When to Seek Help With a Mental Illness

Knowing when to seek help for mental health challenges is a critical step towards healing. This guide offers clear, actionable insights to help you distinguish between everyday stress and mental health concerns, empowering you to make an informed decision about professional support. By understanding the signs, you can proactively address your well-being.

When should I seek professional help for a mental health issue?

You should seek professional help if you are unable to identify the source of your emotional distress, feel a constant flux in your emotions, are dealing with a traumatic event, or are questioning the value of your own life. These are all indicators that professional assistance may be necessary.

If you've ever wondered about the right time to get help, you're not alone. Our detailed guide explores the key signs and situations that indicate professional support is the best next step for your mental well-being. Continue reading to gain a deeper understanding of this important topic.

When Is It Time to Seek Professional Help for Mental Health?

Acknowledging that there may be a mental health problem is a huge step. When to seek help with mental health can vary from situation to situation, but each person has a point where they may not be able to cope with their mental illness on their own. Being able to look objectively at someone’s own health and needs is profound. However, some people may be struggling with the stresses of daily life.

The confusion that is created between stress and mental health disorders can lead to people not seeking the help that they need. The time at which someone decides it is time to seek professional help can vary from person to person, but there are a few questions that someone can ask themselves to help determine if it may be the right time for them to get professional input on their situation.

When to Seek Help With Mental Illness: Dealing with a Source of Emotional Disturbance

First, if someone is unable to identify where the stress or disturbance may be coming from, it is possible that the sources are all getting mixed together. Discussing this with a professional may bring to light the underlying causes of this emotional stress.

When someone is suffering from high anxiety and panic, it can seem as if the entire world is against them. The world can feel full to the brim with dangers and antagonistic entities, and this feeling can cause someone to be unable to identify the difference between what is safe and what is a danger.

Therefore, being unable to definitively say where the source of emotional disturbance is originating is a sign to request assistance from trained professionals. Being able to locate a source of difficulty is a big deal for someone’s recovery, whether that be through challenges from a mental illness or the coping mechanisms that are required in dealing with life circumstances.

However, being able to identify someone’s triggers is the beginning of the difficulties that someone may face. When those stresses and feelings begin to bleed over into the other aspects of someone’s life, someone should take the time to evaluate their own coping mechanisms and mental health to determine if it is time to see additional aid in dealing with these issues.

If someone is feeling too fearful to go to work due to anxieties, professional assistance may be necessary for addressing the root of the problem and instilling necessary grounding and coping strategies.

Addressing Emotions in Constant Flux

Mental health issues are typically thought of in definitive terms. People who suffer from depression experience great sadness, while people who suffer from anxiety are constantly exposed to fear. However, mental illness often incorporates a wide array of emotions and mood swings. Emotions can feel out of someone’s own control, and the constant change can be off-putting for whoever is experiencing these events.

If someone is feeling as if they cannot control their own emotions, seeking professional help in order to address practical coping and grounding techniques will be essential in grasping with the mood swings and addressing the root of someone’s own emotional and mental health.

Professional Help When Confronting Trauma

Mental illness can arise at any time. Traumatic events are painful and can happen at any point in someone’s life. Each of these different traumas can affect the individual in different ways. While some traumas may not seem like a big deal to other people, they can still greatly alter someone’s outlook on life, and having a professional around to help move through these difficult memories and periods is an individual journey.

Some traumas are major, where a professional is typically necessary. These can be death threats, death of loved ones, sexual and physical abuse, and near-death experiences. However, trauma is a much more broad category than most would expect. Another category of traumas exist, encompassing things like verbal harassment, loss of close relationships or pets, or threatening events, even if the person themselves are unharmed.

These kinds of traumas are often overlooked or dismissed. However, these can still cause their own degree of mental health issues if left unaddressed and untreated. Each person will react to their own personal traumas differently and only the individual themselves will be feeling their traumas day-to-day. If someone is considering mental health treatment for a traumatic event of any kind, then support on that decision is necessary. There is no trauma too small to be outright dismissed.

When to Seek Emergency Services

Emergency services may be needed in drastic situations. Seeking the ER or knowing when to go to the hospital is a difficult question to answer. However, when someone seems to become a potential hazard to their own bodily health or the wellbeing of those around them, it is time to employ emergency services.

Deciding to seek these services in a moment doesn’t mean that the person won’t be okay, or will have to stay there for an extended amount of time. Rather, it is a way for someone to have a safe space with constant medical supervision when they experience a particularly difficult crisis.

Questioning One’s Own Life

There will be stresses at every turn in life. However, when someone begins to question if all these stresses are worth the tax of living at all, professional intervention may be necessary. Mental illness can be an isolating event and most people often suffer in silence.

Unspeaking and alone, people suffering from mental illness may turn to drastic means in order to end the pain. It is important to take action before someone begins to accept their life as the appropriate cost for relief. Professionals are trained to address the origins of these thoughts, as well as the other factors acting on those thoughts that make it seem like a viable option.

While the thoughts can be scary, expressing them in a safe environment can be the beginning of relief from them, and seeking professional help during these times can be the turning point for the better in someone’s recovery.

Providing Support

If someone is worried about a loved one or family member who is reluctant to seek help themselves, making an appointment with a mental health professional can help the family create the best possible support they can provide.

The aid of an unbiased source that is able to objectively look at a situation and provide educated feedback and guidance can be invaluable when supporting someone during their greatest times of need.

There Is Always a Time

When and how people, young or old, seek help for mental health problems is always a unique prospect. There is no one certain time or event that is universal, that would say that someone needs to seek help from a mental health professional.

Nobody can force another person to seek the aid through difficult times. If someone is not ready to address these issues with another person, then the appointments will be far less effective. Someone has to not just be open to the idea of change in their lives, but also understand and be willing to work for that change.

It is always best to err on the side of caution when addressing mental health, in order to be proactive about mitigating potential disastrous outcomes or preventing someone from seeking other outlets in order to self-medicate.

However, it is never too late to seek aid, and there is always a path to healing with the right professionals, coping mechanisms, support systems, and medications necessary for each individual situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How can I tell if my emotional distress is a mental health problem and not just stress?

If you are unable to identify the source of your emotional disturbance or if your feelings begin to bleed into other aspects of your life, it may be a sign to seek professional assistance.

• What should I do if my emotions feel out of control?

 If you feel you cannot control your own emotions, seeking professional help is essential for addressing mood swings and learning practical coping and grounding techniques.

• Can small traumas still cause significant mental health issues?

Yes, even seemingly minor traumas like verbal harassment or the loss of a pet can cause mental health issues if they are left unaddressed and untreated.

• When should emergency services be contacted for a mental health crisis?

You should employ emergency services when someone becomes a potential hazard to their own bodily health or the well-being of those around them.

• Is it ever too late to seek help for a mental health problem?

 It is never too late to seek aid. There is always a path to healing with the right professionals, coping mechanisms, support systems, and medications for each individual situation.

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Acknowledging the challenges you're facing is a courageous first step. At Chateau Health and Wellness Treatment Center, we understand the profound difference between daily stress and a mental health disorder, and our commitment is to help you navigate this distinction. We believe in a shared journey toward healing, and our team is here to offer the compassionate, professional support you deserve. If you're questioning whether it's time to seek help, we invite you to take the next step with us. Please call us at (435) 222-5225, and let's work together to create a path forward.

About The Author

Ben Pearson, LCSW, Clinical Director

Ben Pearson, LCSW - Clinical Director

With 19 years of experience, Ben Pearson specializes in adolescent and family therapy, de-escalation, and high-risk interventions. As a former Clinical Director of an intensive outpatient program, he played a key role in clinical interventions and group therapy. With 15+ years in wilderness treatment and over a decade as a clinician, Ben has helped countless individuals and families navigate mental health and recovery challenges.

Danny Warner, CEO

Danny Warner, CEO of Chateau Health and Wellness

Brings a wealth of experience in business operations, strategic alliances, and turnaround management, with prior leadership roles at Mediconnect Global, Klever Marketing, and WO Investing, Inc. A graduate of Brigham Young University in Economics and History, Danny has a proven track record of delivering results across diverse industries. His most transformative role, however, was as a trail walker and counselor for troubled teens at the Anasazi Foundation, where he directly impacted young lives, a personal commitment to transformation that now drives his leadership at Chateau.

Austin Pederson, Executive Director

Austin Pederson, Executive Director of Chateau Health and Wellness

Brings over eight years of experience revolutionizing mental health and substance abuse treatment through compassionate care and innovative business strategies. Inspired by his own recovery journey, Austin has developed impactful programs tailored to individuals facing trauma and stress while fostering comprehensive support systems that prioritize holistic wellness. His empathetic leadership extends to educating and assisting families, ensuring lasting recovery for clients and their loved ones.