Punta Gorda Mental Health

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Punta Gorda Mental Health

May 8th, 2010

Times can be tough in Punta Gorda. When a person can no longer deal with the difficult situations in life, there are only two things that can probably happen: cry in vain and be forever depressed or be angry at the person or thing that caused the problem. Either way, the individual has no way to deal with his misery and when he can no longer take the pain, he blames everyone for his mishaps. Mental health is no where to be found. A person must know on how to deal with anger in order to achieve mental health.

Anger is inseparable to a person’s life. Even children can become angry because of something. Anger is not something to be worried about, it is not an abnormal state of mind but in fact is a normal and healthy reaction of the person’s mind and body to a certain situation that didn’t agree with the person. Being angry is never comfortable. Bearing the pain and grudge within your system can be destructive in time. Oftentimes, a person becomes angry after being sad or hurt. Anger is a very good excuse to hurt other people and strike back. Anger is an emotion that gives the person experiencing it to become more aggravated.

Anger can become an external defense mechanism especially if the hurt is applied physically and not emotionally. Although, anger becomes a threat when it is already contributing destruction to the lives of others. It is of natural accentuation to act angry in certain circumstances, it’s just a matter on how a person handles his mental health is the real deal. There are multiple ways to manage your anger. Some of which are:

1. Relaxation techniques – Here, the person must find a way to calm down the system responsible for increasing the angry feeling which is the autonomic nervous system. These include:

• Fast relaxation technique which is equated with deep breathing and allows the diaphragm to expand and increase oxygen intake

• Meditative processes like mindfulness and relaxation meditation.

• Wait for a couple of seconds before regressing with the situation. You can try counting from one to ten before you react to the situation. This will give you a couple of seconds to run down events and what outcome can your anger produce.

2. Cognitive techniques – are referred to the techniques that can change your expectations and beliefs in life which can replace your angry thoughts into more accepted and reasonable ones. You have to remember that the moment you become angry your entire system is affected. Unless you do something about making it more meaningful than destructive, your anger will just increase.

Techniques that are used for anxiety and depression can be of enormous help. It is also important that you talk to someone about your worries and how your anger has developed in order to be more enlightened.

When anger is repressed and is not effectively expressed in any means necessary, this can cause problems that”ll bring further problems along the way. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that expressing of anger anywhere and anytime of the day just because you feel like it is good. Balancing the approach which may include the acknowledgement of that anger and acting on it accordingly can help reduce the foreseeable crisis. This will stable the mind and produce mental health in the person. Yes, Punta Gorda can be tough, but it is also paradise with the right counseling.

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Punta Gorda Adult Mental Health

June 17th, 2010

All human beings from time-to-time experience transient symptoms of mental health disorders. Whether these symptoms develop into a full blown condition needing mental health treatment is dependent on a number of factors such as age, genetics, circumstances of the symptoms (i.e. divorce), medical or other secondary causes, substance abuse, and coping abilities. Mental Health Therapists are trained to diagnose and treat many of these disorders.

Evaluation of these disorders which leads to diagnosis and treatment is similar to other medical conditions.  Early work-up and diagnostic preparation though, is the first order of business for Mental Health Therapists. 

This process includes an initial background psychosocial history in order to synthesize the basic facts.  Age, sex, initial circumstances, marital and vocational status, past and current medical health, and treatment facts are important to focus and isolate the problem. Sometimes the first impression concluded is called a provisional diagnosis until more complete information is received and reviewed.

Secondly, testing or collateral information may be necessary. Collateral information is often solicited from 3rd parties to determine the frequency, intensity, and quality of the adult mental health  problem. In children, teachers are often consulted and given instruments that measure symptoms (such as ADD). In the case of adult mental health, background  information from family or  professionals  may be received for validity and actual reality of the circumstance. This is often the case in Baker and Marchman Act, or Competency Proceedings which all can be  involuntary commitments.

 Certain specific tests to isolate or rule out conditions are often given. The Beck Depression Inventory is a simple self-reporting measurement that indicates symptoms of depression. A more complicated test, known as the “MMPI” (Minnesota Multi-Phasic Inventory) Instrument is often given.  This test takes about 2 hours to complete and is composed of 550 questions with a validity test (in order to determine truthfulness).   Marital Assessment may be determined by a test called DAS Spangler or a test called Prepare-Enrich.  Each test has strong positive coefficients for reliability and validity.  The SASSI is often used for evaluation of the need for Substance Abuse treatment.  The SASSI also evaluates the need for Alcohol Treatment. The STAXXI is used for Anger Management Treatment issues.  In addition, there are a variety of other testing instruments depending on the circumstances.  Adult mental health therapists and counselors are able to give and use these instruments in their evaluations if their education and training allows.  In some cases they may not.

 Specific adult mental health treatments are warranted based on the gathered work-up information. In some cases medical or pharmaceutical interventions may be immediately warranted.  Self-injurious behaviors (with or without suicidal intent), suicidal ideation, or gestures require emergency interventions such as a Crisis Stabilization Unit or Hospital Emergency Room.  Major Depression and Bipolar of Thought Disorders often require medication and/or other immediate intense interventions.

 There are a variety of other Psychotherapy interventions. These include Client Centered or Rogerian, named after Carl Rogers, and is considered classic therapy. “Supportive therapy”, closely related, has been recently featured in the Psychiatric Review and found to be unusually successful.  In an antidotal story, when I was a mental health therapist for 5 years on a Crisis Unit, I asked patients daily how much help came from indirect support (verses professional). I was always given pretty much the same answer. Over 75% came from supportive therapy.  Directive or Brief therapy is short term confronting at time short and problem solving therapy. Cognitive or Cognitive Behavioral attempts to correct distorted evaluations of the world by changing “stinkin thinking”. Psychodynamic or Freudian is long term classic therapy probing the past and the unconscience. Reality and RET are other therapies used in mental health treatment.  Each of these theories has its own different theory of the origin of adult mental health disorders, time focus (here and now) treatment, and different the other.  Behavior therapy is different from cognitive in that it focuses on rewards and punishments over “distorted thoughts”.

 Obviously, current accurate information is whether intervention is warranted. One marker, flag, or clue to the need for Child or Adolescent Therapy is school grades.  Obviously if a child is doing well in school, the maladaptive behavior may be more due to a situation at home or a relationship issue. Changes in mood, sleeping, eating, or other changes of behaviors may be indicators. There are many others. For accurate  and current information about these situations and directions and treatment you may review the National Institutes on Health (there are several quick links that are applicable) website, or call them at 301-496-4000 or my office at 941-268-3685 for a brief consultation and analysis of your unique adult mental health situation.

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Mental Health Statistics: How Common Mental Disorders Are

May 10th, 2010

At any time of the year in Punta Gorda, Florida or anywhere else, there is one person in every group of five people who has a diagnosable mental disorder. This means that 1/5 of all families in the United States have family members who are experiencing developing or aggravated symptoms of impaired mental health. This translates to approximately 20% of the American society.

Mental health or the lack of it is experienced by all types of people in America- from children to elderly, from Native Americans to Hispanics, from physically healthy individuals to those who have chronic diseases.

General statistics

a. Nearly 9% of the American general population suffers from all forms of phobias.

b. 5% have major depression

c. Nearly 4 million individuals suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

d. 2 million Americans have Schizophrenia

e.Another 2 million have Bipolar Disorders

f. Nearly 2.5 million have Panic Disorders

Statistics on the Prevalence of Mental Health Disorders in Children

• It is estimated that around 7 to 12 million children have symptoms of psychological disorders.

a. ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – 5% to 10% of the children population is diagnosable with ADHD. It is the most prevalent clinical disorder among children. Half of all children with this psychiatric disorder do not receive diagnosis.

b. Manic Depression – 30% of all children aged 6 to 12 ld who have manic depression are likely to develop Bipolar Disorder, a type of disorder that has symptoms of mania or a sense of “high” on activity plus periods of depression.

c. Conduct Disorder – 10% of all American children have conduct disorder.

d. Depression – In every group of 33 children there is one who has symptoms of clinical depression

e. Learning Disorders – Almost 20% of all American children have learning disability. Half of them have diagnosable ADHD.

f. Suicide – Suicide is the fifth leading cause of death among children.

Statistics on the Prevalence of Mental Health Disorders in Young People

a. General Data – Nearly 75% of all young people who suffer from mental disorders do not get the help they need. Like in the general population, 1 in every 5 adolescent have a diagnosable psychological disorder which include minor depression, drug-dependence, Attention Deficit Disorder, Anorexia Bulimia, Hypochondriasis, Gender Identity Disorders and Eating Disorders, and more aggravated disorders.

b. Anorexia Nervosa – This disorder is more common among females than males affecting an average of 150 individuals in any given time. Thus, 1% of all female young people population is affected by anorexia nervosa and 10% of all affected individuals die due to suicide, cardiac arrest and starvation.

c. Bulimia Nervosa – One to three out of 100 people show signs and symptoms of bulimia nervosa.

d. Anxiety Disorder – 10% of the young adult population have anxiety disorders.

e. Depression – One in every eighth individuals have clinical depression. One in every five young people have emotional problems and 30% of all adolescents who were diagnosed for emotional problems are depressed.

f. Juvenile Delinquency – More than 150, 000 American teenagers are under the criminal justice system. The majority of them have more than two mental disorders. 57% of all juvenile delinquents have reported of prior hospitalization associated with their mental problems.

g. Schizophrenia – In every 1000 adolescents, there are three people who are suffering from Schizophrenia.

h. Serious Emotional Disturbances – 10% of all young adults have severe disturbances in their emotional states.

i. Suicide – For ages 15 to 24, this is the leading cause of death. There are at least 500, 000 individuals who take their own lives yearly.

Statistics on the Prevalence of Mental Health Disorders in Adults

a. Depression – Depression is the leading psychiatric disorder among elderly affecting 5% of the entire elderly population.

b. 6.5 million Adult people have severe mental disorders.

c. In every group of 100,000 people, there are at least 240 of them suffering from a type of mental illness

d. 6000 adult Americans commit suicide each year

e. Approximately 1 million old Americans suffer from organic mental disorders

f. An estimated 15% of the adult population experience dementia

g. 1 million adult Americans have severe Alzheimer’s disease

Whether you are living in sunny Punta Gorda, Florida or points unknown, it is clear that mental health disorders are problems that are not going away any time soon.

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Punta Gorda Children’s Mental Health

May 9th, 2010

Punta Gorda is no different than anywhere else. We would like to believe that we have built our environments in this kind of a way that they minimize the factors that could result to psychological and mental health problems amongst individuals. Thus, optimizing our mental wellness. But statistics tell us that the majority of our population’s mental health is largely subjected to bad environments.

Complications brought about by bad surroundings

For a lot of young children, symptoms of mental disorders are linked for the unfavorable stressors inside the setting. In the Punta Gorda, Florida alone, a single in every five youngsters suffers severe physical abuse and 1 in just about every group of five lives below the poverty line. Additionally, psychosocial structures in cities where there’s poor housing expose youngsters to violence that could detriment their psychological wellness. (You can imagine how numerous youngsters in other countries which have far lower economic status and far fewer programs for toddler protection are subjected to bad stressors.)

Both with the above stressors are considered as traumatic experiences to kids that could resurface as mental health disorders throughout adulthood.

A damaging or even a positive environment throughout childhood explains why there are adults who are a lot more most likely than not to produce mental health disorders and you will find those who aren’t affected by these at all.

For instance, children who repeatedly experienced sexual trauma or sexual abuse are most probably to develop dissociative disorders for instance multiple personality disorder. The rate of victimization within intimate relationships only reinforces the dissociative response. Also, repetitive exposure to violence or towards activities of a dysfunctional natural environment could also contribute towards improvement of severe dissociative disorders. These mental illnesses root from the child’s effort to deny the violence, abuse, or trauma they knowledge as coping mechanism so as to protect his psychological wellness. Even so, failure to entirely get more than these experiences would result towards the impairment of his mental wellness and even his social and emotional well-being.

Parental deprivations

Some researchers assumed that the large difference in number of psychological problems getting treated these days as compared to prevalence from the past century is largely contributed by dysfunctional household structures and parental deprivations. Indifference and neglect by familial figures, maternal-social deprivations, isolation and separation from parents are viewed as the root causes of psychological disorders including depressions, psychological retardation, psychomotor impairments and also the manifestations of autistic-like behaviors among youngsters.

Pathogenic Parent-Child Partnership

The traumatic interpersonal partnership between a parent or perhaps a parent-figure and a toddler is viewed as a bad atmosphere for the child’s growth and development. This relationship only means that their marriage is structured inside the manner that it damages a child’s mental health well-being. These give anxiety to certain beliefs which are psychologically unfavorable on the little one including irrational beliefs on self-blame, irrational explanations on traumatic experiences, maladaptive behaviors, unconscious guilt, shame and doubt about oneself. These beliefs are quite powerful and could lead the little one to more than generalize bad incidents.

Young children in Punta Gorda expertise all sorts of negative environments including war and violence, daily anxiety, economic problems and accelerating damaging effects of technological changes. But amongst these, the most aggravated may be the disabling romantic relationship he has with his immediate environment- his mother and father, his family members and his direct interaction to his society. Above everything else, there is usually a need to modify these negative environments so that you can produce youngsters with far better psychological health and inside the future, adults who can readily adapt towards the stressors from their environments.

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Regaining Mental Health

May 9th, 2010

As a citizen of Punta Gorda, Florida, if you have a chronic disease like heart attack or diabetes, you’ll must live every day with it. You will figure out how to adjust after each and every attack and would know the signs that there’s an acute attack budding. The identical is true with recuperation from a mind disease. You cannot expect that in the course of treatment, you are going to be a renewed person. Signs or symptoms would even now be apparent and you’ll experience points that happen to be sometimes hopeless and debilitating but still you might have to adjust through them. And with each adjustment, you’ll feel that you are starting to move forward, leaving your psychological sickness behind.

Mental health recovery is all about improvement from a bad situation to something greater. It is a continuous course of action and surely not a linear one. You’d move from square one to square two but you should always be ready to move one particular step back. You would understand newer ways to control the symptoms of the psychological sickness and would have insights on how to cope with them. There would be many disappointments and errors the results from these errors are oftentimes rewarding.

Mental health restoration is often a lifelong procedure as much as psychological sickness took years to develop occasionally even decades. Somebody could struggle for years of being controlled solely by a mental condition and will need to face a lifelong effort to get out of it. You may well achieve an existence beyond the chains of the previous mental disease symptoms but you can still have bouts with intermittent attacks of symptoms. A single crucial factor to all kinds of illnesses is early intervention. A person who presents signs of schizophrenia throughout earlier stages have a better chance of less difficult restoration with early intervention than a person who has an aggravated case. Likewise, any signs of relapse that happen to be recognized and treated early could define the barrier between going by means of the identical problem again or totally shutting all doors towards total recovery toward mental health.

On the other hand, recovery from the psychological disorder is just a single in the numerous parts with the course of action. Somebody suffering from psychological illness need to also work to restore his mental health or sense of well-being.

Several people in Punta Gorda who’ve histories of mind sickness typically resort to a life which is withdrawn from the public as a result of social stigma and discrimination associated with the mental problem. This leads to impaired sense of self-worth thus invaliding the whole idea of recuperation.

For most men and women, the hardest stage from the recuperation course of action isn’t the beginning but the end. In this stage, somebody has to reclaim everything that he has lost during the entire period he had the mind sickness plus each lost opportunity that he would have taken prior to the onset of signs and symptoms.

Sadly, reclaiming these bits of living is far harder than all the aspects of healing combined. Going back to “what could have been” takes a really long time as nicely as mending the damages caused by the mind sickness on account of really limited opportunities opened to people who have suffered poor mental health.

But this shouldn’t be. You may perhaps not be able to go back to your previous job or do the issues that you utilized to do but you could redirect your life to one thing different but equally rewarding. This has happened prior to to other people in Punta Gorda, it will happen to you.

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