Document 6511484

HOW TO AVOID A RELAPSE MENTAL ILLNESS
Yia Mya
TAKE MEDICATION
REGULARLY
Medication is indispensable in
treating psychosis. It is important to
know your medication regimen, its
name and its dosage. The correct
dose at the right times 1s essential to
maintain the therapeutic level of
medication within the body. Too
low a level would not give the
optimal benefit.
Sometimes, side effects from
medication may develop. It is vital
not to discontinue medication
without first consulting your doctor.
Most side effects are temporary and
can be treated easily and quickly
Stopping medication, on the other
hand, can cause a relapse.
warning signs. The key to
recognizing signs of relapse is to
look for behavioural changes that
indicate an overall worsening of
behaviour.
Identifying these early warning
signs can help prevent a relapse or
reduce its severity. If you
experience early warning signs, talk
about these symptoms to someone
close, such as a family member.
Your doctor should be notified of
these symptoms too. With further
assessment, he or she may prescribe
an increase in medication for a
period of time. This acts as a
booster to prevent a relapse. When
these symptoms subside, the
medication can be reduced to a
maintenance dosage.
BE AWARE OF EARLY SIGNS
OF RELAPSE
The early signs of relapse vary from
person. They can be subtle. A
"personalized relapse signature,"
which is a list of symptoms unique
to an individual, can be used to
signal an impending relapse. To
complete a personalized relapse
signature, a list of 55 early warning
signs is retiewed to help you
identify the experiences you had
just before you fell ill and sought
medical attention.
Your
Personalized
Relapse
Signature Card is useful when you
need to recall and improve
awareness of your particular early
Lecturer 1 Head
Mental Herlth Nursing Department
University of Nursing, Yangon
Dip. G.N., Cert. Mid., BA (Law),
C.O.T.N.(Singrporc) Cwt. C. I,
Dip. Nsg Tufor,
B.N.Se, M.N.Se. (AU, Adelaide),
Dip. M.E.
HOW TO MANAGE STRESS
Stress in life i~~inwitable.
Not all
stress is bad. A lithe stress i s
sometimes necessary to operate at
an optimal level. It may bring out
the best potential in a speaker
during a presentation, or a student
preparing for exams, It also
provi* you with the energy and
enthusiasm to be active. Without a
little stress, you may not pefform at
your best. Hence, m e stwss in life
is a g w d thing. On the ather hand,
if you're undcr too much stress.
your performance can suffer. The
key is to identify the "right" amount
of stress for you
SET REASONABLE
EXPECTATlONS
Know your limits. It is i m p o m t
not to expect too much from
yourself or others. This may also
m a n learning to accept your
strengths and weaknesses. During
the initial period of recovety, make
adjustments to your previously held
goals and expectations, and learn to
pace yourself. Not everyone
recovers at the same rate or takes
the same amount of time. It may be
more crucial in the catly stages of
recovery for you to take mall
steps. To help determine re~listic
goals, talk to a counselor, friend or
family members a b u i your
expectations.
APPRECIATE TEE ESSENCE
OF TIME
Remember, take small steps and
reward yourself For accomplishing
them. This is just as important as
achieving the goal. As the Chinese
proverb goes, "A journey of a
thousand miles begins with but a
single step."For example:
Set goals within a realistic time
frame, and work towards them with
defined steps to reduce stress
Plan what can or is to be done each
day, then make a list of the thjngs
to be done in order of priority.
Choose ct starting point after setting
a goal to further clarify your
priorities. Break down Big, overwhelming tasks into small,
manageable ones. This also makes
it easier for you to take note af
progress or developments. If a
problem is beyond your control,
and it seems nothing can be. done,
donY fight the situation. Learn to
accept it for now, until such time
changes can be made.
GET HEALTHY, BECOME
STRONG, BEAT STRESS
Eat right and get enough sleep
to h o s i your ability to deal
with hassles and crises.
Taking care of yourself
includes hygiene and grooming
Regular exercise can also help
reduce stress and increase your
sense of well-being. If you're
angry, nervous. or uget, ease
the pressure through some form
of physical activity, such as
walking, cycliw jogging,
swimminb bawling or tennis.
Physical exercise not only
reksses that uptight feeling, it
provides a healthy form of
temporary distradion from the
Stressor
-50-
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Dedicate time for exercise. Two
to three times per week is ideal.
Ask a friend to join in to help
overcome the initial difficulty
or inertia of getting started.
The body and the ~nrnd are
interconnected. When the body
feels good, the mind is better
equipped to take on challenges.
UNWIND WITH FREQUENT
LEISURE ACTIVITIES
Make time for play. Get away from
the daily routine to just relax and
have fun. Go to a movie, cycle in
the park, eat out, and go out wirh a
friend. Take a moment to think
about what you like doing, what
you can do with or without others.
Small breaks from routine can help
to reduce stress. Take proactive
steps and
schedule simple
enjoyable activities on a regular
basis. This gives you something to
look forward to and prevents stress
from building up.
STAY IN TOUCH
Continue to keep in contact with
femily and friends. initiate and plan
the activities that you can do with
them- a weekfy dinner perhaps, or
participating m an activity together.
Spend time to develop relationships
with family and friends to create a
supportive circle. Discuss with
others what kind of activities you
can undertake on your own, with
another person. or as part of a
group. Having had an illness does
not mean that you have to be
imprisoned by it.
LET OFF STEAM
Talk about your feelings when thry
occur to prevent stress from
accumulating. To let someone
know how you're feeling often
provldes tmntediate relief. Besides,
other people may have ideas about
how to deal w~tha stressor, or they
may be able to see things in a
different light. Share p;oblems wirh
someone trusted, instead of
attempting to solve problems aione.
Being independent does not mean
that you cannot depend on or talk to
anybody about your concerns.
If you're uncomfortable about
speaking to others, or there is nu
one available, keep a journal as an
outlet for emotions and as a means
of identifying the cause of stress.
PRACTlCE
RELAXATlON
TECHNIQUES
Learn and
practice specific
techniques for reducing stress.
Some examples are deep breathing
exercises, progressive muscle
relaxatton, and guided visual
imagery. These methods can be
learned from books, classes,
audiotapes, or sessions with a
trained lherapist or counsellor.
A simple and quick way to relax is
to create a personal "escapade" In
your mind. You can't always
escape, but you can momentarily
tune out the turmoil of a stressful
situation.
Imagine a quiet country scene, a
beach or lake, a secret childhood
place, or play some beautifbl music
to create a sense of peace and
tranquillity.
When you are in a situation where
you feel stress rising, take some
deep h t h s and take your time to
recover before moving on to the
next step.
USE POSITm TALK
Most people are their own worst
critics. They are harsher on
themselves than they would be if
the same thing happened to
someone else. Positive self-talk can
help you. It includes saying wpingoriented things, such as "This is a
new challenge- it's OK to m&e
mistakes. I can learn from them".
Praise yourself on a daily basis.
This can be used for small things or
things you usually consider
insignificant, or to stert the day off
with a positive affirmation.
LEARN PROBLEM-SOLVING
SKIUS
Learning problem-solving skills
requires
motivation
and
commitment. These steps help you
to define the problem accurately
and generate several possible
solutions so that you can select the
best possible option. The best
option is usually the one that best
meets your needs. This process is
e f l t i v e and if you commit to
following the steps and guidelines,
you can succeed in applying it.
BE FLEXIBLE
Try and adopt a flexible outlook to
life. A rigid view of life, people and
situations will only add to your
stress. A flexible orientation will
help you handle most kinds of
situations with an open mind, and
you will solve problems and
overcome stmore effectively.
In the words of Helen KeHer, who
was blind and deaf from infancy,
"Although the world is full of
suffering, it is also full of the
overcoming of it"
A LAST WORD OF ADVICE
It's important to remember that
having psychosis does not mean
you are doomed to a life of
hopelessoess. It just means you
have to lesm to manage your illness
better and be more atCunod to your
stress kvels or possible triggers
leading to a relapse.
REFERENCES:
Huei, C.C. & Verma, S. 2003, Delusions, Possession or Imagination? SNP
Corpomtion Ltd, Singapore. pp.62-69.