Processing
Please Wait...
progress bar, please wait
Alert
Close

New! Boost your memory with AARP Brain Fitness. Try these fun exercises proven more effective than crosswords

AARP Membership: Just $16 a Year

Most Popular
Articles

Viewed

Recommended

Commented

Discounts & Benefits

Members can save up to 80% on gift certificates from more than 15,000 restaurants nationwide.

Members can get exclusive online access to hundreds of free printable grocery coupons from leading brands.

Advertisement

Message Boards Directory

Welcome to the AARP Discussion Board. Here you can talk with peers about current events ranging from Social Security to caring for your parents to the latest on health care reform. It is also the perfect place to exchange healthy eating recipes and job hunting tips.

 

These forums are for you to engage and have fun meeting new people. Just remember the community code: Be nice!

Mental Health Issues, Diagnoses, Treatments, and How to help them live!
False
Conditions & Treatments
Mental Health Issues, Diagnoses, Treatments, and How to help them live!
<p>Thinking of going holistic? Want to know about the latest conventional treatments? Get advice from others about alternative medicine as well as their experiences with current western medical approaches for cancer, dementia, high blood pressure and heart disease.</p>
For any family dealing with mental health issues, there is a lot to learn about diagnosing, treating, and living with mental health problems. Our system currently has two distinctly&nbsp; separate pro
0
Cat:91a4afbf-9555-4e02-b9d3-9eef604476f6Forum:832f790a-fa59-47cd-9c1e-410537201269
Cat:91a4afbf-9555-4e02-b9d3-9eef604476f6Forum:832f790a-fa59-47cd-9c1e-410537201269Discussion:7e2035ee-6fef-4b09-8d33-962fb8e0fa97

Forums » Health » Conditions & Treatments » Mental Health Issues, Diagnoses, Treatments, and How to help them live!

You must be logged in to contribute. Log in | Register
 
Forums  »  Health  »  Conditions & Treatments  »  Mental Health Issues, Diagnoses, Treatments, and How to help them live!

Mental Health Issues, Diagnoses, Treatments, and How to help them live!

posted at August 11, 2012 11:16 AM EDT
Posts: 934
First: September 16, 2011
Last: May 17, 2013
For any family dealing with mental health issues, there is a lot to learn about diagnosing, treating, and living with mental health problems. Our system currently has two distinctly  separate professional groups , psychiatrists, and psychologists, who deal with mental health problems. And, paying for care for those with mental health problems is especially difficult. Families with means can get the best professionals, and get help in treatments, and chronic care. Those who are less fortunate sometimes  their loved ones are placed  behind bars, where their illness is not cared for, or even recognized.
But, there are some hopeful discoveries and treatments that may help these patients and their families:


                 http://www.calpsych.org/publications/pamphlets/mentaldisorders.html


Have you found any new treatments for your loved ones who have mental health problems?
What has been your experience in dealting with this difficult issue? Were you able to find help quickly, or , did it take years to locate the proper treatment?





 

Re: Mental Health !Issues, Diagnoses, Treatments, and How to help them live!

posted at August 11, 2012 1:09 PM EDT
Posts: 1923
First: November 27, 2011
Last: May 18, 2013
Problem is everything is all lumped together - the serious bio/phychological problems with the more occassional or longterm difficulties of life and the human reaction to it.

I have found that when someone is extremely disturbed with very apparent actions that prove such a state, many people, especially those that are close to them,  just want to ignore it, hoping that it will just go away.  Instead, it gets worse and may take other casualties.

The problem here is that if a person develops severe physiological symptoms or has an accident, we try to find them help because the condition warrants immediate treatment.   Hospital must treat them regardless of whom they are - the person that calls 911 may not even have to appear at the hospital.  They may do the same with those that are experiencing an immediate psychological break of some sort but it has to be a crisis.

Many people who have mental illness will not seek treatment on their own, so who is there to do it if those that should know them the best seek to ignore the problem and those that don't know them at all seek only just to avoid them.

To whomever get involved with your subject here, I ask, when do you think it is time to intervene with someone you know well and even those that you know slightly or not at all?  And what of those that live their life in isolation bearing their own mental problems or just like to be alone.

I think we all have to ask ourselves - SO WHAT IS NORMAL ? - since we are all individual unique beings.

I read not too long ago about a woman that died in her home in an adjacent town.  The unkept yard and the stench was the only thing that made her neighbors notifice the authorities.  When the police entered, they. of course, found that she had been dead for several weeks.  The home was full of empty liquor bottles - how she got the booze was unknown since the neighbors had never seen her leave.  Most likely she had some type of abnormal problem - but I never read anything else about it except family di have her buried.

We have become a society of strangers - I think.  We don't want to interfere or be bothered - which is it, I don't know.

Re: Mental Health Issues, Diagnoses, Treatments, and How to help them live!

posted at August 14, 2012 11:01 AM EDT
Posts: 934
First: September 16, 2011
Last: May 17, 2013
Society of Strangers, indeed. It is so sad when someone who needs help dies alone, when there are people who could have provided care!
For families dealing with mental health issues, finding proper treatment is not all that easy. And, even when they get medication for their loved one, convincing them to take it regularly is not easy either.Conditions, such as bipolar disorder, leave individuals convinced they need no medication, and refuse to take it. Many individuals find themselves incarcerated, where proper treatment is impossible.
Fortunately, today, some states are using alternatives to incarceration for mental health problems. NAMI, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, has been advocating for these alternatives.
 http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=top_story&template=/contentmanagement/contentdisplay.cfm&ContentID=52558&title=An%20Alternative%20to%20Incarceration

There are some organizations that offer counseling, and group meetings which can help individuals get good care, and monitoring, One good resource for families seeking mental health care is Mental Health America:
                        http://www.nmha.org/go/find_therapy

They can offer referrals and advice on needed services. And, they offer support for family members dealing with these issues.
If more people were aware of these services, we may be able to improve in our care for the mentally ill.


Re: Mental Health Issues, Diagnoses, Treatments, and How to help them live!

posted at August 20, 2012 7:42 AM EDT
Posts: 934
First: September 16, 2011
Last: May 17, 2013
1in 5 older adults are suffering from substance abuse or mental health issues. But, are they getting the proper care to address these issues? If you are caring for someone , have you been able to access appropriate care?

      http://blog.aarp.org/2012/07/11/the-takeaway-1-in-5-older-adults-have-mental-health-or-substance-abuse-issues/?plckFindCommentKey=CommentKey:4e0ef307-fcae-4228-8fe8-4150cc1ddd52

Re: Mental Health Issues, Diagnoses, Treatments, and How to help them live!

posted at August 28, 2012 7:11 AM EDT
Posts: 36
First: August 26, 2012
Last: September 9, 2012
The recession makes it worse for those with mental health issues, since they have even more difficulty surviving in tough economic times. Homelessness and mental illness go hand in hand, and we have not found a way to manage this problem. My own experience with mental health issues of my child  did not go well. The insurance company referred him to a counselor, who could not prescribe medication, but, worked for less . The hospitals put mental health patients on medication, and keep them only two weeks, when the medication kicks in. There is little follow up, since that would cost money, too. The system , with counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists, has no communication, and patients are lost in the confusion, and good care is not the goal. Instead, payments and insurance companies get their due, while patients are sent home to families, with little or no education or experience on how to deal with their loved ones.
Twenty percent of bipolar patients commit suicide, and still the system treats them casually, does not check on them after dismissal, and little is done for improvement. If it were a physical ailment, that mortality rate would get more urgent treatment.
        http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/minors-mental-health-issues-up-30-205576.html

Forums » Health » Conditions & Treatments » Mental Health Issues, Diagnoses, Treatments, and How to help them live!