Mental Health is a first Priority in Public Health

An article in this morning;s news “Mental Health must be at the heart of public health” says it all. Nursing in Practice is to be commended for passing on this obvious truth. The reasons this UK article gave were, according to the following:

*People with a mental disorder smoke almost half of all tobacco consumed in the UK and account for almost half of all smoking-related deaths.

*Depression doubles the risk of developing coronary heart disease.

*People with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder die an average 20 years earlier than the general population, largely owing to physical health problems.

*People with two or more long-term physical illnesses have a seven times greater risk of depression.

*Children from the poorest households have a three-fold greater risk of mental ill health than children from the richest households.

But there is more: Consider that mental health in itself blocks all other avenues toward better health.When a person's mind is not functioning the way it should, it sabotages the rest of the body. It gives wrong directions, makes excuses, cannot see the obvious, disrupts and creates disharmony.

Where pubic health is concerned, where ever it is, here in the United States, in the UK, In China, France, Russia, Australia, South America, Canada, and actually all over the globe, it is the minds behind the effort that will decide whether mental health is an important issue, or is one to be bypassed, or considered unimportant.

Consider smoking. Who in their right mind will smokes? Looking at it from the standpoint of mental health possibly could cause some people to take another look at their reasons for smoking.

Depression is a broad term is most often it is associated with other problems but it needs to be better understood. It should be disassociated from the normal downs of every day living.

The actual mental illnesses need better definitions where the quality of life is concerned. Up to now, mental illness has been separated as a disease in itself, and has not been given its place in association with other diseases. It is possible, the body chemistry and each body's peculiar makeup, or lack of having been put together from the beginning of life, is at the heart of their causes. Who knows for sure, but it is public health's business to find out.

Where poverty is concerned, it takes it toll on bodies and minds. But by means, does that rule out those who are the decision makers and the those with fat pocket books.

Whatever, these tidbits are tough morsels to gnaw on, where public health is concerned. But gnaw on them we should.

Bipolar explored: Its ups and its downs

As I've explained in Mood Disorders: An introduction to bipolar disorders, Bipolar is a mental illness but of mood swings and of varying energy levels. The pendulum swings wide, high and then low. At much lower and more normal situations, these mirror the normal ups and downs of people in their daily lives. The difference is, however, the bi-polar victim is way out of bounds. At times, he speeds on far ahead of others, then they run out of fuel, is way down in the dumps, can't see anything but doom, can't work, and is in some much psychic pain it becomes almost unbearable.

The pain comes from the terrible guilt of having mistreated others, having spoken harshly, having failed to to complete impossible tasks, having lost their jobs, their friends, and seeing nothing but doom ahead. Once this cycle is weathered, then normalcy begins to creep. Assuming this is mild, and not too far from normal life with its problems, most manage to cope quite well. But let a full blown bipolar episode strike and there's no way to go but to let it run its coarse. Most likely hospitilazition will necessary.

Recent news items about Bipolar have taken on different facets of the disease, depression from the Palm Beach Post with the politics of mental illness; The Merced Sun Star: Bridging the Mental Illness Gap in College; the use of bipolar drugs to treat misbehavior and other unruly youth from The Fortworth Star Telegram; Salt Lake Tribunal Healing Through arts;Fair View Post with Bipolar Presentation opens Hearts and Minds; Sydney Morning Herald and Teenagers Sleep a clue to Mental Health risk, and many others.

It is this kind of opening up of discussion and input that will eventually lead to more knowledgeable treatment of the disease. Each victim, each observer, each psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, co-workers, friends, and family members that observe and share their ideas is where the next breakthroughs will come form.