders and health conditions that comprise changes in cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes.
Usually, it’s difficult to determine when a mood or thinking problem is up for concern or considered a mental illness. However, if these moods hinder normal daily activities and occur for long periods, one should consider getting a diagnosis.
To diagnose a mental health disorder, doctors may conduct:
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A physical exam– This exam should rule out physical ailments that may have created the symptoms. This may include blood work and/or neurological tests.
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Lab tests– This can be a screening of drugs and alcohol in your body that can contribute to behavioral and mood changes.
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A psychological evaluation– This evaluates the symptoms, thoughts, habits, and emotions you experience. This can be conducted through a standardized questionnaire.
For common illnesses such as depression and anxiety, your doctor may be able to determine your condition after 2 appointments. However, for less common diagnoses, a mental health specialist like a psychiatrist may be recommended to acquire a more accurate identification of a mental disorder. As a result, this may take a longer time, depending on the complexity of the illness.
Early Warning Signs of Mental Health Problems
Certain mental illnesses can be related to medical conditions that affect hormones in the body. Sometimes a mental illness can stem from experiences of trauma or negative situations that have impacted a person’s life.
Having a diagnosis doesn’t necessarily mean you will be hindered from functioning properly forever. However, being aware of a condition can allow you to seek help sooner and ease symptoms earlier.
These are the early warning signs of mental health problems are the following:
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Eating too much or too little
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Changes in sleep patterns
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Feeling lethargic
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Avoiding regular activities
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Feeling emotionally numb
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Frequent drug or any substance use
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Feeling of hopelessness
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Hearing nonexistent voices
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Severe mood swings
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Waves of confusion and forgetfulness
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Thinking of self-harm
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Inability to do daily tasks
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Detachment from reality
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Suicidal thinking
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The unusual amount of fears, worries, and guilt
How to Overcome Mental Illness
Mental illness is one of the major causes of disability to function properly. If left untreated, it can cause serious emotional, behavioral, and physical problems. Most common mental health disorders don’t heal or improve over time and might worsen as time passes.
After having an official diagnosis, one should undergo the prescribed treatment by a doctor. This can mean different procedures in which a person who has a mental illness will be given way to minimize their symptoms and even recover. Moreover, treatment must be catered to a person and depends on the type of mental illness that is present. Usually, a combination of treatments works best.
For instance, treatments can be in the form of the following:
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Psychological therapy – In this method, a psychologist or a health professional conducts therapy sessions with the person suffering from a mental health disorder to teach them methods and habits that can help them manage the symptoms.
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Medication – Proper medication can help those who suffer from a hormonal or chemical imbalance and can minimize severe mood swings and irregular behaviors. A doctor must prescribe the right medication along with the advised dosage.
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Group support programs – This helps people who experience recurrent symptoms and those who have psychiatric problems. These programs consist of training, accommodation, group support, psychosocial rehabilitation, and healthy monitored community relationships.
How to Keep Your Mental Illness Under Control
There is no one way to prevent mental illness or to manage it at all times. However, certain methods and steps are available to help you control stress, boost resiliency, calm yourself down, and keep your emotions at bay.
Steps to relieve symptoms of a mental illness include:
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Awareness of warning signs – Along with the collaboration with your doctor or therapist, learn your habits and symptoms and the actions needed to deal with them. Also, it’s good to ask people for assistance as well and involve them to help you manage your warning signs.
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Acquire routine medical care – This includes regular checkups with your health care provider and updates with your therapist or doctor regarding the effects of treatment or medication. Long-term maintenance treatment is advised to avoid relapse.
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Self-care – Sufficient sleep, good eating habits, routine physical activity go a long way when dealing with a mental illness. For this reason, it’s important to care for yourself and try to maintain a regular schedule in doing so. Also, get proper advice from your medical health provider on the correct diet and physical activity you’re allowed to engage in.
Taking Care of Your Mental Health
Mental health is just as important as physical health. If you don’t take care of your mental health, you may face emotional burdens that can make it very difficult to navigate through your life.
Thankfully, taking care of your mental health gets easier with a proper support group to help you. At the same time, surrounding yourself with people that can understand and guide you is paramount to living a happy life.
If you or your loved one needs help creating the perfect support group for them, we are here for you. Here at Roots Through Recovery, we offer mental health treatment programs and rehabilitation services best suited for your needs.
We also want you to have choices that will give you the best outcomes. One of the mental health disorders we also treat is Depression & Anxiety using TMS Therapy, which might be the best treatment option for you. If you want to know more about how we can help you, contact us at 562-281-8172.
