One evening, when I was just done with my day, I received a call from young man, in his late 20s. He sounded worried and hesitant.
“Ma’am, can I talk to you for 5 minutes? I really need to talk”, he requested.
Sensing worry in his voice, I really wanted to know what gets him to call me. “Yes, please. Tell me”, I said.
“Thank you so much mam”, he sounded relieved.
“Mam, I am Nakul (name changed), and I got your number from so and so. From past few weeks, I have been feeling under-confident. I don’t seem to get to concentrate on anything. I was very interested, curious person but I am no more curious. I talked about it to my friends. Few said that this is just a phase, they too had it and it will pass. But few of them told me that this could have to do with some mental health issue and advised to see a mental health professional (MHP). I seem to be fine but I am not fine too. I am really confused if I need to see any MHP. Can you please help me through this? Could this be something?”
“Could be, could not be.” I said.
“Mam……” I could sense that my answer clearly did not help him.
“See Nakul, it will be very wrong of me to tell you if this is something based on the brief information you have provided.”
“Mam, I told you about all the things I am experiencing.”
“Yes, you did. But, I will need a lot of information on each of these points before I could conclude if you have any condition and a brief telephonic conversation will not serve the purpose I am afraid.”
“So, what can we do?” Nakul.
“You can consider meeting with MHP. One meeting is usually for 45-60 minutes. You can have an elaborate discussion on what all you are experiencing and the MHP will ask you required questions to rule out or affirm if you have any condition.”
“ And who are MHPs who can help me?”
“ A psychiatrist who has M.B.B.S and M.D or D.P.M or D.N.B in psychiatry, a clinical psychologist who has M.Phil in clinical psychology and has license to practice as a Clinical Psychologist, A Psychologist who has at least master’s degree in Psychology and has undergone several hours of supervision could help you.”
“Whoa! Will I require to know their qualifications before I visit them?”
“Of course! This will only help you find a trained professional. This conversation is very necessary.”
“Oh, Okay! Thank you. You are a Clinical Psychologist, right? Do you have an M.Phil, if I may ask?”
“I am glad that you asked. Yes I do.”
“Okay! Is it okay if I visited you for consultation?”
“Sure.” I said and helped him with steps he needed to follow to make an appointment.
Like Nakul, we MHPs often come across people who are not sure if they need help. Seeking consultation or help from a MHP is not very mainstream in India. Hence, the inhibition and confusion is quite obvious and valid. However, if you notice that there is change in the way you have been thinking, feeling or behaving recently and you or people around you are concerned because of such a change, it would be wise to consider consultation with an MHP.
Here are few signs that hint the need to visit MHP. This is not all inclusive list and serves just as a guideline and does not guarantee presence or absence of mental health condition.
- You experience stress on most of the days.
- You are mostly fatigued without any justifiable medical reason.
- You feel sad on most days.
- You worry a lot than usual.
- You have difficulty with attention, concentration, decision making, planning so much so that you need to rely on other people to help you.
- The quality of your sleep is affected- you can’t sleep, or sleep a lot than usual without apparent reason.
- You experience a lot of negative thoughts that you can’t seem to control.
- You struggle in developing or maintaining relationships.
- You struggle in your workplace while dealing with people.
- You have been subjected to an adverse experience and since then face a lot of emotional turmoil that leaves you overwhelmed on most days.
- You feel angry or show impulsiveness very frequently.
- You worry too much about almost everything.
- Your alcohol, tobacco, drug use has started showing harmful effects but you cannot control it.
- You are struggling to manage excessive screen time.
- You have chronic health condition but you struggle with making required lifestyle changes and adherence to medication regime.
- You experience extreme fear about object or situation that you end-up avoiding it.
- You experience sexual difficulty or have perverted sexual interests.
- You seem to see/hear things that people around you cannot.
- You seem to believe very strongly that you are conspired against, or that people can hear or even steal your thoughts.
Remember, that MHP need to know a lot before the diagnosed a mental health condition. The discussion helps them understand what the problem is, if it is a problem at all, what might have caused it if there is a problem and what sort of intervention might be effective.
Make sure you take time out for a consultation with MHP if you have been experiencing one or more than one sign from the list above.
In upcoming blogs we will know more about mental health professionals, their scope of work and myths about mental health professionals and mental disorders.
Take care of your mental health because no health without mental health!