Mental Illness
Affecting how individuals act, feel, and think, mental illness impacts people of all ages. It fluctuates throughout our lives based on various factors, including our genetics, the experiences we go through, and situations we find ourselves in. Every year, millions of people receive diagnoses for mental illness. Over the last year especially, cases of depression and anxiety have skyrocketed; so too have the discussions around mental health and mental illness in general. The topic doesn’t appear to be as stigmatized anymore after we all collectively experienced multiple ongoing crises.
Acknowledging mental health is extremely important and something that should continue to be normalized. Moreover, being aware of the issues and symptoms of mental illness leads to a higher chance of identifying problems and being able to help treat the issue. Whereas ignoring mental health issues and symptoms can potentially worsen an individual’s well-being and, in severe cases, lead to suicide.
Signs of Mental Health Issues
In some cases, spotting mental health issues can be extremely difficult. However, other times, there are clear indications of a person who is struggling with mental health. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) states:
“Each illness has its own symptoms, but common signs of mental illness in adults and adolescents can include the following:
- 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
- Avoiding friends and social activities
- Difficulties understanding or relating to other people
- Changes in sleeping habits or feeling tired and low energy
- Shifts 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” or anosognosia)
- Overuse 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 intense fear of weight gain or concern with appearance.”
Symptoms and signs of mental health issues can range in various amounts of different ways. Every person dealing with mental health issues carries and handles it differently.
Types of Mental Health Issues
Just like the various amounts of symptoms caused by mental health issues, there are many different types of mental health issues. Affecting just about every aspect of a person’s quality of life, even just managing one of these is a struggle. Unfortunately, many disorders are interconnected and often diagnosed together.
For example, a common, known disorder includes anxiety. Anxiety causes an individual’s heart to race, overwork their thought process, and even decrease appetites. Depending on the severity of the case, a person’s life can be severely impacted by this disorder.
In addition, another example of a well-known mental health disorder is depression. Depression is an extreme, prolonged state of sadness and/or apathy that causes a person to be fatigued and sad. Overall, it affects how a person feels, thinks, and deals with daily activities.
Besides the two examples, other types of mental health issues include eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, compulsive disorders, bipolar disorders, and many more.
How to Help Those Dealing with Mental Illness
If you know someone who struggles with a mental health disorder and wants help, it is very important to bring them to an environment where they will feel safe and comfortable to talk. Then, ease into the conversation, do not rush or attack the individual, simply be empathetic, and bring up the situation in a respectful manner. Keep in mind, not everyone is in the right mental headspace to discuss their situation and how they feel; therefore, do not push the topic, just let them know that if ever needed, you are there and you hear them.
There is a delicacy involved in dealing with mental illness or helping others suffering from it. Time and space are needed, as are structure and encouragement. People with mental illness often fail to complete certain tasks that others find easy, such as eating, bathing, cleaning things up, socializing, and so on. It’s not a result of laziness; it’s the mental illness.
So if your loved one is struggling with these kinds of things, offer to help them or find ways to encourage them to complete these tasks. Sit down and set alarms with them or update a calendar with them, remind them to eat or drink water, ask them to go on a walk around the block, and so on.
In general, ask them how you can help them succeed throughout the day. Sometimes tough love may be in order, but be mindful of your toughness; yelling and screaming never helps. Neither does negativity, especially if you have children struggling with mental illness. Put yourself in their shoes and try to see how you would want to be approached or talked to, or what might help you the best in that kind of situation.
Managing Your Own Mental Illness
If you struggle with mental illness yourself, remember to be kind to yourself and be objective. You can acknowledge you have a mental illness, but you may harm the people you love if you don’t work towards healing or managing it. Pay attention to your fluctuations and take steps to mitigate the bad habits that might transpire when you’re having a bad mental health day/week/month.
In addition, consider finding someone to talk to. People need therapy for all kinds of reasons and all types of traumas. We all have something that’s hurt us in the past or hurts us to this day. Bottling it up never works. Letting it out is often the best medicine, but especially if the person you’re speaking with can help you work through those thoughts and experiences. If insurance is a concern for you, check out your local college or university; they might have a program with their psychology majors offering therapy sessions.
Many people do not realize that most people who struggle with a mental health disorder just need someone to listen – not criticize, judge, or voice their opinions – just listen. Understanding a person’s emotions can go a long way; it can make one feel less alone.
If you feel that you or the person you’re helping need you’re helping needs to seek medical attention, there are many resources available. Only use these if someone is in immediate danger to themselves or others. And don’t call the police unless absolutely necessary. If your area doesn’t have a mental health crisis response team, calling the police often ends disastrously and should be a last resort. Instead, offer to drive the person to a hospital or call another organization for them.
Getting Help
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Helpline is available 24 hours a day, and you can call them at 1-800-662-4357. Mental health hotline operators have access to resources and information to direct you on what steps to take to support those dealing with mental health disorders.
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