Guest Post: Mental health is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of one’s well-being that we shouldn’t overlook. Your mental health is an important indicator of just how well you can adjust and adapt mentally to various situations in life – at home, at work, or even at school. And sometimes, there really are just circumstances that can test your mental health and can make life extremely overwhelming. This doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the world, though. Sometimes, you just need a bit of assistance on the matter. In this article, we’ll discuss the signs to know when you need to see a psychologist for your mental health.
If you’re having doubts as to whether you should focus more on your mental health, you need to understand that it’s something that needs appropriate care. Your mental health is a huge part of your identity, and paying attention to its needs is important because mental health issues are common. For instance, as many as 1.1 billion people around the world have mental or substance use disorders, with as many as 268 million and 275 million having depression and anxiety disorders, respectively. Aside from the aforementioned three, bipolar disorders, eating disorders, and even schizophrenia are very common mental health concerns that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Knowing and identifying if you have potential signs of mental health concerns can greatly help you in life, and you shouldn’t hesitate to seek help immediately for these.
Mental Health Concerns: The Signs to Look For
Institutions such as Western Plains Psychology can be of assistance, especially if you’re looking for a psychologist who can help you with a particular life issue or mental health concern. However, determining whether or not you need psychological assistance is an extremely personal journey and, as such, needs a particular kind of care and guidance. This doesn’t mean it’s impossible, however. Here are signs to know when you need to see a psychologist for your mental health:
- Emotions suddenly become a lot more intense than normal: We all feel emotions to varying degrees. Sometimes, you can be happy or mildly irritated by something. However, some situations make you feel elated or overwhelmingly angry. Try to assess your experiences lately, and check just how intense your feelings have been. Are they intense to a point that it significantly makes an impact on how you function in life? Examine whether your usual response to a new scenario is “catastrophizing” (or you immediately assume the worst) and, as such, can make a profound impact on how you look at things. If you catastrophize, sometimes feelings become too intense because you’ve hardwired yourself to think of negative outcomes. This can be debilitating, and you might need help managing this tendency.
- Activities you used to love suddenly feel disconnected from you: If you feel as though the activities you loved before are slowly becoming “dull,” you might need psychological help. Remember that a huge part of self-identity comes from indulging in things that can make us feel “whole” and content, such as hobbies and passions. However, if meetups, gatherings, and even eat-outs have become tedious for you, there’s a huge likelihood that this might be due to an emotional turmoil that needs assistance.
- A trauma or traumatizing event seems to be recurring and you can’t understand why: Recent or previous events such as a job loss, breakup, or even death in the family will need time for the people affected to recuperate and adjust. Sometimes, the recovery takes weeks, months, or even years. And while a lot of people are capable of “being okay” on their own, sometimes feelings linger and surprise you when you least expect it. Unmanaged grief from loss can be catastrophic and impair the way you function every day. You can withdraw from friends and things you loved before. If this is currently happening to you, a trip to the psychologist might be of great help.
- Headaches, stomach aches, and other physical disturbances come frequently: Your psychology is closely tied to your physiology, and the things that happen in your head will likely affect the way your body works. Being emotionally upset, especially with extreme emotions, can affect the body in profound ways. It can diminish your sex drive and even give you frequent colds, headache, and upset stomach. These symptoms may be similar to those of a flu or other minor illnesses. However, if these physical disturbances start impairing the way you function, you might need psychological assistance.
- Substances suddenly become your way of coping: We all have different ways of coping with our emotions and mental distress, and sometimes a drink or two aren’t bad to “detoxify” and unwind. However, if alcohol or substances become your go-to response, you may have an underlying problem that you don’t want to tackle. This can even happen with “innocent” substances, such as food, sleep, or even sex. If you look at something as compensation in order to “feel good” instead of facing your problems right away, you might need psychological help.
- Relationships have started to become strained: Another pressing sign that you need psychological assistance is if your friends, relatives, and peers have started to become distant or show signs of concern. Being in emotional distress can strain relationships, and these can sometimes cause huge misunderstandings and fights with people close to you.
- Everything feels too overwhelming for you to bear: One of the most important things to consider, especially when you think about seeing a psychologist, is to determine how you view your life right now. Aside from the specifics, an alarming indicator that you’re in need of psychological assistance is if you generally feel overwhelmed and overtaxed with the happenings in your life. Feeling stressed or anxious for short periods of time is vastly different from feeling anxious all the time for reasons you can’t very well determine. If your current outlook in life is that everything’s becoming “too much,” you likely need the aid of a psychologist to help you sort things through.
The Takeaway: Meeting Your Mental Health Needs
It’s important to understand that the signs that suggest you need mental health assistance aren’t always going to be evident and clear. Sometimes, the actions, behaviors, and personality quirks that you think are “normal” are actually signs that you need professional help. And perhaps an important point to take from this article is that you shouldn’t shy away from getting mental health care assistance, as mental health is something fundamental to your very nature as a person. Just because you can’t physically touch mental health doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, and just because you’re seeking personal assistance for your concerns doesn’t mean you’re a weak person. Don’t hesitate getting in touch with a psychologist or a psychiatrist should you feel things are become too overwhelming in life.