6 Early Warning Signs Of Emotional Well-being Deterioration
When we hear “Emotional Wellbeing”, we think of pleasant associations such as excitement, happiness, love, and acceptance. However, how we handle the unpleasant feelings we experience is an important indicator of our emotional well-being.
According to Psychology Today, the definition of emotional well-being is “the ability to practice stress-management techniques, be resilient, and generate the emotions that lead to good feelings.”
No one knows us better than us, making us the first person to know whether our emotional well-being is deteriorating or not. But some of us are unable to recognize the early signs of emotional well-being deterioration and that might lead to a mental breakdown.
One such individual was Siddharth who continued to ignore the early signs of emotional well-being deterioration. He then ended up spending a night in the hospital because of it. Siddharth had self-doubt issues but it didn’t affect his life much so he didn’t bother about them. But after losing his job, thoughts of self-doubt started increasing. He started to feel that he was not good enough and was never going to achieve anything in life.
Siddharth felt helpless and hopeless about his future endeavours. He tried applying to other places but the fear of rejection made him not want to try. He isolated himself in his room and one night when he was unable to take the burden, he started getting thoughts of ending his life. Luckily his roommate found him and admitted him to the hospital.
The story of Siddharth is the story of many of us too. It may not be that extreme, but we all have faced self-doubt and emotional turmoil brewing up inside our minds. This has an impact on our physical health as well.
We can avoid all that by seeking early treatment, but for that, we need to know what the early signs of emotional well-being deterioration are. Here is a list of the early signs:
- Increased feelings of agitation and irritation
- Feeling distant from your loved ones
- Feelings of Hopelessness
- Feeling helpless all the time
- Feeling worthless
- Lack of personal care
Increased feelings of agitation and irritation
One of the first early signs of emotional well-being deterioration is a significant increase in feelings of agitation and irritation. You might notice yourself getting upset at things and people more frequently than before. You feel frustrated with your life and might have problems controlling your temper or unable to calm down. Watch out if you feel uncharacteristically angry, anxious, agitated, or moody.
Feeling distant from your loved ones
An early sign of emotional well-being is that you begin to distance yourself from your loved ones by avoiding meeting them, going out for parties, or other social gatherings. Slowly you start spending more time alone in your room than with your loved ones. You withdraw or isolate yourself from other people. You may stop taking part in activities you used to enjoy before. Do not confuse it with being introverted. It is seen as a change in your typical sociability.
Feelings of Hopelessness
Another early sign is feeling hopeless about your future. You notice your general optimism starting to decrease and now can't find anything to be hopeful about. You start to see the negatives in every situation and suffer from feelings of worthlessness or guilt.
Feeling helpless all the time
You might feel stuck in your life problems with no way out or no one out there who would understand and help you. You feel all alone in this world with no one to support you. You feel helpless and lost, having no idea how to stop the emotional well-being from deteriorating and for things to go back to being good.
Feeling worthless
Your emotional well being might be deteriorating if you have a prolonged feeling of worthlessness. You have no self-confidence and your self-esteem takes a hit. You see yourself as flawed and full of shortcomings, there is no confidence in your abilities and you doubt your every move. According to you, nothing you do is right. People in this situation may say that the world would be better off without them, suggesting suicidal thinking.
Lack of personal care
Not all are emotional, they can be physical signs also. Your emotional well being might be deteriorating when you start to let go of taking care of your physical self. This involves skipping your meals, not taking baths regularly, and ignoring proper hygiene. The surroundings also start to clutter up with piles of dishes in the sink, clothes in the laundry basket, and an empty fridge. You might find these basic but necessary tasks to be overwhelming or just forget to pay importance to them.
It is necessary to recognize these early signs of emotional well-being deterioration to nub it in the bud and get help before things get worse. You may want to get a self-assessment done to find out more about your mental wellbeing or use the self-help content available. Also, it is always better to seek the help of mental health professionals than wait for the problem to worsen.
