Understanding Mental Illness

Understanding Mental Illness

Health and Fitness July 30, 2018

We take care of our bodies, of course. Our bodies are our homes, after all, and they are, for better or for worse, where we spend most of our lives so by necessity we have to take care of them. There is never a point in our lives when we get to take a break from physical health. Bodily health is important, obviously, and we shouldn’t overlook taking care of our bodies but there’s more to a healthy life than the physical. There’s the mental and emotional as well, two aspects of healthy living that often get overlooked, even in our modern age. Though it seem like we should have a good grasp of what a healthy and balanced mind looks like, the psychiatric community is still learning new things every day, just as we are learning new things every day about physical health. For example, we’ve only recently discovered the effects that ambient music and color have on mood and that, in itself, seems like something that should have been fairly obvious. But it wasn’t, not really, until it was truly studied in an academic setting. In the psychiatric hospital, in recreational therapy and reminiscence therapy, by the neuropsychiatric doctors all over the country, new things are being discovered all the time, many ideas and therapies that should be generating more discussion in the general public. So what are some basic mental illnesses and how do they happen? And, the more important question, what can we do to help ourselves when our minds don’t exactly cooperate?
Depression and Anxiety
It has been said in several places that depression and anxiety are like the basic flu of mental illnesses. This is both true, in some ways and a really bad analogy in a few others. For example, it seems to underline the idea that if you just wait it out for your anxiety or depression to get better, than everything will just work itself out. This, to be honest, is not true and if you suffer from debilitating depression or anxiety, or even just some depression and anxiety, you should look into seeing someone and talking about your problems. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to go to a psychiatric hospital, not at all, but it does mean that you should seek help where and when it is appropriate. The symptoms of depression are fairly well known but it doesn’t mean they are any easier to spot when they are happening to you or someone you know. It can seem from the outside like the person is just lethargic or quiet but it’s always important to care and ask. That’s how we learn.
Mood Disorders
Mood disorders are all slightly different and often fall into different categories. The most famous one, perhaps, is bipolar disorder which is a collection of several smaller disorders with overlapping symptoms. Bipolar disorder is classically defined as swinging between several intense moods over the course of a few short minutes or hours although recently the definition has changed to include several other similar or related symptoms. If you think you might be suffering from a form of bipolar disorder, be sure to talk to a professional right away.
Finding a Therapist
There are lots of ways to get help if you think you might be suffering from a mental illness. The most common way is talking to a counselor or a therapist who will be able to work through your problems with you in a steady and healthy manner. It might take a few tries to find the right therapist, that happens with a lot of people but keep at it. For very bad cases of mental illness, there is the psychiatric hospital which can provide advanced knowledge and care. The psychiatric hospital can seem like a scary place but they are staffed with caring, considerate professionals who, above all else, want to help their patients heal back to their fullest potential. Each mental disorder is slightly different and needs to be dealt with as such but absolutely none of these problems are unassailable. With enough care and attention, mental illnesses can be handled and dealt with.