Are you or is someone you love suffering from a mental
health condition? Some information you need to know.
Last week I attended a seminar on mental health and mood
disorders. As this is an area I focus on in my practice I was very much looking
forward to hearing all the latest research and clinical applications. However,
walking out the door at the end of the day there was one thing prioritising my
thoughts. That one thing is the importance of education. Yes, all aspects of education
are important but what I am actually referring to is the education of our
community when it comes to mental health.
The three main things I feel need to be emphasised are:
1. How common these conditions are.
2. The huge variety of treatment options available.
3. The detriment of not seeking help when you need it.
Mental health is a huge umbrella under which many disorders
are placed. The most common include:
·
Depression
·
Anxiety
·
Substance use disorders
How common are these disorders in Australia?
I myself was astounded to hear that Australia has the second
highest rate in the WORLD of antidepressant prescriptions per capita, and this
is increasing by about 25% each year.
Between the years 2012-2013 anti-depressant prescriptions
increased by 96%.
Nearly half the population (45%) will experience a mental
health disorder at some stage in their lives.
Over 25% of Australian adults report high levels of anxiety
and/or depression.
35% have a significant level of distress in their lives.
26% have above normal levels of anxiety symptoms.
26% have moderate to extremely severe levels of depression
symptoms.
In 2015 the number of Australians living with anxiety was
higher than ever before.
Depression is one of the most common
conditions in young people and increases during adolescence.
At least one third of young people have
had an episode of mental illness by the time they are 25 years old.
Are antidepressants the only treatment
option available?
The huge rise in antidepressant
prescriptions is most shocking but what is even more concerning is the number
of our youth being put on these medications. The medication on its own is only
a small part of the concern but my main worry is why so many of our youth need
these types of medication. More than that many clinical trials have found these
medications to only have moderate superiority to placebo and they do not reduce
suicidal tendencies.
This is why I believe it is essential
for people to be aware of the multifaceted approach necessary when it comes to
mental health. What I mean by this is that anti-depressant medications are not
the only option and that their efficacy can be greatly improved when combined
with other treatments. The human body is hugely complex and simply focusing on
the brain means we may be missing many other contributing factors when it comes
to mental health.
Research has found that several factors
can actually change the brain structure making a person more prone to mental
illness. Stress is a large contributing factor, which can result in neuronal
death and structural changes in the brain.
Some other factors that have been shown
to contribute to poor mental health include:
·
Neurotoxic substances
·
Inflammation
·
Poor nutrition
·
Challenging life events
·
Loneliness
This shows how multi factorial mental health
treatment should be as it should be addressing all of these factors.
Apart from medication, other essential
treatments for boosting mood and enhancing brain function include:
·
Adequate nutrition
·
Physical activity
·
Adequate sleep
·
Meaning and purpose in life
·
Social connections
·
Natural treatments such as herbal medicine,
nutritional supplements and flower essences.
Why it is so important you seek help.
If you find yourself struggling with stress or anxiety on a
regular basis you should do something about it. What seems like a normal way to
be in today’s society may actually be changing your brain structure in a
negative way that makes you more pre-dis
posed towards other mental illnesses.
This is why it is so important to seek help as soon as possible. The longer you
delay it, the more damage that may be occurring within your body, the longer it
will take to reverse (to whatever extent is possible), the more reliant you may
be on medication and the worse your symptoms will get. Don’t delay seeking help
as you think ‘I can cope with this for now’ or ‘ill get help if it gets worse’
as by the time it gets to that stage so much more damage may have occurred.
Possibly all you will need are some dietary and lifestyle modifications at the
beginning but if you leave it too long, medication or more serious treatments
are much more likely to be required. I am particularly passionate about
supporting our youth as many of these conditions begin in adolescence. If
correct support is given to these teens it reduces the likelihood that they
will be reliant on medications and will teach them better coping mechanisms
that can be employed for the rest of their lives.
One more thing that I think really needs to be emphasised is
that mental illness and especially asking for help is absolutely not a sign of
weakness. The more we learn about mental health, the more it is discovered that
it is caused by many physiological changes in the body that are often not
within the individual’s control. What is a sign of strength is actually having
the courage to say to someone I NEED HELP. That is the scary part, that is the
part that shows you are bigger than your problems and that it the part that
means you are willing to put in the work required to change.
