Tap mental health symptoms at an early phase
Did you know that it typically takes years from the first time someone has mental health concerns until they get a correct diagnosis and proper treatment?
When we think about any physical illness, it is advisable to get treatment
in the first stage of the disorder when it is beginning to show signs or
symptoms like a recurrent fever, Stage 1 hypertension, or pre-diabetes, so
that it is manageable and does not turn serious.
So why don’t we do the same for individuals who are dealing with
potentially serious mental illness?
Mental health is influenced by a range of social and environmental factors that interact with our own biological predisposition and family circumstances. It needs an expert’s help to understand how a group of symptoms are a part of a specific mental health condition. Mental health symptoms are often misattributed to something else and the first step is talking to a psychologist or your primary care doctor or visiting a local health care centre for discussion on your symptoms.
Sometimes, these early symptoms might not become serious like a cold, they often go away on their own and are nothing to fear. But when they do not go away, people needlessly suffer mental distress for years until they get a correct identification, suitable medication, and counselling along with social support.
Mental health conditions, like any other physical conditions can go through stages. Let us understand the framework of the 4 phases of mental health concerns and what can we do to prevent the progression of illness through early identification.
Phase 1: Red flags and mild symptoms:An individual begins experiencing mild symptoms but it does not affect his daily routine. The person may face little problems but can recover and get on with his usual life. The individual may take a day off from work or assignments or pull back temporarily from social activities.
Phase 2: Symptoms start becoming more frequent than before, and more severe and restrict life activities and roles:For a while the symptoms may be suppressed, but over time symptoms come back, and if the person does not address the cause of illness properly, the symptoms become intense and last longer or new symptoms arise along with experiencing old ones. A person realizes that something is not quite right. It becomes increasingly difficult to do things that one could do previously without much thought like duties at the office, school assignments, family responsibilities.
Phase 3: The symptoms get worse, and negatively affect daily activities and responsibilities:A person’s symptoms continue to increase in severity, and many symptoms are often taking place at the same time which may not have occurred earlier. A person may feel as though they are no longer able to manage their life smoothly, and the important parts of their life are going out of control. The person may start taking a long leave of absence, start getting feedback from others about not doing things properly, and the person may break or excessively cling onto relationships.
Phase 4: Symptoms are constant and serious and severely affect daily functioning:A person in this phase is facing the symptoms for a long time, and they have become so severe that the person can no longer bear it, and often it results in quitting the job, hospitalization, relationship issues, financial problems.
When we first start experiencing symptoms such as disturbed sleep, feeling tired for no reason, feeling low, feeling anxious, or hearing voices, repeatedly for more than 2 weeks, we should go for mental health screening. Screening tests are online and paper resources designed to quickly help determine if you are experiencing symptoms of a mental health problem.
If you want to talk to a psychologist for any mental health related queries or concerns of stage 1 level, like anxiety, low mood, sleep difficulties, help in problem solving, communication, relationship issues you can call Mpower 1ON1 mental health helpline 1800120820050 anytime. This helpline is only available for people over the age of 18 and is not an emergency or crisis line.
To book an in-person or online appointment with our psychologist, and plan steps to address your mental health needs with our mental health specialist, visit https://mpowerminds.com/seekhelp
Mental health conditions are like any other disorder that affects us throughout our lifetime, and they are common and treatable. There is a wide range of treatment options for mental illnesses ranging from talk therapy to medication to support groups, and it may take some time for a person to find the right treatment or combination of treatments that works best for them.
You can also call at our 24x7 tollfree helpline number-
1800-120-820050.
Mpower has centres in cities like Mumbai,
Bengaluru
, Kolkata
, and Pune
.
Also read,
Signs and symptoms of anxiety
https://mpowerminds.com/blog/Signs-and-symptoms-of-anxiety
Physical symptoms of mental disorders. Find a mental health therapist near
you.
https://mpowerminds.com/blog/Physical-symptoms-of-mental-disorders-Find-a-mental-health-therapist-near-you
References:
https://blogs.worldbank.org/health/mental-health-lessons-learned-2020-2021-and-forward
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/psychologist-help#mental-disorders
Image credits - Freepik
TOP STEP TO COPE WITH SEVERE ANXIETY
Existential Depression - All You Need to Know