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Are you
suffering from
mental illness?
Living with mental illnesses such as
anxiety,
mood disorders,
and
substance abuse
can be challenging at best. Implementing a daily
prevention/treatment plan can make a crucial difference in
levels of suffering. I know, because I do live with anxiety and
depression in addition to chronic pain. It has taken me well
over a decade to really understand that to do things daily to
prevent exacerbation of the illness makes all the difference in
the world not only in pain levels, but with lower anxiety and
depressive symptoms. All of these illness can significantly
contribute to disability if unmanaged. Do you think that a
prevention plan is something you could implement? I will give
you some ideas and references and you can take it from there.
It is crucial to
work with your mental health professional, whomever they may be,
in creating a good prevention plan. Some good examples are
taking medication regularly, each day, if prescribed. Also,
seeing your counselor or therapist on a regular basis for
therapy needs to be part of your prevention plan. Doing both of
those will get you off to a great start. If you don't have a
professional you are seeing you can search this
directory. If you aren't in a
position to afford therapy please consult your local mental
health facility. Many therapists work on a sliding fee scale and
can adjust the fee based on your income.
In addition to
working with your medical physician for medication and your
therapist for counseling peer support can also be quite valuable
as part of a prevention plan. Even the government agency SAMHSA
(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
recognizes peer support in their
National Consensus for Recovery.
There are various types of peer support groups that can be quite
effective, including the one here at
Find the Light. Please take a
minute to peruse our member
testimonials.
National Drug and
Alcohol Abuse Referrals: (800) 662-HELP (4357) (English and
Espaņol)
(800) 487-4889 (TDD)
Last update:
10/27/09 |
