Mental health is something that everybody experiences
It can change day-to-day or week-to-week, depending on what is going on in your life.
If you’re noticing some changes to how your thinking, feeling and acting, it’s important to reach out to your support people and take care of yourself.
It can be difficult to get through, but the good news is that there are things you can do and ways to get support.
What are some ‘warning signs’?
People experience mental health challenges and ill-health in different ways. It’s useful to learn what these changes look like for you. We’ve listed some of the common signs and symptoms here -these can be a helpful place to get started, but most importantly, it’s time to get support if your mental health is getting in the way of what’s meaningful to you.
Changes to feelings or emotions
- Feeling difficult or distressing emotions more often or more intensely
- Feeling less interested in things that used to be enjoyable
- Feeling like everything is becoming ‘too hard’
- Feeling like your emotions are ‘out of control’ or overwhelming
Difficult or distressing emotions may include feeling:
- Stressed
- Down
- Anxious
- Guilty
- Irritable
- Grumpy
- Worthless
- Disappointed
- Down
- Numb
- Flat
- Lonely
Changes to thoughts
- Negative thoughts about yourself, others, the world or the future
- Getting ‘stuck’ thinking about the same things over and over again
- Misinterpreting information e.g. taking things personally or always thinking about the ‘worst case scenario’
- Having difficulty concentrating, thinking clearly, or remembering things. Your thoughts might be ‘foggy’, ‘disorganised’ or ‘racing’
- Having thoughts about self-harm, death or suicide
Changes to actions
- Changes to sleep
- waking up a lot or taking a long time to get to sleep
- finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning or wanting to sleep all the time
- Changes to your eating or appetite
- not feeling hungry, skipping meals
- eating more,
- craving particular foods
- Doing less of what you normally enjoy
- Withdrawing from people
- Taking longer to reply to messages
- Finding excuses to not go out
- Spending more time alone
- Having difficulty managing our relationships (e.g. arguing, feeling rejected)
- Avoiding things that feel boring or difficult even when we know there might be consequences later e.g. homework, tiding/cleaning, chores around the house
- Harming yourself or others
- Using more alcohol or drugs
Changes in your body
- Feeling tired, having no energy or motivation
- Racing heart
- Faster breathing
- Feeling tense or sore for no particular reason (particularly in your neck and shoulders)
- Feeling hot and sweaty
- Shaking or finding it difficult to relax
You can visit headspace to find more information about a range of mental health challenges, including Depression, Anxiety and Eating Disorders.
Check out our services to learn more about how your can take care of your mental health and access support.
When things get really tough
If you ever feel unable to cope because of overwhelming or intense emotions, or if you feel unsafe, then ask for help immediately.
In an Emergency call 000 or visit your local Emergency Department.
Tell your support person/people you need support.
Let the staff know “I am feeling unsafe and I need help.”
National 24/7 crisis services
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
13 YARN: 13 92 76