If you’re seeing a behavioral health specialist for the first time, you might be wondering how they can help you. The good news is that a behavioral health specialist can help you both physically and mentally. Here’s what you need to know.
Mental Health and Physical Health Are Connected
Your mental health has a greater impact on your physical health than you might think. When you’re depressed, for example, your sleep patterns can be disrupted. Depression and other mental illnesses may also affect your eating habits. Overeating or undereating, both common symptoms associated with depression, may ultimately alter your physical health in the long. Additionally, those with panic disorders may experience rapid heart rates and panic attacks, which often are mistaken for heart attacks. For all of these reasons, it’s important for you to take your mental health as seriously as you take your physical health.
What Are My Options?
It’s crucial for you to see a behavioral health specialist when treating your mental health disorder symptoms, whether or not those symptoms are linked to your physical health as well. Different specialists will have different treatment methods; for example, psychiatrists specialize in prescribing medication. In 2020 alone, the percentage of adults seeking medication or counseling for their mental health increased from 22.4% to 25%; clearly, the hesitance surrounding treatment is diminishing.
How Can a Behavioral Health Specialist Help?
When you start working with a behavioral health specialist, it’s important to understand that your physical health and your mental health are connected. When one starts improving, it’s likely that the other will, too. A mental health professional will be able to help guide you through some of the more challenging symptoms of your mental illness so you can start experiencing a balance between your physical and mental health. It’s also possible that an antidepressant or anti-anxiety prescription could help mitigate the physical and mental symptoms of your illness.
Therapists and counselors offer therapy and behavioral modification assistance. No matter what type of treatment you seek, it’s important that you prioritize your mental health. Before you know it, your mental health problems could become physical health problems.
