What is mental illness?  Dr. Gillespie began by telling us there is actually a manual written detailing all the different types of mental illness and the corresponding symptoms, which is in it’s 5^th edition.  It is revised every few years as new types are added and other revisions are made due to advancements in the field of study and new treatments.  He stated that one way mental illness can be classified is as an illness which leads to changes in emotion, thinking, or behavior.  It is considered an illness if the change is sufficient to affect ability to function socially, in a work environment, or with family.  He relayed some staggering statistics:

 

Mental illness does not discriminate.  It occurs among all age groups, races, and socio-economic classes.  It occurs in every country in the world.

So when is it severe enough to constitute an illness?

 

When does being anxious become an anxiety disorder?  When is it dieting and when is it anorexia?  When is it prolonged grief and when is it depression?  It is very difficult, if not impossible, for the layperson to make that distinction, especially when we have an emotional involvement with the individual.  A psychiatrist is needed to help make that distinction, and to differentiate from any other medical illness the person may have.  Early diagnosis helps, no matter the finding.

 

Some of the common warning signs to look for are social withdrawal, a sudden change in friend groups, and sleep and/or appetite issues.  Treatment can take the form of psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, or neurotherapeutics.  Psychotherapy can be supportive group therapy or psychodynamic therapy, normally done one-to-one and helping the patient to become more self-aware and understanding of the past’s influence on present behavior.  These sessions can last years or a lifetime.  Psychopharmacology is the use of medications to alleviate symptoms.  Most of these medications effect the neuro-connections in the brain.  How this works in many cases is still somewhat a mystery, and the same medications have been found to be useful in multiple situations.  Neurotherapeutics consists of electro-convulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, vagus nerve stimulation, and light therapy.  Many of these treatments have evolved greatly from the form in which they were originally used and have shown to be very successful treatments for many disorders.

 

A new and growing field is telepsychiatry which involves videoconferencing with patients.  This improves access for patients and allows treatment without unnecessary travel.  It can also be more discreet than traditional therapy and can help avoid some of the stigmas associated with mental health treatment.

 

Baptist Hospital Behavioral Health Unit offers inpatient services separated into senior care, adult care, adolescent care, and child care.  They use a multi-disciplinary treatment team model to ensure both physical and mental illnesses are treated simultaneously.  Patients have daily meetings with psychiatrists and family members are involved when appropriate for treatment.  Baptist also offers an outpatient Tranquility Program, with 3-4 day a week individual or group therapy.  They can perform electro-convulsive therapy with the newest techniques, and they also offer telepsychiatry for children and adolescents.  Baptist will soon be able to offer direct admission to the Behavioral Health Unit, allowing patients to bypass the current admission process through the emergency room or regular admission.  The Baptist Hospital Behavioral Health Unit, headed by Dr. Gillespie, is committed to providing the very best mental health care available in the region.

 

At Baptist Behavioral, they’re crazy good at what they do!