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When would I need mental health care?

Mental illness develops when something goes wrong with your thoughts and feelings. Common mental health conditions include:

  • Depression (major depressive disorder)
  • Anxiety disorders
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Dysthymia (persistent depressive disorder)
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
  • Schizophrenia
  • Personality disorders
  • Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Mental illness affects the way your brain works, distorting your ideas and emotions. For instance, depression triggers feelings of intense sadness, despair, and self-loathing. In contrast, with anxiety, your main feelings are worry, stress, and fear. Negative emotions might take over, so you can’t think clearly or function normally.

Why do I have mental health problems?

Many things contribute to the development of mental health conditions, including:

Genetics

If you have family members with psychiatric problems, you’re more likely to become mentally ill. This is especially true of schizophrenia.

Trauma

Traumas include everything from severe car accidents and natural disasters to assault and domestic abuse. Some traumas cause PTSD, while others develop into depression, anxiety, and OCD.

Physical health problems

Long-term diseases like multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia and severe disorders like cancer can cause mental health problems. Chronic pain often develops alongside depression.

Environment

Living in poverty, consuming an unhealthy diet, and poor housing can all increase your risk of mental illness.

Stress

Long-term stress has many harmful effects on physical and mental health.

Grief

Death, divorce, moving away from friends and family, and losing your job are common losses that cause grief.

These mental illness triggers are things many people face in their lives. However, failing to deal with the problem or process your feelings properly puts you at risk of suffering mental health problems.

What mental health care services are available?

Each kind of mental illness requires a different approach. Medication can help in many cases, for example, antidepressants for depression and anti-anxiety drugs for anxiety disorders. People with conditions like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia might need antipsychotic medications to reduce the severity of their symptoms.

All mental illnesses benefit from talk therapy. Heritage Wellness™ specializes in providing expert counseling, including individual psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), marriage and family counseling, and group therapy.

Adolescent mental health care caters to young people’s needs during a time of growth and change. Heritage Wellness™ offers culturally sensitive, compassionate adolescent mental health care for anxiety, schizophrenia, ADHD, eating disorders, and other struggles.

Call Heritage Wellness™ or book an appointment online today to benefit from high-quality mental health care.