How can we tell if a person is showing signs of a mental illness, or are they just showing normal behaviors to situation? Each illness comes with its own symptoms, but common patterns of behavior may include the following:
· Excessive worrying or fear
· Feeling excessively sad or low
· Confused thinking or problems concentrating and learning
· Extreme mood changes, including uncontrollable “highs” or feelings of euphoria
· Prolonged or strong feelings of irritability or anger
· Avoidingfriends and social activities
· Difficulties understanding or relating to other people
· Changes in sleeping habits or feeling tired and low energy
· Changes in eating habits such as increased hunger or lack of appetite
· Changes in sex drive
· Difficulty perceiving reality (delusions or hallucinations, in which a person experiences and senses things that don't exist in objective reality)
· Inability to perceive changes in one’s own feelings, behavior or personality (“lack of insight”)
· Abuse of substances like alcohol or drugs
· Multiple physical ailments without obvious causes (such as headaches, stomach aches, vague and ongoing “aches and pains”)
· Thinking about suicide
· Inability to carry out daily activities or handle daily problems and stress
· An intensefear of weight gain or concern with appearance
Children can also developmental health conditions, because they are still learning how identify emotions, thoughts and behaviors. Children’s symptoms may include:
· Changes in school performance
· Excessive worry or anxiety, for instance fighting to avoid bed or school
· Hyperactive behavior
· Frequent nightmares
· Frequent disobedience or aggression
· Frequent temper tantrums
Knowing the warning signs of mental illnesses can help you decide if you should move forward to seek help and treatment. At Bio-One, we feel it is especially needed for people to be able to
identify suicidal behaviors, due to the increase in suicides we have seen in our community. If you or someone you know may need help now, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 or 911
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