How to Deal with Mental Health Disorders

Mental Health disorders are not only intrusive on your daily life, it can also be debilitating and, in some cases, even harmful for you and the people around you. While there are many different methods available today to help the situation, it would still be good to know some techniques that can help in further easing the symptoms. 

If you’re living with a mental illness, you could use some, you need to have a certain level of awareness to immediately recognize potential triggers, so that you may avoid them. In the case of an episode, it’s understandable that you may feel helpless and overwhelmed, or sometimes even unaware. For as much as possible, however, you can employ some of the following tips to cope with the situation when it gets particularly rough. 

Deep Breathing

This technique is a very good way of grounding yourself. This means being aware of your present reality, and bringing back your focus to it. In many cases, having an episode entails feeling overwhelmed and panicked because of all the feelings overriding the system. It can get all too much, very fast, which can send you deeper down the spiral of hopelessness and helplessness. 

By taking deep breaths, however, you become attuned to the gentle rise and fall of your chest. As you zone in further, you could even hear the rhythmic beating of your heart. Sync your breath with it to feel stable, until you are relaxed. Before you know it, you would have already calmed down or at least eased the worrisome feelings. 

Activate Your Sense

Mental disorders can cause you to think about worst-case scenarios all the time, which can easily cripple your capacity to move or decide on anything. Once you enter an episode, it can be difficult to snap out of it, especially if you have very clear and specific visions, which, while are not necessarily real, may most certainly feel like it. 

It gets even more difficult because, if you can’t trust your own mind and thoughts, who or what else can you trust? In this case, let it be your five senses. As with deep breathing, activating your senses helps you become attuned to your surroundings, and thus, become grounded. 

Be clear and stay focused on your intentions. If you’re outdoors, go to a safe space and try to tune in to a particular sound. It could be the sound of cars rolling down the road, the sounds of footsteps of people around you, or even the breeze brushing past your arm. 

Concentrate on sensations they bring you, and know that this is your present. Couple that with the breathing techniques you’ve learned, and you should be able to regain control of your thoughts, feelings, and impulses. 

Acknowledge Feelings

One of the worst things you can do if you’re living with a mental illness is to be in a state of denial. You can’t work out a solution for a problem that you have not even acknowledged yet. Even if you’ve already been diagnosed, or may already be prescribed medication, you need to be able to recognize the feelings you have, and acknowledge them accordingly, so you can take the necessary steps to mitigate their effects on you. 

Mental illness, just like physical ailments, manifests with symptoms. The more you are attuned to these symptoms, the easier you can recognize and resolve them.

Take Prescribed Medication

There is a reason why you have prescribed the drugs that you’re taking. It would greatly help your condition to follow the prescribed orders of your doctor. Prescription medications can help control anxiety, improve mood to avoid depression, as well as improve your focus. 

Some medications may have some serious side-effects, though, so you should also be paying keen attention to that. If you think the side-effects are causing you more harm than the actual benefits of the medication are, advocate for yourself to your doctor and ask to revise your prescription if possible. The important thing is that you share with them this particular information so they can make a well-informed decision.

These methods, and more, can be learned through treatment programs in facilities like Villa San Miguel Detox & Wellness (https://www.vsmdetoxaustin.com/). Consult with a psychiatrist to know your options.