Mental health Facts, myths/Misconception
On the occasion of Bells let us talk day I want to dedicate this blog on mental health. I really like this initiative if we all talk we will know more about this problem otherwise we will have more problems in our lives.
What is Mental Health?
Mental health means striking a balance in all aspects of your life: social, physical, spiritual, economic and mental. Reaching a balance is a learning process. At times, you may tip the balance too much in one direction and have to find your footing again. Your personal balance will be unique, and your challenge will be to stay mentally healthy by keeping that balance
Some form of mental illness affects almost one out of every five Canadians at some point in their life, yet it remains a disease shrouded in stigma and dogged by misconceptions that have evolved into myths. While celebrities such as Canadian actress Margot Kidder and Margaret Trudeau, former wife of the late Pierre Trudeau, have openly discussed their bouts of depression, other conditions, such as anxiety disorders, psychosis and schizophrenia, often remain in the shadows.
People with mental illness are often afraid to tell their friends or employers, and may be shunned by their families or face certain prejudices. Others are told to just "snap out of it." Yet mental illnesses are medical disorders that can be treated, often with excellent results.
How to balance Mental Health?
Maintaining our mental health means striking a balance in all aspects of your life: social, physical, spiritual, economic and mental. Reaching a balance is a learning process. At times, you may tip the scales too much in one direction and have to find your footing again. Your personal balance will be unique, and your own individual challenge will be to stay mentally healthy by keeping that balance.
It’s important to take time to think about your emotional well-being and your “mental fitness.” Assess your emotional health regularly. Consider the particular demands or stresses you are facing and how they are affecting you.
Give yourself permission to take a break from your worries and concerns. Recognize that dedicating even a short time every day to your mental fitness will reap significant benefits in terms of feeling rejuvenated and more confident.
Ask for help
Learning to set boundaries and say no is a very important skill for mental health as is asking for help. In addition to help from family and friends and mental health services, you may find that some of your problems can be solved with help from community agencies. Sometimes, practical help such as home nursing care, Meals on Wheels or subsidized door-to-door transportation for people unable to walk, will greatly reduce the stress in your life.
Do one thing at a time
For example, when you are out for a walk or spending time with friends, turn off your cell phone and stop making that mental “to do” list. Take in all the sights, sounds and smells you encounter.
Learn ways to cope with negative thoughts
Negative thoughts can be insistent and loud. Learn to interrupt them. Don’t try to block them (that never works), but don’t let them take over. Try distracting yourself or comforting yourself, if you can’t solve the problem right away. You might want to try focusing on an issue in a more balanced way (e.g. - try looking at all sides of an issue rather than from just one point of view).
Exercise
Regular physical activity improves psychological well-being and can reduce depression and anxiety. Joining an exercise group or a gym can also reduce loneliness, since it connects you with a new set of people sharing a common goal.
Enjoy hobbies
Taking up a hobby brings balance to your life by allowing you to do something you enjoy because you want to do it, free of the pressure of everyday tasks. It also keeps your brain active.
Collect positive emotional moments
Make it a point to recall times when you have experienced pleasure, comfort, tenderness, confidence, or other positive emotions.
Set personal goals
Goals don’t have to be ambitious. You might decide to finish that book you started three years ago; to take a walk around the block every day; to learn to knit or play bridge; to call your friends instead of waiting for the phone to ring. Whatever goal you set, reaching it will build confidence and a sense of satisfaction. Writing the goal down, giving yourself a timeline, and telling others about your goals can all increase your chances of success.
Do new things/challenge yourself
Challenging yourself can help to increase your motivation and to set personal goals.
Keep a journal (or talk regularly to loved ones!)
Expressing yourself after a stressful day can help you gain perspective, release tension and even boost your body’s resistance to illness.
Share humor
Life often gets too serious, so when you hear or see something that makes you smile or laugh; share it with someone you know. A little humor can go a long way to keeping us mentally fit!
Volunteer
Volunteering is called the “win-win” activity because helping others makes us feel good about ourselves. At the same time, it widens our social network, provides us with new learning experiences and can bring balance to our lives.
Treat yourself well
Cook yourself a good meal. Have a bubble bath. See a movie. Call a friend or relative you haven’t talked to in ages. Sit on a park bench and breathe in the fragrance of flowers and grass. Whatever it is, do it just for you.
(Source www.MentalHealthWeek.ca)
Mental health myths/Misconception
Myth 1: Psychiatric disorders are not true illnesses like heart disease or cancer; people who have a mental illness are just "crazy."
Unlike a broken leg or heart attacks, which are easily detected by simple tests, mental illness has traditionally been an invisible disease. This inability to see what's wrong may add to the public perception, and even fear, of mental illness. But, like heart disease, mental illnesses are bona fide medical conditions. They involve complex physiological processes, as well as changes or imbalances in brain chemistry, according to White.
With today's sophisticated brain imaging technology, such as positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), it's now possible to actually observe differences in the brains of people with mental illnesses, says White. "With illnesses such as psychosis, schizophrenia and others, we can see very real changes in the brain," he says.
This sort of technology will eventually help predict who is at risk for these conditions and find ways to prevent onset. One day these technologies may well help monitor how well treatment is working.
Myth 2: All people with schizophrenia are violent.
Unfortunately, Hollywood often portrays mentally ill people as dangerous axe-wielding murderers, says Goldbloom. The reality, he says, is that "very little violence in society is caused by people who are mentally ill." The most common types of violence – gang fights, domestic abuse, even road-rage – aren't caused by people with a mental illness such as schizophrenia. "People with a major mental illness are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators," says Goldbloom.
Myth 3: Children don't get depression or other mental illnesses; their emotional problems are just part of growing up.
Parents naturally want their children to do well, so some may brush off or explain away behavioural problems or other childhood difficulties as being mere growing pains. However, numerous psychiatric conditions, including depression, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders, can and do occur in childhood, according to Kutcher. The U.S. Center for Mental Health Service reports that one in every 33 kids and one in every eight teens suffers from depression – and that's just one disorder.
Myth 4: Schizophrenia means split personality.
This belief is way off base, says Kutcher. The word schizo comes from ancient Greek and means "split mind." But people with a split personality have a completely different – and rare – disorder called multiple personality disorder. The misuse of the term "split personality" to refer to people with schizophrenia may have come from misuse in old movies and in the media.
But, says Kutcher, the term does apply to people with schizophrenia in that when their disease is at its worst, they live in two worlds. On the one hand, they're part of the real world; but on the other hand, they may have hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren't there), delusions (believing things that aren't real) or paranoia (fear that there is a conspiracy against them or that people are following them) that put them in another – fanciful – world. This is quite different from exhibiting different personalities.
Schizophrenia typically manifests itself in late adolescence or early adulthood. The good news is that there are various treatments that help keep the symptoms of schizophrenia under control. Schizophrenia affects about one in every 100 Canadians.
Myth 5: Addiction is a lifestyle choice and shows a lack of willpower.
An addiction, whether to drugs or alcohol, is a complex condition that is often chalked up to a lack of self-control on the part of the sufferer. But the problem is not that simple; addictions involve complex factors including genetics (alcoholism, for example, often runs in families), the environment, and sometimes other underlying psychiatric conditions such as depression. When people who become addicted have these underlying vulnerabilities it's harder for them to simply kick the habit, says Goldbloom.
In addition, complex chemical brain processes that are part of the brain's "reward mechanism" add to the craving of substances. This reward mechanism is largely regulated by the brain chemical dopamine, which can create a feeling of satisfaction and relief once the substance is used. When not using that substance, people with addictions may feel a huge, insatiable craving.
Treating addiction is often a long-term process. It can involve talk therapy and medication to treat both the addiction and any other mental illness. There is also the issue of learning how to deal with outside influences (such as friends who encourage use of the addictive substance) that reinforce the addiction. It takes a huge amount of work by, as well as resolve, dedication and time from, the person who is addicted to overcome his or her addiction.
It's rare that a person can simply stop drinking or kick a drug habit cold turkey, though it can happen. But judging people as weak can make the problem worse by making them feel so bad about themselves that they indulge as a means of escape, says Goldbloom.
Myth 6: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also known as shock therapy, is painful and barbaric.
ECT has been around since 1938, long before drugs such as antidepressants like Prozac and Zoloft were developed, says Goldbloom. As with many therapies, ECT was overused when it was first discovered. Back then, understanding of the best use of the therapy was limited. Now, however, ECT is one of the most effective treatments for people whose depression is so severe that antidepressant medications just don't do the job and who are debilitated by the depression, says Goldbloom.
ECT got a bad rap from the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which inaccurately portrayed the therapy, says Goldbloom. For one thing, ECT was used in the film as a form of punishment, not as a treatment. Today patients are anaesthetized and their muscles are relaxed before ECT is administered, so that they have no awareness of the treatment and very minimal physical evidence of seizure activity.
Many frustrated patients actually request this therapy after other treatments fail. "Electroshocks to restart the heart are not considered barbaric, so why should ECT be?" asks Goldbloom.
There is still some debate in the field of psychiatry about possible long-term effects on memory and other cognitive functions in some patients, although most experts say the benefits far outweigh the risks. Researchers continue to refine the best ways to use this treatment.
Myth 7: People with a mental illness lack intelligence.
"This is completely false," says Kutcher. "Intelligence has nothing to do with mental illnesses or brain disorders." On one hand, many people with mental disorders are brilliant, creative, productive people. On the other hand, some people with mental disorders are not brilliant or creative. Certain mental illnesses may make it difficult for people to remember facts or get along with other people, making it seem like they are cognitively challenged. Overall, the level of intelligence among people with mental illness likely parallels the patterns seen in any healthy population.
Myth 8: People with a mental illness shouldn't work because they'll just drag down the rest of the staff.
People with mental illness can and do function well in the workplace. They are unlikely to miss any more workdays because of their condition than people with a chronic physical condition such as diabetes or heart disease, says White. Employees may not even be aware that a coworker suffers from a mental illness – proof that mental illness in the workplace may not even be an issue.
However, White points out that a stress-riddled workplace may be a breeding ground for the development of stress-related mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety disorders, and threaten the delicate work-life balance. "Stress is probably the most common, most pervasive factor causing depression in society," he says. Stress is also associated with increased risk for physical conditions such as heart disease and cancer.
The real problem is the prejudice against hiring people with mental illness, says White. The resulting unemployment leaves them isolated, a situation that can add to their stress, and make it more difficult to recover from the illness.
As individuals and as a society, "we need to interact with others in a much more emotionally aware and understanding fashion," he says.
Myth 9: Mental illness is a single, rare disorder.
Anxiety disorders, mood disorders, personality disorders, addiction disorders, impulse control disorders, sexual and gender disorders…the list goes on. There are multiple types of mental illness, each with its own features and underlying causes. "Saying mental illnesses are all the same is just like saying that all cancers are the same," says Goldbloom. Using the cancer analogy, he points out that while in skin, brain and liver cancers cell growth is out of control, the causes of and treatments for these different cancers are all different.
Similarly, each mental illness is a variation on the theme of brain chemistry gone awry, affecting things like mood and perception. But each of these illnesses has its own specific causes, features and approaches to treatment.
Myth 10: People with a mental illness never get better.
Treatments for mental illnesses are more numerous and more sophisticated than ever. As well, researchers continue to discover new treatments. Because of these advances, many people do recover from mental illness, and others are able to keep the condition under control, says White. For instance, a person who experiences depression triggered by a family loss can recover fully if the depression is treated.
Indeed, today's pharmaceutical treatments are better able to target the specific parts of the brain where treatment is needed. While some conditions, such as schizophrenia, might wax and wane in severity throughout a person's adult life, symptoms can be kept under control with proper treatment.
The treatment goal of a full recovery is not unreachable, says White. That goal, he adds, involves more than just drugs; it also includes being socially and physically active because recovery means getting people back to leading normal lives.
Fast Facts about Mental Illness
Who is affected?
•Mental illness indirectly affects all Canadians at some time through a family member, friend or colleague.
•20% of Canadians will personally experience a mental illness in their lifetime.
•Mental illness affects people of all ages, educational and income levels, and cultures.
•Approximately 8% of adults will experience major depression at some time in their lives.
•About 1% of Canadians will experience bipolar disorder (or “manic depression”).
How common is it?
•Schizophrenia affects 1% of the Canadian population.
•Anxiety disorders affect 5% of the household population, causing mild to severe impairment.
•Suicide accounts for 24% of all deaths among 15-24 year olds and 16% among 25-44 year olds.
•Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in both men and women from adolescence to middle age.
•The mortality rate due to suicide among men is four times the rate among women.
What causes it?
•A complex interplay of genetic, biological, personality and environmental factors causes mental illnesses.
•Almost one half (49%) of those who feel they have suffered from depression or anxiety have never gone to see a doctor about this problem.
•Stigma or discrimination attached to mental illnesses presents a serious barrier, not only to diagnosis and treatment but also to acceptance in the community.
•Mental illnesses can be treated effectively.
How does it impact youth?
•It is estimated that 10-20% of Canadian youth are affected by a mental illness or disorder – the single most disabling group of disorders worldwide.
•Today, approximately 5% of male youth and 12% of female youth, age 12 to 19, have experienced a major depressive episode.
•The total number of 12-19 year olds in Canada at risk for developing depression is a staggering 3.2 million.
•Once depression is recognized, help can make a difference for 80% of people who are affected, allowing them to get back to their regular activities.
•Mental illness is increasingly threatening the lives of our children; with Canada’s youth suicide rate the third highest in the industrialized world.
•Suicide is among the leading causes of death in 15-24 year old Canadians, second only to accidents; 4,000 people die prematurely each year by suicide.
•Schizophrenia is youth’s greatest disabler as it strikes most often in the 16 to 30 year age group, affecting an estimated one person in 100.
•Surpassed only by injuries, mental disorders in youth are ranked as the second highest hospital care expenditure in Canada.
•In Canada, only 1 out of 5 children who need mental health services receives them.
