Mental Health is about mental well-being and living a happy life. Having good mental health allows you to live a relatively happy life. It also makes you strong enough to deal with challenges. The following things provide relief against mental disorders:
● Having a positive perspective on life
● Being physically active
● Being involved in charity/social work
● Getting quality sleep
● Maintaining a healthy diet
● Not being shy to see a psychiatrist when you think you need one’s help
● Keeping good company that makes you happy
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is used by health care professionals in the US and worldwide as a textbook to diagnose mental health disorders.
Serious mental illnesses (SMI) are described in the DSM as ones that result in functional impairment, greatly interfering with or limiting one or more major life activities.
Many different factors influence mental illnesses, including:
genetics
environment
daily habits
Biology
Mental health symptoms
Mental illnesses are of many types, and they all have their own symptoms. They share many common characteristics, though, which are listed below:
● Irregular diet, eating too much or too little
● Sleeping disorder, sleeping too much or too little
● Not socialising and not taking part in your favourite activities
● Feeling tired even with enough sleep
● Feeling unexplainable body pains or aches
● Feeling down all the time
● Taking drugs, smoking or drinking alcohol to feel good
● Being angry, anxious, sad and confused
● Having regular arguments with family and friends
● Experiencing mood swings affecting relationships adversely
● Repeating past events in your mind and not being able to forget them
● Experiencing thoughts of harming yourself or others
● Experiencing the inability to carry out daily chores
Periods of emotional grief and stress can lead to an episode of symptoms that may make it hard for you to maintain normal behaviour and activities. This interval is sometimes called a mental or nervous breakdown.
Coping with mental illnesses
Symptoms of many mental illnesses are likely to get worse if left untreated. Reach out for a professional’s help immediately if you suspect you or someone you know may have a mental illness.
If you’re unsure where to begin, visit your general practitioner (GP). S/he can help with the initial diagnosis and provide a referral to a psychiatrist.
It’s important to understand that you can still have a happy life with a mental illness. Seeking a psychotherapist’s help and other mental health team members will help you learn useful ways to manage your condition.
Mental health diagnosis
Diagnosing mental health symptoms is a complex process. A psychiatrist may perform a physical exam during your first appointment to look for signs of physical issues that may cause your symptoms. S/he may prescribe several lab tests to screen for underlying less apparent causes. Your doctor may make you undergo a psychological evaluation by asking you to complete a mental health questionnaire. It is also possible that your doctor may refer you to a mental health expert as mental health diagnosis is not an easy task to perform, and you are likely to have to make several appointments to get a complete diagnosis.
Mental health treatment
Mental health specialists treat their patients intending to reduce symptoms, address underlying causes, and make the condition manageable. Your doctor may prescribe a combination of treatments and try a multi-angle approach. The most common mental health treatments are:
Medications
There are four main categories of medications that mental health specialists use to treat mental health disorders; they are as follows: antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, antipsychotic medications, and mood-stabilising medications. A doctor may prescribe one or a combination of these before deciding what works for you.
Psychotherapy
Psychologists provide psychotherapy or talk therapy to their patients. A session with a psychologist allows you to speak with a mental health provider about your experiences, feelings, thoughts, and ideas. Psychologists mainly act as a sounding board and neutral mediator, helping you learn techniques and strategies that allow you to cope with and manage symptoms.
Hospital and residential treatment
In some cases, a doctor may recommend a short period of stay in a hospital for intensive treatment or an overnight stay for in-depth treatment.
Lifestyle treatments and home remedies
Lifestyle treatments and home remedies won’t eliminate mental health issues alone but can be helpful in addition to mainstream treatments as a supplement. They include avoiding drugs, alcohol, smoking and adopting a healthy lifestyle that incorporates foods that may benefit your brain, like omega-3 fatty acids.
Mental health recovery
Mental health issues are complex, and their severity varies from person to person. You can get better. There are treatments available that are proven to be successful. In severe cases, medication may need to be taken regularly.
Getting better from a mental health disorder takes time and ongoing attention to your mental and overall health. It also requires adhering to the behavioural therapy techniques learned from a psychologist.
