I think I’m losing my mind! – Are You?
Have you been feeling weird lately? Like things are slightly off? Or not as energetic as you might like?
Yes?
Thought so. How’d I know?
Because it’s perfectly normal to be somewhat tired, somewhat drained, somewhat unhappy! It’s a hell of a lot easier to complain and feel crappy than it is to realize how good things really are.
But if you are seriously concerned about your mental health, the list below offers some questions that you might ask yourself. If you see yourself in them, it may be worth thinking about seeing a shrink or getting some kind of help.
General
I can’t concentrate as well anymore.
I feel different over the past few weeks.
My friends are worried about me.
Mood disorders
Have you felt seriously down or unmotivated for more than a few weeks? Or have you felt irrationally happy, or excited, spending money casually?
Do you no longer enjoy doing things you used to?
Anxiety Disorders
Do you worry a lot? Is it hard for you to relax? Are there things that just make you panic?
Does the memory of some traumatic event keep coming back to you?
Psychosis/Schizophrenia
Do you believe people are out to get you? Can you read other people’s thoughts?
Does the TV sometimes talk directly to you?
Dissociative disorders
Do you often feel like things aren’t real? Do you sometimes not remember what you did over a period of time?
Eating Disorders
Do you have difficulty eating? Do you count calories or restrict how much you eat?
Or do you eat too much and sometimes purge?
Substance use disorders
Is there something that you couldn’t live without – literally? Would stopping a substance result in physical symptoms?
Do you often blackout?
You might like:
Get Help! Seriously. You need it!
Source:
Abnormal Psychology, Hansell
I think mee too:
I stand there, looming over my skyline, poised for action, waiting and watching for the ceaseless tide of blanked-out commuters to appear, as they surge down the narrow Victorian terraced streets in a polluted ocean of greys and muddy browns. I want to be amongst them as much as I loathe and despise them, if only so I could loathe and despise myself without any recurring guilt. I whisper to them that I know where they’re going, I know what they’re doing, I know what they each want to be.
So I have not been thinking. I have been devoid of thought. In truth, I still am. Like any pretentious lover of words, I harbour a vain and pretentious desire to attach the label of Writer’s Block to my humdrum affliction, were it not for the fact that (a) I could not look myself in the face without guffawing; (b) I am not a writer; and (c) what ails me is not so much a blockage, but more of a vacuum. Indeed, I am a virtual Hoover, just without the crucial sucking action. I am empty of brain. When my front door slams shut, I hear it echoed precisely seventy-three times between left ear and right. Insects frequently use me as a vaguely scenic shortcut across the pillows at night.
In summary – and even if you don’t need a summary by now, I certainly do – I am no longer a productive member of society. Or of the human race. Or of the inhuman race. I need rescuing from myself, from the cesspit of pointlessness into which I find myself tumbling, flailing around, swallowing toxic effluent mixed with tinned peaches, and washing it all down with industrial quantities of black-hearted caffeine.
We need to help each other now
Caffeine pumps through me like oil into a tanker; crude, imperfect, and loaded with energy producing substances.
The drive is long and pointless; who cares how far it is to Jersey from New York, and why bother racing with other cars who care not the least about your frantic efforts to make a difference?
But you do, and the car always need more fuel.
im going crazy. i dont know what to do.
try to find a good friend to talk to, or set up an appointment with a therapist. things can and will get better! =)
I’m about to lose it!
I’m 24 years old, a full-time student at the University taking 17 credit hours, I work full-time for a satellite company, I teach Sunday school, assist coaching Junior High football and have my first baby due in two weeks (finals week). I’ve been dong great up til now. So far i’m getting all A’s in my classes and I feel like it’s all going to go down hill. I just don’t care for much anymore. I still go about my day as I normally would but I can’t focus, I’m not motivated, like I was winning a marathon and on the final mile I start walking, because I just don’t care.
Jays, I’m sorry to hear that things haven’t been going well for you. Have you considered seeing someone and getting help? Therapy can make a real difference.
Jays, I’m sorry to hear that things haven’t been going well for you. Have you considered seeing someone and getting help? Therapy can make a real difference.
I look around to the people in interact with on a daily basis and realize that nothing about my life with them is real. They know nothing of who i am as a person, only as a worker bee. I can’t trust anyone around me. Everyone i know will hurt me because they either they already have or, well, they already have. I feel as though my wife, who i should love above all else, is the one who is hurting me the most. I dont know what she’s doing but i know she has to be up to something. I have horrible, horrible thoughts i can not begin to even describe. Things that would make a normal person have nightmares. Please what should i do
Dear Adam,
I’m sorry to hear that. I am not an expert and don’t know much about mental issues but it sounds like making an appointment to see a therapist might be a good idea. It sounds like things are getting a little hard for you, and someone who is an expert on those issues could help you figure things out and make your life better =)
i had to say yes to must of all that but i think it be easy to give up then to try to fix it every time i get happy something go’s wrong.