Recognising The Onset Of Mental Health Issues

In this edition of Fiama Feel Good—our monthly series on mental health, in collaboration with ITC FIAMA—find out how to identify and tackle mental health problems in the early stages.

- Dr Prerna Kohli

While it might be difficult to pinpoint the exact time when a mental illness begins, V V research suggests that there is always a prodromal period that precedes its onset in an individual. And as opposed to popular belief, none of these signs need to be overly dramatic. They are usually subtle, and often missed as we might label them as 'attention-seeking behaviour' or simply deny them.

Some of the most common signs and their symptoms are as follows:

Excessive Mood Swings: In disorders such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar, sudden and frequent mood swings may require an intervention from an expert.

Withdrawal: Isolating yourself can be a sign of depression, or may even be indicative other mental illnesses such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or psychosis.