Mental illness affects 43.8 million Americans each year, with one in 25 adults living with a serious, long-term mental health problem. Often, when a person is suffering from mental illness, they don’t realize that anything is wrong. Whether they are becoming increasingly fearful of the outside world and hide away in their home or are beginning to have delusions, a lot of people with mental health problems think that their behavior is normal, and only realize once they’ve got treatment that they were unwell. This means that it’s often the loved ones of mental health patients who realize that something isn’t quite right.
With that in mind, the question is, how do you spot the fact that your loved one isn’t just in a bad mood and has a mental health problem? Often, it’s not a single change, people who are mentally ill tend to suffer from a range of behavioral changes. To help you determine if a loved one may have a mental health problem, below are four warning signs to take note of.
Source for picture- Constant anxiety and fear
Everyone gets worried and stressed from time to time, but if you notice that someone is anxious and fearful most of the time, often over silly things, this could be a sign that there is a problem. If the person has panic attacks, struggles to breathe normally, and feels physically unwell because of their anxiety or the fear that they feel, this isn’t normal behavior and should be taken note of and reported to a doctor.
- Emotional outbursts and mood swings
It’s normal to go through different emotions each day, but it’s not normal to have constant mood swings or emotional outbursts. If you notice someone having extreme outbursts and going from one emotion to another quickly, this can be a sign that they have an underlying mental health problem and need professional help. Mood swings are a common sign that something isn’t quite right with a person’s mental health.
- Seeing things that aren’t there
Another symptom of a mental health problem is seeing things that aren’t there. For instance, a lot of sufferers of schizophrenia have delusions about situations that don’t exist. Of course, that tends to be in more severe cases, with the symptoms for mild cases being much more subtle, as https://www.schizlife.com/mild-schizophrenia/ explains. Delusions are symptoms of some mental health problems, but they are often a severe one, so it’s more likely that the symptoms will be more subtle. However, in cases where a condition is bad, delusions may be a symptom.
- Becoming withdrawn
Everyone needs some quiet time every now and then, but withdrawing from life completely is a sign that something isn’t right. If you notice that a loved one has become withdrawn, this could be a sign that they are suffering from a mental health problem. If you notice that a friend or relative is isolating themselves, they may have depression, bipolar, or another psychiatric disorder, so it could be worth having them assessed by a mental health specialist.
These are just some of the most common signs that a loved one is suffering from a mental health problem – there are various other signs and symptoms as well, but these are the most likely ones to occur.
