While we're not all aiming to be manipulative of the people around us, sometimes we could use a trick or two to be more successful around the people around us.
Redditor Aggravating_Taste821 asked:
"What are some dark psychology tricks that actually work?"
Make Them Agree
"Nodding your head up and down slightly when you want someone to agree with what you are saying."
- SumerianProgRocker
Be Inclusive
"Change the perspective from I to we, and people will automatically align themselves with you."
- fckmelifemate
Consistent Influence
"If you say something often enough, people will start to believe it after a while. And once a couple more people are saying it, it will exponentially explode through whatever population is listening."
- Generic300
Stay Accountable
"It's not really dark but every mistake I make at work, I go out of my way to admit to. For some reason that makes me more trustworthy."
- Freaksenius
Hold Coworkers Up
"I admit when I mess up and also go out of my way to sing the praises of anyone that helped me. Makes people want to work with you and why not? That's who I want to work with."
"Be honest, don't throw people under the bus, and telegraph your thank yous and you can ask for plenty of favors."
- crazyrich
Connect with Them
"Related: Ben Franklin suggested that if someone seemed cold to you, ask them a small favor. (I think he mentioned borrowing a book?)"
"After you return the book and we're sufficiently appreciative, that person would likely be less cold in the future."
- ISwearIUsedToBeSmart
Perspective Matters
"If you make a favor seem bigger than it is before asking it, the person on the receiving end is much more likely to help."
"'Babe, can you do me the biggest favor ever? Can you turn off the light when you come to bed?"'He would have done it anyway, but now he feels like a hero."
- SuperDuperStoney
Stay Quiet
"Not really a dark trick but one that I've found effective, when someone's being rude to you stay completely silent and stare at them. It'll make them feel incredibly uncomfortable and they'll usually act civilly after a few moments."
"**DISCLAIMER** Do not do this to people who are exhibiting aggressive behavior, and/or whilst in an unsafe non-public environment. This is a tactic meant to be used on otherwise mature adults in safe environments."
- Natasha_JB
UNO Reverse
"I had a manager who would scream at me and drive me to tears. I got sick of it, so I sat there staring at her and almost burst out laughing as her rant trailed off."
"She got quieter and said, 'Let's just forget the whole thing and move on.' She never yelled at me again."
- Beth_The_Alien_GF
Make Eye Contact
"Staring at peoples forehead irritates them quite a lot."
- Equivalent-Wealth-39
Manipulative or Oblivious?
"One thing that my dad does, that he may be completely unaware of, is when you give him good news he always exaggerates it back to you, thus forcing you to downplay your own accomplishment. I honestly don’t think he’s consciously doing it, but it drives me absolutely crazy."
"Hey, I have amazing news! I got promoted to vice president."
"That’s great! Wow, so senior vice president?”
“No, just a vice president.”
“Oh, well that’s still good.”
"And now the wind is all out of my sails."
- RawbM07
Just Answer the Question
"If someone doesn't want to give you specific information, like tuition costs, or hours expected, give them an example that's completely unreasonable. They will usually immediately give you an exact number and feel embarrassed for pretending not to know."
"Example: Me: How much does your C++ course cost?"
"Them: It really depends on what your goals are."
"Me: Don't you have a beginner's course? Can you give me a price range?"
"Them: We can work with you to fit your individual needs."
"Me: Okay, fine. So is it, like, $10 for access to all your courses, or..."
"Them: Oh, no. We have a subscription for $99 a month, it you can buy the beginner's course for $120."
"Not useful very often, but it works every time."
- Ender367
Wait for It
"Silence. If you want to know something, ask the question then wait. People want to fill the silence and will talk and talk."
- stormbrewing_
Back to Work
"If someone is bothering you at your desk too often, continue the conversation but get up and walk them back to their desk."
"I had a boss who was a guru at this. You'd be back at your desk, wondering how the f**k you got there."
- FrozenBanana46
Prepare Yourself
"Just gonna say that if you familiarize yourself with a lot of the things said here, you can more easily guard yourself against others who attempt to use them on you."
- Vittaminn
Some Redditors felt like they'd already been doing some of these forever, while others felt fundamentally groundbreaking, but either way, these could make a positive change in someone's life.
Mental states are fragile. One of the most popular themes of American literature, in fact, is the fragility of man's sanity. H.P. Lovecraft utilized this often in his horror stories, and the death of the "American Dream" and the effect it had on the sanity of its dreamers was a popular theme in Arthur Miller's plays.
Unfortunately watching somebody's mental state deteriorate in real life doesn't carry with it the safety of a Lovecraft novel or a play in a theater. It's real. It's awful.
u/chickenstorm asked:
"[Serious] What's your story of seeing somebody's mental state degrade?"
Here were some of those answers.
Nine Years Alone
Watched my dad join a cult. Get diagnosed with cancer. Get dumped by the cult and die alone. It was horrible, one of his friends used the word "sick" as in "ill" and that really made so many of his choices clear. He was dying, he felt like crap. He didn't want to get medical care. He became mentally unstable and ended up pushing everyone away over 9 years, he got his wish. He died alone.
Quick Chemical Turn Around
I watched a friend get overtaken by his first bipolar episode in about 3 weeks. He started smoking a LOT more than he had before. He was on Snapchat and social media nonstop. He started drinking heavily as well, and barely sleeping. He totaled his Jeep and got a dui. He went to his job and told his boss to f*** off among other things. He was fired.
He started getting angry very easily. During this time I spoke to his mom to let her know what was going on but she was in denial still. The drinking and mania continued for another week. He went golfing with some friends and as they were driving home, he lost it and started ripping his clothes off and tried to jump out of the car. They pulled over and he was screaming for someone to come and kill him. They calmed him down enough to get to the hospital where he stayed for a few days. This all happened in 3 weeks. He's better now which is really good to see.
Intelligent Yet Alone
So I am a nurse in an Assisted Living Facility. Most people there have dementia. Of course I have plenty of stories of sun downers. Or hospice patients. However, this person just stuck with me when I was an aide at a local hospital.
There was a woman who came in to a med-surg unit. She was middle aged, so not old. I don't remember why she was on our unit, but I remember it had something to do with a car accident, but she was so smart. She had two doctorate degrees and enriched many lives at a local college. I just remember being in awe of the conversations I would have with her when I had the time. She was there for a long time. I remember saying goodbye to her at the end of the shift and her commenting that she was going to a rehab facility. A few months go by and she came back. I remember seeing her name and being excited to see her.
When I went to her room she didn't recognize me, which wasn't too odd. Sometimes our regulars didn't recognize me. However, she didnt' even know how to use the remote for the TV. She could still for the most part take care of herself with minimal help, but something was... off. I told the nurse who had taken care of her the previous night about the status condition change, but the nurse didn't do anything. The next times I had her I just watched her decline. Become incontinent, unable to care for herself, mood swings, all of those. It was the saddest thing I had ever seen at that point in ny career. She ended up passing in the hospital. I will never forget the intelligent, strong woman I had met just months ago become almost a shell and non-verbal so quickly. I never saw a visitor there even once.
Lucidity Past
Grandma, she had Alzheimer and dementia, she started losing her memory slowly over time, then one day she fell and broke her hip, being bed ridden accelerated her illnesses and within couple of months she was just laying there and staring at the roof,barely speaking and all she says is none-sense, she doesn't recognize anyone, not even her children. It's like she's not there anymore and all that's left is her body.
The sad part is that she's been like that for years, dead but not really dead, that we can't even mourn her probably because all the sadness and tears were shed while her body still lies on her bed.
Trauma Episodes
A close person to me told that he had what he thought was a mental breakdown at the age of 5 or so. And the reason was intrusive thoughts about death, specifically his own death.
I said "Why would you even be thinking that at that age?" and why would he worry about that because he was still a child and far from death. He just responded with "I don't know. It's like I know how it feels.
It might've been just a one time thing but he had these mental breakdowns sometimes and it was not good. The most recent bad one was when he was 15. He was doing something happy or anything but then he suddenly freezes up then flinches and starts to cry like a child. And he cries for hours and kicks his feet. At this point I was scared because he was inconsolable and don't know what to do.
After a nights sleep, He seems to be fine but he seems to have momentary "aftershocks" and would flinch and start to cry again. He said it takes 2 months to recover from this or be back to his normal happy self but he becomes scared, frantic and sad in these 2 months.
Worse thing is I think he kinda had PTSD from these episodes and if something reminds him of these situation he breaks down again. One specific song was enough to make him have a mental breakdown and it seems he is likely to have these in December or in the night.
He's fine now and has ways to recover from the breakdowns but it seems he is still prone to having these episodes.
Unravel
My fiancé's mom past a few years ago from creutzfeldt-jakob disease (CJD for short). CJD is most commonly called mad cow disease even tho they aren't the same. CJD only happens to humans and Mad cow is bovine. CJD is when these proteins in your brain called prions go crazy and start to fold and basically turns your brain in to Swiss cheese. There is no cure and it is very rare. Only a few hundred cases a year. She was perfectly healthy except for being diabetic but she had zero complications with her diabetes.
Then out of nowhere she started having problems remembering things and then starting having mood swings. She went to the doctor but they couldn't figure out what it was. It wasn't until a month or so later that a specialist diagnosed her with CJD. She went from being completely healthy to not being able to move her arms, legs, control voluntary and involuntary functions and then death in 8 months. It was extremely hard on my fiance to see her mom lose everything that made her who she was. Her own mother and father had to see her deteriorate as well. It was just awful for the whole family
No Longer The Person I Fell In Love With
When we came back from my deployment, I literally watched my then-husband become a shell of the person he previously was. Prior to the deployment he was so light, optimistic, and social. He slowly transitioned into a man afraid to leave home and eventually began to use substances and was finally released from duty because of it. We still remain friends after all these years, but he's still only a ghost of the person he was before.
It Kept Going
My grandmother was very ill for many years with almost no immune system. Minor cuts and scrapes would get infected and run rampant. Every now and then the infection would make its way to her brain.
It would usually start slowly and progress to hallucinations. Commonly she would see mice or cockroaches. One time she believed fully that she had hair lice, and would get her husband to check and comb her hair to the point it would start falling out.
Eventually she'd have no idea of the date or even the year, sometimes believing it was as early as the 40's, the same year she was born.
She'd then begin to forget how old people were and at its worse, who they were. All this time she believed she was fine and refused to go the hospital.
Even after all that, the hardest was the vitriolic hateful things she would say to you and everyone else when the ambulances were called because she could barely stay conscious.
These infections happened 4 or 5 times, maybe more. And every time the doctors would tell us that she wouldn't make it, and she did every time.
She passed away in 2017.
Erratic And Dangerous
My group of friends witnessed two friends go through paranoid schizophrenic breakdowns, one after the other, in the space of two years. The second one was my roommate. It happened very suddenly. He just woke up one day and decided that we were all lying to him all the time, and acted with the hostility and contempt that you would expect from someone who thought those things. He did erratic stuff like smashing all his belongings with a baseball bat in the driveway and piling all his socks on the kitchen floor. He eventually went back to his parents' house, which was a relief. From what I have heard, he never really got the help he needed.
No Good Can Come From Bad
Friend fell back into addiction. I thought I felt powerless as I listened to him downplay his use.
I felt even more useless as he started looking off into corners. Then said the voices that he was hearing "weren't from meth, they were from living with [his] parents".
While I was away, my bf went over to him holding a kitchen knife to keep his parents (who were half a world away on vacation) in the basement. He hid in a bench for 6 hours.
Finally, he called the cops on his voices.
Visited him everyday I could in the mental ward. When he got out, he blew up our friendship, went missing, went back into the psych ward. That's the last thing I knew.
The media taught us, through "stranger danger," through horror films in the 80s, through "true crime" documentaries, to be on the constant lookout for psychopaths and sociopaths.
While dangerous personality disorders, it's not impossible that a psychopath or sociopath may blend into the crowd without drawing much attention to themselves because working in society--to them--is a set of rules and tactics to fit in. Whereas neuro-typical folks act without much thought, psychopaths and sociopaths carefully calculate every action and consequence.
u/haloarh asked:
"What's the easiest way to spot a sociopath or psychopath?"
Here were some of those answers.
They're Among You
The real clever ones are your friends and community leaders already.
They aren't stupid, they're not incapable of reading emotion. They're not gonna get caught out by some stupid "gotcha" questions.
There is no overall easy way to spot them. Life isn't a video game.
A Multitude Of Persons In One
Initially they can make you feel proud, but eventually you feel anger, shame, or fear - as a result of their gaslighting - when you are near them. These are feelings that they project on to you, because they don't have a functioning emotional system to deal with them. They are not your feelings. They have simply been 'delegated' to you.
Extremely selfish but charming. Initially very charming, curious, and they overshare personal information to loosen you up and much later take advantage from knowing details about you. Combative behavior when under 'stress', but typically no display of fear. Treats others as 'lesser beings', for example by addressing them in some diminutive form. No display of shame or excessive display of shame (burning cheeks). Excessively selfish behavior. Easily 'bruised' and responds to perceived slights with revenge.
"Saviour" syndrome. They "help" you in some "grand" way and you suddenly owe them a favor of some sort, where you are at a disadvantage and repaying the favor is not in proportion to the initial help, but they put you in a bind of some sort, like "selling your soul".
Success
Many sociopaths are profoundly charming and successful human beings.
It's really not the people with "cold eyes or weird looks" who are sociopaths, sociopaths learn how to present themselves as an ideal version of a human being. On the contrary, it's not people who seem weird or dark or moody you need to be cautious around, it's the people who appear perfect like they have everything figured out.
Those are the cult leaders, or the extraordinarily successful people in our society who are secretly sociopaths, they often hold positions of great prestige, they know exactly what to say to put you at ease and make you feel comfortable, and they are the people who would gladly bury you in the desert if they knew they could get away with it and it would benefit them somehow to do so.
Boundaries Bye-Bye
They violate boundaries or become incredibly upset/angry/sad/whatever when you maintain your boundary.
Knowing your boundaries, setting them, and maintaining them are key skills I work with clients on in therapy. Especially clients who are uneasy about relationships due to a history of poor relationships.
This strategy isn't fool proof but it helps in pinpointing toxic people. First is to know your boundary, then you set it (tell the person the boundary), then you maintain (don't break it) and see how they handle it.
I will give you an example. Say spending time alone with your children each weekend is really important. So you start dating someone new and you tell them this. "Every weekend that I have my kids, I make sure that I spend X amount of time, just me and them. During this time, it means I won't be texting or having any visitors over, etc. Are you ok with this?"
Most people say "yes I am good with this"
Alone time with the kids comes and the new date keeps texting you, or drops by with a coffee, or offers to take you all out for supper. They try to weasel in. When you assert and maintain your boundary by 1) not texting back because you told them you wouldn't ahead of time or 2) declining the coffee and turning them away at the door, this is when their true colors can come out.
Most people will be a little hurt/embarrassed/whatever at the perceived rejection and that is ok. A healthy person will discuss the matter reasonably once the kids are gone.
A not so great person might get angry, might "punish you" by icing you out, be dramatic and make accusations, engage in attention seeking behavior, call you mean, etc. These are GIANT red flags. All of that is trying to manipulate you into thinking you were wrong for communicating clearly what was important to you and what it would look like.
See these flags and cut and run. If the person wanted to change, they likely would. I am very in support of ghosting at early stages of dating with this type of behavior because explaining your reasoning just gives the person more fuel to try to manipulate you into sticking with them.
Early Flags
As someone who has cared for numerous people with professionally-diagnosed psychopathy during my time working on a locked psychiatric ward, I would strongly advise you to look at how they handle power, choice, and influence.
I see that the Macdonald triad has been referenced, but this is a poor diagnostic tool, as few adults would candidly admit to bed-wetting, fire-starting, or animal torture. Rather, they would be able to effortlessly conceal these early red flags.
As I understand it, antisocial personality disorder and its variants occur when an individual acts radically in favor of their own interests, to the detriment of the good of the group (i.e., society). This could be a bank robber who doesn't care how many people he needs to mow down in his escape, or a banker who doesn't care how many lives and fortunes are ruined as a result of a shady transaction--nothing matters except the perceived interest of the individual.
Seeing how the individual uses power, choice, and influence--whether to increase, or at least acknowledge, the common good... or not--can be the best indicator of a person's tendency toward this disorder.
Usefulness Worn
They spend a lot of time and energy managing other people's perceptions of them rather than building meaningful relationships. They may burn through relationships, friendships or business acquaintances quickly when those people either question their behavior or no longer provide attention, money, status, sex or labor. People are not human beings to them, but a means to an end. Charm, use, discard, and repeat.
Look Through The Eyes
I work in forensics psychiatry, deal with many psychopaths and some sociopaths.
I work with a forensic psychiatrist who does most high profile psychopath assessments in Canada.
I asked him this question, how can I spot a psychopath? He says just look at them in the eyes, if you feel like you are looking through them then that might be your answer right there. I mean he doesn't use this technique on his assessments, but I thought it was kinda interesting compared to your usual triad of psychopath behaviours.
For example if you look at Derek Chauvin in that video, you might see what I'm talking about.
Schadenfreude
They find humor and joy in others misfortune or pain.
Sometimes it's simply not that easy to spot. Some are very good at hiding it and you only know once you have gotten to know them.
Empathy Gone
Psychopaths will mirror your body language to make you feel more comfortable and let your guard down. That is a dead giveaway. They also typically have a low resting heat rate. Also some studies claim that psychopaths blink significantly less than the average person, and don't yawn when you yawn in front of them. Supposedly this has to do with empathy which is why humans commonly yawn when they see or hear others do it, but psychopaths who lack empathy by nature /definition do not yawn when they see or hear this.
Sociopaths are antisocial by nature and tend to distance themselves from others. They typically come off as angry or strange which further isolated them from society.
A lot of pop culture mixes up these two terms or uses them interchangeably when they are actually pretty different behaviorally!
No Process
In a YouTube video, a psychiatrist said a tell-tale sign is asking the person, in relation to anything personal about themselves, "How does that make you feel?" or "Tell me how you feel about that."
Sociopaths/psychopaths will instantly bristle and become visibly uncomfortable. They don't process their emotions so a question that involves self-examination will send them running for the hills, according to this doctor.
She says she uses the line at parties. lol
The following has nothing at all to do with Bernie Madoff, the white collar criminal.
But it has everything to do with new discoveries and they way they seem to haunt you, appearing everywhere the minute new knowledge has you taking note.
The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon describes when something you've just seen, experienced, or learned about suddenly seems to appear everywhere you look. It's otherwise known as the "recency illusion" or "frequency illusion."
The whole thing is really an ever-growing, vicious spiral of brain activity.
When your brain learns something knew it subconsciously decides to look for that thing, and uses selective attention to do so. Whenever that selective attention successfully finds the thing it seeks, you experience confirmation bias and irrationally conclude that the thing occurs more frequently than it ever has. Really, you've just become better at seeking it.
Nevertheless, that irrational conclusion of greater frequency serves to jazz up your brain, so you look even harder.
Aaaaand paranoia.
u/oditogre asked, "What have you been experiencing [the Baader-Meinhof Phenonemon] with, lately?"
So Much for Trend-Settin’
This always happens to me when i buy a new coat or when i bought my car. All of a sudden I'm noticing them everywhere.
Impressive to Pull Out at Parties, Though
I could swear I've read the word 'Liverpudlian' (somebody / thing from Liverpool) like 6 times this weekend and never before then.
GiphyIt's About Time, Friend
I watched the Princess Bride for the first time recently. I'm now seeing references to it everywhere.
It Does Not Mean What it Says it Means
The word "gaslighting." I learned what it meant couple of weeks back and the amount of times I see that word everyday is insane.
Gahhhh Inception
I literally explained what this phenomenon was to my husband when I was experiencing it yesterday. And then I said that I'd probably start hearing about the phenomenon itself.
And......here it is.
GiphyToo Many Babies, Not Enough Earth!
Pregnant women. I'm pregnant and now everyone is pregnant.
It is Real. It is Doing Stuff.
Connecticut. One day i was in the car and i was like "why don't i ever hear any new stories that mention Connecticut? I'm pretty sure it's made up."
I even googled Connecticut just to make sure it is a state. Now i see Connecticut everywhere in the news.
Not Baader-Meinhof. Just Excellent, Relevant Children's Programming.
Man, in grade school I used to constantly learn about a new subject only to go home and have the exact same subject come up in a Magic School Bus episode.
Giphy"Where's My New Jersey Plates Log!"
My wife has started noticing that the letter L is the fourth position on an NJ license plate. I have no idea what to make of this.
One Single Time Would've Sucked. Several is the Pits.
I keep seeing and hearing about a two-headed goose.
Saw a little statue at the store, heard a random story from someone at the next table over, saw one in a book, etc.. there have been about 6 encounters so far.
Mental Health Professionals Share Red Flags That May Seem Normal But Should Be Checked Out
Mental health is health. End of story.
For millions of people, the idea of mental health is wrapped up in this strange idea that unless you're hearing voices or having a full-on movie-style nervous breakdown (spoiler alert: those almost never happen that way) then there's no need to get your mental health looked into.
That idea has cost countless lives and made millions of people unnecessarily miserable. It needs to stop.
Reddit user Pixel_Pig asked:
Mental health professionals chimed in, but so did patients, loved ones, friends, etc. Surprised? You shouldn't be. Mental health affects us all.
Warning: Some of the following entries contain descriptions of abusive behavior.
Regulation
Inability to regulate your own emotions. Also, negative self-talk. we talk to ourselves way worse than any person could.
Parental Responsibility
GiphyChild Psychologist here. It bugs me how much parents don't think they're responsible for their kid's behavior.
Yes - it's the main reason I hate doing counseling with kids under 12. I spend more time trying to convince the parents that they play a role in their children's lives and ultimately are responsible for their behavior. A great many seem to think just bringing their child to counseling is the extent of their involvement.
I don't remember much of my earlier childhood, but what I do know is that I've always got easily frustrated and cried a lot, only to have my dad threaten me to stop crying when I was younger. I spent practically all of my free time from the end of primary school through to university playing video games because I didn't think I liked anything else, and couldn't seem to stick with anything else. I've always feared strangers, and been incredibly sensitive to the negative opinions of those I do know. My teeth are badly yellowed because I couldn't bring myself to brush my teeth often as a kid.
For as long as I remember, I've struggled with knowing what I feel, with knowing if I'm ever in the right, with knowing what I want, with knowing who I am, with being easily overwhelmed, with overthinking, with overly negative thoughts, with mood swings, with doing any work not last minute... the list goes on. I've always felt that something was wrong with me, that this wasn't how life was supposed to be lived, that I wasn't nearly as happy as I could be, but when I've reluctantly confided in my family, I've just been dismissed as overthinking again, or trying to blame something other than myself -- despite how utterly out of control my own actions felt.
I sat through 16 months of a toxic relationship with a girl diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety and was subjected to constant emotional manipulation including threats of suicide if I didn't call her, and yet I stuck by her because I just didn't know if I was in the wrong. I got counselling at university and felt bad for taking up the space of someone who will very likely need it more, and later that year I failed my degree because of what I felt was a rational decision that physics just wasn't for me anymore -- but neither was anything else.
Fast forward through a year and a bit of working full time in fast food, but working on myself through introspection, experimentation and research, I'm in a MUCH better place now; I've even got offers to study psychology at university next year. Despite this stark contrast, and an explicit collection of the ideas that helped me to overcome my own issues, my parents are reluctant to believe I have ever suffered with mental health issues of the anxiety and depression variety, and are insistent that my social difficulties must instead stem from Autism -- something out of everybody's control.
In having a conversation about the idea of Childhood Emotional Neglect, and explicitly telling them that it isn't placing blame, or preventing progress, and telling them how this idea has resulted in a huge amount of personal progress, they were still reluctant to believe it because they believe me to be just trying to place blame on them. Autism seems more viable to them because 'what normal person gets up at 8am every day and goes out to go to the gym and stuff?'
They completely deny that they've had any negative role in my upbringing, even after my mum has admitted that she never tried with anything in her life, including raising me.
I guess I ranted all this because denying parental responsibility/contribution does more than just bug me, it's hurtful and tragic. It could have been a never-ending generational loop of suffering were it not for a subtle but pervading inkling that life could in fact be better than this. And worst of all in my experience it seems to all have stemmed from a single stupid misconception about who we are. If there's anything we desperately need in these modern times, it's awareness about psychological ideas. Nobody is born to be a depressed recluse with no idea of what they want from life.
Causing Impairment
A good rule of thumb as to whether a behavior or symptom should be checked out is the same we use to determine a diagnosable disorder : if it causes impairment in one or more areas of life.
The range of what is normal is huge - but if something keeps you from going to school or work, keeps you from maintaining basic hygiene, from maintaining your friendships/ familial relationships/ romantic relationships... It's causing impairment and you should seek help.
If Your Toddler Is...
Research psychologist checking in:
If your toddler is doing socially unusual behaviors such as:
Not responding to name
Not responding to a social smile
Not pointing/ using gestures
Using your hands/arms as if they were a tool or extension of their body
Engaging in repetitive behaviors
Not responding to your use of gaze to direct their attention to distal objects
Check with the pediatrician about getting assessed for autism spectrum disorder.
Not Your Job
Therapist here. If you grew up with or currently are a part of a family where the whole family has to work to keep one or more members of the family in a good mood or appeased, that's not healthy.
People are in charge of their own feelings. It is not your job to appease others so that they can emotionally regulate themselves.
That was me growing up. Everyone had to make dad happy. Never knew if something was going to set him off. And when we pissed him off, it would go on for weeks. Outbursts, throwing breakable items, verbally degrading you, and sometimes it would get physical.
That man threw me into a wall while he was drunk. Would have gone all the way through but there happened to be pipes.
And then he would use us like therapists telling us all the traumatizing stuff he went through as a child and expecting that to explain his behavior. He'd be the first to admit that he needed therapy and medication but never actually did anything about it. Fortunately, he's no longer in my life.
Not Typical For Everyone
There have been a lot of my patients who have been pretty surprised when I've told them "hey, that's anxiety/depression" when they just thought their behaviors were typical for everyone.
- not being able to maintain friendships
- constantly being nervous about the safety of your child, to the point where you hate being alone with your child without your partner
- not being able to motivate yourself to do things, especially things you once enjoyed
- feeling excessively tired all the time
- not being able to calm down and just thinking about the same thoughts over and over and feeling worried
Other things we can help with:
- having a hard time trusting others
- trying to recover a relationship from infidelity
- not knowing why your kid is misbehaving so much and needing guidance
- helping to improve communication within your relationships
It can be hard to bring these topics up! I totally get it.
Some things you can try are:
- writing these things down and bringing them to therapy
- making a mood journal for a week where you track how your moods are and how you're feeling with different activities, and using that as a conversation starter
- two tools we use to measure depression and anxiety are the PHQ-9 and the GAD-7. If you google those, they're questionnaires that bring up some of these questions. You can fill those out and bring them in to your therapist
- you can bring a friend or family member to help advocate for you if that would be easier.
- you can write a letter reflecting on things you think you've made progress on in therapy and goals you have in moving forward and use that to start a convo with your therapist.
If you experience these things (and more!) therapists can help! Let us help you. I hate that cost is such a barrier for people. :(
Sometimes colleges offer free or discounted therapy from their students. When you're training to be a therapist, you spend at least 1 year working as a therapist while meeting with a supervisor each week to consult on your cases and get guidance on moving forward.
My college unfortunately didn't offer discounted sessions, but I know many do. It might be worth checking out.
Some systems also have charity care options for people with low incomes. That can be worth pursuing as well.
To find a therapist, if you're in the US and have insurance, you can call your insurance company and get a list of places that take your insurance. That's a good place to start.
Sabotage
GiphySelf-sabotaging behavior can ruin your life quickly. If you have an event in your life that has affected you negatively and you seem to find yourself exhibiting irrational or incongruent behaviors- see a counselor.
You don't have to have any certain pathology to seek mental wellness counseling.
- TRAMZ14
Other People Have It Worse
I've seen a lot of people dismiss their depression/other mental illness because it's "not that bad" or "other people have it worse" or "I can/should be able to handle it on my own."
You shouldn't have to suffer through mental illness even if you technically can. You deserve to be happy and therapists and psychiatrists are there to help you learn how to help yourself. It's not a weakness to find someone who can assist you in figuring out coping skills or prescribe you medications to help fine tune your brain's neurotransmitters.
Your Child Doesn't Need To Hear That
The need for some parents to speak with their children about adult problems. No, your young child does not need to be aware that 'daddy slept with the lady next door'.
The parents that tell their children that they are going to 'go and speed my car into a tree purposely', 'kill myself while you are at school', or 'slit my wrist when I shower tonight'.
And, parents that feel they need their children 'fixed' as it's the child and not the family unit as the whole that needs support and/or assistance.
Your child doesn't need to hear that you are struggling financially - I'm talking more on the extreme side and towards children that have been extremely hurt and 'money talk' was used as a tool to make the child feel at fault and guilt to some degree.
I'm currently working with a child now that is triggered whenever he hears talk about finances and feels it's his fault they will eventually become homeless. They won't, but this is what he is told. If only he didn't eat so much, if only he didn't have so many school fee's. Not to mention the arguing between carers over finances - this must be his fault to though, they're yelling and shouting because of this.
Some Things Regularly Seen
Psychotherapist here.
Some things I see regularly that could have been caught earlier before they became a problem:
- Unhealthy coping mechanisms. For example, drinking "to relax" frequently or smoking a lot. Even something like promiscuity can be a red flag that a person is trying to avoid dealing with something stressful by distracting themselves.
- Self harm. Hitting yourself, banging your head on things, burning yourself on purpose, cutting yourself, etc. - all of those things indicate that it's time to talk with a professional.
- "Normal" child/teen behaviors that are not actually normal, like running away or getting into fights.
- Not communicating. When this happens, something is usually wrong (not always, as some folks are quieter than others). But if a child/teen/adult rarely speaks or if they are silent in the presence of their parent or significant other, it's time to get them to see a professional ALONE to have their safety assessed. I've seen individuals who are literally shut down due to having been profoundly abused by the people they live with and one of the main signs of that is silence. I've also seen people in perfectly good homes who cannot communicate due to extreme anxiety and without professional help it's hard for them to overcome this.
- Mood swings. When a person's moods change from one extreme to another fairly often/regularly that is another concerning symptom. Sometimes they are considered eccentric or hormonal, but that sort of thing can be a sign of many problems from bipolar disorder to post traumatic stress disorder.
- Glitzyn
Definitely Not God
New nurse here! Did my rotation for mental health and one patient in particular took quite an interest in me, he was very polite and very kind, he was chatting up a storm, answered everyone's questions and repeatedly asked my name. Later, we got to look at patients files and I got his. He had a psychotic break and started hearing God. She told him her name was Courtney and that She had chosen him and he was to find Her and marry Her.
Guess what my first name is. Courtney. They ended up moving me to another part of the hospital after that because he was quite interested. Can confirm: I am definitely not God. Way too much responsibility. Obsessive behaviors and thoughts like that should definitely be checked out.
No Exceptions
- Extreme emotions
- Lack of or struggle with impulse control
- Blackouts
- Extreme irritability
- Disrupted sleep
- Muted or bottled emotions
- Feeling like an alien
- Feeling like everyone has an ulterior motive
- Self-isolation
- Preoccupation with pleasing others or avoiding conflict
- Feeling of emptiness
- Feeling like a part of your identity is missing or you don't have an identity of your own
- Subtle tendencies to latch on to others (especially romantic partners or crushes — maybe sometimes you feel like you're just a tad "too much" or maybe you've heard that from some exes).
LGBTQ+ Youth can get help through:
TrevorChat — 24/7/365 at https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help-now/#services
TrevorLifeline — phone service available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386
TrevorText — Text "START" to 678678. Available 24/7/365.
TrevorSpace — online international peer-to-peer community for LGBTQ young people and their friends at https://www.trevorspace.org/
Trevor Support Center — LGBTQ youth & allies can find answers to FAQs and explore resources at https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/trevor-support-center/#sm.0000121hx9lvicotqs52mb1saenel