As we move through the month of February, we will be outlining the importance of Mental Health. This is the second pillar of health and wellness we will be addressing to start this year. This post has more material as well as multiple videos to help you learn more about mental illness and how it can affect all of us. Enjoy.
Mental illness can affect anyone at any point in time. Whether they personally experience it themselves or they have a loved one battling some form of it. Let’s break down some prevalence stats from The National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5%—experiences mental illness in a given year.
Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S.—9.8 million, or 4.0%—experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.
Approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13-18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13%.
The most common forms of mental illness include: autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, anxiety disorder (OCD, PTSD, and GAD), phobias, ADD/ADHD, eating disorders, personality disorders (antisocial, avoidant, and borderline), and mood disorders. We see a lot of these in the office on a regular basis. Some of which can help be managed pretty effectively through chiropractic care and acupuncture.
We’ll outline a few of these from Licensed Mental Health Counselor which affect not only are seen in children and adolescents, but also in adults.
Autism Spectrum – Please refer to Autism Speaks to research to learn more
Anxiety Disorders – Anxiety disorders include obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
OCD is a combination of reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and actions (compulsions) that a person performs because they believe it gives them control. For instance, a person may believe they have to take 50 baths a day or they aren’t clean and they may lose their job, friends and family to this behavior.
PTSD occurs after a person experiences a terrifying even in which they face great bodily harm, death, fear or helplessness. They may then have reoccurring thoughts, nightmares, heighten fear and avoidance behaviors. Many rape victims and soldiers coming back from war experience PTSD, but so do people who have been robbed, beaten or in a car accident.
GAD is basically when someone has anxiety, stress and worry for at least 6 months period for no specific reason. Some of these people are considered “worry worts” in layman terms, but their anxiety can cause them to have a host of physical systems and a decreased quality of life.
ADD/ADHD – Learn more at Attention Deficit Disorder Association
Mood Disorders – Mood disorders are the number one most diagnosed mental illness in developing countries and something that nearly everyone can relate to in one form or another.Mood disorders are sustained emotions that go beyond the usual, normal feelings of sadness, to deeper feelings such as dysthymic disorder and major depression.
Personality Disorders- All humans have personality traits, most which are relatively fluid, based on our culture, upbringing and experiences. Many of us even have some traits of personality disorders, but people with true personality disorders have traits that are so rigid that they impair their ability to function and get along with people in their everyday life.Some of the most common personality disorders diagnosed include:
Antisocial personality disorder– these people don’t follow rules of society, often care little about other people unless they can use them for their own gain, they can’t empathize or feel sorry for people, they generally show no remorse. They often have criminal behavior.
Avoidant personality disorder– these people are anxious, usually over-controlled and fear criticism, making them hesitant to become involved with other people. There for, they tend to avoid people as much as possible.
Borderline personality disorder– these people are generally impulsive, unstable, suicidal at times, fear abandonment while at the same time they tend to push people away from them, resulting in tense, unstable relationships.
In order to be able to treat mental illness, we must first understand how they impact daily life. Thomas Insel breaks this down very eloquently in his 2013 TedTalk posted here.
One thing that is commonly seen among almost all forms of mental health conditions come with a similar trigger… STRESS. High stress environments can amplify and exacerbate many of the symptoms and sensations felt by those afflicted. Chiropractic adjustments to make adaptations to the nervous system can help to control stress and the effects of it. Also, acupuncture works well to balance Qi (energy) through the meridians. In addition, functional nutrition can also create changes in the brain to help treat many mental conditions.
Some forms are more easily treated or controlled through care. It is important to remember if someone is in need of help to be there for them not only as a decent human being, but also as a friend. If they are in need of greater professional care through counseling or therapy there are facilities and individuals in every community to help be a member of their mental health team!
Next month we will focus on Emotional Health and branch more into anxiety, depression, and how emotions can affect us.
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