The Importance of Getting Help
- An independent panel of experts called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released a new recommendation that advises adults ages 64 years or younger, including people who are pregnant and postpartum, to get screened for anxiety disorders.
- Anxiety disorders are commonly occurring mental health conditions that can include generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and phobias, according to the USPSTF.
- Screening all adults under 64 can help recognize these conditions earlier and help people get the treatment they need sooner.
- Our mental health can affect how we think, feel, and behave. Certain triggers like stress, traumatic events, or change in your physical health (like cancer) can affect mental health.
- Meditation, therapy, medication and support groups are methods available to help you cope with anxiety or other difficult feelings and experiences.
- Genetic testing has shown the ability to match people with the best medication for mental health treatment.
RELATED: Check Out SurvivorNet's Mental Health Resource Page
The recommendation, which was also published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), explains that to reach success in screening for anxiety disorders and to minimize the disparities in anxiety disorders and diseases associated with them, further evaluations are needed.
Expert Mental Health Advice
- Mental Health and Cancer — The Fight, Flight or Freeze Response
- Mental Health and Cancer: New Survey Shows Over a Third of Patients Aren’t Getting the Support They Need
- How to Handle the Emotional Toll of Caring for a Loved One: Prioritizing Your Mental Health
- Changing the Culture: Medical Professionals Shouldn’t be Ashamed to Seek Mental Health Treatment
- Mental Health: Understanding the Three Wellsprings of Vitality
“It is important that persons who screen positive are evaluated further for diagnosis and, if appropriate, are provided or referred for evidence-based care,” the USPSTF states.
The USPSTF explains further, “Anxiety disorders are commonly occurring mental health conditions. Anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, separation anxiety disorder, phobias, selective mutism, and anxiety not otherwise specified.
“Anxiety disorders are often unrecognized in primary care settings and years-long delays in treatment initiation occur. Anxiety can be a chronic condition characterized by periods of remission and recurrence. However, full recovery may occur.”
“The task force found that for the patients who are 19 to 64, what we call the general adult population, the evidence was robust on reducing their symptoms of anxiety. There was also benefit around general quality of life as well,” Dr. Michael Silverstein, the USPSTF vice chair, said in a statement.
“We were able to identify effective practices to screen the adult population for common and serious mental health disorders. The good news is that screening for depression and anxiety can identify these conditions early. When this screening is linked to quality mental health care, patients benefit.”
However, despite the benefits found in early screening, some potential harms that could arise are “false-positive screening results that lead to unnecessary referrals, the potential for overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment, labeling, and stigma.”
The new findings come after a survey conducted by the analytics and advisory company Gallup was released, revealing 29% of U.S. adults report having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lifetimeand this number is 10 percentage points higher than results from 2015.
With about 258 million adults in the U.S., this means that 75 million Americans have had depression. The poll also suggests the percentage of American adults who currently have or are being treated for depression has also increased to nearly 18%.
Mental Health: The Basics
The term mental health refers to both our emotional and psychological well-being. Our mental health can affect how we think, feel, and behave. Certain triggers like stress, traumatic events, or change in your physical health (like cancer) can affect mental health.
RELATED: Mental Health Stories of Inspiration
Problems with mood and overall mental well-being can be attributed to several factors. For some people, it's genetic, while others may be experiencing a response to some sort of stressor or past trauma.
Learning To Cope With Mental Health Struggles
“I think flexibility is really a core of how to manage it,” Dr. Samantha Boardman, a New York-based psychiatrist and author, tells SurvivorNet. “Are your coping strategies that you're using now, are they helpful in the way that they were in the past?”
Dr. Boardman suggests working to recognize any negative thoughts that may be making the process of cancer treatment more difficult, and trying to dismantle those to be more “realistically optimistic.”
RELATED: Responding to Stress: How to Cope With Complex & Changing Emotions
In order to keep your mental health in check, it's important to take notice of the signs which can be subtle that there is something affecting your mind. These signs include:
- A change in eating or sleeping habits
- Losing interest in people or usual activities
- Experiencing little or no energy
- Numb and/or hopeless feelings
- Turning to drinking or drugs more than usual
- Non-typical angry, upset, or on-edge feelings
- Yelling/fighting with loved ones
- Experiencing mood swings
- Intrusive thoughts
- Trouble getting through daily tasks
These symptoms can be wide-ranging and vary a great deal from person to person.
How to Fix Relationships When Depression Hits A Survivors Guide
However, if you are feeling unusually sad, on edge, or like you're no longer interested in activities you used to love, know that there are many treatment options available and many different healthy ways to help you cope.
Those methods could include talk therapy, support groups, lifestyle changes like physical activity or meditation, or medication like antidepressants.
The Importance of Genetic Testing
These days, however, there is a form of genetic testing that has shown the ability to match people with the best medication for mental health treatment.
Remember, there should be no shame in turning to medication for your mental health, though it can be hard to find the right one at times.
We've seen genetic testing used for treatment plans for other diseases, such as certain types of cancer, but the ability to use it to help people who are suffering from things like anxiety and depression is relatively new.
How Can Genetic Testing Help Determine the Right Form of Mental Health Treatment?
“Doing the genetic testing has absolutely transformed the landscape of psycho-pharmacology,” psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik told SurvivorNet.
“It's something that I highly recommend for anybody that is taking medication, whether they are being treated for cancer, or not … I recommend it for children who are taking medication. I recommend it for elderly people. Anybody who is taking medication, I think, can greatly benefit from genetic testing.”
Genetic testing can offer a profile of how a person is likely to respond to different types of psychiatric medications, Dr. Plutchik said.
Testing is also available to create a profile of how patients will likely respond to different sorts of pain medications, which can be really beneficial for those going through some other sort of health issue.
Genetic testing “gives me information about which medications are likely to work without having problematic side effects. It also gives information about interactions between any of the psych medications that we choose,” and other medications a patient may be taking, Dr. Plutchik explained.
The genetic test that Dr. Plutchik was discussing, Genomind, looks at multiple factors before determining which treatment is likely to have successful results and minimal side effects. The test examines certain genes that are associated with responses to medications commonly prescribed for mental health issues and then looks into the patient's ability to metabolize medication.
If you're considering going on medication for mental health treatment, consider asking your doctor if genetic testing might be helpful for you.
Other Ways To Help
Therapy can also be a way of taking care of your mental health. However, you should know you might need to shop around for the right therapist.
Ovarian cancer survivor Ni Guttenfelder previously opened up to SurvivorNet to explain how finding the right counselor allowed her to work through the complex emotions of her cancer battle.
“One of the things that my counselor has taught me from the very beginning that has helped me is the concept of acceptance,” she said.
“Acceptance is a process. It's like downloading a computer file in increments. Visualizing it in that way has really helped me.”
Cancer Survivor Stresses the Importance of Finding the Right Counselor for Support
Meditation and practicing mindfulness can also be great tools in mental health care. Dr. Deepak Chopra, acclaimed author and pioneer of the mindfulness movement, previously spoke with SurvivorNet about mindfulness.
Dr. Chopra says asking yourself who you are is the first step on the path to practicing mindfulness.
“If we can combine our actions in the world with reflective self-inquiry, love and compassion, and a state of secure, stable, ornamental, peaceful being without the addictions that humans have, then we can begin our journey of healing,” Dr. Chopra explained.
Vulnerability & Learning Acceptance
For some people, mental health struggles may manifest themselves as feelings of anger. Dr. William Breitbart, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, says that anger is a go-to response for some when they feel they have fallen short, or will fall short, of some life goal.
MORE: Dealing With Feelings Of Anger And Frustration
This anger and frustration may arise from a new challenge, a perceived failure, or just general feelings of hopelessness. Dr. Breitbart explained that one way professionals can help those dealing with these feelings is to encourage them to accept themselves the way they are only human.
“The last resort of relieving existential guilt is this act of being able to forgive yourself for being a human being that is vulnerable and susceptible to not being able to fulfill their full potential. So, it's forgiveness ultimately,” he explains.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you are struggling with your mental health, here are some questions you may consider asking your doctor to get the conversation started:
- What can I do if my emotions begin to feel overwhelming?
- Are there resources available to help connect with me a therapist or local support group?
- Are there approaches that don't involve traditional therapy?
- Should I consider medication such as antidepressants?
- What are the potential side effects should I decide to begin medication?
How Talk Therapy Can Help Patients Dealing With Grief
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
