Mason, Ohio – Latest GeneSight® A survey by the Mental Health Monitor found that nearly half of Americans feel they are wasting time in their lives because of poor mental health.
Courtney Nugent has been battling anxiety for 10 years. At first, medication helped her control her anxiety, but after surgery, the medications no longer controlled her anxiety. So she began trying seven different medications in an attempt to get back to “normal.”
“I had to cancel my wedding to focus on my mental health,” Nugent said. “My mental health crisis lasted six months on paper, but I was fighting to survive every second of every day. That’s time I’ll never get back.”
Of those diagnosed with anxiety or depression, 50% said they had lost years of their life due to poor mental health, and 12% said they had lost decades.
Nearly one-third of people with anxiety or depression say they have missed important events due to ineffective mental health treatment. The “treatment as usual” approach to mental health illnesses such as depression and anxiety often involves trial and error with medications, which can also be time-consuming. The GeneSight test is a tool that clinicians can use to inform mental health medication treatment plans, potentially helping shorten patients’ journey to health recovery.
“Patients who lose time due to depression or anxiety often feel a sense of loss, which further complicates their mental health,” says Sharon Philbin, M.D., an advanced practice nurse.
An individual’s genes can affect how effective certain mental health medications are, and doctors like Philbin are administering GeneSight tests — a simple cheek swab test — to help patients understand how they metabolize and respond to some mental health drugs based on their personal genes.
“GeneSight is one of the tools I’ve used to help patients feel better and take control of lost time so they can enjoy life again when they’re living with anxiety and depression,” Philbin said.
Courtney was prescribed new medication based on the results of her GeneSight test and began to feel like her old self again. “I got a new job and had a new lease on life. I don’t think I would be alive without the GeneSight test,” Courtney says.
It wasn’t until clinicians customized her mental health medication with the help of the GeneSight test that she got back on track. To learn more, visit www.genesight.com/mental-health-monitor/.
