Discussion How do you know if you have mental health issues?

[LivingToLong]

Mental health is a topic that's getting increasing exposure - and quite rightly. People are suffering, particularly with stress and anxiety. Depression is supposedly on the increase (but I suppose that's difficult to measure objectively since we are more open about it now than we used to be, yet in some cultures it's still very much a taboo subject)

My question might seem a little silly to some but I really don't know if I have a mental health 'issue' or not. I know I am very fragile emotionally, I know I don't have positive thoughts, I know I see my future as bleak, I know I lack self-confidence... yet I can see all of that and I don't kid myself about it. I would like to he happier and I know I have to work at that. So I kind of tell myself that I must be sort of OK because I'm not delusional (or at least I don't think I am!) Sometimes I think that it is just the way I am, that I've just got to put up with it and stop complaining. I just need to get out more, get more exercise etc etc etc... a kick up the arse even.

I guess part of it is that I would find it sort of embarrassing to tell anyone that I have problems. Sort of anyway. Plus I kind of know that by any objective measure, I'm not so badly off. But equally I really don't know if my thinking is skewed, if I'm in some kind of denial. When I did therapy, I always came away happier for having talked but nowhere near closer to feeling I was 'cured'... so I started to think there was nothing to cure, because there was nothing wrong in the first place.

I don't get it. How can I not know?

 

[Brick In The Wall]

You sound fairly atypical and normal to me. Everyone has some level of mental issues to deal with from time to time. Therapy or counseling does help most people to some degree but the feeling is fleeting just as you mentioned. Hence why they want to see you back each week or multiple times a week.

I think the definition of what it means to be normal has changed over the years. Nowadays many Doctors and shrinks are quick to diagnose or misdiagnose people with mental illnesses. Many once normal behaviors are considered mental health related now, they also add new ones constantly.

The medical system is big business and they have to keep finding ways to expand into more money. Don't let yourself fall into the trap unless you really do need some serious help. The medical industry is a revolving door and taking psych meds can damage you irreversibly for the long term.

 

[passenger27]

You sound fairly atypical and normal to me. Everyone has some level of mental issues to deal with from time to time. Therapy or counseling does help most people to some degree but the feeling is fleeting just as you mentioned. Hence why they want to see you back each week or multiple times a week.

I think the definition of what it means to be normal has changed over the years. Nowadays many Doctors and shrinks are quick to diagnose or misdiagnose people with mental illnesses. Many once normal behaviors are considered mental health related now, they also add new ones constantly.

The medical system is big business and they have to keep finding ways to expand into more money. Don't let yourself fall into the trap unless you really do need some serious help. The medical industry is a revolving door and taking psych meds can damage you irreversibly for the long term.

I agree 100% with you. I used to think I could really benefit from therapy and meds, but it was a pipe dream for me. Not to knock other people that get the help they need from that, but I got zero from it.

I went to therapy for 10 years and have been seeing a psychiatrist for 18. It's funny, because I bet some of these guys were still in school when I 1st started therapy.

I know the meds are slowly killing me but I still take them like an idiot. I guess because I'm suicidal anyway, so why care?

A huge slap in the face to me is the CDC claiming that too much gaming was a mental illness. It's not. I could show real mental illness when I have a manic spell from this lovely Bipolar 1 I was blessed with. But hey, gamers make these leeches more money, so of course it's a mental illness. It's nauseating.

It may seem like I'm contradicting myself for bitching about mental healthcare & I'm still seeing a psychiatrist, it's basically I have to go. I'm on disability and I'm quite sure those guys keep up with when you see a doctor. I've been reviewed twice & they do want info about doctor appointments, so unfotunately I'm stuck in the system.

 

[Final Escape]

I didn't know till I was well into my 30's. In my case it didn't come out nowhere. There was significant abuse and neglect in the formative years. I think some people do have actual brain abnormalities that cause stuff like bipolar disorder. I mean I was getting diagnosed with the symptoms of having been maltreated but that's not necessarily mental illness. It's just your brain trying to adapt to a shitty environment.

 

[Sensei]

Mental health is a topic that's getting increasing exposure - and quite rightly. People are suffering, particularly with stress and anxiety. Depression is supposedly on the increase (but I suppose that's difficult to measure objectively since we are more open about it now than we used to be, yet in some cultures it's still very much a taboo subject)

My question might seem a little silly to some but I really don't know if I have a mental health 'issue' or not. I know I am very fragile emotionally, I know I don't have positive thoughts, I know I see my future as bleak, I know I lack self-confidence... yet I can see all of that and I don't kid myself about it. I would like to he happier and I know I have to work at that. So I kind of tell myself that I must be sort of OK because I'm not delusional (or at least I don't think I am!) Sometimes I think that it is just the way I am, that I've just got to put up with it and stop complaining. I just need to get out more, get more exercise etc etc etc... a kick up the arse even.

I guess part of it is that I would find it sort of embarrassing to tell anyone that I have problems. Sort of anyway. Plus I kind of know that by any objective measure, I'm not so badly off. But equally I really don't know if my thinking is skewed, if I'm in some kind of denial. When I did therapy, I always came away happier for having talked but nowhere near closer to feeling I was 'cured'... so I started to think there was nothing to cure, because there was nothing wrong in the first place.

I don't get it. How can I not know?

A common view is that you have a mental health condition when it becomes debilitating and interferes with work, social life, and other aspects of life.

 

[Epsilon0]

You pose a very difficult question.

To me, illness has to do with the level of constraint a symptom imposes on me. How much of a constraining effect does something have on my free agency?


If I am having a crippling panic attack each time I leave my home, although all I want is to go to work and meet up with my friends, then I would call that a disorder.

If, I, on the other hand, don't want to leave my house because I hate people and society, then that is not a disorder.

There are of course degrees and variations, the spectrum is not uniform, but this is, in sweeping terms, how I view this issue.

 

[LivingToLong]

If, I, on the other hand, don't want to leave my house because I hate people and society, then that is not a disorder.

I would say that more closely typifies how I feel. Not so much 'hate' but certainly feel unprepared to deal with. It's certainly my choice, let's put it that way. That said, I do face anxiety but not to crippling levels.

 

[Epsilon0]

I would say that more closely typifies how I feel. Not so much 'hate' but certainly feel unprepared to deal with. It's certainly my choice, let's put it that way. That said, I do face anxiety but not to crippling levels.

I am glad to hear that, I hope it will always stay under your control. There are a few treatments that work for moderate anxiety, I have had a fair amount of help from them. I wish you all the best!

 

[Moonicide]

When it impacts the quality of your life, that's when it's a mental health issue / disorder.

 

[LivingToLong]

If by "under control" one means that I choose to behave in a certain way (e.g. avoiding crowds or social events) then, yes. But I have to say it's coping strategy and not at all my preference. I would prefer to be less social awkward/inhibited, and certainly not to be considered a bit of a weirdo!

I recently had a panic attack and that was anything but 'under control'! I was reacting almost as if under a survival instinct, even though I was in no actual danger.

When it impacts the quality of your life, that's when it's a mental health issue / disorder.

I kinda know what you're saying but 'impacts the quality of life' is a broad statement. To avoid large social events has some impact on life quality, though perhaps not a life threatening one.

 

[Epsilon0]

If by "under control" one means that I choose to behave in a certain way (e.g. avoiding crowds or social events) then, yes. But I have to say it's coping strategy and not at all my preference. I would prefer to be less social awkward/inhibited, and certainly not to be considered a bit of a weirdo!

I recently had a panic attack and that was anything but 'under control'! I was reacting almost as if under a survival instinct, even though I was in no actual danger.


I kinda know what you're saying but 'impacts the quality of life' is a broad statement. To avoid large social events has some impact on life quality, though perhaps not a life threatening one.

Panic attacks... I don't even know where to start about that. They are beyond words. I wish noone ever had to go through such a dreadful experience.