Turning the lights on for mental illness
By Rafael R. Castillo, MD
   

Many patients with mental illness feel that they live in a world of darkness where not even the faintest glimmer of a light could be seen. They see their lives not in full color but in dull black in white. Transiently, their depressive and other negative emotions pull them some distance safely from the edge, only to be down again the next moment, in the brink of potentially fatal thoughts of self destruction.

Left to themselves, these people—many of whom are not berefit with talents and looks—feel desperately helpless. What sometimes pushes them to go over the edge is not only their inherent misperceptions about their self, but the apparent stigma cast by a discriminating society on them that even extends to their families.

Many with psychological disturbance try to hide their inner turmoil because they fear being labeled as a ‘psycho’ or a ‘wacko’. Therapy is delayed and the psychological problem snowballs into a full-blown psychosis

“These patients experience discrimination everyday and this has an impact on delaying better mental health care and better quality of life of people with this illness,” says Dr. Paul Lee, consultant psychiatrist at the Manila Doctors’ Hospital.

The ‘Light One’s Life’ was recently organized as a support group to improve the sad plight of people with mental illness. A joint undertaking of the Philippine Psychiatric Association and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, it hopes to educate the public on what mental illness is all about, how prevalent it is, early signs of the illness and how relatives and friends can provide a strong support for patients with mental problems.

Unknown to many, mental illnesses are fairly common, yet are widely misunderstood. Emotional support from friends and relatives who are well informed about mental illnesses can play a key role in paving the way back to mental health

Essentially, ‘Light One’s Life’ is a support program to help one learn more about mental illnesses, develop coping strategies, get a referral for an affiliated psychiatrist to treat them, and find the support they need.

As an advocacy group, the ‘Light One’s Life’ hopes to provide both practical pointers for coping with difficult circumstances especially crisis situations, and an understanding group of people who are equipped with knowledge and experiences that give them a proper perspective on mental illness.

The members of this group can draw strength from the shared experiences of mental patients and their relatives who have learned to live well despite the illness.

‘Light One’s Life’ can also help clarify misperception, which stereotype patients and their relatives. “These misperceptions in mental illness add up to the cycle of stigmatization,” says Dr. Lee, a strong advocate of the group.

If the stigma on those with psychological problems is properly addressed, those with what seem to be borderline cases of psychological disturbance won’t feel embarrassed anymore to seep help from a psychiatrist. It is not to be denied that in our culture, a trip to the psychiatrist’s clinic is equated already to be synonymous with one being a psycho case. Many therefore suppress their inner psychological conflicts until the pent up inner conflict turns into a more serious form of psychosis.

According to psychiatrists, there may be some warning signs in one’s behavior that one may have a tendency to develop a psychiatric problem. Frequently, these patterns of behavior which tend to be repetitive are dismissed as just normal reactions to stress. These include the following:

• Increased energy and restlessness
• Excessively ‘high’ euphoric mood
• Extreme irritability
• Inability to contain thoughts; jumping from one idea to another
• Inability to concentrate
• Little sleep needed to last the day
• Unrealistic beliefs of one’s abilities
• Poor judgment
• Spending sprees
• Increased sexual drive
• Unusual aggressive behavior
• Denial that one’s behavior is not normal.

The more of above behavior patterns are present, the more the chances that a psychological problem might be lurking inside. Like the general rule in medicine says, the earlier a condition is recognized, the lesser the chances of serious complications developing later on.

 
 
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