Mental illness is often thought of as invisible.

Because it’s considered to occur in our minds and not our bodies, it can be easily overlooked. People often also put enormous amounts of effort into masking their difficulties, which can make it harder to recognise.

That said, I think there’s often indicators that people are struggling that get overlooked or ignored. If you’re really paying attention, there can be signs.

Socialising:
Having a good social life can be really difficult when your mental health isn’t great. Somebody who previously was the life of the party might start getting more withdrawn or make up excuses to miss social events. They might be taking longer to answer texts or be quiet in the group chat. You might notice that when you are with them, they seem distant and disengaged. These can all be signs somebody is having a hard time, especially if it feels out of the ordinary for them. Equally, if somebody who is usually introverted and quiet becomes the opposite, that could also be cause for concern.

Appearance:
There are lots of ways somebodies appearance can change when struggling with their mental health. It might be body changes like weight loss or gain, but there are also other signs to look out for. It could be that they are dressing differently to how they did before, or that they haven’t been taking care of their hair or make up. Maybe they always had manicured nails before, or they look like they’re struggling to shower or wear clean clothes. They might look tired and drained, or maybe as though they’ve been crying. If they are struggling with self harm, they might for example start wearing long sleeves a lot. There’s lots of little signs to look out for.

Productivity:
This is particularly noticeable if somebody is in education or work. If they are starting to struggle with deadlines, not completing jobs or the standard of their work has dropped, it might be an indicator that their motivation isn’t great or that they’re struggling to stay on top of things. There’s other ways productivity can be impacted too, such as daily tasks like staying on top of housework, preparing and eating meals and even starting to reduce time taken on hobbies or other activities at home. If your gym buddy has started skipping classes or avoiding going for workouts, check in and see if they are okay.

Physical health:
People’s physical health can really suffer as a result of poor mental health. They might not be eating or drinking well so are missing out on nutrients and energy. They might also be struggling to sleep so are tired a lot, either through sleeping too much or too little. You also might notice things like poor skin, again various weight changes, or looking drained. It’s also worth paying attention to things like calling in sick a lot to work or cancelling plans due to physical health reasons like coughs, colds, back problems etc. These might be covering up for somebody not feeling able to disclose that their mental health isn’t great, so making up a physical health reason instead.

Mood:
If somebodies mood is low, that can present in lots of different ways. It might be that they are tearful, withdrawn and have slowed down speech or movements. Equally, they might be angry or irritable, and have a short fuse. It could also be the opposite problem, that somebody is out of character with how happy, elated or energised they are. Rapid speech, lots of different ideas and excessive energy can also be indicators that there is a mental health issue.

There’s actually a lot of signs somebody might be struggling with their mental health, both big and small. Due to shame, stigma and discrimination, which although improving is still rife, people will often try to hide their symptoms and pretend everything is fine. If you notice something seems off with somebody around you, even if there are only small changes, please reach out and let them know you are there.

You never know what difference you could be making.