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Healthy Balance

Mental Health Help (Page 4)

person sitting near Christmas tree, looking at a tabletMental health issues touch all of us. Yet many of us feel ashamed to talk about emotional challenges. Due to stigma, we feel that needing support means we’re weak or abnormal. So we don’t get the mental health help we need.

And yet, emotional distress happens, often beyond our control. People around the world face:

  • Postpartum depression
  • Loneliness while aging
  • Isolation and low self-esteem as a teen
  • Body image issues
  • Emotional rollercoasters during menopause
  • Anxiety and depression due to a life-threatening health diagnosis
  • Discrimination due to racial, ethnic, and LGBTQ+ identities
  • Mental illness and psychological disorders

And of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on everyone. The grief and isolation it has left in its wake has worsened symptoms for many. Teens especially continue to struggle.

Finding Mental Health Help

When you break your leg or get a rash, you see a specialist. Likewise, a responsible person gets mental healthcare for serious depression and anxiety.

You deserve to care for your mental health as much as you do for your physical health. 

Getting Started

Serious disorders require professional care. And effective treatments do exist. They may not be as simple or as straightforward as a pill or a shot. But they can help you manage and live your best.

See UVA Health specialty services in behavioral health.

If you’re in crisis, like thinking about suicide, call the free, anonymous hotline: 800-273-8255

Not sure where to start? The articles here can help you learn:

  • The signs and symptoms of mental health problems
  • How to care and support others
  • Tools for maintaining daily wellness
  • Self-care tips for managing conditions
TMS therapy patient, Karen
Depression, Meet Your Match: TMS Therapy
Patient Stories 10/10/2016

Now 50 years old, Karen remembers depression as a major factor in her life since she was 12. After college, she followed a fairly normal trajectory: She got married and started a family. But Karen’s inner life was anything but normal.

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Maternity Monday: The Reality of Postpartum Depression
Kids, Maternity Monday 6/22/2015

Having a baby: It’s a delight, it’s a joy — and it is also stressful. No matter how positive the birth experience, how well-prepared you are as a parent (you read every Maternity Monday post, for instance!) and no matter how pleasantly your infant integrates into the world, the arrival…

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Q&A: Robin Williams and What You Should Know About Depression and Suicide
Prevention 8/18/2014

The sudden death of actor Robin Williams has put mental illness and Parkinson’s disease in the spotlight. Kim Penberthy, PhD, works with patients who have severe depression and talks about the stigmas, myths and what you can do to help. [caption id="attachment_8665" align="alignright" width="100"] Kim Penberthy, PhD[/caption] Are there any…

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Pay Attention: The Medicine of Mindfulness

Each Monday this month, we’re looking at the UVA Cancer Center’s Integrative Medicine Program. It starts like this. You’re driving down the road. Another driver pulls out, cuts you off without even looking. Or the truck behind you tailgates too close. Even before your brain registers what’s happening, your body…

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