"red flags" from mental health professionals

The reality is that the burden on the psychological state of people is now too high. Pandemic, crises, inflation, war in Ukraine – each of these factors, even individually, can cause health problems.

How not to miss the moment when it is no longer possible to cope with your condition on your own and you should seek help? There are so-called “red flags” indicating mental health problems.

To avoid serious mental health problems that can negatively affect lifestyle, work, relationships, and even threaten life, you need to be able to recognize these signals and contact a specialist in a timely manner. Among the signs indicating the existence of a problem, doctors identify the most obvious.

Mood changes:

• feeling sad or depressed for a long time without a specific reason;
• persistent, noticeable changes in mood from very good to very bad;
• constant or excessive anxiety due to stressful events or occurrences;
• a feeling of emptiness or apathy towards those aspects of life that previously gave pleasure;
• outbursts of anger, aggressiveness, the use of violent actions against others;
• problems with empathy for the thoughts and feelings of others.

Behavior changes:

• the appearance of suicidal thoughts or behavior;
• self-injury, such as cuts;
• feeling of “losing time” or the appearance of significant gaps in memory;
• refusal to communicate with friends and family members or participate in activities that you enjoyed before;
• obsessive thoughts or belief in things that are not real;
• the appearance of hallucinations or sensory experiences that seem real but are not. For example, hearing voices that no one else hears, or the feeling of something crawling on the skin, although it is not.

Physical changes:

• sudden sweating, bouts of nausea, rapid heart rate or difficulty breathing along with extreme anxiety or fear;
• sleep disturbance: too much or too little;
• feeling tired, no matter how much you sleep;
• noticeable changes in sex drive or sexual activity;
• noticeable changes in eating behavior: food restriction or overeating, feeling afraid of food for no apparent reason, or problems with body acceptance associated with weight or food intake.

What to do? If you have one or more of the symptoms for more than two weeks, see a mental health professional. The longer a person goes without treatment when they have problems, the more serious the health consequences can be.

The first step to help can be talking to those you trust. Tell them your experiences, ask for support. Not instead of going to a specialist, visiting a doctor is necessary, but friends and family can support you. Your loved ones can create a safe space for you to share your feelings, as well as support you through your healing process and soothe you when you’re overwhelmed.

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