7 Signs That It’s Time To Check In With Your Mental Health

Checking in with yourself is important to do. Your mental health and personal well-being are essential for your everyday success and for you to be able to keep going. A healthy mind can be the difference between achieving your dreams and not achieving them or even the difference between good physical health and not so good physical health.

But it can be hard to know when it’s time to stop and check in with yourself. Life can get in the way, with all of its twists and turns, making it easy to put yourself and your emotions on the back burner. Sometimes we get so caught up in life that we don’t even realize anything was wrong until it’s too late. Self-care and taking a break become afterthoughts after a tragedy happens, and it can easily become something that is penciled into your planner instead of something we do when we need it.

Here are seven ways to know that it is time to check in with yourself.

1. When stress is manifesting in your life

Obviously no life is stress-free, and we can’t avoid stress all the time. But it is important to note that stress can manifest in your life in so many ways outside of the norm. It can include things like nightmares, body aches, pains, and acting out. The key is being aware of these three things: how stress shows up for you, the frequency that stress shows up, and the intensity of the stress.  Knowing these differences can help you know if it is time to press pause and check in with yourself.

2. When you wake up angry

There are times when we all wake up on the wrong side of the bed.  But when you are waking up on the wrong side of the bed every day, it’s time to take a look at why and check in on yourself. This includes waking up and being mad that you woke up or waking up and wanting to fight everybody and everything.

3. When you are feeling tense

Are you suddenly feeling tense in various parts of your body? Perhaps it’s in your shoulders, back, arms, or legs. No matter where your tension is, it is important to know when you feel that tension and when you don’t. Are there triggers for your tension? What surroundings cause it? What feelings cause it? Do you ever walk into a building and immediately tense up? All of these are important experiences that are letting you know it’s time to check in.

4. When you are feeling fragile

Feeling fragile can mean different things. It can involve sadness as much as they can involve anger. Feeling fragile can show up as waiting to be tried so you can pop off. It can show up as being ready to cry or being annoyed. You have to figure out what feeling fragile looks like for you and those feelings will let you know when it’s time to take a step back and check in.

5. When you are raining on the lives of others

Do people suddenly not want to be around you? Do they not want to talk to you or avoid interacting with you at all costs? These are possible examples that your attitude may be raining on the lives of others or ruining their moods. Sometimes the individuals in your life may be too polite to tell you this, but if their actions are sending you this message or they outright say something to you, it’s time to take a break and check in with yourself.

6. When everything feels so much more extreme

This is when everything feels so much worse than it normally would for you. Things that normally wouldn’t phase you are suddenly sending you into a tailspin. This goes hand-in-hand with feeling fragile. It’s when getting yelled at feels like the end of the word or when dropping your drink and suddenly feel like throwing a trash can. When everything seems so extreme and so much, it’s time to check in with yourself.

7. When all elements of professionalism are gone

This one is for a work setting or any other professional setting. In this case, have you let go of all sense of professionalism? Are you letting the moods of the clients shift you from the professional version of yourself? Are you finding that you are yelling back or becoming overly frustrated? When your professionalism has flown out the window, it’s time to check in with yourself.