Mental Health Risks
Life’s challenges can be overwhelming; everyone deserves a space to feel heard and supported. At Roamers Therapy, we provide trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, LGBTQIA+ affirming, and evidence-based environments to help you heal, grow, and navigate your mental well-being journey. As your psychotherapist, we are here to guide you every step of the way.
Experiencing Problems
Everyone experiences mental health problems every now and then, and many times, we may feel like they come on suddenly and unexpectedly. This may be true sometimes, but the reality is that most of the time, our bodies might be warning us of a potential mental health risk (e.g., depressive episode) before it happens. We may ignore these warning signs intentionally if we want to push past them or unintentionally if we are not aware of the signs. It’s important to understand and listen to these signs so that we can prevent mental health problems.
Triggers
The first step in preventing mental health problems is understanding our triggers. Triggers are things that can bring back mental health problems and can include things like people, places, objects, situations, behaviors, and thoughts. We can learn to avoid or manage our triggers when we understand them. Example triggers can include:
- Certain fragrances Dates, holidays, seasons
- Topics of conversations
- Movies, songs, or television shows
- A specific location (like a childhood home)
- A person (like an ex-partner)
Signs
The next in understanding when our mental health is at risk is identifying our warning signs. Warning signs are things that our body does to let us know that our mental health may be at risk. Example signs can include:
- Skipping meals
- Engaging in unhealthy coping patterns
- Overuse of substances
- Sleeping in or oversleeping
- Disrupting our routines
- Neglecting our personal care (e.g., skipping showers, dental hygiene, skin care)
Symptoms
The third step in understanding when our mental health is at risk is identifying symptoms we may be experiencing. Symptoms are often conflated with signs; however, they are different. Signs refer to the observable ways mental health problems may manifest themselves. Whereas symptoms are the non-observable feelings, sensations, or behaviors that may manifest as a result of mental health problems. Example symptoms can include:
- Intense fear
- Thoughts of death, dying, or suicide
- Sadness or lack of joy
- Hyper-vigilance
- Panic
Preventing Mental Health Problems
When you understand your triggers, signs, and symptoms, you can learn how to prevent mental health problems. Self-care is the best way to prevent mental health risks from becoming problems. Self-care is a small behavior we do consistently that can reduce the risk of mental health problems. Examples include:
- Working out, eating well, and sleeping enough
- Setting a routine
- Journaling
- Going to therapy
- Eating well
- Practicing good hygiene
Find the Best Therapist in Chicago to Manage Mental Health Problems
This refers to ways we may intervene to manage mental health problems. Some of these behaviors may be the same as self-care behaviors. Examples include:
- Working out to relieve stress
- Sleeping and resting when feeling exhausted
- Setting a routine to feel less overwhelmed
- Journaling to process emotions
- Going to therapy
- Challenging negative thoughts
- Practicing self-compassion
- Practicing urge surfing to manage triggers
Take-Aways
Important takeaways for identifying and addressing mental health risks include: Regardless of how much progress we make, mental health problems may still occur. This does not diminish our progress. Identifying mental health risks is the most important step in preventing mental health problems. Preventing mental health problems is always easier than managing or intervening. However, both are possible. Prating self-compassion every step of the way is very important for your health and progress. Help is always available regardless of how much progress you have made throughout life.
At Roamers Therapy, our psychotherapists are here to support you through anxiety, depression, trauma and relationship issues, race-ethnicity issues, LGBTQIA+ issues, ADHD, Autism, or any challenges you encounter. Our psychotherapists are trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Acceptance, and Commitment Therapy, Person-Centered Therapy, and Gottman Therapy.
Whether you’re seeking guidance on a specific issue or need help navigating difficult emotions, we’re ready to assist you every step of the way.
Contact us today to learn more about our services and schedule a session with our mental health professionals to begin your healing journey. To get started with therapy, visit our booking page.
First, decide if you’ll be paying out-of-pocket or using insurance. If you’re a self-pay client, you can book directly through the “Book Now” page or fill out the “Self-Pay/Out-of-network Inquiry Form.” If you’re using insurance, fill out the “Insurance Verification Form” to receive details about your costs and availability. Please let us know your preferred therapist. If your preferred therapist isn’t available, you can join the waitlist by emailing us. Once your appointment is confirmed, you’ll receive intake documents to complete before your first session.
This page is also part of the Roamers Therapy Glossary; a collection of mental-health related definitions that are written by our therapists.
While our offices are currently located at the South Loop neighborhood of Downtown Chicago, Illinois, we also welcome and serve clients for online therapy from anywhere in Illinois and Washington, D.C. Clients from the Chicagoland area may choose in-office or online therapy and usually commute from surrounding areas such as River North, West Loop, Gold Coast, Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lake View, Rogers Park, Logan Square, Pilsen, Bridgeport, Little Village, Bronzeville, South Shore, Hyde Park, Back of the Yards, Wicker Park, Bucktown and many more. You can visit our contact page to access detailed information on our office location.