Relationship Between Physical and Mental Health

What is parity of esteem?

Parity of esteem means valuing physical health and mental health equally. This is important, as physical and mental health problems are often linked.

People with poor physical health are at higher risk of experiencing mental health problems. People with poor mental health are more likely to have poor physical health

Diagnostic Overshadowing

Health professionals often attribute all of an individual’s difficulties to their mental health problems and do not consider that there could be an underlying physical health cause. This is called diagnostic overshadowing.

Click the picture for a case study.

Ian's story

Ian felt low in mood and was not talking very much. He started gripping his stomach and stopped eating. Ian was taken to hospital by his family, as they were worried about him. Ian was sent home from hospital, as the team thought that he was behaving this way because of his mental health problems.

A few days later Ian started screaming and was taken back to hospital. The team discovered that Ian was constipated and was in severe pain. Ian had suffered in pain unnecessarily because the possibility of a physical health cause for his change in behaviour was not considered when he first went to hospital.

Treatments

Mental illness is treatable. The choice of treatment varies from individual to individual. Possible treatments, sources of help and examples include:

Removing a trigger factor - reducing stress
Practical support - receiving help with finding a job
Self-help - learning breathing exercises from a website to help with relaxation
Talking therapy - with a trained professional
Medication - these can help to improve some symptoms, for example an antidepressant may lift someone’s mood

How to Care for Someone with a Mental Illness

Sometimes health care workers can be unsure how to best care for someone with a mental illness. You do not need to be an expert to provide good care to someone with a mental health problem - follow these simple principles:

Allow enough time for the interaction where possible
Listen actively and communicate clearly
Ask how you can help
Have a non-judgemental attitude, do not make assumptions
Be aware of the whole person - they are not just a mental health diagnosis
When relevant, ask appropriate carers and mental health care professionals for background information and advice

There are a lot of myths about individuals with mental health problems

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