In this chaotic world of busy schedules, stressful current events and personal responsibilities, growing distracted from your internal world is common.
Whether intentional or not, “people may believe they are ‘fine’ while functioning on autopilot, overworking or numbing with social media doom scrolling, food, alcohol or even checking out with excessive sleep,” said Dr. Urszula Klich, a clinical psychologist in Atlanta, via email.
That’s why this World Mental Health Day, Klich and other experts recommend taking a moment to dig deep and ask yourself, “How am I really?”
Maintaining clear awareness of your mental well-being is essential for prevention and balance, Klich said. “Self-awareness helps us detect stress or emotional imbalance early, allowing adjustment,” she added. “Being self-aware is part of emotional intelligence — a kind of emotional literacy for knowing what you feel. Understanding why is another part of the puzzle, but one we can’t even begin to take if we don’t recognize we are having problems.”
How can you learn how you’re doing? It can be as simple as making a point to be mindful of your experiences throughout your day, journaling on a regular basis or finding and talking with a therapist.
More structured and clinically validated mental health screenings, which aren’t intended to give diagnoses, are available on the website of Mental Health America, a nonprofit promoting mental health and illness prevention through education, research and advocacy.
CNN talked to several mental health experts, and these are some factors they suggested you consider in your self-assessment. They also shared thoughts about what to do if you think you need help.
How’s your mental well-being?
Nobody feels perfectly happy or content all the time. Temporarily feeling mildly stressed or low due to changes in your personal life, your work life or in the world is normal, and that feeling can briefly affect your sleep, motivation or mood, Klich said.
Everyone occasionally experiences these transient aspects of the human condition, said Dr. Ken Duckworth, chief medical officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and author of “You Are Not Alone: The NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health — With Advice From Experts and Wisdom From Real People and Families.”
You may be able to handle that kind of situation yourself by talking to a friend, going for a run, journaling or choosing another healthy habit that helps you feel better, Klich added.
What if it’s not temporary? When symptoms persist beyond two weeks and affect your ability to function and enjoy life, it’s time to pay more attention, Duckworth and Klich said. Experiencing a cluster of symptoms rather than one or two should also be concerning, said Theresa Nguyen, a licensed clinical social worker and chief research officer at Mental Health America.
“Finding life anxiety-provoking is a normal human experience,” Duckworth said. But if you can’t bounce back from those feelings and find you often can’t parent properly, get your work done, get out of bed, follow through on plans with friends or eat properly, you should talk with your doctor or a therapist about your issues and ways to manage them, Duckworth added. Also, pay attention to any loved ones telling you they have noticed changes in your mood or behavior.
“People often say that relationship problems are the precipitating factors that lead them to look at mental health issues,” Nguyen said.
Additionally, how resilient are you? Do you sit and wallow for a long time or allow yourself to feel your emotions for a short time and then make any needed changes to deal with life? Your answer to that can also be telling.
“If you are concerned about a mood disorder, ask yourself if you can try to maintain daily routines such as sleeping, eating, getting outside or communicating with others, as structure can stabilize functioning,” Klich said. “Involve supportive family or friends for accountability and encouragement.”
A health professional can also rule out underlying medical conditions, she added, since those can sometimes appear to be mental health ones.
What if you feel you’re in real bad shape? Indicators that your mental health is more dire can include experiencing worsening impairment, frequently abandoning responsibilities to loved ones, using substances to cope, not maintaining hygiene, putting your safety at risk or feeling unrelenting feelings of hopelessness, despair or suicidal ideation, Klich said. Psychosis — marked by hallucinations, delusions or loss of reality — is another sign.
“Appropriate help is vital if mental health issues are escalating, and severe symptoms rarely improve without structured support,” Klich said. “It can literally become life or death or, in the least, result in severe relationship and work disruptions.
If you have signs that your life is feeling out of control or have thoughts of hurting yourself or someone else, it is vital to get a comprehensive evaluation by a psychiatrist or psychologist. Medication management and therapy can help.”
The sooner you seek help, the less likely you’ll need hospitalization, Klich added.
In this case, maintaining healthy sleep and eating patterns as best you can is also critical. Regardless of your situation, other practices that can keep you mentally healthy are regularly engaging with whatever helps you feel purpose in life, taking breaks from technology, spending time in spaces and with things that relax you, and practicing mindfulness or breath work, experts said.
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