Mental Health Conditions
Mental and emotional difficulties and substance abuse, if left untreated, can destroy hope, peace of mind and relationships—and can eventually erode physical health and the human spirit.
The following are types of mental health conditions:
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Most people decide to seek treatment for the attention deficit or hyperactivity problems if the symptoms interfere with school, work or relationships. At St. Vincent Health we:
- Conduct a thorough assessment in order to rule out any other reasons for the attention difficulties
- Recognize that those who respond best to treatment are those who get a variety of treatments.
- Provide treatment including helping patients and their families learn some behavioral management techniques plus coping strategies,
- May prescribe medication in order to improve attention, reduce hyperactivity or treat other emotional problems which may accompany the attention deficit.
ADD or ADHD may be a lifelong difficulty, but it often has a good response to treatment. Successful treatment is ongoing and involves the collaboration of the parents or family, the patient, the physician and other professionals involved.
More About ADD or ADHD:
Overview of ADHD and ADD
Symptoms and Types of ADHD and ADD
Anger
Anger is a normal human emotion. However, when anger becomes a chronic overreaction, it can contribute to family conflict and other relationship issues, as well as to medical conditions such as heart disease. Some chronically angry individuals further endanger their health by eating more, smoking more, or abusing alcohol and drugs in order to control their feelings.
Anger does not have to be an automatic response. This is why St. Vincent helps people suffering from chronic anger through treatment that emphasizes re-thinking and re-training the response to negative situations.
More About Managing Anger
Anxiety
Anxiety is a term that summarizes the natural human instinct to flee or fight a threat. However, in some individuals, anxiety becomes excessive and disabling. Generalized anxiety disorder can generate feelings of restlessness, fatigue or muscle tension. Panic is the most disabling type of anxiety, characterized by feeling overwhelmed and having unpleasant physical sensations, from heart palpitations to chest pain to a fear of dying.
The mental health professionals at St. Vincent Health recognize that anti-anxiety medications, used judiciously, can be helpful. Unfortunately, many of them are habit-forming and do not present a long-term solution. Psychotherapy is often the preferred treatment for reducing the number of panic attacks and the disabling effects of generalized anxiety and phobias.
More About Axiety and Panic Disorders
Behavioral Problems Management
Every child has some problems with behaviors while growing up. A child’s job is to test limits and rules to see what happens when he/she does. How others respond to the testing behaviors teaches the child about the predictability of his/her world. As parents and authorities set reasonable limits, the child learns to operate within those limits, and when that happens, self-esteem and self-confidence grow. Children mature and learn by being given the opportunity to make age-appropriate mistakes and to get age-appropriate consequences. Consequences can be positive—such as rewards, praise and more privileges. They can also be negative—such as losing privileges or time-outs.
The mental health professionals at St. Vincent Health can help you learn the following skills to manage your child’s behavior:
- Communication
- Discipline
- Praise
- Alternatives to spanking, such as time-outs
More About Behavior Problems
Alcohol and Drug Abuse
How do you know if your use of alcohol and/or drugs is “substance abuse?” If it leads to any of the following, it may be considered substance abuse:
- Putting yourself and others in dangerous situations such as driving an automobile or operating machinery while intoxicated
- Failing to fulfill commitments at work, school, or home
- Legal problems related to substance use.
- Physical symptoms related to substance use
- Persistent mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and uncontrolled anger related to substance use
- Persistent disagreements/arguments with loved ones about substance use
- Repeated failed attempts to quit
Withdrawal from drugs or alcohol can require medical supervision. St.Vincent Health can provide the medical monitoring needed to manage symptoms of withdrawal.
Dependence on alcohol or drugs can be psychological as well as physical. In addition to the compulsion to use, substance abuse can also increase symptoms of depression, anxiety, uncontrolled anger, and other mental health issues. St. Vincent Health provides counseling to help manage the feelings that can accompany the withdrawal from alcohol and drugs.
More About Substance Abuse
Depression
Clinical depression is more than just the experience of feeling “blue; it is a treatable illness. Some common symptoms are:
- Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day
- Lack of pleasure in nearly all activities
- Significant unintended weight change
- Sleeping too much or too little nearly every day
- Feeling either agitated or slowed down
- Feeling tired nearly every day
- Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
- Difficulty concentrating
- Thoughts of suicide or a suicide attempt
Depression is not a moral weakness. It is as real and as disabling as heart disease, diabetes and other major illnesses. It is most commonly treated with a combination of counseling and antidepressant medication.
More About Depression
Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is a major public health concern. Between 10% and 15% of couples experience domestic violence. Ninety-five percent of the time, the victim is the woman in the relationship.
Abuse is about power and control. These are the primary forms abuse can take:
- Physical assault: pushing, shoving, hitting, using a weapon, twisting an arm, tripping and punching
- Emotional abuse (making her feel bad about herself)
- Isolation (controlling what she does, who she sees and talks to, where she goes)
- Economic abuse (controlling money or access to work)
- Sexual abuse (treating her like an object or forcing sexual activity)
- Threats (threatening her or the children; threatening to commit suicide)
- Using children to control her (threatening to take the children; denying visitation)
Domestic violence is not limited to any class or race. It occurs in poor homes and in wealthy homes, in white, black, Hispanic and Asian homes. No one “deserves” abuse.
More About Domestic Violence
Eating Disorders
Girls and women make up the vast majority of individuals suffering from eating disorders. Most eating disorders start somewhere between the ages of 14 and 18, though a woman who had an eating disorder as a girl may certainly still have symptoms that reflect that history. The two primary eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia.
Symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa
- Intense fear of gaining weight
- Refusal to maintain body weight at normal weight for age and height
- Weighing less than 85 percent of what would be expected at the particular age
- Overly critical of body
- Denial of medical consequences
Symptoms of Bulimia
- Recurrent episodes of binge eating
- Feelings of lack of control during bingeing episodes
- Self-induced vomiting and/or misuse of laxatives and diuretics
- Bingeing and purging occurs at least twice a week for at least three months
More oinformation about eating disorders:
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety disorder that involves both obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are recurrent, unwanted thoughts, images, or impulses that produce anxiety. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors that are done in an attempt to reduce anxiety.
Common obsessions include:
- Contamination fears of germs, dirt, etc.
- Imagining having harmed self or others
- Imagining losing control of aggressive urges
- Intrusive sexual thoughts or urges
- Excessive religious or moral doubt
- Forbidden thoughts or urges
- A need to have things “just so”
- A need to tell, ask, confess
Common compulsions include excessive:
- Checking/questioning
- Touching
- Counting
- Ordering/arranging
- Hoarding or saving
- Praying
Research on OCD has shown it to be a biological disorder, and it is often treated with medication. More often though, a combination of behavioral therapy and medication is recommended.
More About Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Memory Problems
Though it is normal for memory to slow down with age, memory loss is significant when it impairs the ability to function. The following are symptoms of significant memory loss:
- Inability to recognize familiar faces or places
- Difficulty using notes or lists to jog one’s memory
- Difficulty with making decisions
- Difficulty following through with basic commitments required for daily living
Profound memory loss requires assessment by a medical professional. Many types of significant memory loss can be corrected or reversed.
More About Memory Problems
Relationship Issues
Almost all relationship problems are based in poor communication. In good marital or family therapy, the “patient” is the marital relationship or the family relationship. Rather than taking sides, the therapist puts the relationship first. He or she works to correct communication that has broken down, to restore respect, and to clarify appropriate roles within the family.
Stress
Stress seems to have become synonymous with modern-day life. It is the rare individual who cannot point to areas of stress in his or her life.
Short-term stress may trigger anxiety, anger, frustration and impatience. Long-term stress may trigger fatigue, irritability, distractibility and physical symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain or tightness. If it is not managed, stress can seriously affect your physical health through changes in blood pressure, coordination, memory, immune system response, heart function and metabolic rate.
More About Stress
Suicidal Thoughts
There are many factors that can increase the risk of suicide: depression, drug or alcohol abuse, a recent loss, a family history of suicide, and catastrophic changes in life circumstances. Those who have had previous suicide attempts are also at greater risk. Any threat or mention of suicide should be taken seriously. If you have an immediate concern about the possibility of suicide in yourself or someone you love, please contact the emergency services department in the facility closest to you.
More About Suicidal Thoughts