Mental Health Care - A Daily Reality


Sustained pain or illness will have an effect on mental health. There is no maybe about this. Mind and body are inextricably intertwined and medicine is increasingly aware of this. Patients are treated as a whole and not as a collection of parts, and you too must consider yourself as a whole, with your emotional, psychological and physical well-being all equally important.


Pain psychologists, cognitive behavioural therapists, psychologists, counsellors and psychiatrists are extremely important resources that you cannot overlook. No matter what you need help with–whether it's using cognitive behavioural training to reframe your emotional reactions to pain, or seeing a counsellor to talk through your loss of self-esteem, or visiting a psychologist to work through your feelings of anger and grief–there are resources available to you.

Many health insurance programs cover (at least partially) the cost of mental health care. When this isn't an option, there will be others. There are a lot of clinics that offer subsidized or free counselling; many of them have wait lists, but they are out there and putting your name down, even if you're not sure you need help, is great insurance against being caught out later.

Just like going to the gym to keep your muscles healthy, taking care of your mental health should be an ongoing and proactive effort. And seeing a counsellor or seeking professional help for this care is just as normal and necessary as going to the doctor for any physical ailment you're not sure how to handle. Recognize this, and then internalize this, as it's vital for your long term mental health management.

Do you know who your nearest mental healthcare provider is?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Being Proactive When New Symptoms Occur

A funny thing happened to me over the holidays: I had an increase in symptoms from one of my chronic conditions. Time and experience has taught me two things: 1. Not every symptom increase is a sign of something worse, and it's always wise to stay calm and monitor yourself, objectively, for a while before reading anything into it. 2. Ignoring new or worsening symptoms in the hopes they are just 'temporary' is a slippery slope, and being proactive about nipping issues in the bud (when possible) is an important part of self-care. Clearly, balancing these two, often opposing, rules is tricky, and not something that gets much easier with practice. Having loved ones around you who can act as your 'sanity-check' and help you decide where the line between these two is can be of great help. Also helpful is a confident, trusting relationship with your doctor. Or, perhaps even more importantly, your doctor's office staff. I've spoken before about the impor...
Read more

Taming Chronic Pain Art Sneak Peek

Image
Book Art by Jules Hall Taming Chronic Pain  is available for pre-order now. This chronic pain guide has over 25 illustrations by the wonderful and talented Jules Hall, which serve to highlight important points in the text, add humour to the content, and work as shareable memes for the world of the chronically ill. We're so so excited to see how the illustrations look in the finished book, but for now let's take a sneak peek at some of these lovely drawings! From Chapter One: Know Your Pain From Chapter Five: Exercise and Pain From Chapter Two: Talking to your Doctor From Chapter Eight: Anxiety From Chapter 13: Resource Management For more glorious and insightful images, buy the book !
Read more

Distraction Tips

Suffering through an acute pain attack is hard work for anyone, regardless of their level of experience with pain and expectation of pain. Many chronic pain sufferers feel acute pain every now and then - just like everyone else - and these acute attacks can be caused by something totally unrelated to their chronic pain (like a stomach bug or a broken bone) or they can be an additional symptom of an already-known underlying problem. Regardless of the cause, acute pain happens, and it has to be gotten through. You may have meds that help - you may be given new meds that help. Or you may be waiting for the meds to kick in. Or, they may have kicked in, but you still feel pain and have to wait it out. The crucial element of acute pain is waiting . Waiting it out - you just have to find a way to pass the time until the pain subsides, either of its own accord or because of medical intervention. You have to find a way to distract yourself, and this can be very difficult if it's severe ...
Read more