5 Signs It’s Time To Address Your Mental Health

It’s hard to spot when the signs that tell you a mental health day is needed, compared to how easy it is to tell when you need a sick day from work.

However, just because the symptoms of emotional exhaustion don’t manifest in the same way the symptoms of the flu, for example, do doesn’t mean they’re any less serious. Also, learning to pay attention to what your body and mind are telling you is instrumental for your wellbeing.

Of course, it’s not exactly surprising that so many of us are unclear on when a mental health day might be in order; our culture’s attitude towards mental health tends to both stigmatize and minimize our emotional and mental pain.

No wonder we can’t always tell when we need mental health days; our culture has taught us that we shouldn’t need them, and if we do, that we’ve failed in some way.

Regardless of all these societal ideas towards the matter and how difficult it can be most times to identify mental health problems when life gets in the way, these 5 signs pose as a good guide to knowing that it is time to check in with yourself;

• Ongoing irritability could be a sign of burnout, which is now a medical diagnosis. This can also be visible in you overreacting to minor issues. In other words, you tend to get angry for the minute reasons.
• Lack of sleep can make existing mental illness symptoms worse. So if you are constantly not getting the required hours of sleep per day, it should be looked into immediately.
• Increased or decreased appetite could be a sign of depression.
• Sudden lack of sexual interest could be a cause for concern.
• Losing interest in your hobbies can indicate depression or anxiety.