What are some warning signs that you should see a therapist?
You know the feelings that come on that make you rethink how you are functioning and make you ask the question, "Do I need to see a therapist?" If you have, don’t worry we have all been there. As Michael Jackson says, "You are not alone, I am here for you." Seriously though, you aren't alone. There are plenty of people who have dealt with warning signs and they choose to run from those feelings. Do yourself a favor, don’t run from the feelings. Do something about the feelings. Some people could be experiencing these warning signs and don’t realize that they are warning signs. With that being said, I want to expand on what are the warning signs you will see, notice, and feel that are within yourself and tell you, "Hey I think I should see a therapist!"
There
are multiple areas of your life that can be affected and show warning signs of
mental illness. They are as follows:
- Functioning
- Social
- Mood
- Concentration
- Sleep
- Behavior
- Thinking
Pattern
- Self-image
Let's
start with functioning. Have you notice that you are struggling at work,
school, or do not have the desire to even get out of bed or shower? This is
probably happening because you are struggling with mental illness. This one is
usually the most common issue I see while practicing. People are struggling to
want to get out of bed or overall function and realize there is something going on. You can take a
step back and try to use some self-awareness and determine if there is another
reason this could be happening. Was there a big transition at work? Are you
overwhelmed with schoolwork and don’t know where to begin? Are these
situations that can you work through on your own or is something bigger going
on?
Next up
is social. So, you are struggling with functioning, and you don’t want to get out
of bed, so you start to notice yourself withdrawing from others or things you
used to enjoy doing. You used to go out every Tuesday with a group of friends
and now the idea of going out with them is daunting. You have completely lost
interest in those around you. You have decided that social isolation is the key
to fixing your problems, in reality you need to do the opposite but that’s
another blog topic for a later time. Let's say in the winter you love to go
snowboarding but lately the idea of going just sounds like a complete waste of
time. You struggle with ability to feel any pleasure.
Mood,
big one. We are all human right? We all have days where we feel sad and days
when we feel happy and some days where we are just blah. That is perfectly
normal. The problems start to occur when you start to feel like your mood is
very unstable. Maybe one second you are happy go lucky and then next you are
mad at the world and then you are sad. Your mood has a lot of power on every
aspect of your life. If you don’t find ways to deal with the mood, it can
definitely become life damaging.
Trouble
with concentration, memory or a logical thought, is this you? Someone talks to
you and you didn’t write anything down, so you don’t remember the conversation.
You are losing your keys constantly because you can't remember where you put
them. You can't concentrate long enough to finish a task. Sometimes it's bad
enough that you can't even put a sentence together because your mind blanks on
you. These things are all normal when you are dealing with mental illness and
know that with help, they can be turned around.
1
sheep, 2 sheep, 3 sheep, 4 sheep, please go the f%#$ to sleep! Insomnia is real
people! Are your thoughts racing so much that you can't shut your mind off to
sleep? Are you able to fall asleep but you wake up in the middle of the night
to go pee and come back to bed and can't get your eyelids to shut again? Do you
feel as if you can stay up for days on end and have SO much energy for
activities? Do you feel like you are wanting to sleep all day and night? All of
these things are issues with sleep that are affected by your mental health.
Are
people around you telling you that you have been off lately? Do you feel out of
touch with reality? Disconnected from yourself, maybe? These are all behaviors
that can cause plenty of problems for someone. You could be feeling as if you
are watching yourself from the outside looking in. You are detached from your
surroundings and your own personal emotional experience.
Let's
shift gears a little bit. So, you are struggling with behavioral issues, what
about your thinking patterns? Are you in a constant pattern of negative
self-talk? Are you in a pattern of magical thinking? This means you think that
you can control or change the outcome of a situation or event by some unrelated
event and no plausible link to connect these two events, AKA superstitious
thinking? Your one idea, action, words or thoughts can simply change something
on its own. You are kind of lost in irrational thoughts.
Lastly,
are you experiencing low self-esteem or even an elated self-esteem? Do you
believe that you are the greatest thing since sliced bread and you can change
the world's problems in one sitting? Do you feel as if you are worthless, not
attractive enough, or a waste of space? Have you experienced thoughts of
wanting to harm yourself? At one point in time in life we have all experienced
low self-esteem. Some have experienced elated self-esteem too. This can
definitely come with the territory of being human unfortunately. This can be
helped though. You are worthy of help! You are attractive inside and out! Don’t
let anyone tell you different! If you are having thoughts of wanting to harm
yourself and have a plan in place, please call 911 or call the suicide hotline at
988.
Was
this all relatable? Am I the only one who feels somewhat attacked right now by
my own words? You are not alone and know that at Enlightenment we want to help
you with these struggles! We want you to want to work on yourself and feel good
about yourself. We want you to get out of isolation and live your best life
because you deserve it! Life is too short to live prisoner to your own self.
Maybe it's time to get uncomfortable and start dealing with these issues. The
only way to heal is by becoming uncomfortable, getting out of your comfort
zone, and surrendering yourself to change!
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