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Our mental health fluctuates throughout life and it is perfectly normal to feel low morale. When should we be concerned? A neuropsychologist responds.
Fatigue, irritability, self-sabotage… So many signals that should alert us to the critical state of our Mental Health. How can we detect them so as not to reach the point of no return? In an Instagram post from March 21, Nawal Mustafa, (“thebraincoach”, on Instagram) neuropsychologist and content creator on the social network, lists the 8 signs that should catch our attention. She strongly encourages her 1.4 million subscribers “to intervene before they get worse,” if anyone recognizes themselves in at least three of the eight signals.
Read also11 tips from a neuropsychologist to strengthen your self-confidence
You no longer feel like yourself
No longer feeling like your perfect self is one of the first warning signs, according to Nawal Mustafa. Concretely: if we look in the mirror and don’t recognize ourselves or if we no longer feel as excited about getting involved in projects that once stimulated us, it’s high time to do of our mental health a top priority.
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This loss of alignment with our being can even result in a depersonalization disorder, which manifests itself by the sensation of feeling detached from one’s own body, from one’s mind, from one’s feelings and sensations.
Exacerbated irritability and mood swings
More irritability than usual can tell us that it is time to no longer neglect our mental health. If “you have less patience for things you used to be able to tolerate,” that should ring a bell. The list grows when the neuropsychologist lists the negative emotions that can arise from declining mental health: gloomheightened anxiety, anger, disappointment, feeling of being overwhelmed, irritability, despair…
Your attention and concentration skills are waning
Difficulty concentrating or making decisions can also be a sign of poor mental health. The specialist draws the same conclusion if the notion of time becomes only a vague concept, or if our memory is more faulty than before. Finally, finding yourself daydreaming often is also a signal that our ability to concentrate is weakening.
Your perception of yourself and others seems negative or even cynical
Becoming extremely critical of oneself, no longer trusting others or even seeing the world with a gloomy eye, are all signs of our psychological vulnerability, explains Nawal Mustafa. The latter completes the list of concrete signals: “you have difficulty being grateful, you often overanalyze” or even “you feel stuck in any circumstance”.
You often feel tired
The causes of significant and almost permanent fatigue can sometimes be found in our mental health. So, feeling exhausted or experiencing pain or tension throughout the body are signs that should not be taken lightly. It may even “be difficult for you to do basic things, like shower, tidy your space, exercise,” points out Nawal Mustafa. More generally, “you have the impression that you are “dragging” all day long,” she summarizes.
You start to distance yourself from those around you
The distance from those around us and the disconnection from others can say a lot about how we are doing, insists the neuropsychologist. More precisely, socialization that has become of little or no interest and apathy are unmistakable signs.
Your general functioning deteriorates
The neuroscientist points to several indicators of declining mental health. If tasks that once required little effort have become tedious or if “you have difficulty meeting your deadlines”, that “achieving your goals has become difficult” or “you are demotivated at work”, the neuroscientist underlines the importance of taking a step back and taking action to prevent things from getting worse.
You self-sabotage
The trend towardsautosabotage is a very serious indicator of the decline in our mental health, according to the neuropsychologist. Do you find excuses to justify unhealthy lifestyle habits? Do you regularly break the promises you make to yourself? Are you not respecting your boundaries and not clearly communicating your needs? Are you engaging a lot more in uninteresting activities? Be careful.
Your appetite and/or sleep are changed
Our psychological state directly impacts the quality of our nights and our appetite. Indeed, if “you eat too much or too little”, “have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep”, “sleep too much or not enough” or finally, if “you wake up tired”: it is time to take care of yourself.
