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Post by Toni-Louise on Sept 13, 2013 12:15:08 GMT
I wonder if any ambassadors for any mental health problems would be willing to post some examples of what to look out for in friends and relatives if you think they may be suffering with a mental health problem.Sometimes people with mental health problems may attempt to deal with their problems on their own or may be unsure of what may be classed as a mental health problem,so it may be beneficial for people to know what to look for in other people, which may be difficult to notice, if you do not know what to look for.If other members want to answer also that would be great =]
I will start by giving some examples based on my experiences of living with my mam who suffers from range of disorders including Bipolar.
Manic
when my mam is in a manic phase she may stay up several nights in a row
she may feel very motivated to get things done and make unrealistic plans
she may make impulse purchases
Depressive
When my mam is in a depressive phase she may sleep a lot sometimes barely being awake an hour in a day
she may avoid the company of others
I hope that others will post their examples and I hope this thread may be helpful in some way and that it does not upset anyone but I think it may be helpful to have some idea what to look for in loved ones and I believe it may be beneficial to hear from people who have experienced the problems in question
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Post by ldavis2100 on Sept 14, 2013 21:14:59 GMT
This is a fantastic post Toni, will be really helpful for people, as there definitely isn't enough support for people living with someone with MH, and I know sometimes it can be just as hard a struggle.
Here's a few signs i can think of, hopefully it's of some help?
I think this one could be important, as this problem is easier if caught quickly... Especially as self-harmers are very good at being secretive!
Self Harm
Wearing oversized clothes or long sleeves, even in hot weather
Secretive behaviour or feeling very insecure
Closed off or distracted
Wanting to be on ones own or in a room alone for a long time
Irritable and agitated
I know they're quite simple to us, but may not be for others
Depression
Quiet, 'shut out' behaviour, if out of character
Lack of appetite, or over eating
Trouble with sleeping
Agitated or irritable
Lack of interest or lack of focus
Again, only bits from what I am aware of...
OCD
Being very particular about certain things
Getting aggressive or flustered if things aren't done a certain way
Taking long ways round
Making excuses for 'silly rituals/routines'
Increasing the amount of 'day-to-day' things e.g cleaning/eating/tapping fingers/movements
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Post by Bex on Sept 18, 2013 10:58:34 GMT
Really great post Toni! I don't really remember much about my Mum's MH disorders, especially as so much of it was mixed in with her behaviours as a drinker. However, I'll put down the things I can remember about hers first:
NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder)
Constantly seeking attention, regardless of whether it was good or bad attention
Feeling as though they should be treated differently, almost as if they are a VIP, compared to everyone else
Finding it difficult to understand why others may be upset/angry, unable to empathise
Overly dramatic and emotional behaviour (perhaps tied in with the attention aspect)
Constantly wanting to be powerful, famous, beautiful, super intelligent, I guess superior in general (even believing this sometimes)
Being extremely jealous of others but also thinking people are jealous of them
Finding weaknesses in people and judging them or disliking them because of that
Making people do what they want, on a regular basis
Alcoholism
I guess the obvious one for this is a person drinking a lot (slurred speech, wobbliness, you may also be able to smell alcohol)
Hiding drinking from others (putting bottles/cans straight into the green bin or hiding them around a bedroom)
Becoming nervous/anxious/angry when unable to drink
Sleeping more
Eating more/less
Not looking after oneself
Drinking as a way of avoiding situations such as trauma/depression/things going wrong in general
Denial
Okay, so onto mine!
Agoraphobia
Making excuses to not leave the house
Confining themselves to a particular room, group of rooms, or the house in general
Unexplained feelings of panic or anxiety
Getting angry/upset when being asked to leave the house or do something out of the comfort zones
In the beginning not being able to explain why there is a fear of going certain places
Avoiding social situations or places where large groups of people gather
Low self esteem
Depression and anxiety
Avoiding situations or places where there is seemingly no escape (flying is a good example of this)
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Post by lucyrob on Sept 18, 2013 11:33:18 GMT
This is a fab post...
Depression:
- Withdrawn/unusually quiet
- Lack of motivation
- Uninterested in things they usually enjoy
- Change of appetite, whether that's not wanting to eat, or eating all the time
- irritably and lack of patience
- Problems sleeping, or sleeping all the time. Or periods of both
- increase anxiety
- Fatigued or lack of energy
- feeling worthless/hopeless
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Post by loxanichs on Sept 18, 2013 14:48:12 GMT
Brilliant idea, truly ^^
DID: constant forgetfulness, unable to be explained by anything else including substance abuse.
Unable to recal personal information, also unable to he explained away by anything else.
Behavior/Attitude/Mannerisms not typically associated with their regular behavior.
Saying or doing things but being honestly unable to recollect any of the events later.
Complaints of headaches, fatigue (physical exhaustion is believed to be felt by all the alters, only their mental state is alert, I'm told its an extremely odd feeling lol) even though they recall going to bed, blackouts, identity confusion, memories/experiences they feel no attachment to, compulsions to act against their typical behavior, or, upon acting on those impulses, demonstrating feats they couldn't possibly otherwise (an extreme example would be a person who gets anxious around cars suddenly buys one and drives around normally)
Most blatantly, identifying as another person altogether, although I think this is rare.
In earlier stages of life, communicating with 'invisible friends is a sign' but bear in mind not to confuse this with normal imaginary play!
Because DID typically is co-morbid with other disorders such as Depression and Anxiety, it can be extremely difficult to make an accurate diagnosis until several years of screening have been done.
But I'm no real expert, sort of just went over the various things I experienced when I was younger, thinking now this all looks like one big ramble lol
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Post by ellief on Sept 18, 2013 17:30:15 GMT
Borderline personality disorder.
- emotions change like the flick of a light switch.
- can be very rapid cycles of emotions.
- feelings provoke stronger reactions than the average person (we feel them more intensely)
- impulsive actions that are often not thought through, and sometimes regretted after.
- impulsivity also means often we do things but we have no idea why.
- pseudo psychosis (psychosis that when thinking rationally and not in a psychotic episode we know isn't real) or actual psychosis.
- self harm
- sometimes suicide attempts
- often push people away but want them there at the same time.
- assumes they cause any bad interaction or mood they encounter in others.
- terrified of being abandoned (often to the point of not letting people close in case it happens).
Self harm
- unexplained scars or cuts or scratches or illnesses.
- sharp objects going missing.
- long sleeves or trousers in hot weather (all though don't just assume on this because some people who were super conscious of their bodies do this too).
-flinching at being touched or wincing when touched.
Anxious and avoidance personality disorder
- avoiding social situations.
- becoming visibly anxious before or during social interaction.
- avoiding social situations.
- avoiding people.
- avoiding phone calls.
- having panic attacks.
Anorexia
- weight loss.
- clothes becoming ill fitting, or the person wearing baggier clothes, or buying lots of new clothes a lot to hide their weight loss.
- weighing themselves more often.
- lying, not just about food, but about lots of things.
- becoming anxious or not letting people enter their room or look at their things.
- general secretive behaviours.
- going to the toilet soon after food.
- long periods of time spent in the bathroom.
- fainting, or falling.
- panic attacks.
- eating alone.
- eating in patterns.
- excessive exercise or fidgeting.
- refusal to attend social activities involving food.
- avoiding meal times.
- hiding food, hiding vomit.
obviously these are just symptoms I can think of off the top of my head, they're aren't exclusive, there are waaaay more.
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Post by Toni-Louise on Sept 21, 2013 19:59:52 GMT
I thought that maybe if we could get people to respond we could put together a PDF or something based on this information. I have made a very quick example of what I mean, it could be in like a poster form like my example or a leaflet or something... Minds like ours.pub (105 KB) ...anyway let me know what people think please. |
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Post by lucyrob on Sept 21, 2013 20:21:15 GMT
Definitely sounds like something to look into Toni! Good idea
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Post by BethH on Sept 22, 2013 8:41:14 GMT
This is a fantastic post Toni, will be really helpful for people, as there definitely isn't enough support for people living with someone with MH, and I know sometimes it can be just as hard a struggle. Here's a few signs i can think of, hopefully it's of some help? I think this one could be important, as this problem is easier if caught quickly... Especially as self-harmers are very good at being secretive!Self HarmWearing oversized clothes or long sleeves, even in hot weather Secretive behaviour or feeling very insecure Closed off or distracted Wanting to be on ones own or in a room alone for a long time Irritable and agitated I know they're quite simple to us, but may not be for othersDepressionQuiet, 'shut out' behaviour, if out of character Lack of appetite, or over eating Trouble with sleeping Agitated or irritable Lack of interest or lack of focus Again, only bits from what I am aware of...OCD
Being very particular about certain things Getting aggressive or flustered if things aren't done a certain way Taking long ways round Making excuses for 'silly rituals/routines' Increasing the amount of 'day-to-day' things e.g cleaning/eating/tapping fingers/movements I don't know if anyone else has experienced this, but when I was self harming I found that I used to get very anxious whenever someone else mentioned self harm, in case they somehow figured out what I was doing. The list of OCD symptoms pretty much covers them all, but you might notice other things, such as: - The person spends an excessive amount of time on regular tasks (such as making their bed) and appears very anxious if they are made to stop. - The person goes back to things they were asked not to do (such as covering their hands with their sleeves when picking up objects) and appears reluctant to stop. - The person appears detached or daydreaming for long periods of time (carrying out mental rituals) and becomes anxious or irritated if they are interrupted. - The person recognises that their thoughts and behaviours are excessive and irrational, but is very reluctant to let go of them. One of the key things to remember with OCD is that the person's obsessions and compulsions have to take up at least one hour a day of their time (or equivalent to one hour a day) in order to qualify for a diagnosis. Many people will say they have OCD if they are perfectionists or like things done in a certain way, but more often than not they don't. |
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Post by BethH on Sept 22, 2013 8:47:27 GMT
I think that some types of OCD can mimic agoraphobia as well, as some people may spend large amounts of time in one place (such as their bedroom) in order to avoid things that trigger their OCD, or make excuses not to go certain places or take part in certain activities. It can also lead to or trigger social anxiety if the person fears that people will notice their rituals and judge them.
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Post by xxxxxxx on Sept 22, 2013 19:29:25 GMT
Borderline personality disorder.- emotions change like the flick of a light switch. - can be very rapid cycles of emotions. - feelings provoke stronger reactions than the average person (we feel them more intensely) - impulsive actions that are often not thought through, and sometimes regretted after. - impulsivity also means often we do things but we have no idea why. - pseudo psychosis (psychosis that when thinking rationally and not in a psychotic episode we know isn't real) or actual psychosis. - self harm - sometimes suicide attempts - often push people away but want them there at the same time. - assumes they cause any bad interaction or mood they encounter in others. - terrified of being abandoned (often to the point of not letting people close in case it happens). This is fantastic, Ellie. I would also add that in regards to impulsive behaviour, some particular ones to watch out for are drinking excessively/binging, possibly taking drugs and/or 'promiscuous' behaviour. The latter is a bit of a grey area as obviously some people have sex more than others, and there's nothing wrong with that. But it's still something to potentially watch out for, and fairly common with people who have BPD (in my experience). Toni-Louise - I think making a leaflet/PDF would be a great idea. |
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Post by ellief on Sept 23, 2013 6:18:55 GMT
True, but I guess it also depends on co-morbidity. Because of my anorexia I hate any intimate contact. Which is apparently quiet common (both co-morbidity and hatred of intimate contact)
Risky behaviours cam also be
-Eating foods your allergic to.
-Spending unwise amounts of money or money you don't have.
-dangerous "practical joke" ideas that are impulsive. (like climbing in the tumble dyer)
-Doing things just to see what happens.
Etc!!!
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Post by Katrine on Oct 23, 2013 21:45:51 GMT
Great post! My first experience was with my friend who had a depression, when I was 14. I didn't know any of the symptoms and only found out about her problems when she tried to kill herself. More people need to be aware.
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Lia
Junior Sharer
Her eyes had clouded over, and it rained everyday.
Posts: 69 
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Post by Lia on Nov 3, 2013 18:32:13 GMT
Hope you don't mind me contributing, these are mainly based on my experiences but I know others experience them too :
Social Anxiety Disorder
-sweating
-excessive blushing
-shaking
-heavy/erratic breathing
-avoiding walking past people (I tend to cross the road, change direction etc.)
-making excuses to not go out
-seeming withdrawn when in public (e.g if I have to sit somewhere I tend to curl up like I'm trying to make myself as small and unnoticeable as possible)
-not eating/drinking around others
-avoiding conversation (and talking as little as possible if I have to talk at all)
-refusing to use a public bathroom
-avoiding phone calls
-avoid eye contact (I can't stand it)
-panic/anxiety attacks
-crossing arms and/or legs to try and hide shaking/trembling
-if forced to sit/stand with people, sitting/standing as far away as possible
-crying when faced with social situations
-pretty much avoiding social interaction at all cost
(-I also can't stand being touched but I'm unsure whether that's to do with anxiety or other issues)
I only included the noticeable behavioral/physical signs I hope that was right?
xx
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Post by Toni-Louise on Nov 5, 2013 22:36:05 GMT
Thank you very much Lia your response is great =] |
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