Benefits of Mental Health Support Groups
Mental illnesses can be more difficult to recognize tha n physical disorders. Even the person who has a mental illness may not realize this. He may believe he’s just lazy when he’s actually too depressed to handle his daily life. He may think he’s surrounded by people who have it out for him when in fact he’s experiencing paranoia. He may be on top of the world one day and bitterly depressed the next, and assume it’s just how events in his life are affecting him. And most importantly, someone with a mental illness often feels very alone and misunderstood – sometimes because they are.
Seeking therapy
In some countries and social circles, there’s a stigma against seeking therapy. It’s seen as self-indulgent and pointless. Or people with mental illness symptoms may be advised to turn to religion, or accused of not being true to their religions if they express concern about their symptoms. In most cases, the person advising someone to avoid seeing a psychiatrist is simply misguided or uninformed. In some cases, sadly, this person is emotionally abusing the person and doesn’t want him or her to get the strength to get away from that relationship.
The simple truth is: psychologists and psychiatrists work like any other doctor, except they do the more lengthy investigative work because the disorders they’re looking for are difficult to diagnose. There are physical tests that can reveal brain chemical imbalances, but they are extremely invasive, expensive and not always reliable. Just as a doctor decides whether you have a flu or a sinus infection or a cold from talking to you, then gives you the medicine she believes will work, psychiatrists and psychologists talk to you to determine what mental illness or need for therapy you have, then treat it accordingly.
Mental Health Support Groups
Mental health support groups exist to ease the feeling of isolation many people with mental health issues suffer. In them, one meets other people experiencing the same or similar disorders. They discuss their treatment and what has worked for them (i.e., diet changes can help with some chemical imbalances, but others will only respond to medication). Despite their good intentions, people who have never coped with mental health issues cannot provide the same leve of understanding.
These groups meet periodically to discuss their cases. Most mental health support groups are dedicated to one very specific illness, since for example schizophrenic people and depressed people find themselves dealing with very different issues and concerns with both their illnesses and the treatment.
Support groups should not be seen as a replacement for treatment. They are an adjunct which can make treatment far more effective. Support groups are lead by medical professionals who know how to steer the group toward a positive outcome (without guidance, a group of depressed individuals, for example, might unintentionally make each other feel more negative).
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