Mental disorder: Warning signs, importance of early intervention!

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Our struggle to keep pace with the turbo-charged world is increasingly causing a myriad of psychological, social and physical ailments. Yet, the competitions are getting tougher and the creativeness is getting stronger day by day.

Although we can't avoid living under unnatural time pressures, it's important for us to take care of our mental health just as we take care of our physical health.

Learning about mental illnesses, their developing symptoms, or early warning signs and taking swift action can help.

Mental illness, also called mental disorder or psychiatric disorder, is a wide range of conditions that affect a person's thinking, feeling or mood. Most common types are – depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dementia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, mood disorders, personality disorders, etc.

Signs and symptoms of mental illness can vary depending on the type of disorder and other factors. Here are some common warning signs of mental illness:

• Feeling anxious or worried
• Extreme mood changes
• Feeling depressed or unhappy
• Withdrawal from friends and loss of interest in others
• Problems with concentration, memory, logical thought
• Sleep problems
• Nervousness
• Changes in behaviour, eating habits
• Inability to cope with everyday problems, stress
• Excessive anger
• Hallucinations - seeing or hearing things that aren't there
• Substance abuse
• Suicidal thoughts

Sometimes signs and symptoms of mental health disorder can also appear as physical problems such as – stomach pain, back pain, headache or other unexplained aches or pains, as per Mayo Clinic.

While it may be difficult to predict whether you're suffering from a mental disorder, if you experience any symptoms of mental illness and are concerned about your mental health, seek immediate help because early intervention can minimise or delay symptoms and improve prognosis.