So most people know me as a pretty open minded person
And today I will be exploring with you several types of treatments broken down into medical, alternative and religious help methods
I will be sharing some stuff (not too in depth) which will hopefully give you some insights about each different method and some pros and cons about each in terms of how it can help in terms of mental health issues like anxiety, depression, phobias, and in terms of behavioural issues like procrastination, or other similar issues
Well actually if we go into everything from mental health issues to addictions, from relationship to money issues, we will never get started hahaaha!
So let’s go into the first one!
1. Medical treatments
For medical treatments, we have medical, psychological, psychiatric, counselling etc generally in a hospital or a clinic and the patient is seen by a doctor, psychiatrist or psychologist
Now one of the biggest questions you might have for this part is what’s the difference between a psychiatrist, a psychologist and a counsellor
Generally speaking, a psychiatrist focus more on diagnosing of medical conditions (mainly under mental health, while a general doctor or specialist focus on the diagnosis of medical conditions for physical health) and a psychiatrist will also be the one providing a prescription for medication
On the other hand, a psychologist mainly focus on providing psychotherapy treatment and using behavioural or cognitive behavioural intervention to help their patients with mental or emotional issues (so they generally do not prescribe medication)
Lastly, a counsellor is also similar to a psychologist in aspects of providing similar treatment method of psychotherapy or behavioural intervention, however they may not study too deeply into the different mental health disorders or aspects as compared to a psychologist (in fact a counsellor is sufficient for a master level degree while a psychologist requires a doctoral level degree)
The job scope of a psychologist and a counsellor can be easily mixed up, especially when the names are also used interchangeably
If you are looking for a formal diagnosis to update National Service, school or work, then a psychiatrist is your best option, and from there, you will be recommended medical or counselling based on your diagnosis
Although one possible issue here is that with a diagnosis, there may be a stigma with regards to finding work
One thing I will highlight though, is that fees for conventional mental health treatment is rising, with up to $380 per month with subsidies, and up to $990 per month without subsidies
You can read the above article link for more information about it
While the above is the conventional medical treatment, there is also other forms of medical treatment
Some people might recommend or think Traditional Chinese Medicine or even Traditional Indian Medicine can be useful for mental health issues
Personally I have my doubts but I shall include them here anyway
Generally speaking, such traditional medicine is more to balance the body’s constitution because they believe sickness and disease come from an imbalanced body constitution
While I can understand from a physical health standpoint, i do have my reservations for mental health issues
So please do your research and read up before considering anything in this article
2. Alternative help
For alternative help, there are many different ways to do it
This is partly because the world of metaphysics is vast
Energy healing such as reiki, quantum touch etc is a type of healing that uses energy and/or symbols
They may or may not put their hands on you to use energy to heal you, and you may or may not feel it too
The understanding here is that symbols contain energy, and because the energy in you is blocked, you get issues, hence, they aim to unblock your energy and heal you using symbols or energy
Psychic healers may use psychic ways to heal you, or combine with energy too
They should first be able to define exactly what your problems are, since they are psychic to some extent, although some may have psychic healing without psychic reading abilities
Fortune tellers which include the topics of astrology, bazi, numerology are also another category of healers that some people might go to
This is when the people want to know what is happening that cause them to have such issues and ask for answers although whether the practitioner is able to first give the answer, and offer a solution to solve their issues is dependent on their skill
Divination tools such as tarot cards, angel cards, oracle cards, is another source where some people might turn to in order to get answers to their questions, however similar to fortune tellers, whether they are able to get a solution to solve their issues or not, is dependent on the practitioners
Fortune tellers and divination tools are good methods when you just want to ask some questions and know the answers, and while it’s useful for general issues, it does not necessary mean you can get the help required to resolve your mental health issues
An exorcism will be sought by people who believe their or their loved ones’ mental health issues is brought about by a ghost or spirit
The idea here is that when someone suddenly falls into a low state or mood, this is because of some influence by a spirit or a ghost
Similarly, you can find a fengshui master if you believe your house fengshui is low and thus, affecting your mental health
The fengshui master will check your house and recommend remedies to change or increase the energy of your house
Coaches are another group of people who people might find, although I can understand when a coach might be useful for relationship or business, whether they can help in mental help issues or not is something I’m curious about
Personally, I think it depends on their training too, so please look for their certifications
Hypnosis is in the grey area of science and metaphysics where the psychologists will say hypnosis is pseudo science and the spiritual practitioners will say hypnosis is science
In the category of alternative help, hypnosis is well known to be useful to help in mental health issues
And within hypnosis, there is the traditional modal and the modern style of hypnosis, so to if you want to understand deeper the differences, please read this article here
If you do want to seek out alternatives, please do your research as well, so ensure the practitioners you found are good, as well as whether the modality can really help with your issue
Do not be afraid to ask for a simple consult first so you can meet your practitioner and feel comfortable with him or her
3. Religious help
Nowadays, many religious places do offer free counselling or sharing sessions where you can meet someone and share in private
This can help in you feeling better, but it may not necessarily mean that you will resolve your issues completely
Regardless of which religion, the key is love
And if you love yourself, you wouldn’t want to be hurt anymore
Hence, praying to God (whichever God you believe in) to help you resolve your issues and pull through might help
The other is that religious leaders will pray for you or pray over you
You can also get your friends to pray for you
4. Self help
This is another way to solve your mental health issues too
Whether it is by reading books, or reading online articles, or even to attend courses to learn the skills to help yourself (whether those courses are on psychology, alternatives, or religion)
In conclusion, I will share that we have only 2 currencies in this world
Time Versus Money
If you have no money, you have to spend time, no matter how long it takes
If you have no time, you have to spend money, no matter how much it is
And with that, I hope you have a better understanding of the different methods of help
Ultimately, you got t do your own research and pick what is most comfortable to you
