2.
When to pick up the phone
With illnesses such as diabetes or cancer, it is important to pick up early warning signs and to act when there is any indicator of concern – even if it’s a false alarm, it’s better to act! This is what we should do for challenges to mental health, too. When someone first begins to experience symptoms such as losing sleep, feeling tired for no reason, feeling low, feeling anxious, or hearing voices, we should act. These early symptoms might not become more serious. Sometimes they might go away on their own. Sometimes they can be addressed with relatively simply actions, such as talking to someone or getting medical help. But sometimes, they are more serious. In these cases, it typically takes ten years from the time they first appear until a correct diagnosis and proper treatment. Ten years is too long! In this time, the person’s suffering could be alleviated and their lives changed for the better. During the early years, most people have support – a home, family, friends, school and work – that allow them to manage their mental health challenges. These supports help people to recover quickly, and live full and productive lives.
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