Prevention of Mental Illness

In the public health world, prevention is everything. When it comes to mental health and illness, there is no proven single method to avoid it. But, with early detection, the illness can be managed in the early stages, and other problems can be avoided.  Some of the early symptoms in teens are:

• Feeling something is just not quite right
• Jumbled thoughts and confusion
• Being fearful for no apparent reason
• Hearing/seeing things that are not there
• Declining interest in people, activities, and self-care
• Extreme/unsafe changes in behavior

Research says that there is a pre-illness phase which can last anywhere from days to years- it is necessary to recognize these signs and get help before there is additional problems or complications with the disease.

In an article by Dr. Bernarr, D.C. D.D, he says that mental illnesses, whether they be nervousness, depressions, phobias, neuroses and psychoses, can be healed and prevented. He goes on to say Stress exists in every aspect of life. If we cope successfully with stress, we have good mental health. If we do not cope successfully with stress, we have poor mental health, become debilitated and enervated. Mental illness can be help, if not avoided. With the proper care and treatment, prevention of a greater mental health concern can be avoided.

In addition,  I was reading over an article in Shrink Rap which states that “prevention is an interesting word in psychiatry. It’s hard to prevent mental illness– we believe a lot of it is about genetics– and when we think about prevention, we think about things like avoiding drugs and excess alcohol, getting enough sleep, growing up in a kind, safe, and loving environment with a reasonable amount of stability. Those are good things. When it comes to preventing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, we think about avoiding trauma, to the extent that we are able.”  There is a new program that is being started in the military called resiliency training. Benedict Carey writes in today’s New York Times about how the military intends to require emotional resiliency training for every soldier.

According to Marolyn Morrison in the Mayor’s report in Canada,  life balance requires good mental health. Just as it is important to maintain your physical health, it is important to balance all aspects of your life for an overall wellbeing; and finding that balance is different for everyone. It is different for everyone, but it is important for everyone