Identifying Common Mental Illnesses Symptoms
Sometimes, the difference between regular emotions and the signs of a mental illness isn’t always easy to identify. When you have a sore throat or a fever, you know you’ve got some sort of infection, and you may need to go see your family doctor. There is no easy test for a mental illness to know what may be happening to you and if you need to seek psychiatric help.
Every mental illness has its own symptoms, but common signs can include:
- Excessive worrying or fear
- Feeling excessively sad or low
- Confused thinking including issues with concentrating and learning
- Extreme mood changes, including uncontrollable “highs” followed by feelings of anxiety or depression
- Strong feelings of irritability or anger that last for long periods of time
- Avoiding friends and social activities beyond what may be normal for you
- Difficulties in personal and professional relationships
- 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)
- Inability to perceive changes in your feelings or personality
- Overuse of alcohol or drugs
- Multiple physical ailments without obvious causes like headaches, stomach aches, vague and ongoing “aches and pains”
- Suicidal thoughts
- Finding daily activities and typical problems challenging to deal with
- Weight gain or weight loss
There are the most common symptoms of mental illnesses, and there are many more. The key is not waiting to see if you get better because, like many physical diseases, you may feel better for a while, but if left untreated then the symptoms may come back worse. Contact either our Winston-Salem or Raleigh office to schedule an appointment.
