Psychoeducation is the process of providing information and support for individuals to better understand and cope with mental health issues and concerns.
Anxiety
Anxiety is "an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure."
Knowing the difference between normal feelings of anxiety and an anxiety disorder requiring medical attention can help a person identify and treat the condition.
While a number of different diagnoses constitute anxiety disorders, the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) will often include the following:
- restlessness, and a feeling of being "on-edge"
- uncontrollable feelings of worry
- increased irritability
- concentration difficulties
- sleep difficulties, such as problems in falling or staying asleep
While these symptoms might be normal to experience in daily life, people with GAD will experience them to persistent or extreme levels. GAD may present as vague, unsettling worry or a more severe anxiety that disrupts day-to-day living.
Depression
Depression is a mood disorder that causes persistent feelings of sadness, emptiness, and loss of joy. It is different from the mood fluctuations that people regularly experience as a part of life.
Major life events, such as bereavement or the loss of a job, can trigger depression. But depression is distinct from the negative feelings a person may temporarily have in response to a difficult life event.
Depression often persists in spite of a change of circumstances and causes feelings that are more intense and chronic than are proportional to a person's circumstances.
The symptoms of depression can include:
- a depressed mood
- reduced interest or pleasure in activities that a person previously enjoyed
- a loss of sexual desire
- changes in appetite
- unintentional weight loss or gain
- sleeping too much or too little
- agitation, restlessness, and pacing up and down
- slowed movement and speech
- fatigue or loss of energy
- feelings of worthlessness or guilt
- difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions
- recurrent thoughts of death or suicide, or an attempt at suicide
Burnout
Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. Though it's most often caused by problems at work, it can also appear in other areas of life, such as parenting, caretaking, or romantic relationships.
How do you know if you're burned out?
Physical and mental exhaustion, a sense of dread about work, and frequent feelings of cynicism, anger, or irritability are key signs of burnout. Feeling like you can no longer do your job effectively may also signal burnout.
Symptoms of burnout includes:
- Feeling exhausted
- Unable to recover from a common cold
- Frequent headaches
- Frequent gastrointestinal problems
- Sleep disturbances
- Shortness of breath
- Irritability
- Heightened emotional responses (quick to cry, quick to anger)
- Suspicious and paranoid about colleagues
- Substance abuse
- Stubbornness, rigid thinking, and unwillingness to listen to other people
- Negative attitude
- Appears depressed
Work Fatigue
Work fatigue represents extreme tiredness and reduced functional capacity that is experienced during and at the end of the workday.
Common symptoms of work fatigue:
- Chronic tiredness or sleepiness
- Muscle weakness or soreness
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Reduced reflexes and responses
- Difficult making decisions or judgments
- Blurred vision
- Poor concentration
- Reduced immune system functioning
- Irritability or moodiness
- Inability to pay attention or focus