It is increasingly the case that many of us experience some form of psychological or emotional problem at some point in our lives. There can be many reasons for this. Sometimes problems develop after an upsetting or stressful event, such as a bereavement or accident. At other times they may build up gradually due to pressures of work or difficulties in the family. Sometimes events from the past can affect how we feel today.
The Mental Health team delivers treatment through by providing professionals who are appropriately specialist in inpatient, outpatient, day patient and community care and treatment. The service also provides specialist outpatient and community care and treatment for children and adolescents with mental health problems, and specialist addiction services for those with drug and/or alcohol problems.
Common mental health problems include anxiety-related difficulties and symptoms of depression. There is a wide range in severity of symptoms of anxiety or depression. Some people are able to get on with their day to day lives even though they may struggle at times. For others, the problems can be more disabling, for example, feeling too anxious to go into shops to buy food or feeling so low that they spend large amounts of the day in bed.
There can be many reasons why people develop mental health problems and why they may continue. For more information about mental health problems and for resources to help with them, including classes open to everyone such as Step on Stress, see the NHS Fife website MoodCafe.
Preventing mental health problems by recognising and dealing with stress is a key part of keeping healthy. The Steps for Stress Campaign has useful information and resources to help with this.
For more information on coping with suicide, please see the After a Suicide leaflet. As well as common mental health problems, there are also some recognised mental illnesses. These include schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder. More information about mental illness can be found on the Royal College of Psychiatrists website.
