According to the World Health Organization, health is defined as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity’. When you find out that you are in a condition where the definition mentioned cannot be implied, you are advised to go and get help because you are no longer considered to be a healthy individu. If you have no time to make an appointment to see a doctor, you can always use certain services such as online doctor consultation to get confirmation about your well-being. Remember! You are never too busy to care for yourself.
What is mental illness?
A lot of people suffer from mental illness without them knowing. This condition is always misunderstood as a normal emotional change due to their similar symptoms. The diagnosis of mental illness or also known as mental health disorders cannot be established without the help from a psychiatrist. A mental illness can be simply put as extreme emotional changes that alter the way you feel or think which are unrelated to the situation around you. For example, you might be feeling like your colleague is ignoring your existence when they are actually just focusing on their work. There are a wide range of conditions that can be classified as mental illness such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, bizarre behaviours, etc.
What are the symptoms of mental illness?
Different types of mental illness will manifest different types of symptoms, below are some of the general symptoms that usually can be found in patients who are suffering from it.
●Feeling too sad or down
●Uncontrolled anger
●Wants to be alone for most of the time
●Misunderstood people’s explanations
●Hearing voices or seeing things that does not exist
●Having thoughts to hurt themselves
How to treat mental illness?
Mental illnesses need to be treated as soon as possible as they might hurt themselves and people around them. Below are some of the ways to heal patients with mental illness.
1.Medications
This is the most important part of treatments because it can give an instant effect to the patients and stabilize their emotions. The main groups of drugs used are anti-depressants, antipsychotic, mood stabilizer and anti-anxiety. These are highly controlled drugs which means that they are not available for everyone and need a doctor’s prescription to use it.
2.Psychotherapy
Mental illnesses are not only treated by using medications, they also require psychotherapy. This is because most mental health disorders occurred after the patients had gone through some traumatic emotional situations such as extreme sadness after losing someone or stressful workload. Psychotherapy or counseling will help the patients to rebuild their confidence and stabilize their emotions. The following are some of the examples of psychotherapy treatment:
●Interpersonal psychotherapy
●Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy
●Dialectical behavioural psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is done by having communication between a specialist and a patient. During this time, the specialist can determine the mental state or put a definite diagnosis on a patient and decide the most suitable treatments for them.
3.Lifestyle modifications
This alternative might seem a small effort but it is the most basic thing you can do to help yourself. A lot of patients will depend on people around them to help improve their condition, when the truth is helping themselves will give a bigger and better impact. Minor lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking cigarettes, avoiding drug abuse, managing a stressful workload properly and eating a balanced diet does have a positive effect on our mental health.
4.Join community groups
There are some community support groups available for patients with mental illness. These groups will share knowledge and tips on how to overcome mental health disorders regularly. They also will hold events or activities that will train our brain to be more focused on positive thoughts.
In reality, a lot of people around us are suffering from mental illness. It is our role to keep ourselves checked on a regular basis. Going for counselling does not mean we are having mental illness, it is a good initiative to keep track of our mental health and helps prevent it from happening.
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