There are times in everyone’s life when they will feel strong emotions of sadness, anger, or irritability. These are normal feelings and can often be associated with specific events. Sometimes we can encounter excessive emotions and feel like we are out of control in our feelings. We feel that we cannot manage our feelings or our lives. These are the kinds of things that can indicate that seeing a psychiatrist may be important. Learning to manage our emotions can help prevent our lives from becoming uncontrollable.
 
There are other life changes that may seem troubling but are considered to be manageable and will be corrected in time. If you have a change in your sleep pattern, it may seem like a change but can also signal a mental health problem. If you are starting to withdraw from social situations that were not a problem before, or if you are using substances to fill the time or escape feelings, if work is becoming more difficult or causing anxiety, or if you have unreasonable bursts of anger, these are all signs of mental health issues. These are good indicators that seeing a psychiatrist is a good choice.

Signs of mental illness can vary and will depend on the disorder, situation, or other factors. Mental illness can affect emotions, behaviors, and thoughts.
 
Signs of mental illness can include:
– Reduced ability to concentrate or confused thinking
– Feeling sad or down
– Excessive worries, fears, or feelings of guilt
– Withdrawal from social activities and friends
– Extreme mood changes from lows to highs
– Low energy, tiredness, or difficulty sleeping
– Delusions (detachment from reality), hallucinations, or paranoia
– Inability to deal with daily aspects of life or stress
– Difficulty understanding and relating to people and situations
– Problems with drug or alcohol use
– Sex drive changes
– Significant changes in eating habits
– Unreasonable or excessive hostility, anger, or violence
– Suicidal ideation
 
Signs of mental health problems can also appear to be physical problems, like back pain, stomach pain, headaches, or other aches and pains.

If you have any of the signs listed above, it is recommended that you see a doctor or psychiatrist. Mental illness is something that doesn’t improve on its own and left untreated, it can get worse and cause serious problems.
 
Suicidal thoughts and behaviors are common with certain mental illnesses. If you are considering hurting yourself, get help right away. Suicidal thinking requires intervention. It will not go away on its own.

The five most common psychiatric disorders are:
1. Anxiety disorders are the most common in America, affecting approximately 40 million adults. Anxiety disorder is a blanket term that includes generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and social anxiety disorder.

2. Mood disorders affect about 10% of adults in America. It is normal to have mood swings, but mood disorders are more persistent and can disrupt daily life. The most common mood disorders are major depression, bipolar disorder, dysthymia, and substance-induced mood disorder.

3. Psychotic disorders change a person’s sense of reality. The most common of these are schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, brief psychotic disorder, and substance-induced psychotic disorder.

4. Dementia is a growing problem and covers a wide range of mental conditions. Dementia disorders include Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, frontal temporal dementia, and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.

5. Eating disorders are complex mental disorders that can often require intervention. These can have serious health consequences. Eating disorders include bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, pica eating disorder, and rumination disorder.
 
Psychiatry Unplugged offers many psychiatric services to help you deal with mental health issues. We can provide diagnostic evaluations, counseling, and more. Call us or book an online appointment to find out how we can help. Our staff members are friendly and thoughtful and are here to help. We are located at 121 W. Lexington Dr. Ste 414 Glendale, CA 91203. We serve patients from Glendale CA, Hollywood CA, Burbank CA, Studio City CA, Pasadena CA, and Calabasas CA.