Back for a second blog post, Sharayah Sinek is sharing her thoughts on noticing signs that you might be experiencing some issues with your mental health. Most of us have never experienced a lockdown or been asked to social distance before. In this blog post Sharayah has given us some symptoms of anxiety and depression to look out for.
This will vary for different mental health conditions, however I will highlight the commonly known ones, such as anxiety and depression. It should also be noted that we ALL will be feeling some of these symptoms due to living in a lot of uncertainty and change at the moment and importantly. It is if these symptoms become overwhelming and impinge on your daily life that I would encourage you to seek professional help in coping with them.
This list is not exhaustive but just the main symptoms:
Anxiety
Struggling to fall or stay asleep
Overthinking or playing things over and over in your mind
Physical symptoms include; increased heart rate, tense or feeling on edge, rapid breathing or difficulty staying focused. You might also feel sick/butterflies in your stomach/knot in your throat sensation, shaking, dry mouth, sweating, loss of appetite
Self-harming, e.g.: nail biting, pulling hair, picking or scratching skin etc.
A sense of dread or fear
Depression
Feelings include; low mood or feeling sad, feeling like there is no way out or hopeless, tearful or also numb/cut off from feelings, feelings of low self-worth, irritability, feeling anxious
Physical symptoms include; difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much, loss of appetite, lack of motivation eg: unable to get out of bed or do daily tasks, lethargic/no energy, loss of enjoyment in things
Suicidal thoughts & self-harm
Isolating yourself from others
Our bodies are designed to either fight or flights. Self-awareness is a vital step in learning to tolerate a mental health issue. Monitor your feelings, track you anxious or depressive thoughts and make a note of erratic behaviours.
You could keep a journal to do this or even a chart or table. Once you learn them, you can start to devise the techniques and actions for relieving the symptoms of anxiety such as meditation, yoga or the 5 second rule.
Remember that if these symptoms are affecting your daily routine you might need to speak to a professional for some advice and strategies. If you are feeling particularly low and need some more advice here are some helplines that might be of use to you.
For further help:
Samaritans
To talk about anything that is upsetting you
Call: 116 123 (free 24-hour helpline)
Website: www.samaritans.org.uk
Cruse Bereavement Care
Call: 0808 808 1677 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)
Website: www.cruse.org.uk