How many times have such thoughts crossed your mind? How do they make you feel?

When things don’t go the way you wanted them to, such thoughts are obvious to occur in your mind. But what you need to notice is, if such thoughts are temporary or are you looping in them more often?

Because the more you think such thoughts the more impact it has on your mental health

Major mental issues don’t appear out of a blue. They’re often the result of ignoring small changes, the feeling that “something is not quite right” about our thoughts and behaviour before it becomes a full-blown issue.

So if we become aware of our early symptoms we can protect the mental health of ourselves and our loved ones.

This is what you can do –

Observe

The first as always is to observe all the changes that are happening with you. You can literally see the signs such as changes in sleep patterns, dramatic mood swings, withdrawal from social conversations, loss of interest in everything, increased sensitivity. Observe any unusual behaviour you may find with yourself or with the people around you.

Don’t brush these symptoms off as just stress. Keep a note on what is happening within you. Or when you notice this with a loved one, observe the pattern and frequency

You can use various self-assessments that can also point you to the direction of your mental health

Analyse

Next, you analyse if there is any possible root cause for this. Since when do you think you’ve been experiencing such changes. Is that a result of any event such as a heartbreak or loss of a loved one. Because sometimes such events can derail us a bit and if it’s temporary, it’s perfectly normal. Prolonged derailment is not normal. Try to think what is causing it and how long have you been troubled by it.

Express

Then try to talk to someone closest to you about. Expressing what’s in your heart and mind can ease up tensions to a certain degree. Speak to someone whom you can trust, someone who will listen without any advice and let you off the steam. If you don’t have anyone close to you to trust, then try Personal coaching. It is the best option for you to get an unbiased and non-judgemental listening.

Learn

You need to learn and stay informed about the things you need to do for your mental health. Learn if there is any family history, or what is the degree of susceptibility for you to get there. Although there is a ton of information on this online, you can talk to a family doctor or a counsellor for this. And perhaps you can play a brain game or puzzles.. whatever they recommend for you to stay healthy mentally.

“If we start being honest about our pain, our anger, and our shortcomings instead of pretending they don’t exist, then maybe we’ll leave the world a better place than we found it.”

– Russell Wilson

Mental issues are as important as physical ones yet it doesn’t get the attention it needs. As you take care of your body, so must you take care of your mind.

You can also watch the video version here