At certain points in our lives, we have all been sick. We have all had difficult days because we didn’t get enough sleep or because we were distracted by some type of life event. When those situations arose, all of us were more susceptible to negative outcomes with regards to whatever situations we were dealing with because our strength and focus were diminished. What does all of this have to do with the idea and goal of mental health empowerment?
These notions relate because when we were struggling for one reason or another, those of us who had better coping skills usually handled things better than those of us who did not. There is no difference between physical and mental challenges in that those of us who have a more developed sense of mental health empowerment are generally going to be able to deal with life situations better than those who need improvement in that regard.
SoCal Empowered is an inpatient Orange County mental health facility whose team of professionals firmly believe that those we work with need to leave our treatment center with a strong sense of mental health empowerment. We’re going to explain what that is below and how it can help those who may be struggling with certain challenges.
Empowerment Defined
Dictionary.com defines empowerment as the giving or delegation of power or authority; authorization. When that term is applied to mental health, such that someone has the gift of mental health empowerment, it means that he or she has obtained a level of power over his or her mental state. That’s an important quality to have for everyone, but particularly so for people who are already struggling with mental health diseases such as depression, anxiety or anything else.
Mental Health Empowerment – The First Step
When people come to stay with us at SoCal Empowered, they are already dealing with enormous and extremely difficult mental health challenges. Just a few examples include:
There is much to be done just for folks dealing with these or any other challenges just to be able to get on top of these diseases and to learn to manage them. We offer a wide range of mental health treatment approaches because no two people are ever the same when it comes to helping them get better.
For most of the people who work with us on their mental health needs, the first step towards improvement is learning what’s happening with them so that they can identify the challenge they are facing. This is a much larger problem than many may realize, and there’s even a term for it: anosognosia. Some people may know that something is wrong but not know what it is, while others are largely unaware that anything is wrong, even though loved ones are deeply concerned.
According to the Cleveland Clinic:
Anosognosia is incredibly common with certain mental health conditions. Experts estimate that it affects between 50% and 98% of people with schizophrenia, about 40% of people with bipolar disorder, and more than 80% of people with Alzheimer’s disease. It also happens to between 10% and 18% of people who have one-sided paralysis after a stroke.
Therefore, helping our residents understand the challenges they face is an enormous first step towards the ultimate goal of mental health empowerment.
Mental Health Empowerment Described
Once we have worked with someone and taken that all-important first step, we need to keep pushing forward by employing a treatment method that works for that individual. That treatment method is individually tailored, and the goal behind it is to understand the nature of the mental health disease people face and how to cope with it not only while they are with us, but after they return to their lives.
This is where mental health empowerment becomes so vitally important: Without mental health empowerment capabilities, a person would not be able to manage themselves and their reactions to certain problems when they arise. Our goal with everyone we work with is to arm them with the skills they need to:
- Recognize when they face a situation that could create a problem
- Remain calm and rational when they encounter such a situation
- Activate their coping strategies so that they can overcome that situation successfully
Think of the old saying, “If you give a person a fish, he or she eats for a day, but if you teach that person to fish, he or she will eat for a lifetime.” That’s the essence of mental health empowerment, which is often referred to as mental health resiliency.
The Benefits of Mental Health Empowerment
When someone achieves a functional level of mental health empowerment, he or she will enjoy countless benefits. Some of those include:
- Gaining greater control over their lives
- A reduction in reliance on mental health professionals
- The ability to act on their own behalf confidently
When someone works with us at SoCal Empowered, we do everything we can to give that person the best possible chance to achieve mental health empowerment. We want that person to be able to help him or herself in the future without having to revert to professional mental health help when necessary. In other words, we want to teach those who come to stay with us to fish, so that they can enjoy the benefits of that skill for the rest of their lives. After all, there’s a reason we put the word “empowered” in our name.
Contact SoCal Empowered Today
If you are concerned about yourself or someone you love, and you think you need help with identifying or treating a condition or you want to achieve mental health empowerment, you should always feel free to contact us. We will help steer you in the proper direction, and we’ll do so with no strings attached. If we agree that a stay with us is advisable, we’ll work with your insurance company to determine benefits before you make any commitments. We want you to come to us ready to get better. Contact us today to take that very important first step.
