Learn to Understand and Manage Your Chronic Mental Illness
Some emotional difficulties can be easily resolved with brief interventions. At the same time, other mental illnesses are more serious medical conditions that can disrupt a person’s thinking, feeling, moods, ability to relate to others or their daily functioning. Most individuals diagnosed with a serious mental illness can experience relief from their symptoms through comprehensive interventions and collaboration between a counselor, primary care physician and a psychiatrist. If you have been struggling with a chronic mental illness, talk with the counselors at Chapin & Russell Associates.
Well-Known Chronic Mental Illnesses
Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and major depressive disorder are a few of the chronic mental illnesses treated at Chapin & Russell Associates. Each disorder is considered serious, having a significant impact on a person’s ability to perform activities and daily living.
- Schizophrenia – Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that affects how individuals interpret their reality. Those with schizophrenia can experience symptoms such as hallucinations, paranoia or delusions. While this disorder can severely impact a person’s daily function, there are coping methods and medication available to manage and minimize its symptoms.
- Bipolar Disorder – Mood swings, while not uncommon, can be a possible sign of bipolar disorder. An individual with bipolar disorder may experience unusual and extreme shifts in mood. However, such shifts aren’t limited to mood and include a person’s energy levels, activity levels, concentration, and ability to function. If your mood is “up,” you might be irritable, energized, elated, etc. Conversely, if your mood is “down,” you can feel sad, tired, indifferent, and more.
- Borderline Personality Disorder – While borderline personality disorder shares similarities with bipolar disorder, borderline more directly affects an individual’s emotions and reactions to people, actions and events. Those with borderline personality disorder have reactions to “trigger events” that seem disproportionate to what’s considered a normal response. Negative reactions and emotions can lead to severe depression, anxiety, or self-harm in extreme scenarios.
- Major Depressive Disorder – Instead of feeling constant mood and emotion swings, major depressive disorder leaves individuals in a continual “down” state. Those who suffer from major depressive disorder have difficulty feeling and maintaining positive emotions. If suffering from major depressive disorder, you can experience sadness, a lack of energy, poor concentration, a reduced appetite, and more.
Treatment Options
If not appropriately addressed, chronic mental illnesses can negatively impact your relationships, self-esteem, socialization, and motivation. Thankfully, with help from Chapin & Russell’s counselors, treatment for serious mental health disorders is available. We offer different types of therapy to help educate our clients about their disorder, identify potential stressors and triggers, and learn coping mechanisms for managing symptoms. With coordination between psychiatrists and your primary care physician, medical treatment for your disorder is also available.
Talk with Our Counselors
While some chronic mental disorders may require lifelong maintenance to keep them under control, their symptoms can be managed and minimized with the proper treatment. To discover treatment options that can work best for your disorder, talk with Chapin & Russell’s counselors. Schedule an appointment today by calling 309-681-5850. We are located at 3020 W Willow Knolls Dr, Suite 2, Peoria, IL 61614. We offer telehealth and general counseling services for clients in Peoria, East Peoria, Dunlap, Washington, and communities throughout Central Illinois.
