mental health disorders 11 by Publication Critique
Published Date: 06/07/08
Mental Health Disorders
Mental health disorders are quite prevalent throughout the world?s population, yet they remain greatly misunderstood by the masses. Even for those who find themselves afflicted with even common mental disorders, discover that there is much to be learned about their particular illness, including symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery, which is different for everyone. For some it means being able to function normally, hold down a job, take care of personal and family responsibilities, etc. For others, it means keeping their demons away and thinking happy thoughts, so that they don?t harm themselves or anyone else. Like other chronic illnesses, mental health disorders have varying levels of severity, which require in most cases different combinations of treatment in order to keep symptoms at bay.
There is a great deal of information available online, such as the fifty-two most common mental health disorders, medications, news, recovery stories, links, diagnosis, symptoms, treatments, articles, support groups, and research from various agencies. The National Alliance on Mental Illness at www.nami.org is a good comprehensive site to find material regarding mental health disorders, as is www.nimh.nih.gov, sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health. Some other sites worthy of mention include www.mentalhealth.com, www.mhsource.com, and www.athealth.com, where visitors can select a topic to find information about mental health disorders and related issues. Women should check out www.ivillage.com for essential women?s health and wellness information. For more material on mental health disorders and links to relevant sites organized by groups of disorders, self help section, ask a therapist, depression tests, and compatibility quizzes visit www.planetpsych.com.
Mental health disorders can be very debilitating for some patients, and in many cases, complete relief of symptoms is impossible. It takes the right combination of medication, psychotherapy, and full participation from the patient, who must take responsibility and make positive choices. There are some very good pharmaceuticals that are now available to people with mental health disorders, which has made it possible for them to lead a relatively ?normal? life. With some of the older psychotropic medications, the side effects were far worse than the symptoms, which were not well controlled either. In this case, electro shock therapy was usually recommended by the psychiatrist; just imagine ?One Flew over the Cuckoo?s Nest?. Thankfully modern technology and continued research of the brain and mental health disorders, has led to great advances in this field, which have greatly improved patients? quality of life.
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