Are you struggling with personal or professional issues? Have you developed an addiction problem? Do you feel overwhelmed or need closure from some recent setbacks in your life? Most people who are clinically depressed, suffer from PTSD, or have co-occurring mental health issues would answer ‘yes’ to those questions. Fortunately, there are professionals who care and want to offer relief and healing at Inpatient Health Center.
Keep reading to learn more about common mental health illnesses that can be treated at an inpatient mental health center near South Bend Indiana.
1. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post-traumatic stress disorder, also called PTSD, happens to a person who lives through a traumatic experience. However, the patient has a problem letting go of certain emotions or memories. This type of thinking can affect a person’s professional and personal relationships and make it difficult to function each day.
Therefore PTSD symptoms result from the trauma the patient experienced. Whether the event happened directly or indirectly, it can have a profound impact. Examples of traumatic events include physical or sexual assault or surviving an unexpected attack or natural disaster. While some symptoms emerge soon after the event, others surface years later.
Four symptoms are common to PTSD patients.
- Nightmares and Flashbacks. Some people re-experience the trauma through nightmares or flashbacks or from reminders that lead to physical or emotional upset.
- Negative Thinking Patterns. People may experience negative alterations in their mood or thinking. For example, some people find it difficult to feel positive or develop a negative belief system about the world or themselves. Others blame others or themselves for the trauma.
- Avoiding People and Activities. In some cases, patients may avoid certain people or activities that stir memories of the trauma. They may also avoid speaking about the trauma or turn their thoughts to other things to avoid thinking about the event.
- Hyper-reacting. Patients may suffer from insomnia, quickly get angry, or easily get startled when suffering from PTSD.
If you have experienced a traumatic event and it still weighs heavily on your mind, you can receive help for the disorder by getting inpatient care at a mental health facility. Don’t go it alone. Seek the proper medical and behavioral care.
Often PTSD can lead to a drug or alcohol addiction, as people use drugs or alcohol to cope. Therefore, you can get help for both your mental health condition and find the road to recovery by enrolling at a drug treatment and mental health facility.
2. Major Depressive Disorder
Also known as major depressive disorder, depression manifests itself through extreme sadness as well as other symptoms. It is not the same as the grief experienced following a loss.
Depressed patients may experience:
- A sad and empty feeling or a sense of hopelessness
- A diminished interest in daily activities or hobbies.
- Noticeable weight gain or weight loss.
- Sleeping disorders – either oversleeping or not sleeping enough
- Restlessness or, alternatively, fatigue
- A feeling of guilt or lack of self-worth
- Troubles with focus
- Thoughts of suicide
People experience different forms of depression, so the treatment they undergo will be designed to best treat their needs.Often, medicines, such as antidepressants, are used to regulate the brain’s chemicals to provide symptomatic relief. Also, therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), is used to develop healthier thinking patterns.
3. Anxiety Related Disorders
Anxiety is another mental health condition that is treated at inpatient mental health centers. This mental health condition can take one of various forms.
Below are examples of how anxiety can affect a patient’s health.
Generalized anxiety defines a prevailing feeling of worry about everything – family, job, children, and schooling.
Panic disorder represents an anxiety disorder where the patient experiences repeated attacks of fear or panic. Some patients are too afraid to leave their home or avoid social interactions and work because of these attacks.
Social phobia covers the fear of socializing with others or being around other people.
An established phobia is the fear of something specific, such as spiders, heights, etc.
These kinds of anxiety orders are usually treated with a mix of medicines (such as anti-anxiety medications or antidepressants) along with behavioral therapy. The most effective therapy in this respect is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). By practicing CBT, a person changes how they think about things, so they react or behave more healthily.
4. Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD is a mental condition where the patient experiences major and intense mood swings. They have difficulties modifying their emotions, which impacts them personally and professionally. In some instances, their behavior may be destructive.
BPD symptoms may include:
- Self-harming behaviors, such as attempts at suicide
- Efforts to prevent imagined or real abandonment
- A distorted self-image
- Dangerous or impulsive behaviors, such as reckless driving or substance abuse
- Erratic changes in mood
- Feelings of emptiness or hopelessness
- Angry outbursts
- A feeling of disconnection – a loss of identity
While not everyone with BPD experiences the above symptoms, patients do experience many of the above symptoms over time. The symptoms usually originate in adolescence or when a person is in their early twenties. In some instances, they may first appear during childhood.
Health care practitioners may find it difficult to diagnose BPD, as it may accompany another mental illness, such as anxiety, depression, or a substance use disorder (SUD). If you do get treated for a mental health condition then, it is important to provide the doctor with all your symptoms and detail your concerns.
A Quick Review of Treatments
Most mental health conditions are treated with medications and by using behavioral modification techniques at Inpatient Health Center. The idea is to treat chemical imbalances in the brain while helping the person change his or her behaviors through a more positive thought process.
If you need to seek treatment for a mental health condition, do so right away. The sooner you make a commitment, the sooner you can make some improvements that will brighten your path in life and foster better relationships with others.