WHAT IS MENTAL ILLNESS?

Mental illnesses are conditions that affect a person’s thinking, feeling, behaviour or mood. They not only affect the day to day activities of the patient but also burden the caregivers and take a significant toll on the family members.The downward spiral of chronic mental illness leave the patient dysfunctional and the caregivers helpless.

WHY MENTAL ILLNESS GOES UNTREATED FOR A LONG TIME?

The stigma associated with mental illness causes delay in seeking medical help that worsen the course of illness. We, at Aas, endeavour to spread education in our society about the importance of mental health and remove stigmas & superstitions related to mental illness.

WHAT ARE THE HURDLES IN TREATMENT?

Patient denying illness or any abnormal behaviour, their unwillingness to accept help (absence of insight);harm to self or harm to others becomes the major hurdle in treatment.

WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS OF THE FAMILY?

Lack of skills to handle such critical situations, inadequate knowledge of the nature of illness and lack of facilities in the vicinity to treat the illness are the concerns of the family.

HOW IS MENTAL ILLNESS PATIENT MANAGED?

Management of a patient with mental illness can be divided into

• Acute phase treatment
• Maintenance
• Long term management

ACUTE PHASE TREATMENT

The goal of the treatment is to prevent harm, control disturbed behaviour, suppress symptoms, effect a rapid return to the best level of functioning.
The major modality of treatment is medications, education of family members about illness and supportive care.
This is planned preferably in an inpatient setup as it requires continuous supervision.
The challenges during this phase are:

• Lack of knowledge about the illnesss
• Denial of the illness on the part of the patient
• Poor motivation

MAINTAINANCE PHASE:

The goal of the treatment is to work towards a complete functional recovery.
The major modality of the treatment is continuing medications and psychotherapy.
This phase of treatment can be planned on an outpatient basis with adequate support or in a rehabilitation centre
The challenges faced during this phase include:

• Relapse of symptoms
• Poor compliance to medications
• Poor support
• Difficulty in daily activities.

LONG TERM MANAGEMENT:

It is required in chronic conditions like:

• Chronic schizophrenia
• Long standing bipolar affective disorder
• Chronic OCD
• Psychosis
• Post head injury sequelae
• Comorbidity and dual diagnosis

The challenges faced during this phase include:

• Symptomatic management
• Monitoring side effects of long term medication
• Ensuring compliance
• Maintenance of daily routine
• Ensuring safety of patient and family members
• Psychological measures to improve functionality
• Reintegration into society

Rehabilitation services play a major role in this phase of treatment.

AT AAS WE HELP THE PATIENT BY

• Ensuring medication intake
• Using evidence based pharmacotherapy for the target symptoms
• Decreasing care givers burden
• Improving functionality
• Enhancing/encouraging the available skill set and personal strengths

PROVIDING PSYCHOLOGICAL THERAPIES LIKE

• Cognitive re-training
• Social skills training
• Behavioural therapy
• Music therapy
• Yoga
• Occupational therapy