FAQs on Non-Medical Care

How do you handle the non-cooperation of a patient who needs professional help and/ or does not take medicines?

• Try to convince the person.

• If the person is non-cooperative, meet a mental health professional and involve other carers.

• Place information on the illness and how medicines work before the patient. Sometimes, leaving literature on the disability in places the patient can access can lead a patient to serendipitous change.

• Follow the advice given by a mental health professional.

Can mental illness be cured fully?

Depends on

• • Appropriate Treatment starting time (in the initial stage…)

  • Adherence to the treatment

  • Proactive efforts of the patient and caregivers

  • Support from family members/caregivers

  • Acceptance of and openness toward treatment and therapy for mental illness

One cannot change what is received from nature, i.e., the genetic possibility of having a mental illness. But, nurture, i.e., upbringing (by caregivers), psychosocial education to increase stress resistance, and help from cultural association (associating with social groups having openness about mental health), can certainly retrain the brain.

What is the role of counseling in treatment?

Medication helps to control symptoms. When symptoms are in control, one can participate in counseling sessions. Counseling helps people change their irrational thinking patterns to rational thinking, which is the permanent solution. Depending on the severity of mental illness, one may need to be on medication for a long duration. Counselling generally is an adjunct.

What does a counsellor or a therapist do?

When psychoses or mood instability have decreased, counseling helps. When in the state of a chemical/hormonal imbalance in the brain, the patient is preoccupied and driven by their own emotions and, therefore, unable to process inputs. When hormonal/chemical balance is restored, counseling helps replace irrational thoughts with rational thoughts. A counselor has empirical knowledge and ways to explain the irrationality of thoughts. The patient learns to replace irrational thoughts with rational thoughts. Acquiring this skill is an enduring solution for mental illness (insight development) in the long run. One cannot expect changes through counseling in a short period.

Can every mental illness be treated only with counseling, i.e., without medication?

It depends on the severity of mental illness. Mental health professionals are the people who can make authoritative decisions about the treatment course. If medication is advised, one needs to go with it.

Can mental illness be cured by changes in lifestyle, exercise, outings, etc.?

Lifestyle changes, entertainment, exercise, and outings are changes in the outer environment of the person that can help form good habits. However, its feel-good effects may last only for hours or days. To make changes in the mind, i.e., to have a durable solution, one needs to change the inner environment through rational thinking, emotional management, etc.

How do we measure the ups and downs in the patient's mental health?

One can maintain a record using three tables: intensity, frequency, and duration:

• • A table with a list of symptoms in rows and day-wise intensity (on a scale of 1 (severity low) to 10 (severity high) in the columns.

  • A table listing symptoms in rows and day-wise frequency (number of times symptoms occurred) in the columns.

  • A table with a list of symptoms in rows and the average duration in minutes in the columns. E.g., Patient cried for 5 minutes.

Can we get help from siblings? How do you handle relationships between siblings?

• If siblings do not have mental health-related problems, siblings can be good caregivers. They can become aware of new advances in the medical field, understand feelings better, and take care of a person for life if necessary.

• Parents need to educate siblings about mental health issues. Make them understand that mental illness is fate-appointed. If mental illness is treated in time, the person and caregivers together can combat it.

Who to reach out for support?

• If a visit to a doctor is due and time permits, ask a doctor

• Join a Support Group where you can meet persons who have gone through or are going through similar experiences. They will be able to guide you from their experience.

• If a support group is unavailable, you can even assemble a group of people facing similar issues so that they can help each other.

What can carers do? What power do they have?

• Carers can learn about mental health issues and the ways and resources required to resolve problems. They can make other family members aware of what to do and what one should not.

• Unconditional acceptance gives the patient a feeling of security. Accepting the patient's limitations wins over their trust and awakens insight in the long run.

• Genuine love and concern, awareness about mental health, and wise efforts are the tools for the carer to make beneficial changes happen in the patient.

How to reach out to a patient?

• Barring some periods of severe symptoms, a patient usually does not always have continuous symptoms of illness. A dialogue initiated at this time of better clarity can be fruitful.

• Articulating genuine feelings when the patient is in a receptive frame of mind helps.