A Guide to Early Warning Signs of Mental Health Relapse

The first step to creating a list of your early warning signs is to think back to when you first became unwell.

What happened? Was there a big event that triggered your illness, such as bereavement? Or did it seemingly come from nowhere?

Once you remember when you first became unwell, try to remember how you were. Were you sleeping well or badly? Were you under too much stress? Try to remember as much as you can from that time of your life.

This is a list of possible early warning signs, but it is not a complete or definitive list. Just like your symptoms and treatment, your early warning signs will be as individual as you.

• Hallucinations, hearing things, seeing things, or even smelling, tasting or feeling something that isn't there.
• Problems with holding a conversation, speech problems.
• Racing thoughts, thoughts that race from one subject to another, sometimes randomly.
• Increased smoking, drinking or drug taking.
• Feeling unable to cope with even the smallest problem.
• Neglecting yourself, such as your personal hygiene or not eating.
• Changes in mood, such as feeling very low, hopeless, irritable and anxious.
• Suicidal thoughts.
• Feeling empty.
• Changes in movement speed, such as pacing or unable to get out of bed.
• Changes in sleep patterns, either sleeping too much or too little, or having more difficulty than usual getting to sleep.
• A blank facial expression.
• Delusions, but this can be difficult to notice yourself as they feel so real. The best way to gauge if you are delusional is to speak to someone you trust about any beliefs you have that are worrying or scary.

Make your list as detailed as possible and keep an eye on yourself. This is your best chance of staying well!