Mental Heath in a Changing World

Young people and mental health in a changing world is sometimes difficult to understand. The month of October is nationally dedicated to mental health awareness! Luckily, there is growing recognition of the importance of helping others build resilience from early ages where mental illness beings to form. One half of mental illness beings at age 14, however, go undetected until later in life.

Prevention beings with better understanding and awareness of early warning signs as well as symptoms. The internet is an excellent tool to look up symptoms and disorders. There’s plenty of  resources such as online psych tests or lists of symptoms to look for. It’s a helpful first step to know what to look for and then visit a doctor to receive a official diagnosis.

When considering specific symptoms of mental illness, it’s important to keep certain things in mind. Of course the symptoms of mental illness themselves are important, but to truly be a mental illness rather than extreme distress, professionals look deeper than a checklist of symptoms to consider just how they disrupt someone’s life. The more precisely you’re aware of your mental illness symptoms, the better able you’ll be to communicate what you’re dealing with. This means that you and your mental health care provider can determine the best possible treatment plan so you can define new goals, get back into life, and transcend mental illness symptoms.