Mental Health and Palliative Care

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a timely reminder that individuals living with serious illness may experience emotional distress from diagnosis and beyond. This distress can manifest as depression, grief, isolation, anxiety, panic attacks, and a range of other emotions. It’s also important to recognize that caregivers are similarly at risk of experiencing mental health challenges. How can health care professionals help their patients? Palliative Care, by definition in South Dakota Statute 34-12-1.1(13), is “specialized medical care that is provided to a patient of any age, with a serious illness at any stage. It is designed to improve a patient’s quality of life, and that of the patient’s family, by providing relief from the symptoms and stresses of the patient’s illness.”

One resource available to health care professionals to learn how to manage mental health symptoms is Palliative Care Network of Wisconsin’s (PCNOW) Fast Facts. PCNOW has many resources available that provide guidance on how to manage symptoms and improve quality of life for your patients:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Psychiatric Symptoms
• Grief

This month Get Palliative Care is providing support and resources for patients through blogs, videos and stories that normalize these emotions and offer guidance and encouragement for both patients and caregivers. The blogs describe palliative care, and the extra layer of support palliative care provides to those living with serious illness and their support person(s). Health care professionals may find these resources helpful to share with their patients.  Click on the links below to review.

• How to Manage Anxiety and Depression When Living with a Serious Illness
• Patient Stories: How Palliative Care Helps with Anxiety, Pain, and More
• 7 Ways to Improve Your Sleep When Living with a Serious Illness
• 4 Ways Family Caregivers Can Take Care of Themselves
• How Palliative Care Helps the Caregiver, Too