Finding Help: Getting a Mental Health Diagnosis

You may have felt off for quite some time. Now, these symptoms are interfering with your life, school, work, and relationships. You feel as if you are slowly losing control or, worse, losing your mind.

Mental health is vital to your overall health, yet it is often one of the few things we consider asking for help. However, the earlier you identify a mental health condition, the sooner you can get the symptoms under control and lighten your load. Getting a mental health diagnosis early can make all the difference.

Why Your Mental Health Matters

Maintaining positive mental health can help you through difficult times. It is a resiliency that can keep you grounded and positive when stressful life events hit. You can bounce back quickly and move forward, achieving your goals.

Stress, sleep problems, physical illness, grief, or trauma can affect your mental health. If you hold painful events or emotions inside for too long, they can manifest into negative thoughts and behaviors. When a behavioral pattern emerges, it can interfere with your relationships, school, and career.

There used to be a stigma attached to seeking help for mental disorders, but this notion has been dispelled with evidence-backed psychological methods accepted by society. More people are interested in the connection between their brain and their actions. More people are seeking a mental health diagnosis early so that there is little negative impact on their daily lives.

How a Mental Health Diagnosis is Made

It may start slowly; you may know that something does not feel right. Perhaps you find yourself behaving in a way contrary to your character. Maybe you develop foreign thoughts or strange behaviors. For example, you may not have any allergies, but suddenly you believe that you do to the extent that you experience panic attacks when confronted with an allergen.

Perhaps you lived through a traumatic event but now have difficulty adjusting to the world around you. You feel as if your life is dominated by fear and worry. It might be your child’s mental health that you are concerned about as he is lashing out at school or is becoming withdrawn.

Mental disorders manifest themselves in various ways, and only a professional can make a diagnosis. You should seek treatment as early as possible. The physician may order or suggest:

• Bloodwork
• A physical exam
• A psychological exam
• Talk therapy

These suggestions rule out physical ailments and narrow the possible conditions before starting any treatment. It is essential to be honest with your physician and not leave out any details, as this can help the doctor classify a mental health condition.

Bloodwork. Your physician will probably order a round of lab work to check for any deficiencies or possible physical illnesses causing your symptoms. They may also check for substance abuse if you have a past of drug abuse, as this can cause mental distress.

Physical exam. Certain physical illnesses can bring about depression, anxiety, and even hallucinations. The physician may complete a workup to rule out cancers and other conditions.

Psychological exam. A psychological assessment is necessary to see how past diagnoses could create an issue. It will consider family history, as many mental health conditions are genetic. It also lets a specialist know how you manage your thoughts and feelings. The tests may be given on paper, online, or in a controlled environment to observe your emotions and behaviors.

Talk therapy. Before considering medication, the physician may recommend that you speak to a counselor, especially if your symptoms stem from stress or a traumatic event. A counselor can advise you on methods to counter or manage symptoms or determine why you are reacting outside of your normal behavior. Talk therapy is available in individual, group, and family sessions.

Common Types of Mental Disorders

There are specific classes of mental health disorders commonly diagnosed in adults and children. A licensed mental health professional must make a proper mental health diagnosis using the criteria listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Some mental disorders within a class may overlap, or your physician may diagnose you with conditions from different classes.

Anxiety Disorders

Constant and intrusive worries and fear mark anxiety disorders. This type includes panic attacks and phobias. You may be obsessively concerned about the future or what might go wrong in a situation. These fears keep you from functioning fully or engaging with others, even perhaps avoiding social situations.

Bipolar Disorders

Bipolar disorders consist of a consistent pattern of extreme highs and lows. The sufferer may spend weeks in a manic episode displaying high energy and productivity, only to plummet into a depressive state that can also last weeks or months.

Conduct Disorders

Conduct disorders appear during childhood as a child has more difficulty controlling their behavior. Impulsive behaviors and anger outbursts are common and cause problems in the child’s relationships at school and home.

Depressive Disorders

Emotions such as pervasive sadness mark depressive disorders. Depression affects millions of people each year, but may not last the same length of time, and symptoms can range from mild to severe. Seasonal Affective Disorder, Generalized Depression, and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder are examples of depressive disorders.

Dissociative Disorders

Dissociative disorders are conditions in which the patient has problems staying connected to their identity and instead seeks out ways to live and operate outside reality. They disassociate themselves from the thoughts and behaviors that are consistent with who they really are. This can be an involuntary behavior.

Eating Disorders

Anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating are eating disorders commonly diagnosed in females between the preteen and young adult years, although both men and women can exhibit an eating disorder behavior. The sufferer is at a higher risk for death if the condition is left untreated.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Neurodevelopmental disorders are typically diagnosed in childhood, including cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Learning and intellectual disabilities are included in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

There are several categories within the class of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). These include hoarding, counting, cleaning and sanitizing, and organizing. For someone dealing with OCD, intrusive and obsessive thoughts create a pattern of compulsive behaviors that can be challenging to break without professional help.

Personality Disorders

Personality disorders encompass distorted thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that interfere with the person’s life and relationships. A person with a personality disorder repeats the same destructive patterns. The person may exhibit more than one personality disorder, such as borderline personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.

Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders

Schizophrenia is one of the most well-known psychotic disorders. This class of mental disorders references a break in reality. The sufferer can no longer decipher reality from their imagination. They may experience delusions, hallucinations, distorted thoughts, memory loss, and disorganized speech.

Trauma Disorders

Post-traumatic stress disorder and reactive attachment disorder are two examples of trauma disorders. This class of mental disorders describes conditions where the person has trouble readjusting after a traumatic event. Whether childhood abuse or neglect, sudden loss, abusive relationships, natural disasters, war, or another stressful event, trauma disorders bring about intrusive thoughts, memories, and reactions that disrupt daily life.

Seeking Treatment after a Mental Health Diagnosis

If you have received a mental health diagnosis, please be aware that help is only a phone call away. Call our office today to schedule an appointment with a counselor to discuss a treatment plan. Depending on the mental condition and the severity of your symptoms, you may require talk therapy sessions, cognitive behavioral therapy, or another evidence-backed technique.

The counselor we connect you with uses proven psychological methods combined with faith-based principles. This combination is a powerful one-two punch to overcome the symptoms of a mental health disorder while strengthening your faith in Jesus Christ, the ultimate Counselor. Give us a call today.