We live in a hustle culture that can make it easy to ignore when we need to slow down and rest. Perhaps you have consistent, tight deadlines and work later than you should too often. Or your kids have multiple extracurriculars a week, which requires regular back and forths. Alternatively, maybe you’re finding it difficult to listen to your body and mind, letting you know it’s time to hit the brakes.
There are many early signs of mental health problems that have become normalized, making it easy to ignore red flags for anxiety, depression, and stress. You might brush off a bad night of sleep as a “fluke”, but you can’t see the cyclical changes in sleep, appetite, and mood over the last few months.
When bogged down with the responsibility of taking care of ourselves and others, there are many symptoms adults ignore, as they are often subtle. Yes, managing one mild stressor might seem simple, but when we let them bottleneck, we might find ourselves in times of crisis, unsure of how to cope.
This post will explore eight common signs adults overlook before a crisis, helping you or a loved one potentially prevent a mental health emergency.
Founded in 2010, A Mission For Michael (AMFM) offers specialized mental health care across California, Minnesota, and Virginia. Our accredited facilities provide residential and outpatient programs, utilizing evidence-based therapies such as CBT, DBT, and EMDR.
Our dedicated team of licensed professionals ensures every client receives the best care possible, supported by accreditation from The Joint Commission. We are committed to safety and personalized treatment plans.
8 Common Signs Adults Overlook Before a Crisis
Sometimes, we tend to ignore adult mental health indicators. Therefore, it’s important to understand the difference between the mild early depression and anxiety and burnout warning signs versus mental health crisis warning signs that require immediate attention. Understanding these risk factors for adult mental health crises can help you identify them sooner and feel better quicker.
Let’s look at some behavioral changes that indicate mental health issues and when it’s time to seek additional help.
1. Changes in Sleep
We have all heard that sleep is an important part of our health, both physical and mental. There are many studies that show that changes in sleep, whether sleeping too much or not enough, are related to increased risk of mental health disorders.
Additionally, people often report getting what feels like enough sleep but waking up feeling unrested. This may be because research has shown that having a mental illness can impact your sleep routines, and changes in sleep, appetite, and mood can also trigger early mental health symptoms.1
If you have a few difficult nights of sleep, you may be able to attribute it to a current stressor that will pass. However, if you notice a regular pattern of disrupted sleep, it might be one of the red flags for anxiety, depression, and stress.
2. Shifts in Mood
Perhaps you notice you’re feeling more irritable in general or snapping more often at others than usual. Or maybe it’s just more difficult to muster up the vigor to get up when your alarm goes off. It can be difficult to tell the difference between when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and when it’s time to get some support. However, when these issues persist beyond a couple of days or weeks, this may indicate that emotions and strain are building up.
Plus, while we think of the symptoms of mood disorders as being purely emotional, often, early mental health symptoms associated with them are physical. This includes issues like fatigue and pain, along with being less interested in hobbies, social isolation, and irritability.3
3. Unexplained Changes in Appetite
Our appetites ebb and flow based on many factors: our levels of activity, stress, metabolic rate, and so much more can impact how hungry we are on a given day. So it’s important to keep an eye on patterns rather than day-to-day changes. Confusingly, both an increase and a decrease in appetite can indicate early signs of mental health problems.
Major changes in appetite, such as binge eating, being much hungrier than normal, or lacking much of an appetite, can indicate that your mental health is impacting your hunger cues. While we can often blame ourselves and think our eating habits are a matter of discipline, there are biological mechanisms at play that affect our appetite.2
If you notice your eating patterns shifting, rather than feeling guilt or shame, perhaps view it as one of the psychological indicators of distress so you can make meaningful changes.
4. Social Withdrawal and Isolation
It’s normal to cancel the occasional plan or be glad that it was canceled for us. However, a pattern of avoiding social events and feeling drained by your “safe people” can be a cause for concern. This can be one of the symptoms adults ignore because it’s easy to justify: life is busy, and you just want to rest!
Yet, isolation from peers can cause significant stress, while the depressive symptoms that arise from it can cause further depressive symptoms. In other words, withdrawal can create a perpetual cycle.4
Often, people wait until things have gotten to the breaking point to do something. For instance, when friends and family are upset that you’re frequently canceling or you haven’t left the house in a while, and they pressure you to reach out.
While reaching out, in general, is good, recognizing the pattern early can help you break the cycle before it becomes unmanageable.
5. Executive Dysfunction & Brain Fog
Often, we associate executive dysfunction with learning disabilities such as ADHD. However, in depression and anxiety, things like lack of focus, brain fog, or feeling scattered are common.5
Issues like these are expected when you’ve a lot on your mind. It can be difficult to manage your workload, take care of household chores, and deal with your day-to-day tasks when overwhelmed. Yet, instead of recognizing these issues as a sign to slow down and ask ourselves what’s wrong, we often get frustrated with ourselves for not being able to handle things. In fact, we might even wonder if there’s something “wrong” with us.
It’s important to remember that any major change in how we handle our day-to-day lives could indicate that we need more support before things get beyond our control.
6. Hyper-Vigilance or Constant Irritability
Maybe you feel particularly jumpy when you don’t notice someone approaching, and they say something to you. Or perhaps you’re always on the lookout for the next threat. Hyper-vigilance is common in people with anxiety, as they might constantly scan the environment for problems that could arise.6
On the other hand, you might find yourself getting mad at things that didn’t used to bother you, snapping at people who you know haven’t really done anything wrong. Irritability is a common sign of depression and anxiety. In fact, irritability can be one of the first signs of depression in depressed youth.7
Unfortunately, irritability can lead to self-blame. But it could also be seen as an early warning sign that there is a need for change and support rather than frustration.
7. Loss of Interest (Anhedonia)
We all have moments where we don’t want to do the things that normally bring us joy. We may cancel plans with friends, not feel like engaging in our hobbies, or find it hard to laugh at our favorite TV shows. In fact, pushing ourselves to do these things when we don’t feel up to it can be exhausting, and even make us feel worse.
Sometimes, this feeling lasts longer than expected and can become anhedonia, or the inability to feel pleasure. If you describe how you feel frequently as “numb”, “grey”, or “empty”, you could consider asking a professional about anhedonia. This symptom is often ignored, but research shows that anhedonia is a significant indicator that a person is at risk of a crisis, including self-harm behavior and potential suicidal thoughts.8
8. The Feeling of Being “Trapped”
When it feels like all the doors are closing in on you, a sense of panic and unease can set in. Maybe it’s a difficult work situation with few options or a financial situation that’s making you feel lost. Regardless, it can feel like there is no end or escape in sight.
It can feel tempting to power through, but this trapped feeling is a warning sign that you may need more help. We often try to handle these situations alone because we feel ashamed or guilty about reaching out. However, strong emotions should always be taken seriously, as they can be a sign that it is time to get help before reaching a crisis.9
AMFM: Professional Support from Early Intervention to Crisis
It’s easy to miss or misinterpret the early warning signs of a mental health crisis. But if you’ve noticed persistent shifts in how you manage your emotions, relationships, and day-to-day life, there might be something serious happening below the surface.
A Mission for Michael understands how small stressors can snowball into major mental health issues. This is why we aim to support people during every stage of their mental health journey. If you’re only just starting to become concerned about your mental health, or if you’ve reached a crisis, we can help.
Our team offers personalized treatment programs that are adapted to your unique needs. From cognitive behavioral therapy for maladaptive thoughts to dialectical behavior therapy for intense emotions, we’re here to support you.
Reach out to our team today to learn more about our services and how we can assist you on the track to improved well-being.
References
- Freeman, D., Sheaves, B., Waite, F., Harvey, A. G., & Harrison, P. J. (2020). Sleep disturbance and psychiatric disorders. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(7), 628–637. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30136-X
- Robinson, R. G., McHugh, P. R., & Folstein, M. F. (1975). Measurement of appetite disturbances in psychiatric disorders. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12(1), 59–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3956(75)90021-7
- Castellini, G., S. Pecchioli, I. Cricelli, Mazzoleni, F., C. Cricelli, Ricca, V., Hudziak, J. J., O. Brignoli, & Lapi, F. (2016). How to early recognize mood disorders in primary care: A nationwide, population-based, cohort study. European Psychiatry, 37, 63–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.04.003
- Li, T., Li, C.-T., Wong, P., & Cao, J. (2016). Withdrawal behaviors and mental health among college students. Behavioral Psychology, 25(1), 97–107.
- Castaneda, A. E., Tuulio-Henriksson, A., Marttunen, M., Suvisaari, J., & Lönnqvist, J. (2008). A review on cognitive impairments in depressive and anxiety disorders with a focus on young adults. Journal of Affective Disorders, 106(1-2), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2007.06.006
- Wermes, R., Lincoln, T. M., & Helbig-Lang, S. (2018). Anxious and alert? Hypervigilance in social anxiety disorder. Psychiatry Research, 269, 740–745. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.08.086
- Stringaris, A., Maughan, B., Copeland, W. S., Costello, E. J., & Angold, A. (2013). Irritable Mood as a Symptom of Depression in Youth: Prevalence, Developmental, and Clinical Correlates in the Great Smoky Mountains Study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 52(8), 831–840. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2013.05.017
- Gillissie, E. S., Gia Han Le, Taeho Greg Rhee, Cao, B., Rosenblat, J. D., Mansur, R. B., Ho, R., & McIntyre, R. S. (2023). Evaluating Anhedonia as a risk factor in suicidality: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 158, 209–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.12.024
- Hendin, H., Maltsberger, J. T., & Szanto, K. (2007). The Role of Intense Affective States in Signaling a Suicide Crisis. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 195(5), 363–368. https://doi.org/10.1097/nmd.0b013e318052264d
