scholarly journals Coping with mental health issues: subjective experiences of self-help and helpful contextual factors at the start of mental health treatment

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Biringer ◽  
Larry Davidson ◽  
Bengt Sundfør ◽  
Haldis Ø. Lier ◽  
Marit Borg
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S693-S693
Author(s):  
Tzung-Shiang Ou ◽  
Yi-Han Hu ◽  
Hsien-Chang Lin ◽  
Su-Wei Wong

Abstract Polysubstance use in the U.S. has been a public health concern. The prevalence of substance use among middle-aged and older adults is predicted to increase by 50% by 2020. Previous studies revealed retirement could serve as a risk factor for substance use as this population was known to be more susceptible to mental health issues. However, patterns and determinants of polysubstance use among retired population remained understudied. The purpose of this study was to investigate the patterns and determinants of polysubstance use among retired adults aged 50 and older. This study extracted 3,019 retired participants from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health study. Polysubstance use was defined as the use of two or more substances, including alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and painkiller misuse, in the past month. Weighted multinomial logistic regression model was conducted to examine the associations between utilization of mental health treatment and poly-use of substances. The findings suggested 52.0% of retired adults used at least one substance in the past month, where 17.0% used substances concurrently; 15% co-used alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana; 8.6% co-used tobacco and marijuana. Females were less likely to poly-use substances (RRR=0.37, p<.001) than males. Those who had received mental health treatment in the past year were more likely to co-use more than two substances in relative to substance non-users in the past month (RRR=1.71, p<.05). Retirement plan incorporating behavioral intervention and early detection of mental health issues are warranted to reduce polysubstance use among the retired population in the U.S.


Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Waldron ◽  
Inger Burnett-Zeigler ◽  
Victoria Wee ◽  
Yiukee Warren Ng ◽  
Linda J. Koenig ◽  
...  

Women living with HIV (WLWH) experience depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms at higher rates than their male counterparts and more often than HIV-unaffected women. These mental health issues affect not only the well-being and quality of life of WLWH, but have implications for HIV management and transmission prevention. Despite these ramifications, WLWH are under-treated for mental health concerns and they are underrepresented in the mental health treatment literature. In this review, we illustrate the unique mental health issues faced by WLWH such as a high prevalence of physical and sexual abuse histories, caregiving stress, and elevated internalized stigma as well as myriad barriers to care. We examine the feasibility and outcomes of mental health interventions that have been tested in WLWH including cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based interventions, and supportive counseling. Future research is required to address individual and systemic barriers to mental health care for WLWH.


Author(s):  
Yamam Abuzinadah ◽  
Bader Binhadyan ◽  
Nilmini Wickramasinghe

Mental health have become a very influential topic around the world due to the increase of mental health issues that have been reported through national research and surveys. Many studies have been done along the years around the barriers in regards to seeking help in deferent countries and communities. This research aims to look closely into these barriers targeting issues and potential solutions, specifically for Saudi Arabia. Recently, the use of e-mental health services have proven to be an effective method to improve is barriers to mental health treatment. However, this chapter addresses the application and suitably of e-mental health programs for Saudi Arabia mental health services. To do so, a case study of Australian e-mental health services was selected to assist with the investigations.


Author(s):  
Yamam Abuzinadah ◽  
Bader Binhadyan ◽  
Nilmini Wickramasinghe

Mental health have become a very influential topic around the world due to the increase of mental health issues that have been reported through national research and surveys. Many studies have been done along the years around the barriers in regards to seeking help in deferent countries and communities. This research aims to look closely into these barriers targeting issues and potential solutions, specifically for Saudi Arabia. Recently, the use of e-mental health services have proven to be an effective method to improve is barriers to mental health treatment. However, this chapter addresses the application and suitably of e-mental health programs for Saudi Arabia mental health services. To do so, a case study of Australian e-mental health services was selected to assist with the investigations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 09 (04) ◽  
pp. 186-192
Author(s):  
Sarah A. Healy ◽  
Tadeu A. Fantaneanu ◽  
Sharon Whiting

AbstractMental health issues become especially problematic when adolescents with epilepsy are preparing to transition from pediatric to adult care. Consistent with guidelines, a transition clinic with ongoing mental health assessment was created, providing treatment to patients scoring in the moderate severity range or higher. In order to examine the effectiveness of our epilepsy transition clinic and the impact of mental health in transition-aged adolescents, baseline and one-year follow-up data were compared in 36 participants (M = 15.82 years, 24 males). Results showed that the majority of participants had improved or comparable mental health scores at follow-up. Furthermore, participants who met threshold for mental health treatment had significantly improved mental health (t = 3.19, p = 0.015), while those who did not showed worsened mental health (t =  − 2.50, p = 0.019). Looking specifically at mental health impact, those with worsened mental health showed significantly worsened quality of life (t = 3.35, p = 0.012). Furthermore, those without mental health issues showed improved transition skills (t =  − 3.86, p = 0.002), while those with mental health issues did not. Results suggest that the transition clinic is effective in helping transition-aged adolescents with their mental health. Additionally, findings suggest that addressing these mental health issues are essential to ensuring successful transitions and the best outcomes in these patients.


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A31.2-A31
Author(s):  
Laura Rafferty ◽  
Sharon Stevelink ◽  
Neil Greenberg

Military service can place personnel at a greater risk of developing mental health issues yet both serving personnel and military veterans are reluctant to seek help for mental health issues. Delay in seeking support for mental health distress can result in reduced quality of life as well as a worse treatment prognosis. This research aims to explore the barriers and facilitators to care for the UK veteran population, identifying the relationship between these factors and help seeking behaviour.Sixty- two in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with male UK military veterans who had left the Armed Forces in the last five years and screened positive for a degree of mental health distress on self-report questionnaires covering common mental disorders (anxiety or depression), post-traumatic stress disorder or alcohol misuse. Thematic analysis was utilised to identify core themes which were developed into an illustrative journey to mental health support, outlining the key stages through which a veteran may travel on their journey to engaging in effective mental health treatment.Veterans’ decision to seek care was mainly concentrated on the perceived need for treatment. Those not in mental health treatment failed to identify problems they were having as being indicative of a ‘mental health disorder’ as they had not yet reached a crisis point where they could no longer cope. Those veterans who were in mental health treatment typically had reached a point where the severity of their condition meant that their need for treatment was highlighted regardless of their intention, either due to a crisis event or to another’s intervention.Interventions are needed to target early identification and management of mental health distress and encourage veterans to seek support before reaching a crisis event. The implications for this research to other high stress, masculine occupations will be explored within the talk.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 537-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose L. Mattos ◽  
Shaelene Ashby ◽  
Spencer C. Payne ◽  
Ian Newberry ◽  
Jeremiah Alt

Introduction Mood disorders frequently coexist with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), yet patient views of how mental health impacts their disease, and their willingness to engage in treatment is not well understood. Methods Subjects with CRS were enrolled regardless of their mental health status and completed a needs questionnaire on mental health as it related to CRS. In addition, demographic and disease-specific data were collected. Results We enrolled 55 subjects. In addition, 29.1% of them had polyps, with mean endoscopy/computed tomography (CT)/Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) scores of 3.9/9.7/41.2, respectively and 45% thought depression was common in CRS patients. In total, 78.2% were open to taking a depression screener and would be comfortable discussing mental health with their Ear Nose and Throat provider, 76.4% of patients felt that treating mental health problems could improve sinus-related quality of life (QOL), and 87.3% were open to meeting with a mental health professional or participating in a course on managing stress/anxiety/mental health issues. The multivariate regression model of whether patients felt that treating the mind would improve sinus-related QOL as predicted by age, gender, SNOT-22, CT scores, and endoscopy scores was statistically significant ( P = .027) and explained 42% of the variance in answers, but only age and gender approached statistical significance ( P = .06 and .04). Conclusions CRS patients acknowledged the high prevalence of comorbid mood disorders and were willing to discuss and be treated for mental health issues. Many patients felt that treating their mental health would improve their disease-specific QOL. These findings warrant further study of how to incorporate the management of metal health into CRS treatment algorithms.


Author(s):  
Nidhi Sinha

When students leave home to attend college, they encounter many adjustments and new experiences. Some students have difficulty coping with the challenges they experience and over time may develop mild to severe mental health issues. Mental health illness among college students is associated with long-term adverse academic outcomes, including dropout. With an exponential rise in mental health issues among university students, there is a dire need to reach out to newer technologies to help students effectively cope with academic and social challenges. Given the increased accessibility and practicality of virtual reality (VR) use in mental health, it becomes paramount to extend the utility of VR to university counselling settings including the preliminary assessment, diagnosis, and treatment strategies to guide students to effectively address any mental health challenges. There are potential implications and challenges associated with the use of VR within universities' counselling settings as well.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S335-S335
Author(s):  
Katherine Kricorian ◽  
Karin Kricorian

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with a decline in mental health status in the US, as well as reduced ability to seek mental health treatment. This study analyzed undertreatment of mental health during the pandemic to identify possible disparities and assess the need for interventions. Methods Data were collected from Wave 3 (January 6-February 15, 2021) of the US Census COVID-19 Household Pulse online survey, designed to measure the ongoing impact of the pandemic. Microdata files were downloaded from the Census website and included N=185,201 respondents. Data was collected in both English and Spanish and consisted of a representative sample of US residents. Data were analyzed using χ 2 tests, with z-tests for more granular between-group comparisons. Results When asked if they needed and received therapy due to mental health concerns, 81% of respondents did not need therapy and did not receive it. Some (2%) reported receiving therapy but needing more. However, 9% reported needing therapy but not receiving it. A similar proportion, 9%, reported having received adequate therapy from a mental health professional. Those who needed therapy but did not receive it were more likely than adequately treated respondents to express debilitating worry, anxiety, depression, and lack of interest/pleasure in doing things (all p< .05). These respondents were also more likely (vs. adequately treated respondents) to be younger, lower-income, racial/ethnic minorities, without health insurance, and food-insecure (all p< .05). Conclusion Inadequate mental health treatment is a critical challenge, especially in the wake of COVID-19; Just as many respondents reported adequate mental health treatment as did needing additional mental health treatment. Respondents reporting undertreated mental health issues in this study were more likely to be vulnerable populations, many of whom have already been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Methods to expand accessible counseling capacity in economically feasible ways to limit these disparities should be further explored. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document