Mental health refers to the cognitive and emotional wellbeing. Mental disorders are very common affecting about 10% of the population at any one time. Twenty five percent of the population suffers some kind of mental disorder over their lifetime. Recent studies show that, ¼ of the adult population had a mental illness. The most common disorders were anxiety and depression. One out of seventeen people had a serious mental disorder. Children and adolescents are also affected by mental illnesses with attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) being the most common. It could be argued that it is the patient who benefits least from receiving a diagnosis of mental disorder
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Get Help Now!Mental wellness is crucial to any individual’s well-being and for healthy interpersonal and family relationships in order to live a complete and productive lifestyle. I would agree that patients benefit least from receiving a mental disorder diagnosis. Individuals affected are always at risk of unhealthy and risky behaviors, drugs and alcohol abuse, self-destructive /violent behaviors and suicide attempts that is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States among the 25-34 age groups. The mental disorders also have serious implications on an individual’s physical health and are seen to be related with the outcome and prevalence of some serious chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Mental illnesses can have dangerous and chronic effects including economic and psychological expenses not only to the individual but also to their families, colleagues. The personal effects of mental disorders are very significant. The patient faces risks of death, serious chronic illnesses, increased family and caregiver burden, higher health care costs and drugs and alcohol abuse (Browning et al., 2011).
Higher death rates
There are studies showing that depression is related to higher rates of deaths in all age groups. The impact of depression in suicide is very clear as it is comes the 11th leading cause of death in the United States resulting to 30,000 deaths in a year. Suicide mostly occurs if depression remains untreated. Above15% of people suffering from depression take their own lives. The suicide rate among men 85 years and above is six times higher than that of the general population (Kring et al., 2009).
Serious complications in patients with chronic conditions
People who have at one time suffered chronic conditions like cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, heart disease and Parkinson’s disease are at a higher risk of suffering depression than the general population. The annual prevalence rates estimates for these groups is 10 %- 65%. Depression ends up affecting the disease / condition negatively. A depressed heart disease person who suffers a cardiac arrest is more likely to die than a heart disease person who is not suffering from depression. Depressions can affect a patient’s ability to adhere to medication and proper diet and it has been associated with increased loss of bone mass in women (Browning et al., 2011).
Effects on Family members
Denial
When a person suffers depression for the first time, the members of his family may be in denial that their loved one is suffering from a continuous illness. The family members are always alarmed of what is happening and when the acute phase is over,everyone is relieved and does not hope for the same to reoccur. The patient suffers a lot of pressure from family when the symptoms are over inform of increased attention which may make the patient feel uncomfortable and hence more depression. They may also end up searching for more answers even moving houses thinking that a new environment will help solve the mental disorder. This increases tension within the family members, the patient is isolated and loses good relationships from the people who do not understand the state of the mentally ill person. These kinds of behavior among the family members end up affecting the ill patient in a negative manner.
Stigma
Even with the family members having knowledge of how to deal with mental disorders, they are often reluctant to discuss it with others in fear of their reaction towards the news. This is because there many myths and misconceptions that affect mental disorders. The members may be even failing to invite people into the house in fear of how the ill person will behave since they are capable of destructive behavior and may be unable to handle the stimulation or disruption caused by a number of more persons in the house. The result of this kind of discrimination is that the family as well as the patient becomeswithdrawn from the society in an effort to protect themselves and the patient. They become unwilling to take more risks of being rejected and hurt (Smith et al., 2011).
Anxiety, Frustration and Helplessness
Families have a very big problem trying to deal with the unpredictable and bizarre behavior of the mentally ill person. They are always frightened, frustrated and anxious of his/her next move. Even when the patient is on medical therapy and is stable, he becomes frustrated from the apathy and failure of the family members to motivate him/her. The family may fail to understand the problem that the patient may be going through and may end up becoming angry and frustrated trying to adapt to a new routine from what they had been used to. They are unable to plan for outings or family vacations as the patient’s need become the priority. This can be very painful to the members of the family and especially siblings who may feel neglected. The patient may also have feelings of guilt and result to more depression (Eaton et al., 2011).
Exhaustion
In most cases the families may became exhausted and discourage when dealing with a mentally ill patient. After looking for assistance in many places without any assistance they, may give up on trying to look for any more help for fear of more failure. They may start to feel the burden that comes about because of taking care of a person with mental disability, as they require constant care. Because the person may be unaware of his/her effects of the destructive behavior, he ends up being the center of attraction in the family even ruling the family as atyrant threatening, demanding and refuses any efforts to help (Cronin, 2011).
Grief
Accepting that a loved one is suffering from a life threatening illness is often a hard reality for a family to accept. They have to face an altered future and changed expectations. The person’s ability to function is impaired and he/ she is unable to carry out daily activities that could otherwise be done with ease. This is even worse if the disorder is ongoing. The reality of the illness is very devastating for example in watching other families as their children finish school, get jobs and families as their loved one is struggling to get an a G.E.D. after losing friends because they had nothing in common. The families often grief over tis and loose hope of their loved one ever living a normal or near normal life and with no one to help the family go through the grief process, they may not be able to accept the illness. This may end up discouraging not only the family but also the ill person of any hopes of dealing with the illness.
Conclusion
It is evident that in receiving a mental disorder diagnosis, the news are more destructing to the patients than they are beneficial.However, the patient needs to understand that they are not alone. Understanding that the changed life patterns may limit the choices in life as an adult is important as a first step towards new and beneficial manners in relating with others. The person can help themselves by adapting new ways of taking care of him or herself, recognizing better ways to cope with others, and exploring other helpful resources including seeing a professional in mental health and joining a support group that deals with their specific situation to help eliminate the isolation feelings.
References
Browning, S, L, Hasselt, V, B, Tucker, A, S & Vecchi, G, M 2011,’Dealing with individuals who have mental illness: the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) in law enforcement’, Journal of forensic science, vol.13 no.4, PP.33-40.
Cronin,P,Peyton,L &Zimock,Y 2011, ‘Health And Social Care’, Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, vol5 no 2.pp.41-42 viewed 15 February 2013,Emerald Group Publishing Limited, DOI 10.5042/amhid.2011.0112
Eaton,P,M, Davis, B,L., Hammond, P, V, Condon,E,H & McGee, Z,T 2011, ‘Coping Strategies of Family Members of Hospitalized Psychiatric Patients’, Nursing Research and Practice, vol.2011 no.5,pp. 2-12, viewed 15 February 2013,Academic Search Complete database, EBSCOHost,DOI 10.1155/2011/392705.
Kring, A, Johnson, S, Davison, G, C, & Neale, J,M 2009, Abnormal Psychology, John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Smith, Reddy,J, Foster, Asbury, E,T & Brooks, J 2011, ‘Public perceptions, knowledge and stigma towards people with schizophrenia’, Journal of Public Mental Health ,vol.10 no 1,pp.23-35
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