Rest Is Productive
How do I know when I might benefit from medical help when I am experiencing mental health issues?
Before I answer this, I will get the controversial part out there. You don’t have to agree with me, I’m just giving you my life experience.
It’s been my experience that most of us have been turned off to
medical help. I was in this category 18 years ago, as was all my family. If you are a Christian, this is very common. 18 years ago I crashed, and 4 months into it my dad called and said you’re going to the doctor. I told him there was no way. I got out voted by every family member and begrudgingly, I went. I had to have someone hold my hand I was that adverse to it. We had spent 4 months working on the spirit part of me and I was getting better but it was slow.
She put me on a few medications and within a day I started to feel better and within a few months, significantly better. Why? Because by the time I crashed I had a three part problem, body, soul, and spirit. They all have to be addressed differently.
So how do I know if I should get medical help?
1. You’ve had significant mental health issues that are changing the quality of your life and they been going on for at least several months. If it’s been your whole life I will guarantee that you have some type of body issue happening. The medication addresses the deficit your brain is having. Everyone is different and they are treated differently.
2. You may have never had a problem but all of a sudden you do. This can be a catastrophe in life or like me, this time, a major accident. You might need some help. For me this time my brain was effected by coming off and nothing was firing right. As all the physical stuff changes and you had no issues before, it’s more than likely you would be on it for a season, not a lifetime. About 50 percent of people are prescribed medication for a season.
3. You feel like you’re walking uphill in the snow both ways. Medication can level a playing field. It DOES NOT solve your problem, it balances out your brain so you can think through what the problem is. If medication solved everything we would have no mental health crisis. It’s a tool, not the final solution.
4. You are self medicating with drugs and alcohol. If you need either to function or have peace, you’re self medicating and it’s not good. Self medicating isn’t giving your brain what it needs. In fact, more often it’s doing additional harm. You’re in this position because your brain needs some help.
Finally I will leave you with this. If you get brave enough, if you have the option, go to a psychiatrist. All they do is study brains. The first thing that they do is diagnose you. This is invaluable. Wrong diagnosis, wrong meds. I have lots of people in my life that this is the main issue. Understanding your diagnosis starts to help you know what to watch for in yourself. You’ll catch a red flag way faster when you know what to look for. You also learn to be more compassionate towards yourself. Instead of you are the problem, it becomes my body has a problem. Some people have cancer, others mental health. We don’t judge for cancer and we shouldn’t for mental health. Both are body problems.
The second reason is they are much more likely to get your meds right early. Yes, there’s multiple meds and because everyone’s body chemistry is different, there’s not just one thing. Your psychiatrist knows what to look for and how to make changes better than a doctor in another field.
Yep, you could end up with not the best psychiatrist. Just like any doctor, all graduate college, not all are as talented. Find the most talented in your area.
Grace to you today. Peace over you and I pray that God heals your brain.