Mental Health

What is mental health?

Mental health covers all aspects of your psychological and emotional well-being — your thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. Good mental health is equally as vital as good physical health, and the two are very closely linked. But having mental health problems can be harder to accept for many people.

Common mental illnesses include:

• Depression (major depressive disorder)
• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
• Phobias and social anxiety disorder
• Bipolar disorder
• Dysthymia (persistent depressive disorder)
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
• Substance use disorder

In addition to defined psychiatric conditions like these, many people struggle with significant events in their lives. For example, experiencing grief when someone they love dies, difficulty coping with chronic pain or severe illness, getting over relationship breakdowns, and moving on from a job loss.  

What symptoms do mental health problems cause?

Mental illnesses affect how your brain works, changing your thoughts and emotions. If you have depression, you’ll likely experience intense sadness, self-loathing, and despair. If you have an anxiety disorder, the primary emotions are worry, stress, and fear.

The symptoms you develop with a mental health problem differ depending on your condition and how severe it is. Symptoms can also vary in how they affect different people. For example, some people with depression lose their appetite while others eat more. Some have insomnia (difficulty sleeping), and others develop hypersomnia (sleeping far more).

Bipolar disorder causes severe mood swings, so you continually shift from depression to mania (hyperactivity and overexcitement) and back again.

V Psychiatry’s dedicated providers get to the root of the problem instead of just treating the symptoms.

How are mental health problems treated?

V Psychiatry focuses on teaching patients about mental health and how to prevent other medical issues that may develop alongside psychological problems. For example, struggles with mental health can impact weight gain and loss, diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), fibroids in women, and many more conditions.

For most people, a combination of medication and psychotherapy (talk therapy) offers the best results for mental health disorders. At V Psychiatry, you benefit from a holistic, integrative approach that may also include lifestyle changes, stress management, and complementary therapies.

Call V Psychiatry today or book an in-person or telemedicine appointment online for outstanding mental health care delivered with compassion.