Warning Signs
It’s not always easy to spot the early warning signs of a possible mental illness. Many of the signals we’ve listed below can also be normal reactions to life changes or side effects of medication or physical illnesses. However, any sudden changes in behaviour should be kept an eye on and if a family member or friend starts to show some worrying thoughts or actions, it’s important you speak to them to decide on the right course of action to help.
Discovering signs of mental ill-health in a loved one can be a frightening and bewildering experience. However, the help and support are there for you and speaking to your GP or another medical professional as soon as your worries arise can be hugely beneficial to helping you cope and finding the right treatment as quickly as possible.
As with all aspects of mental health, the journey is a personal one and each illness has its own symptoms, but here are some of the common signs of mental illness in adults and young people:
- Feeling overly sad or down
- Excessive and unnecessary worrying or fear
- Finding it hard to sleep and feeling overly tired
- Difficulty in concentrating on daily activities or learning
- Confused thoughts
- Extreme mood swings – from feeling very down to incredibly high
- Strong feelings of irritability or anger
- Distancing yourself from friends and/or normal social activities
- Not feeling like eating or wanting to eat much more than normal
- Evident increases or decreases in sex drive
- Not understanding what is real and what is not (e.g. hallucinations, delusions or believing something that is not happening)
- Substance abuse such as overuse of alcohol or drugs
- Suicidal thoughts
- An obsession with weight or appearance
Getting Help
If you have any concerns about your mental health, don’t panic, help is here for you. We understand that it can be really difficult to seek help for the first time. Its also difficult to know where to turn. In the first instance, But remember, you are not alone and suffering from mental ill-health is nothing to be ashamed of and is experienced by at least 1 in every 3 people at some time or another.
Your Doctor
It’s a good idea to voice your concerns to your GP, who may assess the symptoms and make an appropriate referral to a psychiatrist, therapist or councillor or suggest other treatment options such as medication. While your doctor is there to help you and will not judge, approaching a GP can sometime be difficult.
Peer Support
Sometimes it can help to talk to someone you trust or speak top someone that has experienced the kind of things you are experiencing. That’s where our peer supporters can help. Peer supporters have each had experience of mental ill health and/or substance abuse and have found ways to manage their conditions and cope with the illness in their everyday lives. They can therefore share their own experiences, provide information and suggest ways for self care and support. See our Discovery College for more information.
Help lines and listening services:
You can contact Samaritans 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on: 116 123
If your experiencing a mental health problem or are supporting someone else contact SANEline on: 0300 304 7000
You can call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 0800 689 5652
If your affected by suicide or suicidal thoughts, you can contact CALM on 0800 58 58 58 or if you prefer not to speak on the phone, you can try the CALM webchat service
If your under 35 and struggling with suicidal feelings, or concerned about a young person who might be struggling, you can contact Papyrus HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141
If your a student you can look at the Nightline Website to see if your university or college offers night time listening services.
If you identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, you can call Switchboard on 0300 330 0630
NHS 24 mental health services are available to everyone in Scotland, of all ages. The services they offer include listening, offering advice, and guiding you to further help if required.
Phone 111 if you’re:
- feeling distressed
- in a state of despair
- suicidal
- in need of emotional support
For an emergency ambulance phone 999
see: Mental health services at NHS 24 (nhsinform.scot)
Student Services
Higher education institutions usually have a student wellbeing centre where enrolled students can go for support.
To find out more see our pages on student mental health.
Mental health apps
There are various apps available that you could use to help yourself day-to-day. But you need to know they are providing you with the right advice. MIND have put together a library of safe apps that meet their high quality standards and these are the ons that we would recommend.
If your unsure where to turn contact our Peer Supporters at any of our Discovery Colleges who will be happy to help.