Mental illnesses like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety have always been described by many sufferers as a condition in which they lost control over their mind. But according to Dr. Joseph Annibali, a chief psychiatrist, there is still hope for mental disease patients to regain the control over their mind.
Annibali, author of the book "Reclaim Your Brain," told Fox News that those patients who are battling mental diseases should not give up as recovery is very possible. He cited several techniques that patients may apply to fight back and win the battle.
For patients who are suffering anxiety, the psychologist said that they could recover from the condition by battling through their heart. He said that patients could use meditation techniques to achieve calmness and emotional balance. With this, the stress brought by anxiety could be eased.
"If I can step back, tolerate the anxiety and maybe distract myself with something else or do something pleasurable the anxiety might go away," Annibali stated.
Sufferers of OCD could also reclaim the control over their brain by conditioning their minds that thoughts are just thoughts. He explained that patients should instill into their minds that thoughts are not necessarily true.
Patients with PTSD may use Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), which is also known as "tapping," and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reproccessing (EMDR), which involves moving the eyes from side to side. These techniques, Annibali said, could activate "processing mechanisms that can detoxify the experience."
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, millions of Americans suffer mental health conditions every year. Almost 18 percent of the American adult population experienced an anxiety disorder such as PTSD, OCD and specific phobia. These figures had made mental illness as the third most common cause of hospitalization in the US for both youth and adults.
The consequences of lack of treatment for mental illness include annual lost earnings of $193.2 billion. This has also made suicide as one of the leading causes of deaths in the country.
