Goddess Magazine Stories/Articles

Mental Health and When to See a Psychiatrist (June/July 2012)

Mental illness, including anxiety disorders and depression, strikes approximately twenty to forty-five percent of adults every year, while another ten percent affects children and adolescents. Mental illness can disrupt a person's daily routine, feelings, mood, thinking and relating to others, and make it difficult to cope with ordinary life, but they are treatable.

Many people perceive mental illness as a sign of one's personal weakness, intelligence or poor upbringing; but they are gravely wrong. It strikes at any age or race, and most people wit a mental illness do not have family members with any. Mental illness can strike at any time is someone's live, but mostly in the young and adolescents and elderly. Any serious life changing situation could worsen one's mental state, especially a death or a devastating divorce, and nearly forty-five percent of the population will experience a mental disorder at some stage of their lives.

Is is completely normal for everyone to through emotions of grief, anger (which mixed with grieving, is far worse than the normal anger and grief), extreme sadness, and, in several cases, many woman suffer terrible Postpartum Depression. Some individuals just need a little bit of help with coping with their emotions, whether it is taking a mood stabilizer and talking to a neutral person, such as a Psychiatrist, to help sort out mental confusion one may be experiencing.

When is it time to face the fact that mental health is deteriorating your being and it is time to seek help and gain back your mental health?

Well, that is a tricky question. Early detection is crucial. Allowing to seek help and treatment is very affective and and harm from the course of illness is minimal. There is no true definition for when to buckle down and get help. First, seek help from a therapist; they can help identify the internal and external factors that contribute to the problems you are facing and determine which internal and external factors that can help relieve the problem. At times, a patient may have to be referred to a psychiatrist if they they are not responding to counseling or if symptoms may endanger themselves or other individuals, or if the person seeking the help has suicidal thoughts, is unable to eat, or work. Psychiatrists not only provide psychotherapy. They als do diagnostic evaluations and assess physical problems, prescribe medications and arrange hospitalization, if felt it is needed.

Serious mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorders are not the only reason to see a therapist. Depression, anxiety, panic attacks, addictions, eating and sleeping disorders, and borderline personality disorders are also reasons to see a psychiatrists. For example, if a person has low self-esteem and feelings of rejection or feels low and disinterested in life, isolates himself from people and has thoughts of death, they need help. At times, a person maybe consumed with emotions such as violent rage, guilt, or jealousy, and the inability to control these emotions results can result in aggression, hostility and even violence. All this emotional distress can result in poor concentration, poor judgment and destructive behavior and/or suicidal tendencies or inflicting harm to others.

People who suffer mental illness can recover. Symptoms will reduce and they will will be able to lead happy, fulfilling lives. It take just a little patience, the right treatment(s) and the proper coping methods. If you or someone you know shows signs of any of these symptoms, talk to them about getting help. There are several online resources and phone hotlines that can introduce you to the right way of approaching the topic.