When someone is struggling with a mental illness they may not know how to get help or what kinds of help are out there. On this page you can find a variety of different treatment options and what they may include.
Medication
For many mental illnesses there are medications out there that can make whatever you're dealing with more tolerable. To get these, you have to go to your doctor or a psychiatrist. Sometimes, the first medications you go on don't work. It may take frequently switching the medications or upping the doses to find the one that helps the most. Unfortunately, while medications can help, they are not a magic fix to everything. Vitamin D, B-12, and Omega can also help to improve one's overall mental well-being in a more natural way. Often it's best to pair medication with a type of therapy. Below you will find some categories, explanations, and what they work for.
- Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRI's) They block the brain from re-absorbing serotonin in the brain so more is available. They are used to treat depression, anxiety, and mood disorders. Types include Zoloft, Prozac, Paxil, Luvox, Lexapro, and Celexa.
- Serotonin and Norepinephrine Re-uptake Inhibitors (SNRI's) They block the brain from re-absorbing serotonin and norepinephrine. They are used to treat depression, anxiety, and help to stabilize moods. Types include Pristiq, Khedezla, Cymbalta, Fetzima, Effexor XR, Irenka, and Savella
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Hospitalization
In some cases, it is safer for an individual to have access to constant care in order to stay safe and start the path of recovery. Hospitalization is for when you are in a mental health emergency or are a danger to yourself. It may seem scary but sometimes it is necessary to keep yourself safe. There is an astounding amount of stigma surrounding receiving mental health treatment in a hospital setting. They are often referred to as nut houses, loony bins, psych wards, and many other things that can make people feel embarrassed to have received treatment. It's more common than people think. Even movies don't portray them completely accurately. There are no straight jackets, rubber rooms, or bars on the windows. People don't walk around in med fogs or roam the halls screaming. People in there are just regular people who are struggling and need a higher level of help. In a hospital, they usually have a team of people including doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, occupational therapists, child and youth workers, child and youth counsellors, and teachers. Hospital admissions are often brought on by going to the emergency room or getting a referral from your doctor or mental health team. Mental health hospital programs usually come in three types, Inpatient, Residential, and Day-Hospital.
- Residential It is a long-term care option used to treat mental illnesses and addictions. They are facilities that are for those who are unable to function effectively in society or live independently. Residential programs are usually a last resort option.
- Inpatient It is a treatment option that entails 24 hour care, seven days a week. Typically, a stay in inpatient facility can be anywhere from three days to around eight weeks. In most cases, people can eventually have day passes and overnight passes which means they are allowed to leave the ward. These facilities have programs that can include DBT, CBT, FBT, health groups, group therapy, time for school work, one-on-one sessions with mental health professionals, recreation time, and room time. They have rules that have to be followed, and they are all for good reasons. Some people may need multiple trips to be at their best. For the most part, patients have to stay until they are no longer a danger to themselves.
- Day-Hospital It is a program that is run five days a week for anywhere between six and ten hours a day. These programs can often be a step down from more intense programs such as inpatient. These programs have many groups similar to inpatient, but people in these programs get to go home every night and have the weekends off. These programs are helpful if the person is stable enough to be at home, but not well enough to be in outpatient treatment.
Types of Therapies
For mental illnesses there are a variety of different types of therapies that treat different disorders. Not everything will work for everyone. Many people who are struggling require seeing a therapist. This may be uncomfortable at first if you are not used to discussing your feelings with someone. It may take multiple therapists to find someone that you have a strong patient-therapist relationship with. A combination of therapies can also be needed and these might be in combination with medication. Therapy can help you create your own 'toolbox' of coping strategies to help you tolerate emotions, change behaviours, and cope with whatever life throws your way.
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) It's a type of therapy used for those who have developed unhealthy coping strategies. It can be used to treat chronic suicidal thoughts, borderline personality, eating and food problems, addiction, and PTSD. This type of therapy focuses on emotion regulation, mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance/reality acceptance.
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) It's a type of therapy that is often referred to in a triangle (thought, feelings, and actions) and how each point of the triangle relates and influences each other. It can be used to treat anxiety, depression, substance abuse, sleeping issues, and relationship problems. CBT is usually a shorter type of therapy.
- Family Based Therapy (FBT) It's a type of therapy that is used to treat eating disorders. The therapy involves the whole family so that everyone understands what the person is going through and how they can help. This therapy is an alternative to hospitalization.
- Psychotherapy This is basically a broad term for all types of talk therapy that treats all types of mental illnesses and substance use disorders.
- Relationship Counselling It's a type of therapy that involves both of the people in a relationship. It identifies the causes of conflicts and the stress factors that can build tension. It helps to strengthen the relationship and resolve underlying issues to avoid separation of divorce.
- Grief Counselling It's a type of therapy that is used after a death of a loved one or someone very close to that person. It helps ease the transitions through the stages of grieving and it helps bring closure.
- Mindfulness Based Therapy It's a type of therapy designed for people who suffer chronic depression and unhappiness. This therapy is a combined practice of cognitive therapy and the practice of mindfulness.
- Art Therapy It's a type of therapy that uses the creative process to help improve one's overall well-being. People who do this type of therapy don't necessarily need to be artistic and is more so a form of self-expression, stress-relief, meditation, and can be helpful in distress tolerance.
- Animal Therapy It's a type of therapy that uses animals in boosting one's mental, physical, social and emotional well-being in a natural way. Animals form a strong bond to their caregiver and can help to distract the person from what they're struggling with and unhealthy impulses.
- Music Therapy It's a type of therapy that is a way of expressing feelings that someone might not be able to express through words. It can help sway people's negative emotions to positive ones. Music therapy is easy to access and can be used anywhere at any time. You can use instruments, listening to others' music, creating your own, and anything else that is therapeutic for you.
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