Getting Help For Mental Health Issues PDF

Getting Help for Mental Health Issues There are some steps you can take to access appropriate resources to get help with problems related to emotional health for yourself or a friend. Knowing how to tell which resources are reliable and can be trusted to give you accurate information or appropriate...

Getting Help for Mental Health Issues There are some steps you can take to access appropriate resources to get help with problems related to emotional health for yourself or a friend. Knowing how to tell which resources are reliable and can be trusted to give you accurate information or appropriate help is an important skill. Having a network of trusted people and other resources that will give you truthful and accurate information can help support you when you are dealing with stress, grief, anger and other difficult emotions. It’s very important to know where you can go for appropriate help with these different kinds of emotional health issues and problems. Thinking ahead about the resources available to you and knowing how to access them can help you get help quickly when you most need it. The first step in accessing resources is to decide if you need help. To do this you need to define the problem. Then you need to determine what will help you. Do you need more information? Do you need support? Or do you need immediate help with an emotional health crisis, such as suicide thoughts? Defining the type of help you need is a critical first step. If you’re dealing with strong emotions or stress, but aren’t in any danger of hurting yourself, or if you’re concerned for a friend, it makes sense to get more information or to seek support. If you or someone you know is showing warning signs of suicide thoughts or other mental health disorders, it’s best to get immediate help from professional resources. The second step is to choose a resource to go to for help. Your choice will depend on the type of help you need. Let’s say you’re looking for more information about emotional health issues. Where could you go to get it? If you’re looking for more information, you might go online, do some research in the school library or talk to someone who knows about or is an expert in the topic with which you need help. A resource is valid and reliable if it’s a trustworthy source. This means that it’s verified, or shown to be true, by other sources. The information it gives you should be up to date, presented in an unbiased way, and come from a recognized expert, a government agency, a medical or professional organization or other respected group. An information resource may not be reliable or accurate if it’s in the popular media—newspapers, TV or magazines—or on a website not sponsored by a government, medical or professional organization. Be careful if the information is telling you something different from most other recognized sources, or if it’s being presented in a way that’s intended to sell you a product or point of view. Visiting a website, reading a book or article, or viewing an online video from a reliable source about different emotional health topics can be helpful. But many of these sources of information will suggest that you also find a trusted, reliable person who can offer you support for dealing with strong emotions, difficult relationships or stress. They will also urge you to seek professional help and advice if you’re having suicide thoughts or showing warning signs of a mental health disorder. If you need support, you’ll often turn to friends and family first, but there are also other adults who can support you and help you figure things out. People you might turn to for support include friends, other peers, parents and family members, other caring adults such as teachers or coaches, or professional caregivers such as a counselor, clergy member, or mental health professional. Some teens might first go to a parent or other trusted adult, some might feel more comfortable talking to a friend. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. If you need immediate help for a crisis, you’ll want to turn to someone who can take swift action to keep you or a friend safe and get you professional help. There are also national and sometimes local hotlines you can call if you’re having suicide thoughts or dealing with another serious mental health disorder. After you’ve determined what kind of help you need and chosen a reliable resource, the next step is to actually ask for help. When you approach a person for help, explain what’s going on as clearly as you can. Be prepared and willing to answer questions. With the help of the resource, you can decide what you need to do, then take the next steps to get the help you need. If the first person you approach doesn’t agree to help you, find another resource and keep asking until you find help. You’ll have a chance to practice asking for help in just a few minutes. You’ve been learning about how important it is to get help for mental and emotional health problems. These problems usually don’t go away on their own. But even when a person knows they should get help it sometimes can be hard to do. These barriers may seem easy to spot when we’re looking at them from a distance. But when a person is overwhelmed, in denial, or really worried about a friend these things may not be so clear. Strong emotions, such as grief or anger, and stress can affect people’s ability to think and reason, which can keep them from taking action. Some of these emotions, such as fear or embarrassment, might make a person deny the problem or be secretive about what’s happening. Even in the grip of strong emotions, it’s important to remember and notice the warning signs that signal it’s time to get help, to allow others to help you when you need it, to not give up on someone who needs help and to know where to go and whom to ask for help. Knowing how to access resources for help will be important if you or someone you care about is having emotional health problems or showing warning signs of mental health disorders. Understanding Mental Health Disorders Health is the way your body feels and works. Being healthy means more than just not being sick. When your body is healthy, you feel good. You are able to go to school, hang out with friends, and do the things you need to do every day. A healthy mind lets you learn, play, and understand others. Mental health means having good ways to deal with your feelings and how to enjoy life, even when things are hard. Having a healthy mind and body are both very important. Everyone has good days and bad days. A bad day doesn’t mean you have a mental illness, but you can still improve your mental health. A mental health disorder is a health condition that changes a person’s thinking, moods and/or behavior in ways that cause distress or impair function. THis may be diagnosed by a mental health professional when a person’s thinking, moods or behavior are changed in ways that seriously interfere with their ability to enjoy life, relate to others, overcome challenges or make healthy choices. It’s important to realize that mental health disorders can be treated. Studies show that most people with mental health disorders can get better with treatment, and many can recover completely. Think ABout the Mental Health Stigmas… Have you ever heard unkind words used to describe someone you care about? Have you been called names because of the way you look or something else about you? Labels can hurt. They can make you feel separate from everyone else. Even if you know they are untrue, labels can make you feel bad. Sometimes people who are labeled also get bullied or treated unfairly. When people don’t understand how life is in someone else’s shoes, they can make unfair and untrue assumptions.  Labels and unfair treatment are results of what we call stigma. Stigma comes from negative and incorrect beliefs, or stereotypes, about groups of people. Fear of being left out or picked on because of who you are is a part of stigma. The effects of stigma can make you feel sad, ashamed or alone. People with mental health challenges sometimes experience stigma. They get called “crazy” or “mental” or “emo.” These labels are based on stereotypes, not on fact. You can help break down stigma by learning and sharing the truth about mental health. Sometimes people don’t seek help for mental health disorders because of some of the myths in our society surrounding these disorders. ​ Mental health disorders are more widespread than most people realize. ​ Young adults experience depression and anxiety disorders at a higher rate than the general population. ​ Mental health disorders can be treated. ​ Sometimes the negative ideas and attitudes society holds about mental health disorders can keep people from getting help. ​ Most people with mental health disorders are not violent or dangerous. ​ People with mental health disorders deserve respect and compassion. Many people don’t realize how common mental health disorders actually are. They may have formed negative opinions based on things they’ve heard from others or seen portrayed in the media. When people believe these myths they may not realize that a person with a mental health disorder deserves respect, care and treatment just as someone with a physical medical condition would. They might discriminate or make fun of people who seek help for mental health problems. People who are suffering from mental health disorders may not want to acknowledge their symptoms or get help if they accept these negative and largely untrue ideas. They may fear being made fun of, discriminated against or treated unfairly if they let others know about their condition. You might not realize it, but you probably know someone who has a mental illness. It could be a friend, family member, classmate, neighbor, or teacher. Lots of famous people have had struggles with mental health, like President Abraham Lincoln and actress Demi Lovato. People are made up of many different things. Everyone has different likes and dislikes, talents, thoughts, and bodies. A mental illness is not the only thing to know about a person. Remember that with help from friends and family, people with mental health challenges can be okay and live a full life. What would you do if your friend got sick with the flu or broke his arm? You would probably want to help him get better. What would you do if you found out your friend was having mental health challenges? Or that your friend had a family member with a mental health challenge? You would probably still want to help him feel better. People with mental health challenges need help from their friends and family just as much as if they had a broken bone or sore throat.