Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Thoughts for the Season - Clients/patients

Sometimes for a patient/client the hardest thing to accept is the fact that they have a mental illness. Yet the same individual, faced with a physical illness or condition, generally accepts the diagnosis and treatment provided to them by a health service or general practitioner. What mental health workers need to accept is that it will be a difficult task, often with workers facing misplaced anger, to provide assistance to people who do not believe they have any illness.For a patient who is exposed for a considerable part of their life to what must be considered to be soul destroying events, a sense of foreboding must emerge on each occasion that their mental illness de-stabilises their life. The sense of failure and hopelessness that may emerge needs to be countered with the memory of the good things achieved when life and emotions are stable. Generally, for persons suffering from some of the psychoses or mood disorders the emotional roller coaster is even more pronounced. It can be essential that primary carers and friends of such people remain sensitive to their emotional needs and adopt a supportive and encouraging role.Perhaps the most significant issue for patients suffering from a psychotic disorder is the fact that while they may lack insight into their illness when they are unwell, there may come a point in their recovery where their insight is restored and for some, the image that they begin to have of their future life is so unpleasant and distressing that they become more at risk of self harming. To all clients/patients it would be their best present to themselves at this time of the year to recognise their emotions and feelings generally and take steps to regain their trust in others to be able to feel free to open their minds and hearts to those in whom they have confidence. Being able to express their thoughts and emotions is the greatest safety device for any person but particularly so for the person troubled by a mental illness.We are fortunate to have in the Southern Highlands a number of organisations who are providing special services to those persons with long-standing mental illnesses. Life, which can seem to be very chaotic, can be more ordered with the social programs and activities that clients/patients can attend. For access to the service providers speak with your care coordinator about gaining a referral to the community based service providers in the area. For people with more transient or short-term mental illnesses or mental disorders there are a number of self-help programs that, with concurrent use of medications and other therapies, can reduce the duration of the illness or disorder. More importantly, there is a value added effect when the person can take a significant personal role in determining their own care.

No comments:

Post a Comment