One True Friend

One True Friend
One True Friend

Monday, May 2, 2016

Mental Health is as Important as Physical Health

Wow, it's been a whole year since I have posted to this blog!  The last post was in May for Mental Health Awareness Month, too.  I need to get better at posting more, mental health is important all year long, not just for this month!

When I went to get my physical this year in January, I was pleased to find out that my doctor had started including a questionnaire about mental health.  She knows my family history with mental illness, so she went out of her way to tell me this.  She said she wasn't at all convinced that another paper to fill out was going to help the patient, just cause more paperwork.  She then told me how two of her patients, who she never would have suspected would be depressed, filled out the form saying they had symptoms of depression.  She is a firm believer in using this questionnaire now!

Why do we look at our mental health so differently than our physical health?  We need both to survive and be happy.  One affects the other.  If doctors everywhere connected the dots and could treat both as equal parts to a healthy patient, I think patients would do the same!

We need to take mental health seriously in this country and really revamp the system.  So many people suffer needlessly because they are to afraid to seek help or don't even realize the problem.  If your doctor doesn't give you a mental evaluation as well as a physical one, please speak out!  It can open up conversations that might never have otherwise been started.  I hope soon we can all simply understand and thrive from the benefit of treating these two entities together and know that is what makes us truly a whole, healthy human being!

                                                            A Forest of Her Making
                                                                  16 x 16 acrylic


1 comment:

  1. Of course, we all need to take mental health seriously and really revamp the system. It's valuable! Read more at http://bigessaywriter.com/blog/impact-of-exercises-on-your-physical-and-mental-health and see how exercises impact on our physical and mental health!

    ReplyDelete

Though I do review comments before posting, I want this to be a place you can freely share your thoughts and feelings. I'll get to your comments asap, thanks!