Prevention of Mental Illness

Prevention cannot happen without knowledge of the subject.

You have all heard and read advice about how to maintain mental health. However, (not all of us are able to follow the advice and) even if we do, it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll never have mental health issues. It is like saying that if you always use mosquito repellent, you’ll never get dengue. There is always a possibility.

In such a case, knowing the early symptoms of any disease can help in seeking timely treatment and preventing long term disabilities.

Here I will talk of secondary prevention, that is, early diagnosis and treatment.

Diagnosis (what disease/disorder do I have?), that is, identification of nature of an illness, requires examination of the symptoms. Hence, the very first step in secondary prevention is being aware of the symptoms of mental illnesses.

Just like diseases of the body, the brain can go through various malfunctions. Each of these malfunctions will have a different set of symptoms which will cause discomfort to the person experiencing it.

Some of the symptoms common for various psychiatric disorders are-

- Change in sleep pattern

- Change in eating habits or appetite

- Change in mood- feeling depressed, anxious or nervous most of the time

- Increased anger outbursts or irritability

- Increased use of alcohol, tobacco, smoking or other addictive behaviours

- Frequent aches and pains- eg. body aches, headaches, stomach pain

- Lack of or excess energy- eg. feeling tired, moving or speaking less or more than usual

- Suddenly feeling fear or panic

- Not being able to concentrate or remember things

- Dizziness, fainting spells

This is not a comprehensive list. Rather, it is meant as a guide to acknowledge that mental illnesses can present with a wide variety of symptoms.

Some of these can occur in the initial phase of any mental illness while others emerge later during the course. The earlier these symptoms are noticed and reported to a psychiatrist, the sooner the treatment can begin.

Why is early treatment important?

- Helps you feel better sooner

- Less personal relationships and career related losses

- Shorter duration of treatment

- Both psychotherapy and medications can be utilised

- Both therapy and medicines give better response in early phase of the illness

- Less brain function deterioration