Don’t View Treatment As A Last Resort, See It As A First Step

You cut your finger. What do you do next? Most likely, you react, because your nervous system tells your brain to. Next, you take a brief moment to assess the damage. You see it is bleeding. Your next natural move is to find a band-aid, a tissue, or any kind of absorbing surface that will take in the blood, put pressure on the wound, and help stop the bleeding. Treating your wound is a priority. Knowing that you have a part of your body that is wounded isn’t something that you just normally ignore. Certainly, you wouldn’t consider any form of treatment, be it a bandaid or a towel, as a last resort to treating this wound. If the wound persisted to bleed profusely you wouldn’t sigh and roll your eyes that the emergency room is the last resort. Instead, you would, even disgruntledly, go to the emergency room to get the help that you need. A cut is part of your physical health. You take swift action to treat and improve your physical health because the state of your physical health directly influences your quality of life.

So does your mental health.

But what about your mental health?

You are living with persistent symptoms of a disorder that hasn’t been diagnosed. Perhaps you’ve developed an eating disorder or an addiction to drugs and alcohol. Overtime, your issues have been worsening. Like a cut whose wound begins to fester, your symptoms intensify. You have taken some measures to try and cope or “stop the bleeding”. You may have turned to maladaptive coping behaviors like abusing drugs and alcohol. You may have tried to control your problem, tried to manage it, or tried to navigate it alone. You’ve tried working out, meditating, journaling, medications, self-help books, and countless other attempts. What you haven’t tried, what you’ve seen as a “last resort” is seeking any kind of treatment- like the treatment you would receive from a team of professionals in an emergency room. These symptoms and behaviors are indications of your mental health. People are growing increasingly aware that the state of their mental health directly influences their quality of life. Yet, the same treatment measures for physical health which are considered primary are seen as a last resort for mental health. Partially this is due to a lack of awareness and education about mental health. The pervasive shame and stigma associated with mental health also contributes to an unwillingness to act. A cut in finger doesn’t have any stereotypes that come with it, but a mental health issue does, according to society.

Your mental health cannot wait. Your quality of life can improve. Treatment isn’t a last resort, it is a necessary first step toward the rest of your life.

Take the first step toward treatment today by calling O’Connor Professional Group. Our concierge style services include private consultations, treatment consultations, planning, aftercare, and more. Leave the details to the professionals. Call us today: (617) 910-3940