Below is a list of warning signs to start looking out for when it comes to mental health. Creating awareness around these signs could enable us to help one another, help ourselves and potentially address issues before they worsen.
Behavioural signs:
Noticeable and sudden changes in behaviour or mood could be indicative of a brewing mental health issue. This may manifest in various ways, such as uncharacteristic irritability, excessive sadness or increased anxiety. Similarly, a distinct disregard for personal hygiene, using substances like alcohol or drugs as a coping mechanism, or experiencing drastic alterations in sleep or eating patterns might also point toward underlying mental health concerns.
• Sudden changes in behaviour or mood
• Neglecting personal hygiene
• Using substances like alcohol or drugs as a coping mechanism
• Disturbed sleep or eating patterns
Emotional signs:
Persistently experiencing feelings of sadness or hopelessness, despite the absence of a concrete reason, is a common emotional sign of mental health problems. Additional indicators could be excessive and often irrational worry, fear or guilt. Extreme mood swings, bouts of unexplained anger, or a pervasive feeling of disconnection or detachment from reality could be symptomatic of a potential issue.
• Persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness
• Excessive worry, fear or guilt
• Extreme mood swings or unexplained anger
• Feeling disconnected or detached from reality
Physical signs:
On a physical level, chronic fatigue or low energy levels, unaccounted physical discomforts like recurring headaches or digestive issues, significant weight loss or gain, or sleep disturbances—either hypersomnia (sleeping too much) or insomnia (sleeping too little)—may all be indicative of mental health issues.
• Chronic fatigue or low energy
• Unexplained physical discomforts, like headaches or digestive issues
• Significant weight loss or gain
• Sleep disturbances, either sleeping too much or too little
Cognitive signs:
Cognitive signs often revolve around a person’s mental processes. Trouble concentrating or remembering things, confused or disorganized thinking, and an overwhelming inability to cope with daily problems or stress may be signs of mental health decline. More extreme cognitive signs might include experiencing delusions or hallucinations.
• Trouble concentrating or remembering things
• Confused thinking
• Inability to cope with daily problems or stress
• Experiencing delusions or hallucinations