SolveYourProblem eLearning Series: Mental Illness
Explain Mental Illnesses To Me

Am I Going Mad or Just Mentally Ill?
   

There is no known exact reason why some people develop mental illnesses while others don’t or how they come to be. There are so many symptoms that one could have that could be considered normal or a possible illness, it can be hard to tell. Trying to tell if you are just stressed out, having a bad day or month, have an underlying physical illness, or if you have a mental illness cannot be easy sometimes. You must have many and multiple specific feeling and behaviors over a long period of time to be considered mentally ill. You must meet the criteria laid out by a psychiatrist. Some people who have all the symptoms come to find out they are only borderline in their illness and don’t need medication and major intervention. Most of these people can be treated with behavioral therapy and stress reduction. Some behaviors that can arise can signify whether or not you have a particular disorder or not. You will have to have a minimum number to be considered mentally ill. Some are:

• Extreme sadness that won’t go away, anger and/or irritability
• Eating changes such as eating more or less that usual
• Sleeping problems or changes
• Fatigue that is new
• Difficulty concentrating and making decisions
• Feeling guilty, worthless, or no good
• Physical ailments that don’t seem to have a physical cause
• Inability to find enjoyment
• Abusing drugs and/or alcohol
• Thinking about dying and hurting or killing yourself
• Feeling extremely happy and energetic for no reason
• Feeling extremely powerful, very confident, and like you can do anything
• Need less sleep than normal
• Too many projects on at one time
• Quick fuse, angry, and aggressive
• Racing thoughts that won’t go away
• Incessant talking
• Restless and jumpy
• Making rash and hasty decisions
• Trouble focusing and bouncing from topic to topic, or thought to thought
• Impulsive behavior like having unprotected sex, spending lots of money, and driving fast
• Thinking that people are out to get you
• Hallucinations, hearing and/or seeing things that is not there

More than five of the above may indicate a mental illness or borderline syndrome. If you or someone you know has a mental illness it does not mean you are nuts, crazy, a bad person or mad. It means that you have a sickness that needs to be treated like any other illness does. Never try to diagnose yourself, always see you doctor to make sure that there isn’t something else going on. Only a trained professional can tell you if you have a mental illness. Seeing your doctor will let you know if this was just a fleeting moment or if there truly is an emotional and behavior issue and underlying mental illness. We all have things happen in our life that might cause a temporary over exaggerated surge of emotions such as the death of a loved one, getting a raise or new job, getting married or having a child. These things will not affect your activities of daily living by causing long term depression, sleep disturbances, or over excitability. If you ever are thinking about suicide or that you might hurt your self or others call your local emergency number or crisis hot line. Get to the hospital or doctors as soon as you can.

The best thing you can do if you suspect that you have a mental illness is to see your doctor immediately early diagnosis is the key. You can talk to any health care professional they are trained to see the major warning signs of a metal illness and can help you get where you need to be and get the treatment that is best for you. Another warning sign is when friends and loved ones are telling you that you have changed or many of your normal behaviors have. It is always better to go to the doctor rather than have the symptoms worsen and possibly get out of control. He or she will do a thorough physical exam to make sure there is no physical illness such as a bacterial or viral infection or any other disease. You will also be asked to describe your life style habits and a series of other questions to help pinpoint what is going on.

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by SolveYourProblem.com : 2006

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