If one or more of these signs is present, contact me to determine if professional support is needed.
Common signs:
- Persistent sadness and hopelessness for no reason
- Withdrawal from friendships, family and other important relationships and activities
- Very angry or irritable most of the time
- Crying a lot or overreacting to normal developmental experiences
- Feeling worthless, guilty, anxious, or worried
- Unable to get over a loss or death
- Extremely fearful or having unexplained fears
- Constantly concerned about physical problems or appearance
- Frightened that his or her mind is controlled or is out of control
- Worry about being harmed, hurting others, or doing something “bad”
- Feeling life is too hard to handle
Behavioral changes:
- Declining performance in school
- Losing interest in things once enjoyed
- Unexplained changes in sleeping or eating patterns
- Avoiding friends or family, wanting to be alone all the time
- Suicidal thoughts
- Inability to sit still or focus attention
- Using alcohol or other drugs
- Cutting self
- Engaging in physical fights
- Eating large amounts of food and then purging, or abusing laxatives
- Dieting and/or exercising obsessively
- Engaging in risky, life threatening activities
- A need to wash, clean things or perform certain routines hundreds of times a day in order to avoid an unsubstantiated danger
- Racing thoughts that are almost too fast to follow
- Persistent nightmares
Dr. Shannon Dubach, PsyD, MBA