Mental health articles

The early identification of mental illness Detecting the onset of a new mental illness
Often there is considerable delay before a person with mental illness is brought to you. There are three important reasons for this:
• Many mental disorders start very slowly. For example, depression and schizophrenia take weeks to develop, so that there is no real sense of a sudden worsening of health.
• Some people feel embarrassed about mental illness and try to keep the person with the illness hidden from others.
• Some families take mentally ill relatives to religious or spiritual healers because they feel the illness is the result of a curse or black magic.
Just as with physical health problems, the earlier you identify and treat mental illnesses, the better the outcome. You must be alert for the early signs of mental illness in everyone who comes to see you. At the same time, you must also educate community leaders about these signs, so that people who may not be consulting you can also be identified.
Opportunities for early identification may arise in a number of situations. For example, when someone sees you in the clinic for any health problem, you could ask, “How are things at home?
How are the others at home doing?” Remember that you need to ask since most people will not openly volunteer information because of ignorance or embarassment. These are some of the early signs of mental illness:
• unusual or odd behaviour, such as a person talking to herself or laughing for no reason;
• becoming withdrawn, losing interest in daily activities;
• a sudden change in mood, so that the person has become
unnaturally cheerful and full of energy or is spending too
much money;
• a person claiming to be possessed by evil spirits;
• a person threatening to kill herself;
• a child who is doing poorly in school;
• someone who is using increasing amounts of alcohol.
The provision of telephone hotlines as a way of reaching out
to people in distress is becoming popular in some places. These
hotlines allow people who are feeling depressed or worried to
call a trained counsellor for advice and guidance.
Relapse prevention
Unfortunately, many people with mental illnesses tend to stop their medicines too early, which often leads to relapse. You must ensure that those who are suffering from mental disorders receive and continue treatment as required. Educate the person, and his family, about the benefits of taking treatment, the time taken for some medicines to act and the possible side-effects and how these can be reduced. If someone with a severe mental disorder fails to come to the clinic for a regular review, a home visit and assessment may help prevent a relapse. If someone is insistent that she does not want any more medicines, frequent visits will help to detect any signs of relapse.

Tags: Illness, mental, mental illness