Basically.... mental health looks different on each person!

This is a little different from my normal posts, however I think that it is important to emphasize the true importance of encouraging others to seek treatment for their mental illness. At my internship site there has been a recent death of a former patient. One of the patients was going through detox and having difficulty with that experience of a newfound sobriety. This patient was a middle aged man with a wife and children, working, and an overall productive member of society. He had recently decided to stop his substance use and begin the path to sobriety. One dilemma that quickly arose for the patient was his pain increased pain from his chronic illness. Although the patient had been suffering with this pain for years, recently his pain had worsen so much that he eventually began experiencing anxiety surrounding the spontaneous onset of his pain as well as depression from his inability to stop the pain. When I saw this patient he was very much upset about his life in general, he spoke very little and when he did he spoke negatively about his life and his circumstances. Shortly after our initial meeting at the hospital, I was informed that this patient had committed suicide Initially this incident took me by surprise because I felt that there were no warning signs that he gave to me, my supervisors, or other groups members that he was even thinking or planning on committing suicide. After a couple days of dwelling on this patient, I was still highly bothered by the actions of the patient. From my perspective this patient had everything to live for, he was sober, going to seek treatment from the doctor about his pain, and was rebuilding his relationship with his family. It was at that moment that I was reminded of the magnitude of mental health on an individual. Just like other illnesses, mental health can be severe such as bi-polar disorder or schizophrenia, or less severe such as depression or anxiety. Regardless of the case, this is a serious disease that can ultimately claim one's life if untreated. One way to ensure treatment is through discussion and information of illnesses.  Regularly talking about the signs and symptoms of mental illness not only normalizes it, but helps other to realize that they are not alone and that help is out there if they seek it!