How To Deal with Mental Health Crisis: Signs, Causes, And Treatments

It is notable that nowadays people are struggling with their mental health much more than they used to in the past. There are various reasons for this, such as a busy life, too much pressure, emotional instability, post-Covid consequences, and many others. While some symptoms of mental alarms are more visible than others, it is safe to say that people are not even aware they are going through a mental crisis, and they only become fully aware of it once it is over, or it transforms into an even bigger problem. This is the reason why we have decided to give you more information on mental crises, how to recognize them, and how to overcome them.

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What Is the Difference Between Mental Crisis and Mental Urgency?

There are certain disagreements when it comes to defining mental health emergencies and mental health crises since experts assume this is the same thing. It is the reason why these terms are used interchangeably. However, Mental Health Alliances do not use these terms as synonyms since they find some differences between the two. Typically, the state of mental emergency is defined as a specific state where the one is life-threatening for themselves and the people around them, while, the crisis is not life-threatening, but the person is found in a state of severe distress. To put it more simply, a person who tries to commit suicide is in a state of mental emergency, while the person having suicidal thoughts is in a state of mental crisis.

 
What Do the Treatments Look Like?

Treatments can really vary based on the symptoms, the medical history, and even the type of services that will be used. Normally, treatments can involve a whole combination of different methods and medications, group and individual therapies, and learning how to use the tools and skills you can use to support yourself. Mental stabilization programs, similar to the SoCal Mental Healths crisis stabilization program, can help one deal with their mental health issues in a more direct way. Where and how you will be treated also depends on the severity of the crisis you are going through.

So, you can be treated at home, in the psychiatric unit, in an outpatient facility, or in the emergency room. In the event that you are being hospitalized, the length of your medical stay will depend on whether you are in the medical unit voluntarily, as part of an emergency hold, or involuntarily.

 
The Signs of the Mental Crisis

Signs of a mental crisis can severely vary since they depend solely on the person. What is considered a crisis for one person is not considered a crisis for another. Some signs indicating that the person is facing a mental crisis include:

1. difficulty in functioning and operating the simplest mental operations.
2. having difficulties taking care of their hygiene. A person has difficulties with basic hygiene tasks such as brushing teeth, bathing, or changing clothes.
3. severe mood swings.
4. hallucinations, paranoia, and delusions.
5. being violent, agitated, and angry.
6. making plans on suicide or talking about suicidal thoughts.
7. self-harming.
8. self-isolation and withdrawal from society.

In the majority of cases, these signs and symptoms are severe and extreme, can manifest in combinations, and can be difficult to handle by a third party without professional assistance.

 
The Causes of the Mental Crisis

Just as the signs of a mental crisis are severe, the causes of a mental crisis are also and can highly vary from person to person. Something that can cause a mental crisis in one person does not need to act as the trigger for another. Stressors are countless and may trigger different reactions. However, there are some that appear to be the most common ones, and these include:

1. traumatic event.
2. loss of someone or something very important.
3. relationship changes such as divorces and breakups.
4. relationships involving high emotional stress also known as “toxic relationships”.
5. discrimination.
6. intensive loneliness.
7. losing a job or failing in a career, class, exam, etc.
8. substance abuse.
9. natural disasters, terroristic attacks, and abusive households.
10. medical diagnosis.

According to some research, there are groups of people who are more likely to experience mental crises, such as people who live in crowded environments, people who went through huge economic losses, and those who have experienced similar states earlier.

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The reasons for mental health instability are numerous and can highly depend on the person. However, you can never know when this will strike or what triggers may disturb the person in your environment. So, besides being more open-minded, we need to be more understanding and kind toward one another. We never know about the struggles of other people and can never know what they are dealing with.