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Can you live with mental illness without medication?
Medication works, and research consistently proves that therapy combined with medication is the most effective treatment for mental illness. It is sometimes possible to treat mental illness without medication, but it’s rarely the best option. Depression is among the most treatable of mental disorders. Between 80% and 90% percent of people with depression eventually respond well to treatment. Psychotherapy is the therapeutic treatment of mental illness provided by a trained mental health professional. Psychotherapy explores thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and seeks to improve an individual’s well-being. Psychotherapy paired with medication is the most effective way to promote recovery. In fact, therapy can be harmful, with research showing that, on average, approximately 10 per cent of clients actually get worse after starting therapy. Yet belief in the innocuousness of psychotherapy remains persistent and prevalent. Counseling can be more goal oriented at its core. It is best suited for patients who want to address an immediate problem or specific challenges, like improving their relationships, overcoming addiction, or coping with grief. Therapy tends to have a greater emphasis on exploring the root of the problem. Therapy offers an opportunity to sort through your problems with another person. Sometimes, just talking about the things that are bothering you can help you to feel less burdened or overwhelmed. Talking to a therapist gives you an opportunity to open up to someone in a safe and confidential environment.
Can I cure myself of mental illness?
In most cases, a mental illness won’t get better if you try to treat it on your own without professional care. But you can do some things for yourself that will build on your treatment plan: Stick to your treatment plan. Don’t skip therapy sessions. You have specific rights when disclosing your diagnosis as a client receiving therapy. For example, it’s your right to ask your therapist to tell you if they believe you have a mental health condition. If you want a diagnosis, you can ask your therapist upfront. The outward signs of a mental illness are often behavioral. A person may be extremely quiet or withdrawn. Conversely, they may burst into tears, have great anxiety or have outbursts of anger. Even after treatment has started, someindividuals with a mental illness can exhibit anti-social behaviors. Stressful events such as losing a job, relationship issues, bereavement or money issues can lead to mental illness. But there can be other factors, like a family history of mental illness. Most people who live with mental illness have mild to moderate symptoms and conditions such as anxiety disorder or depression.
Can you treat your own mental illness?
Treating a mental illness is not something to attempt on your own. Like many health conditions, help for mental illness takes professional diagnosis and treatment. A mental illness that interferes with a person’s life and ability to function is called a serious mental illness (SMI). With the right treatment, people with SMI can live productive and enjoyable lives. Depression creates a sensation of isolation as if you are lost in the wilderness with no direction. The final stage is acceptance, which means you have finally made peace with the reality of your mental illness. We have a large community receiving support across anxiety, depression, eating disorders and those battling self harm. So get on TalkLife and talk to other people going through the exact same struggles you are.
Can mental illness go away?
There’s no cure for mental illness, but there are lots of effective treatments. People with mental illnesses can recover and live long and healthy lives. Anxiety disorder is the most treatable of all mental illnesses. Anxiety disorder produces unrealistic fears, excessive worry, flashbacks from past trauma leading to easy startling, changes in sleep patterns, intense tension and ritualistic behavior. 50% of mental illness begins by age 14, and 3/4 begin by age 24. The vast majority of mental disorders diagnosed in adulthood show a peak age of onset before 18, and other disorders carry across from childhood/adolescence well into adulthood. About 75 percent of people who enter psychotherapy show some benefit from it. Psychotherapy has been shown to improve emotions and behaviors and to be linked with positive changes in the brain and body.