How To Do A Mental Health Check Up DIY Style!

These days you can find all sorts of Do It Yourself information on the Internet, but how about finding quality information that’s actually useful?  Here at the PTI, we are well aware of the fast pace of advancing technology and how that impacts our culture.  Today we want to focus on how to do a DIY mental health check up.  Although some of these questions may be no-brainers, the sad fact is that many people who need help with their mental health do not get treatment.  There are also many people who put it off thinking that it’ll get better, when you should actually do the opposite!  Seeing someone early on with regards to mental health concerns actually leads to a quicker, less costly, and less invasive recovery period.  

Mental Health Questions To Ask Yourself

1. Have I been getting quality sleep with regular bed times and getting up times?
2. Have I been isolating myself from others at work, friends, or family?
3. Do I have more worries or anxiety than usual?  Maybe use a scale of 1-10.
4. Have I lost interest in activities and pursuits that usually held my attention?
5. Have I felt more sad than happy lately?
6. Do I feel at ease with myself and my surroundings?
7. Do you feel that your life is appropriately balanced between work, fun, friends, family, self-care, exercise, and other meaningful pursuits?
8. Do you have trouble concentrating?
9. Have you been experiencing significant mood swings, crying, or thoughts of suicide?
10. Are you overly fatigued or tired at the end of the day?  How about at the end of the week?
11. Has your appetite or eating habits changed in any way recently?

Keep A Journal To Track Your Mental Health

It’s important to note that this is not a conclusive, all encompassing list of questions.  It also doesn’t mean that your “crazy” or that you “need help” depending on your responses.  Record your responses in a journal so that you can look back at your answers within the next 4-6 months.  Having that kind of scope will give you a long-range perspective on how things have been going for you and how you’re doing.

Our Western American culture, and especially the sports and entertainment industry, celebrates people who toughen up and play through the pain.  While there’s a certain amount of character strength that results from learning how to have grit, there’s a problem of trying to have too much grit when you’re ignoring a problem that’s been going on for a while.  You won’t see a football player on the field with a broken leg.  It’s important to learn the differences between determination and asking for help when you need it.

Here at PTI, we’re ready to help.  We pride ourselves on treating people right and putting them at the center of what’s going on.  That’s been the formula for our success and we’re going to keep doing it.  There’s no magician behind the scenes, just real people talking to real people.  A relationship of equals, that’s it.  We’re here to serve: we often have bottles of cold water ready to hand out in the waiting room because we know what it’s like to slug through the heat of the Louisiana sun.  We also know being faithful with little things is a really big thing, especially in this day and age when you don’t really know what you can count on.  If you’re interested in talking to a healthcare professional about your mental health, even if it’s not a long term problem, please don’t hesitate to give us a call today.  We accept most major insurance providers and have two great locations, at Covington and Baton Rouge.