5 Signs Of Poor Mental Health That You Should Not Ignore
We all want to enjoy good mental health but, taking into account that it is a very subjective concept, sometimes it is difficult to know if we are really already enjoying it or, on the contrary, we could be suffering from a silent discomfort but very harmful to our way of relating. with others and the world.
Each culture understands what good mental health is in its own way, but fortunately there are international diagnostic taxonomies that suggest what is mental health and what is not, indicating that there are a series of signs of poor mental health.
Throughout this article we are going to talk about what low mental health is and what could be the signs that tell us that we should try to improve our psychological state.
We all want to enjoy good mental health and we want to have everything possible within our reach to guarantee it. However, Maintaining this type of health can be very complicated, especially because the idea behind it is quite subjective and difficult to define.
Proof of this is that in each culture the idea of what it means to be psychologically healthy is very diverse, interpreting as something perfectly normal a behavior that in another could be seen as a sign of concern. From when or at what point do we go from having good mental health to having low and poor mental health?
Mental health is closely linked to culture and should not be understood as dichotomous, but rather dimensional. We have a greater or lesser degree of mental health, and it can also vary throughout our lives. because things happen to us, as human beings, phenomena, situations and experiences that alter our emotional stability.
But despite being gradual and drawing the line between being mentally healthy and not being mentally healthy is complicated, we can affirm that there are a series of thoughts, emotions and behaviors that serve as signs of poor mental health.
What are the signs of poor mental health to look out for?
In very general terms, we can define good mental health as that condition in which we enjoy general well-being in terms of cognitive, emotional and behavioral aspects. We enjoy this well-being when our way of thinking, feeling and behaving does not cause psychological deterioration or bring us suffering.
But no one is well 24 hours a day. Our emotional state can be a real roller coaster, accompanied by all kinds of dysfunctional behaviors and thoughts that only bring us overwhelm, frustration, stress and anxiety. “Normal” people can suffer moments of extreme psychological disturbance, what we would normally call having a very bad day and, pardon the redundancy, it is totally normal.
However, if we live each day like this, if what was a bad day becomes our daily routine, our daily bread, then there is a problem.
Unfortunately, people who live immersed in dysfunctional thoughts, emotions and behaviors Practically every day of their lives they are so used to it that they think that this is normal, and they do not consider that it is a sign of poor mental health, even though this suffering can be the tip of the iceberg of something serious, a disorder. that prevents them from living a happy, functional, productive and satisfying life.
Each mental health problem has its own signs and symptoms although we can mention an extensive list of several of them, such as those below:
But, In addition to all these signs, we can highlight the following five that we will see below , which we are going to explain in greater detail to understand why they could be a sign of poor mental health. Keep in mind that the presence of just one of them does not indicate that psychopathology exists, and that in any case the diagnosis is only made by mental health professionals.
Procrastination is “don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today” but the other way around: postponing what you can do now until later. It is something that everyone does at some point in their life, such as postponing pending tasks and obligations, and dedicating time to any other more pleasant activity or, not even that, not doing anything with the excuse that we need to rest a little. .
Delaying tasks is not something we should worry about in itself, since we all do it. However, we should be concerned that we do it every day, at all hours, for any minimally important task. The problem here would not be the momentary laziness that we may feel or the lack of will, but rather a problem of insecurity and perfectionism.
When tasks are perceived as too complicated, the person does not feel capable of completing them or has such high self-demand that they prefer to postpone them in order to do them better, with more energy. If you are one of those who procrastinate very often, perhaps you should consider working on your mental rigidity.
2. Chronic fatigue and exhaustion
Fatigue can have multiple causes, and one of them would be having an affected psychological state. If we are constantly tired and the cause does not seem to be organic, there is a possibility that it is caused by some low mental health problem.
The feeling of exhaustion and apathy can be manifestations of depression, although it can also occur due to a high level of anxiety.
3. Extreme disorder and disorganization
Disorder and disorganization is understood by some as a reflection of the state of our mind a representation of how unorganized we have our thoughts, emotions, concerns and ideas.
Physical chaos is an example of mental chaos, and it is known that disordered people tend to be more dissatisfied with their lives and are less productive. Added to this, Disorganization can lead to anxiety, distractions, and even sleep disturbances.
4. Somatization
The mind and body are very connected and this is not a mystical statement or anything like that. Stress, anxiety, depression and, ultimately, any form of psychological discomfort can leave a deep mark on us not only mentally but also physically, somatizing in the form of certain symptoms. Among the most common to which we can attribute poor mental health as a cause are:
Gastrointestinal disorders
Headaches
Skin problems: itching, dermatitis…
Fibromyalgia
Chronic fatigue
Muscle pains
5. Discussions with our social environment
A sign of poor mental health is being constantly angry with the world and the people who live in it.
Our way of relating to others can be a sign of how healthy we are psychologically and, if we have conflicts with the people who make up our social environment, it is likely that there is a reason behind it.
Aggression and irritability can be symptoms of depression, anxiety, or an inability to control anger. Furthermore, thinking that everything we are told or what others do to us is done to harm us is also a symptom of psychological problems.
Interpreting the world in a hostile way is a bias whose underlying cause is very poor and low mental health, and it can cause us to end up isolated from others since they can get fed up with the way we treat ourselves.
