As we all know, mental health can be really tricky at times. It is a sensitive topic that one shouldn’t talk about lightly. According to WHO, mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are one of the mental illnesses that are rising today. WHO stated that, among the whole population, a rough number of almost 20% is suffering from the said illness.
That is why, when you know someone in work, school, neighbor, or in society. Always refer them to a good professional that can help them. These professionals can give them professional advice and give them mental health assessments.
How can mental health professionals use assessments?
There are a lot of ways health professionals use mental health assessments. One of them is, these assessments can give your doctors or the professionals handling you a picture of the way you think. The mental health test will try to determine your emotional well being by way of questions and sometimes may include physical examinations.
The doctor’s first priority is to determine whether you are capable of having a stable mind and if there is no risk of you hurting yourself or others around you. Different assessments will be given to children as they are still young and sometimes can be really difficult to control, that is why their tests will be tailored depending on the child’s age and the stage of development he is in.
These kinds of assessments are designed to:
- Diagnose possible mental health problems such as depression, insomnia, anxiety, eating disorders, or even psychotic illnesses.
- Determine if it is either mental or physical health problems
How does mental assessment work?
Normally, mental health assessments are done by doctors. One of the common ways they do is give a combination of questions that may lead to what you are experiencing. Sometimes, when it is needed, they give you a physical examination and a couple of written questionnaires to answer.
So how does that work? The first thing a doctor does is ask you questions. Similarly like an interview of some sort.
They observe how you answer these questions and how they affect you. This way, they will get a slight overview of what you are experiencing. This is very subtle and mostly, patients won’t notice it. Questions would tackle different aspects of your personal life. Family, work, sex life, relationships, finances, or even history.
The best thing to do in these kinds of interviews is simple. Answer them honestly. Doctors, especially psychiatrists can determine if either you’re lying or not. It’s not that they can read minds, but their knowledge of what people do when they’re lying.
So if you think you’re a really good liar, then think again. And if you are not lying, this will greatly help both you and the doctor to give an accurate reading on your status.
Conclusion
Mental health problems are a great thing to discuss, and more research about them is still in need of discussions. If you know anyone or someone who is suffering from any mental health problems, try to approach them and convince them to check on professionals. You might not know, this is exactly what they need and would thank you for your deed.