Feeling Mentally Ill
Table of Contents
Feeling Mentally Ill
Our mental health is more fragile than we might like to believe. Stressful events in daily life, or the lingering effects of past traumas, can tip us into literally feeling mentally ill. Whether someone struggles with an ongoing mental health challenge or experiences a sudden acute onset, getting professional help is essential.
What is Mental Illness?
The term “mental illness” is broadly used to describe the elevation of mental health disorder symptoms. The distress caused by the symptoms can become debilitating to the point of causing impairment in functioning. A severe mental illness may even endanger the individual’s life, or the lives of others.
The spectrum of mental health disorders is very broad, and within each of the disorders is a range of symptom severity. The importance of addressing signs of mental illness as early as possible cannot be overstated, as the disorder often worsens over time. Residential treatment is best for a preexisting and deteriorating mental health disorder, or for stabilizing an acute mental health crisis.
What Causes Someone to Feel Mentally Ill?
Many situations or events encountered in daily life have the potential to impact our mental health. Some common triggers for mental distress include:
- A high-stress job
- An undiagnosed mental health disorder
- A recent sudden or unexpected death of a loved one
- Past or ongoing sexual or physical abuse
- Taking on more than you can realistically handle
- Experiencing serious financial difficulties
- A family history of mental illness
- A serious or chronic medical condition
17 Symptoms That May Occur When Feeling Mentally Ill
It isn’t always easy to discern when we are in a mental health crisis. It is common to chalk up the symptoms to stress or relationship issues. However, if you recognize at least a few of the following symptoms, it may point to a psychiatric event:
- Erratic mood swings
- Intense fatigue
- Loss of interest in life
- Irrational fear or worry
- Sleep problems
- Sudden changes in eating habits
- Isolating from friends and family
- Feeling hopeless and sad much of the time
- Increased irritability and anger
- Avoidance behaviors
- Difficulty concentrating
- Emotional detachment or numbness
- Sudden decline in work or academic performance
- Mental confusion
- Memory problems
- Signs of psychosis
- Suicidal thoughts
Types of Mental Illness Treated
To be able to receive the appropriate level of care for a mental health disorder you must be diagnosed. The process of receiving a diagnosis involves meeting with a mental health professional and undergoing a psychological evaluation.
The doctor uses various methods to assess the specific type of mental health disturbance you are presenting with. These include an interview, a questionnaire, assessment tools, and the DSM-5.
The most common mental health conditions include:
- Anxiety Disorder. As anxiety ramps up, it can keep you perpetually in the fight, fight, or freeze mode. This can cause severe mental exhaustion, isolation, and even symptoms of psychosis.
- Depressive Disorder. Depression may range from mild to severe in intensity, but always has a significant impact on daily life, relationships, and mood state. Severe depression may trigger thoughts of suicide, which is a crisis event requiring stabilization.
- Trauma Disorder. The impact of trauma is profound, regardless of whether the trauma is a recent event or in the past. A protracted form of trauma, referred to as PTSD, may cause nightmares, hyper-arousal and avoidance behaviors.
How Feeling Mentally Ill Affects Daily Life
The state of our mental health can have a significant effect on our attitude, energy level, and mood. Mental illness causes changes to the way we think, feel, and behave, and this typically results in dysfunction in all areas of life.
Consider the ways a mental health disorder can impact us:
- Difficulty performing work-related tasks. Struggling with a mental health issue makes it difficult to perform or complete tasks at work. You may have trouble with concentration and focus, and even forget important meetings or deadlines.
- Strains relationships. It is difficult to maintain healthy relationships with friends, family, and coworkers when you are grappling with mental illness. You may express irrational anger or frustration and end up harming the relationship.
- Depletes energy and health. Our mental health is directly linked to physical wellbeing. When struggling with a mental health disturbance, it translates to feelings of fatigue, headaches, lethargy, and insomnia.
- Affects decision-making. Mental health disorders, such as depression, can make it difficult to concentrate and make decisions. Even simple decisions become momentous, causing us to freeze up and take no action at all.
Residential Treatment for Mental Illness
The pathway to mental wellness is not a one-size-fits-all fix. Each person will have specific features in their diagnosis and needs profile, which determines how long mental health treatment lasts. This is the case whether it is at an outpatient or residential treatment setting.
Mental health treatment involves these elements:
- Medication. There are medications available to help manage the symptoms and improve your quality of life.
- Group therapy. Group sessions allow peers in treatment to discuss their personal challenges, stories, and emotions under the guidance of a therapist.
- Individual therapy. You’ll meet with a therapist for private sessions during which you can discuss any issues relevant to the mental health challenge. There are different types of therapies for treating the various mental health disorders.
- Adjunctive therapies. For some mental health disorders, such as trauma disorder, EMDR can complement the psychotherapy sessions.
- Holistic methods. Experiential activities like yoga, meditation, grounding, art therapy and massage therapy help to reduce stress while also enhancing treatment.
- Nutrition and exercise. To achieve overall wellness, mental health treatment includes a nutrition and fitness component.
Robles Ranch Mental Health Primary Residential Treatment Center
Robles Ranch is a residential mental health center that treats individuals who are feeling mentally ill and seeking professional support, call us today at (866) 840-3841.
