Take a course for a loved one National Council for Behavioral Health, Mental Health First Aid – Veterans and Military.
Vikki
Take a course for a loved one National Council for Behavioral Health, Mental Health First Aid – Veterans and Military.
Vikki
Members of society, with particular mental health conditions, have a reduced chance in receiving a cancer diagnosis from their physicians. The epidemiological study describes this outcome as an inverse comorbidity result.
Vikki
This is another article to share with family and friends. The literature is about older males (45 yrs+) with a greater risk of having children with psychiatric issues and academic difficulties, compared to men in younger age groups. You can read the abstract here.
Vikki
It has to be reiterated that most people diagnosed with a psychiatric illness pose no danger to others, or themselves. The majority of this population desire a well-adjusted mental health. As positive as that reality is, we have to understand various causations in that small percentage who do become dangerous. It’s an unpleasant subject many refuse to look at, with several media pundits unwilling to have honest discussions, talking around the issue as though if it’s left out of the conversation no one will notice. However, until society does focus on “mental” instability and “dangerousness”, the world won’t see a reduction of this brand of criminality. The following are several items which deserve analysis.*
Conclusion
A safer world becomes prevalent only when an honest dialogue about mental health begins, with additional entities becoming more involved, instead of believing it’s someone else’s problem.
*There are always unknown causations waiting to be discovered.
**Not every dangerous person has a mental illness.
Vikki
Observing, asking questions, and taking blood pressure don’t go far enough when a mental health professional has a new patient. As a result, many can be diagnosed with psychiatric conditions where none exist, and prescribed medicine unnecessarily. Let’s take a look at other assessments worthy to include.
Ongoing Discussions About Healthier Food Selections
Sodium may be the culprit for mood swings and depression because the patient is consuming unhealthy amounts of processed foods, soda, junk food, beef, and pork products. The patient suffering from anger management issues will especially have difficulties because the foods are aggravating the condition. Sugars can be another problem. In children who may have developed a sudden personality change, fruit juices (ex. orange, pineapple, cranberry) may be too sweet for developing brains. In some adults, brain chemistry cannot support certain sugars which can result with their experiencing symptoms associated with psychiatric difficulties.
The patient with sleeping difficulties and headaches may need look no further than their morning beverage to find the source of their problems. Caffeine is found in coffee and tea and nurtures a host of body ailments.* All of us have blood vessels throughout our bodies. After caffeine consumption, vessels become compressed making it difficult for blood flow. This pressure causes headaches, upper and lower backaches, pinched nerve and bunion flare-ups. Also, a patient may inform the clinician they have panic attacks because of nervousness and heart palpitations confronting them on a regular basis. These symptoms could originate from caffeine.
Daily consumption of 4 – 5 tall glasses of water is an important ritual to flush out impurities which may have backed up in the system.
B-12 Vitamin Supplements
Even if caffeine overconsumption isn’t a problem for the patient experiencing nervousness, they can anticipate symptom reduction from daily B-12 usage because the vitamin regulates the nervous system. Helping the body’s metabolism during weight loss programs, and maintaining the smaller body frame, is an added benefit when including B-12.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
An MRI can indicate whether a patient is suffering from tumors and other abnormalities which could be either masking as a psychiatric condition, or creating lesser mental health difficulties (bottom-up causation). For the patient who was already prescribed medicine, it’s no wonder pills aren’t working.
Blood testing
This assessment can tell a mental health worker if a sexually transmitted disease (ex. syphilis) is causing symptoms associated with schizophrenia, or other psychiatric difficulties.
Conclusion
When additional assessments are exhausted before the clinician writes out prescriptions, many patients can forego side affects which medications deliver.
*Caffeine is also found in soda and cocoa (chocolate) products.
Vikki
Individuals with pre-diabetes, or the full-blown condition, may experience personality changes (i.e., mood swings, irritability). We have to pay close attention to loved ones who suddenly have personality changes and suggest immediate medical attention. While these clues are important, we have to view diabetes from another perspective to understand what may happen for loved ones taking psychiatric medications.
Metabolic Syndrome is a group of risk factors which nurtures coronary artery disease, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes. The symptoms are elevated levels of cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and excess belly fat. Two medications closely associated with the syndrome are Clorazil (schizophrenia) and Zyprexa (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder). These medications can elevate cholesterol and blood sugars five-fold, creating a profoundly dangerous health condition.
Vikki