As a medical provider it's not always easy to identify behavioral health symptoms from your patients. Busy schedules, time constraints, and/or patients not clearly understanding or communicating their mental health symptoms are all contributing factors to why a person may not ask for help.
Signs & symptoms to watch for in your patients:
- Reported or observed periods of long-lasting sadness or irritability
- Reports or observed extremely high and low moods
- Reported or observed excessive fear, worry, or anxiety
- Reported or observed social withdrawal
- Reported or observed dramatic changes in eating or sleeping habits
- Observed decomposition of hygiene
- Reported detachment from reality (delusions),
- Reported paranoia (feelings/thoughts that someone is “out to get them”, watching them, talking about them)
- Reported or observed auditory or visual hallucinations (hearing or seeing things others do not; some individuals report seeing shadows, tracers; hearing commanding voices)
- Reported inability or difficulty in coping with daily problems or stress
- Reported trouble with understanding and relating to situations and to people
- Reported or observed problems with alcohol or drug use (history of substance abuse from individual and/or family)
- Reported major changes in eating habits
- Reported sex drive changes
- Reported or observed excessive anger, hostility or violence
- Reported suicidal ideations or history of SI and/or attempts
