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Mental Health Management

Mental health management is a key part of your care plan when dealing with chronic pain and the ensuring you achieve the best quality of life available.

Mental health is now recognised as a contributor to how badly pain can effect you.Ā  Following a good management program will assist you in coping with bad days along with the good.

Mental health is more than just talking about mental health conditions, like anxiety or depression.

Research shows that good mental health is linked to:

  • improved learning
  • creativity
  • higher levels of productivity
  • better social relationships
  • good physical health
  • increased life expectancy

Beyond Blue have developed a tool called

The mental health continuum

It can be hard to talk about mental health. Maybe your family and friends feel uncomfortable talking about it. Maybe you don’t know where to start or how it relates to you.

We’ve developed the mental health continuum to help you talk about social and emotional wellbeing. It will give you the words to describe how you’re feeling, and to ask how others are feeling. It can also help you decide what steps to take to look after your mental health right now.

Review steps here

Make sure you sign up forĀ  a Beyond Blue newsletters so you can keep upto date with information, ideas, research and most importantly help when you need it.

/https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

(World Health Organisation)

Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in

 

 

 

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Mental Health and Trigeminal Neuralgia

The Mental Health of sufferers with Trigeminal Neuralgia and that of their carer or support network is as important as their medical health.

ā€œMental health is about wellness rather than illnessā€

Sufferers of Trigeminal Neuralgia often refer to their condition as ā€œhaving a flare upā€, and ā€œnot having a flare upā€.

For people unfamiliar with the condition, the statement that a sufferer is ā€œnot having a flare upā€, would be seen as a very positive thing. What they may not know is that the pain may have been controlled on that day by medication or surgical intervention. In addition, what the statement does not reveal is the deep anxiety that at any moment the pain could be back. Everyday, as a sufferer goes about the business of living, s/he can’t totally relax and enjoy the moment because the fear of striking back is forever there. That fear is something like being a deer in the headlights of an oncoming truck, becoming stuck and not able to move out of the way

Our Association is extremely fortunate that we have dedicated volunteers who run Support Groups around the country. All of our volunteers suffer from Trigeminal Neuralgia. Some have had surgical intervention but that does not mean they have been cured. Trigeminal Neuralgia pain can come back….and that is a huge mental burden to carry around.

Mental Health or Mental Wellness is now recognised as a key contributor to how anyone with a chronic or acute condition copes and improves quality of life. But how do you get onto the path of supporting mental health, especially when in pain, feeling isolated, depressed, anxious and calm thinking is impossible?

As an Association we have on our website information about what to do when a sufferer presents to the Emergency Department of a Hospital, where a qualified Medical practitioner will take over the care. A sufferer may also need to consider the Emergency Department for Mental Health and find a Counsellor.

While TNAA is not funded for Mental Health purposes, in Australia we are extremely fortunate to have a national organisation funded by State and Federal Government called Beyond Blue who have trained counsellors on hand to help in the time of need. They assist callers to improve their quality of life and provide tips on how to move forward

When sufferers are in pain it is not easy to think clearly, and sometimes talking is impossible. By adding a link to Beyond Blue in your browser, mobile phone, or address book, the organisation can be easily accessed. When a sufferer is not in pain that is the time to get to know how Beyond Blue can be of assistance.

Why not create an account and get information sent directly to you?

To contact Beyond Blue Phone 1300 22 4636,

click on this link to read the articleĀ  What is mental health – Beyond Blue

Beyond Blue – Chronic physical illness, anxiety and depression fact sheet

395015_1117_BL0124_v2_FA (beyondblue.org.au

Complete the checklist and receive recommendations

Anxiety and depression checklist (K10 test) – Beyond Blue