Role of social work on mental health

Mental health problems have not been accorded the amount of importance they demand since they are considered not to be life threatening in the immediate sense. However, significant amount of work has been put on research about the importance of the mental health of an individual and the impact on the general well-being of individuals (Ross, 9). One of the mental health issues affecting numerous individuals in today’s society is bipolar mental disorder. This paper is going to give insight on the mental disorder, the challenges of people who live with the conditions as well as their families and the input on social work in such a case to help improve the quality of life of such individuals. What is bipolar mental disorder? Bipolar mental disorder is a form of mental condition where there are sudden changes to an individual’s moods, activity levels, energy and the ability of the individual to carry out day to day tasks as small as they may seem (Grunze, 655).

Jane* was one such individual who has lived with the condition now for 10 years after the diagnosis. She has graciously offered to give the researchers her experience with the mental conditions and the various ways it has an impact in her life. Living with bipolar mental condition Jane is a 38 year old woman who is married and has two children who are teenagers. She narrates to us of how she first got diagnosed of the condition. She was having extreme moments of intense happiness and excitement followed by intense depressive states that occurred without any stimulus from the environment. Her first instance would be when she was doing a routine daily activity such as shopping for household amenities and she would feel a rushing sensation of excitement.

In her own words, “I would get a rush of adrenaline when out shopping for household items and attribute this feeling to the excitement of getting new things. But these moments would be soon and suddenly followed by depressive moments where I would not want to talk to anyone or have the energy to do anything. ” Her depletion of energy levels subsequent to the manic phase is what worried her most and convinced her that she should seek professional help. Other instances included numerous instances of chronic insomnia for which she attributed to the hectic schedule of being a working mother with immense social pressures from both the work environment and the home set up. The father however was described to her and her brother as a heavy drinker who had anger management problems.

Due to the time and age of his existence, he did not seek any help from professionals or even be assessed and diagnosed so any empirical information on the father’s mental state would be inaccurate and biased. *Jane tells us that her condition had a major impact on her life and this led to one of the most significant events in it, her divorce from her children’s father. She had become so irritable to the point that she would pick fights out of very little issues or even issues that were non-existent. The fights and arguments escalated to the point that they almost became violent and they eventually ended up filing for divorce. Her mother came and found her seated on the sofa and asked her to kindly wash herself and change her clothes.

She did not respond and this seemed to drive her mother over the edge, she suddenly marched up to her and slapped her squarely on her cheek. According to her, she could not hear anything out of the ear that was hit except a ringing sound for an hour. She had never before hit her children and never did it afterwards either. *Hellen also explains that wherever they were around her mother, they felt like they have to walk on egg shells. As with most mental conditions, there is a possibility factor of inheritance of the condition from the parent and they feel that if they were to inherit the condition from their mother then they would lead a very difficult and stressful life.

For *Jane, the road to recovery has not been as easy one. She has been regularly attending her sessions with her therapist and taking her medicine regularly as prescribed. Her manic and depressive phases have been limited to isolated instances that occur rarely. Her health has improved drastically and she no longer experiences instances of depleted energy. Studies have indicated that social support helps significantly reduce the chances of an individual going back into a depressive state (Carrigan, Andrea & Carla, 48). Her faithful use of prescription medication has also contributed greatly to the reduction of instances of mania and depression which helps reduce the cycles of highs and lows for the individual. The impact of the condition on the family has been colossal.

The condition led to the divorce of *Jane from her husband and her children live in constant fear of what she might do next. The family is a significant unit especially in the treatment and management of mental health issues (Greene, 42). The intervention will be organized with the help of the children in order to be able to know what to talk about and how to be able to deal with the various emerging issues. The children psychological and emotional contributions will also be discussed with their mother in a controlled environment. The client will also be helped in the creation of a crisis intervention plan that will enable the individual know how to conduct themselves in the event of a crisis.