WARNING SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
Source: National Alliance on Mental Illness
Each illness has its own symptoms, but common signs of mental illness in adults and adolescents can include the following:
- Excessive worrying or fear
- Feeling excessively sad or low
- Confused thinking or problems concentrating and learning
- Extreme mood changes, including uncontrollable “highs” or feelings of euphoria
- Prolonged or strong feelings of irritability or anger
- Avoiding friends and social activities • Difficulties understanding or relating to other people
- Changes in sleeping habits or feeling tired and low energy
- Changes in eating habits such as increased hunger or lack of appetite
- Changes in sex drive
- Difficulty perceiving reality (delusions or hallucinations, in which a person experiences and senses things that don’t exist in objective reality)
- Inability to perceive changes in one’s own feelings, behavior or personality (”lack of insight” or anosognosia)
- Overuse of substances like alcohol or drugs
- Multiple physical ailments without obvious causes (such as headaches, stomach aches, vague and ongoing “aches and pains”)
- Thinking about suicide
- Inability to carry out daily activities or handle daily problems and stress
- An intense fear of weight gain or concern with appearance
Mental health conditions can also begin to develop in young children. Because they’re still learning how to identify and talk about thoughts and emotions, their most obvious symptoms are behavioral. Symptoms in children may include the following:
- Changes in school performance
- Excessive worry or anxiety, for instance fighting to avoid bed or school
- Hyperactive behavior
- Frequent nightmares
- Frequent disobedience or aggression
- Frequent temper tantrums
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LINE
Phone: 1-800-273-8255 (TALK)
Crisis Text: “MN” to 741741
MINNESOTA FARM AND RURAL HELPLINE
Phone: 833-600-2670
Text: FARMSTRESS to 898211
Free, confidential, 24/7. This call center is located in Minnesota. Calls are answered by trained staff and volunteers.
MINNESOTA WARMLINE
Phone: 877-404-3190
Text: “Support” to 85511
The Minnesota Warmline provides a peer-to-peer approach to mental health recovery, support and wellness.
NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS (NAMI)
Phone: 800-950-NAMI (6264) or
info@nami.org
www.nami.org has resources for finding local offices.
SUICIDE AWARENESS VOICES OF EDUCATION
www.save.org
Provides grief support for suicide loss survivors
AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION
www.afsp.org
MAKE IT OK
https://makeitok.org/
“Make It OK” is a campaign to reduce the stigma of mental illnesses.
VETERANS CRISIS LINE
Phone: 1-800-273-8255
TEEN CRISIS LINE
Phone: 310-855-4673
THE TREVOR PROJECT
(LGBTQ Crisis and Suicide Hotline)
Phone: 866-488-7386
WHERE TO GET HELP
Don’t be afraid to reach out if you or someone you know needs help. Learning all you can about mental health is an important first step. Reach out to your health insurance, primary care doctor or state/county mental health authority for more resources.