On many occasions, family members, colleagues, friends observe the following symptoms among people whom they know. When such symptoms are observed do not hesitate to refer them to a Psychiatrist / mental health professional for early diagnosis and better management of the situation

• Talking, thinking and behaving odd and unusual.
• Extremely smart or unusually dull and depressed.
• Talking about something which is not real.
• Suspicious about everything around.
• Suicidal ideations or attempting suicide.
• Thinking and behaving odd and irrelevant.
• Behaviour changes for no reason.
• Extremely tensed and obsessed about health.
• Too much concern about cleanliness & perfectness.
• Unusual sleeping habits, unable to sleep.
• Recurrent, longstanding aches and pains.
• Youngsters getting distracted from their studies.
• Mounting fights between couples.
• Uncontrollable anger and violent habits.
• Regular or excessive use of alcohol, tobacco, or drugs.
• Unable to sustain positive relations.
• Broken marital relations.
• Sexual dysfunctions.
• Behavioral addiction (gambling /pornography/internet )

• We come across people who may have multiple symptoms. Guide him /her /family to reach the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences to understand the condition.
• Segregating mental health and physical health may not be possible on all occasions. All physical health conditions will have mental health component. Look out for an opinion from a Psychiatrist.
• The assessment of the symptoms done by the family members, non-professionals with regard to behavioural changes of someone may not be the real state of the situation. The condition could be abnormality at the thinking level, like a thought disorder, which may be the signs of mental disease. Such states could be diagnosed only by mental health professionals.
• With non-medical information, managing the abnormal thoughts and behaviour at home may lead to more complicated states like suicide, violence, strained relations and disasters.
• Just like heart, liver, or kidney disease, mental diseases are not just psychological. Modern science has pieces of evidence to state that those behavioural changes are symptoms of a ‘brain disease.’
• Identifying or diagnosing the state is the primary and most important thing to do first, which can be done by doctors trained in mental health.
• Counselling alone is good enough for minor ailments, but for major conditions, counselling will be a supportive program, not the remedy.
• In all conditions, confirming the diagnosis is the first step for which mental health consultation always adds perfectness in diagnosing, managing and treating the case.
• Stigma about mental health care will prevent a patient from reaching the Psychiatrist, and that will damage the whole future of an individual and disturb the well being of the family. Do not feel ashamed to meet a Psychiatrist, who happens to be a qualified and specialized doctor in mental health.
• Behavioural and chemical addictions are abnormal states of mind which need to be treated.