contact@vermontcarepartners.org<\/a><\/p>\nPART 3: \u00a0KNOW THE WARNING SIGNS<\/p>\n
MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH<\/p>\n
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Know the warning signs, as they are indicators that someone may be suffering and it is time to take action and get the necessary help for them. Many people suffer from mental health issues at one time or another affecting their thinking, mood, and behavior. Mental health issues can develop in a child, an adolescent, or in an adult. According to MentalHealth.gov, \u201cmental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. \u00a0It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices, at every stage of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Many different factors contribute to mental health problems but if you know the warning signs you will be prepared to get the help you or someone you know needs. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, \u201ctrying to tell the difference between what expected behaviors are and what might be the signs of a<\/p>\n
mental illness isn\u2019t always easy. There\u2019s no easy test that can let someone know if there is a mental illness or if actions and thoughts might be typical behaviors of a person or the result of a physical illness. Each illness has its own symptoms, but common signs of mental illness in adults and adolescents can include the following list:\u201d<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 Excessive worrying or fear<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 Feeling excessively sad or low<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 Confused thinking or problems concentrating and learning<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 Extreme mood changes, including uncontrollable \u201chighs\u201d or feelings of euphoria<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 Prolonged or strong feelings of irritability or anger<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 Avoiding friends and social activities<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 Difficulties understanding or relating to other people<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 Changes in sleeping habits or feeling tired and low energy<\/p>\n
– Changes in eating habits such as increased hunger or lack of appetite<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 Changes in sex drive<\/p>\n
– Difficulty perceiving reality (delusions or hallucinations, in which a person experiences and senses things that don\u2019t exist in objective reality)<\/p>\n
– Inability to perceive changes in one\u2019s own feelings, behavior or personality (\u201clack of insight\u201d)<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 Abuse of substances like alcohol or drugs<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 Multiple physical ailments without obvious causes (such as headaches, stomach aches, vague and ongoing \u201caches and pains\u201d)<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 Thinking about suicide<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 Inability to carry out daily activities or handle daily problems and stress<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 An intense fear of weight gain or concern with appearance<\/p>\n
\u201cWARNING SIGNS that your CHILD might have a mental health condition\u201d, according to the Mayo Clinic include:<\/p>\n
– \u201cMood changes. Look for feelings of sadness or withdrawal that last at least two weeks or severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships at home or school.\u201d<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 \u201cIntense feelings. Be aware of feelings of overwhelming fear for no reason \u2014 sometimes with a racing heart or fast breathing \u2014 or worries or fears intense enough to interfere with daily activities.\u201d<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 \u201cBehavior changes. These include drastic changes in behavior or personality, as well as dangerous or out- of-control behavior. Fighting frequently, using weapons and expressing a desire to badly hurt others also are warning signs.\u201d<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 \u201cDifficulty concentrating. Look for signs of trouble focusing or sitting still, both of which might lead to poor performance in school.\u201d<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 \u201cUnexplained \u00a0weight loss. A sudden loss of appetite, frequent vomiting or use of laxatives might indicate an eating disorder.\u201d<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 \u201cPhysical symptoms. Compared with adults, children with a mental health condition might develop headaches and stomachaches rather than sadness or anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 \u201cPhysical harm. Sometimes a mental health condition leads to self-injury, also called self-harm. This is the act of deliberately harming your own body, such as cutting or burning yourself. Children with a mental health condition also might develop suicidal thoughts or attempt suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n
–\u00a0 \u201cSubstance \u00a0abuse. Some kids use drugs or alcohol to try to cope with their feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In addition, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) indicate that \u201cbecause children are still learning how to identify and talk about thoughts and emotions\u201d the warning signs are going to look more behavioral in nature. These symptoms may include: \u201cchanges in school performance, excessive worry or anxiety, hyperactive behavior, nightmares, disobedience or aggression, temper tantrums\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Many people don\u2019t know where to go for help and therefore don\u2019t get the treatment needed to make them better. To find an agency near you visit \u00a0https:\/\/vermontcarepartners.org\/agencies\/<\/u> or call VT Care Partners<\/p>\n
at 802-223-1773.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: \u00a05-Part Series on Mental Health to be published daily or weekly during May Contact: Joe Halko \/ NCSS \/ 802.393.6414 Visit: \u00a0https:\/\/vermontcarepartners.org\/agencies\/ Phone Number: VT Care Partners, 802.223.1773 Email: contact@vermontcarepartners.org PART 3: \u00a0KNOW THE WARNING SIGNS MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH Know the warning signs, as they are indicators that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ncssinc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ncssinc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ncssinc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncssinc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncssinc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncssinc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":360,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncssinc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359\/revisions\/360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ncssinc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncssinc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncssinc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}