Signs of Mental Illness

Whether it is depression, anxiety, or something else, mental illness is not something to take lightly. Individuals who feel they might be struggling with some type of issue with their mental health should reach out for assistance and visit a doctor or mental health professional, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist, as soon as they can. Doing so can greatly assist in the identification of what is wrong, if anything, and can help with starting effective treatment sooner. Individuals may also want to consider speaking to a trusted friend or other loved one, particularly if they are nervous about seeking professional help, as they can be a great source of support.

Prolonged Sadness
Feeling down every now and again is normal. Everyone has bad days and there are always going to be some rough patches throughout life. Yet, if an individual has felt disengaged for an extended period with no true reason for feeling this way, they may have something more serious they should be treated for. If at any point individuals feel their feelings are overtaking their life and are more than they can handle, they should seek out help right away and take control.


Extreme Highs And Lows
If frequent mood changes could be a serious sign an individual has a mental health condition. Someone's emotions are likely to change throughout the day, but if an individual finds themselves bringing these emotions to the extreme and doing so quite frequently, they may be dealing with a mental health disorder like bipolar disorder. With this condtion, patients may sometimes feel over-excited about things and lose sleep due to it, acting impulsively, and experiencing racing thoughts. Other times, getting out of bed may seem like an impossibility. There are medication and lifestyle tactics patients can implement to help cope with this disorder.


Social Withdrawal
Social activity is important and keeps the mind stimulated and engaged on a regular basis. When individuals find themselves feeling down more regularly, it is often easy to withdraw from others and avoid going out at all possible costs. In doing this, individuals are enabling themselves to shut down and sink deeper into their feelings of depression and loneliness. Patients experiencing this, beyond seeking professional assistance, should often try to set small goals to lessen their isolation. These small goals include making a phone call or going on a short walk with a friend. Any little bit helps.


TO READ MORE ABOUT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH, CLICK HERE...

A Sense of Purpose

THIS MORNING...   in less than 20 minutes, I wrote down 5 poems, each of 10 lines or more, sometimes 20 and this was done spontaneously and without the blinking of an eye or hesitation so that I might find the right word...  and for me, it does not matter if the damn poems are good or not or even worth reading because these words came out of my head not yours or any other...

LAST NIGHT...  when it was dark, I ventured downstairs to the hot tub and I lay submerged in those relaxing hot waters, I looked skyward upon the sky filled with stars of all shapes and sizes whose light I was seeing was at least 8 minutes old...   and I wondered while relaxing if I would ever connect with its cosmic consciousness... and thought...

                                               

my heart beats stereophonic rhythms in my ears

when my head lays back upon the porcelain,

my body remains submerged and languishing

in the one hundred and three degree temperatures...

It was almost immediately that these 4 lines appeared in my head while staring up at the sky and wondering if I was ever going to make contact with some ancient alien...   and then, a flash of insight ran its course through my body and when it appeared at the top of me, an idea quickly formulated and simply but without a doubt knew what had to be done.

Currently, I maintain 4 blogs:

• one for poetry new and old
• one for my daily journal entries so to speak
• one for my ongoing cancer issues
• one for my paranoid schizophrenia (I only wish but I am still just bipolar)

My writings now contain the following as well:

• 42,000 poems previously written
• poetry occasionally written in notebooks
• previously written opinion articles published on LinkedIn
• two and one half novel written (300 pages each) out of 12 outlined

MY INSIGHT...  I will continue writing daily just as I have always done, but now my life's purpose is to type up and publish all of my writing on one of these 4 blogs until I have nothing left to publish other than what I am currently writing.

RETIRED...  I have been retired now, going on my 7th year, without any hobbies of which to speak or desire to play tennis or golf or sit upon the couch eating popcorn watching foolish professional compete for millions of dollars worth of salary, only to destroy their God given bodies.  For a good five years I have floundered, not really knowing what to do...  and, it was right in front of me all the time...  and, I would be dead today if it has been a poisonous snake.