There's mild depression and there's anxiety that makes you feel butterflies at a job interview or on a first-date, and then there's the depression and anxiety that hang over you like a dark cloud, just waiting to rain down overwhelming sadness and a total inability to cope. If you feel like you're health and happiness are hanging in the balance, you may very well need more intense, focused help than what you're getting now. Especially if you have difficulty finding the right combination and dosage of medicine and especially if you're more sensitive to life's ups and downs, consider reaching out now, before things become worse.

1. An In-Depth Evaluation Of Your Medications And Their Effectiveness

Any medication you're prescribed for depression could take up to eight weeks to reach peak effectiveness or it may not work at all, as is the case with about 50 percent of patients. Taking more than one medicine will complicate your symptoms even further and when all of this is combined with the stress of daily life, it's no wonder you feel like the world around you is falling down It could be that you're taking too much of a medication, not enough or that some other adjustment is in order; however, you may not know this on your own. The potential side-effects of both anxiety and depression prescriptions can be difficult to process, but may also convolute the symptoms you're experiencing from stress or lack of sleep. Either way, it's a recipe for disaster if no outside intervention occurs.

In a clinical environment, your medical team can really evaluate the side-effects and other implications of the drugs you're on and hopefully, find the right combination of therapies to help you. Often, when caught up in the hustle and bustle of a stressful life, it's hard to determine what's contributing directly to symptoms and what's a consequence of life itself.

2. The Opportunity To Physically Recuperate

Life can be exhausting; however, when you're dealing with conditions like depression and anxiety, it's more of a struggle and if you've been facing difficulties lately, without having the opportunity to catch your breath physically and mentally, the consequences can be devastating. Entering a mental health hospital gives your mind and body a chance to rest, in the absence of the everyday stress that really wears you down. For many people, such a respite would be very welcome, but for those with more complicating mental health issues, it may be a necessity.

3. Intense Counseling

A few bouts of one-on-one counseling in an environment free from distractions can help you get a better idea of what's causing your problems and hopefully, solve them with more clarity than you might be able to muster on your own in the outside world. You may need a shoulder to cry on in general or a more intense form of treatment, depending on your individual circumstances. No matter what you're in need of right now, there are more ways to get it when you're within the comfort and seclusion of a mental health hospital. You shouldn't have the many obligations and time-constraints of "normal" life, nor will you have the daily pressures of getting to where you need to go and meeting the demands of work and household management.

4. Time To Think About The Positive Changes You Need To Make

When you're in the midst of a run of hectic and stressful days, it's hard to see what changes you could make to improve how you're feeling and your overall level of satisfaction with life in general. Going on like that indefinitely not only wears you down, it can wear you out completely. Give thought to what will make things better for you in the short and long-term and get input from the supportive staff around you regarding these possible changes:

• Eating better to improve your physical health.
• Sleeping well for more energy and mental clarity.
• Organizing your time so that stress isn't so rampant.
• Making healthy relationship choices that improve the quality of your life, rather than degrade it.
• Setting goals that lead to more happiness and feelings of accomplishment.
• Seeing a therapist for personal treatment on a regular basis to manage the conditions you're coping with.

If you don't pay heed to these important influences in your life, they're bound to make things more difficult for you at some point in the near future.

5. Checking Into A Mental Health Facility Now Can Help You Avoid A Life Catastrophe Later

Even if you feel like you're too busy, people in your life need you or you just can't bear the thought of being cooped up away from home for a few days, consider how dealing directly with your mental health issues can stave off a catastrophic situation later. You could face the loss of your job and deteriorating health, not to mention how personal relationships suffer when mental health is imbalanced. Think about how you feel now and whether or not things getting worse is acceptable. Chances are good that you'll realize intervening now is in everyone's best interest, especially yours.

Don't look at checking into a mental health hospital as some kind of admission of failure or weakness, as the opposite is actually true. It takes more strength and courage to recognize the need for help and actively seek it out than it does to simply ignore the problems and hope they go away on their own without major consequences. Make sure you get the help you need, sooner, rather than later. For more information, contact establishments like Park Center Inc.