Suicidal:

If you or someone you know has one or more of the following signs: 

• The person is constantly thinking about death or dying or unable to stop thinking about suicide. 
• Perhaps the person or a family member of the person has attempted or committed suicide. 
• The person always feels sad, depressed and feels life is not worth living anymore. 
• The person don’t enjoy the things they use to enjoy. 
• The person feel alone with no one to talk to, or feels like no one cares about them, 
• The person has had a sudden change from being depressed to upbeat and at peace, 
• The person suddenly engages in risky behavior such as numerous sex partners or binge drinking. 
• The person has a hopeless attitude regarding life especially when a recent life event occurred such as a divorce, death of a friend or family member, or loss of job, etc. 
• The person begins to have mood swings or sudden changes in sleep patterns. 
• The person avoids close friends and family, loses interest in activities and social events, and becomes isolated. 

These are just some of the symptoms that have been reported in suicidal patients, if you think you or a loved one may be suicidal, please call:

• 911 
• 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) or 
• 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)

You may call the suicide prevention numbers from anywhere in the United States, 24 hours a day. People are waiting to help you.

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Depression:

Do you feel sad, empty, and hopeless most of the day, nearly every day? Have you lost interest or pleasure in your activities that were once enjoyable or being with friends and family? Are you having trouble sleeping, eating, and functioning? If you have a decreased or loss of appetite, suffer from a general lack of energy, want to be left alone, feel hopeless, worthless or guilty about something, have low self-esteem, and/or suicidal thoughts that have been present for more than 3 months. Then you may have depression: a serious but treatable mood disorder.

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Grief:

Grief is a process but surprisingly, grief is not isolated to being caused by the deaths of loved ones. Many losses in life can cause intense feelings of grief such as deaths, divorces and even losses of jobs can lead to depression and discouragement. Perhaps you feel guilty for not doing enough or maybe you feel the loss was your fault somehow. If you are unable to talk about the loss without crying, extreme sadness, anger, you have a feeling life is not worth living since the loss, then perhaps you should reach out and talk to a professional to work through the grieving process together.

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Anxiety:

Anxiety is something that everyone experiences for short times, but when you worry unnecessarily about a number of things like life events or activities or situations you cannot control, then perhaps you are experiencing a more intensive level of anxiety. Symptoms of anxiety that may require treatment may include restlessness, tiredness, shakiness, muscle tension, shortness of breath, dry mouth, trouble swallowing, nausea and diarrhea. Additionally, feeling constantly on edge, experiencing concentration difficulties, having trouble falling or staying asleep and exhibiting a general state of irritability that is hard to control and has happening more days than not for at least 6 months. If this describes your situation, then you should contact licensed counselors who can help you relieve the worry and anxiety.

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Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):

Not every traumatized person develops ongoing (chronic) or even short-term (acute) PTSD. Not everyone with PTSD has been through a dangerous event. Some experiences, like the sudden, unexpected death of a loved one, can also cause PTSD. Symptoms usually begin early, within 3 months of the traumatic incident, but sometimes they begin years afterward. Symptoms must last more than a month and be severe enough to interfere with relationships or work to be considered PTSD. 

Symptoms include:

• Feelings of intense fear
• Helplessness 
• Horror about the traumatic event 
• Disturbing and persistent thoughts, images, and or perceptions about the traumatic event
• Reliving the event,
• Intentionally avoidance of thoughts, feelings, or discussions related to the traumatic event 
• A significant decline in interest and engagement in activities 
• Disturbance in sleep 
• Feelings of guilt 
• Difficulty concentrating 
• Impairment in social, occupational or other situations 
• Frequent nightmares, flashbacks, etc.

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Substance Use:

If you consistently use alcohol or other mood-altering drugs until high, intoxicated, or passed out; unable to stop or cut down use of mood-altering drug once started, despite how often you say you will and the negative consequences continued use brings then you should seek help. If you deny chemical dependence is a problem despite what others such as spouse, relatives, friends, and employers say and the use of the substance is negatively affecting self and others you need to contact someone and/or seek treatment. A key indicator of your level of addiction is if you show physical symptoms (shaking, seizures, nausea, headaches, sweating, anxiety, insomnia, depression) when withdrawing from the substance. Substance abuse can make you stop participating in important social, recreational, or occupational activities because those activities can interfere with your opportunities to with using mood- altering drugs. Another indicator is that you must take mood- altering substances in greater amount and for longer periods to achieve similar results as you obtained when you began using. If you or someone you love is experiencing any of the symptoms of substance abuse, counseling can help both the person using and those who are living with or around the person using.

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Anger Issues:

A person with a history of explosive, aggressive outbursts, leading to verbal attacks, physical fights and/or destruction of property are often experiencing issues with anger or lack control over their anger. People with anger issues often have unreasonable expectations of others, they use profanity and belittling, they engage in physical and emotional abuse against significant others and even random strangers. These people show a pattern of lack of self-control in response to specific situations or events. They make swift and harsh judgmental statements to or about others; passively withholds feelings and then explodes in anger. They often demonstrate an angry overreaction to alleged disapproval, rejection, or criticism. They are aggressive and use abusive language designed to intimidate others. Then they rationalize their actions by blaming others for causing them to react in aggressive and abusive ways. This is often a means of achieving power over someone else. Whether you are the person with anger issues or the person receiving the abuse, we can help.

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Family Conflict:

Constant or frequent conflict with parents and/or siblings is a sign of family conflict or relationship issues. Ongoing conflict with parent, which is characterized by parents creating dependence leading to feelings that the parents are overly involved; long period of non-communication with parents, and description of self as the “black sheep” are also signs. Remarriage with both partners bringing children into the marriage from previous relationships can create situations where parents are in conflict with each other over parenting styles for their minor children, etc. These situations can often be helped by counseling and by directly addressing the root causes of the conflicts.

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Intimate Relationship Conflicts

Intimate relationships are always hard but if you find yourself constantly arguing with your partner, feeling like there is a lack of communication with your partner, marital separation, pending divorce, cheating, physical and or verbal abuse in your relationship, then you and your partner could benefit from counseling that can help with the dissatisfaction you both feel with the quality of the relationship and can even help reduce the feeling you may have of growing apart from each other.

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Behavior Problems:

Symptoms of a child with Behavior Problems include: 

• Being constantly suspended from school; 
• Parents getting calls from school to come remove the child 
• Fighting and not able to get along with others 
• Bad attitude 
• Being a bully or being bullied 
• Obsession with video games 
• Excessive time on cell phone playing games or on social media. 

If you recognize these symptoms in your child, then your family may benefit from counseling that can help address many of these issues and resolve the root causes of Behavior Problems.

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