Mental illness can manifest in a range of symptoms as complex as the physical symptoms of disease and can include discomforts that can relate to both the body and our psychological nature. There have been great advances in the treatment of physical and mental problems since that period in history when ignorance about mental disease was such that patients were incarcerated in dungeons and locked away from society.
Although self-help efforts should always be first encouraged, some serious cases are not possible to correct, except by professional psychologists and psychiatrists. As one seeks for a doctor to help with matters of physical health beyond self-help, so our first search should be to find a reliable professional psychologist whom we can trust to assist with the delicate responsibility of serving as a doctor for our mind.
Remedying any mental disease, once established, is a very complex issue and one which should be approached by any therapist with great sensitivity, caution and understanding. The most successful therapists would seem to be those who are able to facilitate the restoration of natural balance by encouraging an individual’s innate capacity to identify with their own soul power and to use their inner will, to effect self transformation.
It is by assisting a patient to become independent that a therapist offers most help. Neither dependence upon a therapist, nor dependence upon drugs, is appropriate. This is a vital issue as many patients are admitted to hospitals because of drug related problems. It would seem counter productive to offer them treatment which substitutes medical drugs for hallucinatory ones. Although drugs are currently routinely administered to patients in psychiatric care, it should be only in extreme cases that such invasive methods are used and only when no other therapy is successful.
Mental disturbances can be overcome. There are many therapies on offer but do not rush into therapy without fully understanding what is involved. In the meantime, begin with self acceptance, commitment to self effort and self improvement. It can work wonders!
Sally Janssen’s wonderful book “Mental Fitness: The Complete Self-Help Guide”, offers timely solutions. Read more…
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