Wow I cannot believe it has been almost 6 months since I published my last blog. I wanted to start the process again by covering, what I have found, to be the most common sign of most mental illnesses.

Everyone experiences mental illness differently, however, there are certain patterns and tendencies that may be able to help you to determine that something could potentially be amiss. In my personal and professional experience, a dramatic change in personality and behaviour can be one of the biggest warning signs. Whether your loved one is usually eccentric and quirky or insular and private, you may know them well enough to be able to recognise the differences over and above their usual mannerisms.

To give you more of an idea, below are some of the emotional and behavioural changes that may be present:

• Feeling worthless and helpless.
• Seeming anxious or worried a large proportion of the time.
• Seeming to be getting little enjoyment out of life or things they used to like doing.
• Appearing to have very low self-esteem, to be overly self-critical and seem to feel weighed down by guilt and self-doubt.
• Becoming very distant, preoccupied and uncommunicative.
• Seeming irritable and intolerant of others.
• Stopping wanting to go out, even to places they used to enjoy going to

Once your attention is drawn to some of the initial personality changes, you may gradually notice other behaviours starting to emerge, which are out of character for that person. The mind and cannot always be seen, and so, the person’s disordered thoughts may be more difficult to detect initially. So once again, the person’s behaviour and overall demeanour can play a crucial part in recognising something is not quite right, thereby potentially leading to early intervention.

Each different mental illness has its own specific signs and symptoms to look for, if you feel something is amiss with a loved one, I urge you to open up a non-judgemental and honest conversation with them. You can find more information on the best ways to open up a conversation with your loved one in my range of HOPE books: https://lynncrilly.com/my-books