Diagnosis

If you recognize that you are having mental health issues, talk with your health care provider about an evaluation or seek help from a mental health professional.

To evaluate your problem with mental health, your health care provider or mental health provider will likely:

• Ask questions related to your mental health habits. Your provider may also ask for permission to speak with family members or friends. However, confidentiality laws prevent your provider from giving out any information about you without your consent.
• Do a mental health assessment. This assessment includes questions about your symptoms, thoughts, feelings and behavior patterns related to your mental health issues. Depending on your signs and symptoms, you may be evaluated for mental health disorders that are sometimes related to excessive eating, lying, cheating and gambling.

Treating mental health issues can be challenging. That’s partly because most people have a hard time admitting they have a problem. Yet a major part of treatment is working on acknowledging that you have a problem and you need help.

If your family or your employer pressured you into therapy, you may find yourself resisting treatment. But treating mental problems can help you regain a sense of control — and possibly help heal damaged relationships or finances.

Treatment for mental problems may include these approaches:

• Therapy. Behavioral therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy may be helpful. Behavioral therapy uses a process of exposure to the behavior you want to unlearn and teaches you skills to reduce your urge of drinking, stealing, lying, cheating and gambling. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on identifying unhealthy, irrational and negative beliefs and replacing them with healthy, positive ones. Family therapy also may be helpful.
• Antidepressants and mood stabilizers may help treat problems that often go along with mental health issues — such as bipolar disorder, depression or anxiety. Some antidepressants may be effective in reducing gambling behavior. Medications called narcotic antagonists, useful in treating substance misuse, may help treat compulsive disorders.
• Self-help groups. Some people find that talking with others who have a mental health issue may be a helpful part of treatment. Ask your health care provider or mental health provider for advice on self-help groups.

Treatment for mental health problems may involve an outpatient program, inpatient program or a residential treatment program, depending on your needs and resources. Self-help treatments such as structured internet-based programs and telephone visits with a mental health professional may be an option for some people.

Treatment for substance misuse, depression, anxiety or any other mental health issue may be part of your treatment plan for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Relapse prevention

Even with treatment, you may return to gambling, especially if you spend time with people who gamble or you’re in gambling settings. If you feel that you’ll start gambling again, contact your mental health provider or sponsor right away to prevent a relapse.