Most people have days of ifs, ands, and buts. Some days are happy ones and others are less joyful, perhaps sad. In these days of economic concerns, there are many more hours filled with angst than with joy. Changes in our physical health, such as with a cancer diagnosis, can lead to depression.

Everyone feels worried from time to time. A true mental disorder makes it difficult for the person to complete day-to-day routines. There are feelings of anxiety, fear, and hopelessness that are fundamentals of mental illness. There are many mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia to name but a few of the mental health issues.

A general guideline has been set that if an individual has five or more days of some of the following symptoms, these may be signs of the beginning of negative mental health and medical help should be sought. These symptoms include unexplained crying spells, irritability, anger, anxiety, pessimism, lack of energy, problems concentrating, unexplained aches and pains, and recurring thoughts of death and suicide.

One common mental disease is bipolar disease. There are sudden changes in mood, thought, energy, and behavior. These moods and changes in mood can last for hours, weeks, or months. Some of the symptoms of this mental illness include elevated mood, exaggerated optimism and self-confidence, flights of ideas, impulsiveness, poor judgment, being easily distracted, and a lack of concern for consequences. Each of the mental illnesses has specific characteristics. These should be brought to the attention of the doctor so that treatment can begin.

Our service men and women go off to war to help protect us. Their families are left at home to worry and wonder every day. However, getting through the actual physical war is only half the battle. Have you every wondered what the solders go through after their tour is over?

There are reports out there that say the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are causing more mental heath problems than any war before. Mental heath covers a lot of issues and can sometimes be very vague. Stress is a big factor in anyone’s life, but for solders and their families, it factors into everything they do. Solders have to watch over themselves all day, every day and their families worry constantly. When the solders come home, the real work has just begun and that is stressful in itself. If the soldier brings part of the war back with them, then it is that much harder to start the healing process.

The mental issues that a lot of solders and their families face are depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. They can last from months to years and even decades. However, the military has help to offer the soldiers and their families. Most are taught to be strong and will not ask for help. Instead, they will suffer and act like nothing is wrong. This will impact everything that they do, from their family life to their work life. Some get hooked on drugs and others get hooked on alcohol. Either way, they need help even if they don’t want it.

Mental illness ranks number one in causing disability in the United States. There is a direct link between high-stress jobs and mental illnesses. The focus of most businesses is the bottom-line and it doesn’t matter how much stress the employee is under as long as they produce the desired end result. Professor Pfeffer of Stanford Business School states that companies should fix the problem instead of creating the anxiety and depression caused by stress in the workplace. By age 32, 14% of women and 10% of men have experienced anxiety and/or depression. Stress, in turn, causes high absenteeism, staff turnover, disciplinary problems, unsafe working practices, poor performance, conflicts between co-workers, and even suicide. The total cost of mental illness in the workplace is estimated at approximately 3% of the GNP in lost revenue.

In Israel, there are legal ramifications for the actions of the employers causing psychological illnesses. It falls under the Workers’ Compensation laws. Workers are compensated for physical injuries related to work. The Israeli government broadened the interpretation of the law to include mental injuries as work-related injuries. However, a “purely psychological” case requires that there be proof, which means that there was a sudden, unexpected, severe event which was work-related before it is compensated. This is also the usual proof required in the United States for Workers Compensation Benefits.

Underway in the United States is a movement among employers to address workplace mental illnesses. The Partnership for Workplace Mental Health, in conjunction with the American Psychiatric Association, is developing methods of helping preserve function and enhance stability, allowing the employee to return to work. Returning workers will help the bottom-line by being more productive and focused on the work at hand.

It is very important to have good mental health in the workplace. Declining mental health could have a negative impact on your job and the people around you. One common mental health problem is depression. Depression causes serious declines in attendance at the workplace. People that are depressed can not perform at a hundred percent because they are too busy worrying and focusing on what is bothering them, instead of performing their normal duties. A person could be depressed about a family issue or something that has been traumatic in their life. An example of this would be a loss of a loved one.

They key to good mental health is to first recognize the problem. Afterward, you want to learn how to cope with the problem and find ways to relieve any anxiety the problem is causing. For instance, if you are having sleepless nights and your appetite has changed drastically, then there may be a problem. A very serious sign of a problem would be thoughts of suicide or death. If you are faced with this, professional help may be an option.

There are several ways to help live a healthy mental lifestyle. If you are a person that needs social interaction, then a support group may be a good option to try. If you have serious mental health problems, then medication may be another option. On a less severe basis, just talking to a friend or loved one about your problem may help.

Co-occurring disorders, also known as dual diagnosis, is drug addiction in conjunction with an emotional or psychiatric illness. Both disorders are complicated on their own, but with both, there are social, spiritual, physical, and psychological impacts. Substance abuse typically occurs with severe mental disorders like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, although dual diagnosis can occur with any mental illness.

Integrated treatment is the best type of treatment for co-occurring disorders. The patient receives treatment for substance abuse and the mental illness at the same to try to avoid confusion about what they are being treated for. With children, the treatment is a little different, in that it needs to be customized based on the child’s developmental stage.

It has been determined that almost half of the youths that are being treated for co-occurring disorder are receiving help from a mental health service. Most of the youths diagnosed with co-occurring disorder are usually in jail, going untreated.

There can be recovery for co-occurring disorders, but it is a long term treatment. The hardest part of all is knowing or learning that co-occurring disorders exist. What makes co-occurring disorders hard to determine? Usually, an individual will begin with a mental illness which is treated by medication that ends up masking what is really wrong with the person.

There are several types of treatment for co-occurring disorders. For inpatient treatment, there is medical detoxification, which is usually a 3-5 day treatment plan; long term residential programs, which can be a few months or as long as a year; and a dual diagnosis treatment center which is tailored to the patient and provides a solution to both illnesses. There are several outpatient programs, such as partial hospitalization, counseling, intensive case management, and intensive outpatient management.