How to Tell If You’re Experiencing a Mental Health Crisis
What Are the Symptoms of a Mental Health Crisis?
Mental health concerns are a growing concern for Americans across the nation with nearly 1 in 5 Americans living with an ongoing mental health concern. The onset of mental health disorders will occur for various reasons and have different symptoms and impacts on each person depending on the specific mental health condition you are living with and the treatment you can receive and engage in. Many individuals are living with multiple, co-occurring mental health disorders at once which can make treatment and stabilization of your mental health difficult without the proper support. While some symptoms of mental health disorders can be manageable for some, some symptoms can be debilitating to a person and impact the overall health and well-being of a person.
A mental health crisis is characterized by a person having intrusive emotions or thoughts while also having high-risk behaviors that place the person at risk of being a danger to themselves or others. A mental health crisis can happen to anyone and can happen for any reason often occurring without warning. When you or a loved one are living with a mental health disorder, you must be able to recognize the signs of a mental health crisis to provide appropriate interventions and support at the onset of a crisis. A mental health crisis will typically exhibit the following symptoms that you should be mindful of:
- Isolation from work, friends, or family
- Intense, rapid mood swings
- Sudden changes in energy levels
- A decline in the ability to maintain daily personal routines including hygiene, getting dressed, or maintaining daily chores and household work
- An inability to maintain regular functioning
- Feeling increasingly agitated, angry, or having violent outbursts
- Destruction of property or physical altercations with others
- Being out of touch with reality
- Suicidal thoughts or ideations
- Experiencing psychosis such as hallucinations or delusions
- Engaging in self-harming behaviors
- Self-medicating through abusing drugs or alcohol
- Paranoia
11 Steps You Should Take If You’re Experiencing a Mental Health Crisis
Every person that is living with a mental health concern deserves to have the ability to access help when they need it. You know yourself best and will know when your mental health symptoms progress to the unmanageable point. Whether or not you are having thoughts of harming yourself or others, if you begin to feel that your mental health condition is beginning to escalate, there are steps you can take to get the appropriate treatment and support to stabilize your mental health and well-being.
Before experiencing a mental health crisis, it is recommended that you take the time to complete some preventative planning that will prepare you should you feel the onset of a mental health crisis. Prevention steps and strategies that you can take are:
- Maintain a healthy, balanced lifestyle
- Develop stress management tools and coping skills
- Plan ahead for any upcoming stressful situations or events
- Follow a treatment plan as established by your mental health practitioner
- Monitor and document your symptoms to track any changes that you are experiencing
- Reach out to your doctor if your symptoms of mental health are progressing
If you enter into a mental health crisis, there are intervention resources and support that will help you at the moment and maintain your safety and the safety of others. Those steps you can take are:
- Call a mental health hotline or crisis line to receive psychological care and support 24/7
- Inform your loved ones of how you feel to provide you with the support of those you love most
- Attend a walk-in psychiatric urgent care center
- Call your mental health practitioner if it is during their working hours
- Call 911 or attend an emergency room if you believe you or someone else may be in danger
How You Can Help a Friend Or Family Member
As you witness a friend or family member go through the ups and downs of mental health disorders and subsequent side effects of these conditions, you want to be there for your loved one to provide support and maintain their overall safety and well-being. If you notice that your loved one is exhibiting signs of a mental health crisis, you can provide them with love and care they need to get the appropriate help to stabilize their mental health. Tips for you to support a family member or friend through a mental health crisis include:
- Encourage to maintain a regular, daily routine as this has been proven to help support healthy mental health functioning
- Encourage them to reach out to their friends and family for support and to inform them of how they’re feeling or the symptoms of mental health they are experiencing
- Provide a non-judgmental, listening ear. People want to feel heard and validated that their emotions and experiences are valid. Providing them with a safe space to discuss their mental health concerns will help to open the lines of communication and allow you to determine how best to support them with the appropriate resources.
- Offer to help take them to appointments if needed or support with childcare while they attend mental health treatments
The Importance of Diagnosing Mental Health Issues
Sometimes, you may recognize that you are having symptoms of mental health disorders but have not been formally diagnosed with a specific mental health issue. To manage your symptoms, you may attempt home remedies to self-medicate to mitigate the symptoms’ severity. By meeting with a psychiatrist or psychologist who can complete formal assessments with you to help determine a diagnosis for your mental health concerns, you are opening the door to new possibilities and treatments that support you best.
Having a complete understanding and full picture of the mental health disorders you are living with will allow you to gain knowledge of the most appropriate evidence-based therapy methods targeted to treat specific mental health disorders. During your mental health treatment program, you will be able to establish healthy coping skills and tools to manage the specific symptoms that may occur allowing you to have peace of mind and stability in your overall mental health functioning and well-being.
Let You Behavioral Help You Through Your Mental Health Issues
Treating and healing your mental health disorders does not have to be something that you do alone. At You Behavioral Health, we are dedicated to being there every step of the way with our patients to ensure that you are receiving the leading methods of mental health treatment that will allow you to find stability in mental health and emotional regulation. Through our comprehensive treatment plans, you will have access to personalized treatment programs that will support you in overcoming the difficult symptoms of your mental health disorder while empowering you to gain the tools you need to have long-term remission and stability within your mental health and overall health and well-being. You have what it takes to tackle your mental health symptoms and avoid a potential mental health crisis. Just pick up the phone and call (855) 206-2268 to speak to one of our compassionate team members today and begin the life-changing mental health treatment journey today.