Mental illnesses affect a person’s behaviors, thoughts, and feelings, yet it frequently goes undiagnosed and untreated. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports 47.6 million U.S. adults experienced a mental illness in 2018. Among these individuals, only 43.3% received treatment. Additionally, NAMI indicated that the average delay between the onset of mental illness symptoms and seeking out effective treatment is 11 years.
There are many mental illnesses that affect individuals of all ages, including:
- Depression: Causes generalized sadness; depression may affect a person’s eating and sleeping habits, energy levels, and ability to cope with conflict.
- Anxiety: Causes a person to feel overwhelmed by worry or fear, resulting in restlessness, muscle tension, and other physical, mental, and emotional symptoms.
- Bipolar Disorder: Causes extreme and intense mood swings; bipolar disorder may make it difficult for a person to maintain meaningful relationships with friends, family members, and coworkers.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Occurs after a traumatic event such as physical or sexual abuse, the loss of a loved one, or a serious illness; PTSD causes nightmares, flashbacks, and various self-destructive behaviors.
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Affects a person’s ability to concentrate and stay focused on the task at hand; ADHD impacts 10% of children and 5% of adults in the United States.
Education plays a key role in a person’s ability to identify and treat mental illness. If an individual understands mental illness, he or she can then take steps to pursue mental health treatments.
Ultimately, if a person is dealing with mental illness, it is essential to meet with a doctor. This individual can next discuss mental illness with his or her doctor and review a broad range of mental health treatments, such as:
1. Psychopharmacology
Psychopharmacology involves an in-depth evaluation of an individual’s response to drugs to treat psychiatric problems. Certain medications help people alleviate mental illness, but finding the right medication is sometimes challenging. Each psychopharmacology treatment program is developed based on the patient, and weighs the risks and benefits of each treatment for each patient.
2. Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy involves discussing mental illness with a trained and licensed mental health counselor. Patients work to explore the root cause of their mental illness, as well as potential solutions to cope with this illness. There are several forms of psychotherapy, including individual, play, and group options. Some patients benefit from psychotherapy used in combination with other mental health treatments as well.=
3. Ketamine Therapy
Ketamine therapy involves the use of ketamine, an FDA-approved drug shown to help relieve symptoms associated with depression, PTSD, and other mental illnesses. Low-dose administrations of ketamine sometimes help individuals alleviate depression symptoms, with results lasting from a few days to a few weeks. Although ketamine sometimes provides short-term relief for mental illness symptoms, it is not intended as a long-term treatment for mental illness.
4. Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback is designed to teach the brain how to optimize its performance, and it has been used successfully to treat depression in children as young as 18 months and adults over 90 years old. Each neurofeedback training program is tailored to the patient, and involves the use of sensors placed on the ears and scalp. With the program, a patient learns how to coordinate the images on the screen with the processes in their brain, in order to help improve their mind.
5. Lifestyle Changes
Lifestyle changes can make a world of difference, particularly when it comes to treating mental illness. For example, healthy eating improves both the body and mind, and consuming a diet rich in vitamins and nutrients and free from food additives may help a person manage his or her mental illness. Meanwhile, exercise is an all-natural treatment that has been shown to help people combat depression symptoms. Developing and implementing an exercise regimen may help one successfully cope with mental illness. Some people also use mindfulness activities like yoga and deep breathing in their mental health treatments.
What Is the Best Way to Treat Mental Illness?
There is no one-size-fits-all mental health treatment. Instead, a doctor should develop a personalized treatment to help his or her patient cope with mental illness. This ensures an individual can discover a safe, effective mental health treatment that helps him or her achieve the optimal results.
At Achieve Concierge, we take a multimodal, collaborative approach to mental health treatment including medications, psychotherapy, as well as natural and holistic interventions. We provide mental health treatments as part of a total wellness experience designed to deliver long-lasting results. We also strive to streamline patient care and ensure that each patient is fully supported throughout treatment.
The Achieve Concierge team is happy to meet with you to discuss different mental health treatments. To schedule a consultation with Achieve Concierge, please contact us online or call us today at (619) 393-5871.