Reasons to Seek Help
Mental Health Facts
Mental Health Facts
The following are some of the symptoms that usually signal the need for professional counseling. Only a trained professional can diagnose and determine the treatment needed.
- Crippling or excessive anxieties (phobias, fears, panic attacks)
- Marked personality change
- Prolonged depression and apathy (a sense of hopelessness, loss of
pleasure in life, helplessness, confusion, or constant frustration) - Wide mood swings (extreme highs and lows)
- Excessive anger or hostility; destructive, abusive, or violent behavior
- Abuse of drugs or alcohol
- Marked changes in eating or sleeping patterns
- Thinking or talking about suicide
- A feeling that you've lost control of your life
- Inability to cope with problems or daily activities, such as school, job, or personal needs
- Sexual problems or abuse
- Preoccupation with physical illness
- Strange or grandiose ideas
- Problems on the job
- Overall decline in job performance
- Difficulty interacting with other people (friends, significant other, parents, children, and co-workers)
- Post-traumatic stress responses
- Denial of obvious problems; strong resistance to receiving help
- Seeing or hearing things that aren't actually present
- Suspiciousness or paranoia
- Extreme jealousy
- Difficulty with authority
- Social withdrawal and isolation
- Inability to cope with the loss of a loved one
- Problems with the law
- Compulsive behaviors (i.e., spending, gambling, overeating)
This page last updated on March 1st, 2009.
Content last reviewed on February 28th, 2009.
Content last reviewed on February 28th, 2009.