Chapter 1: Common Difficulties

It is normal to experience changes in our emotions day-to-day. However, people’s ability to manage this varies. Some of us are more sensitive to emotions, we might: 

• Feel emotions intensely. 
• React to emotions quickly. 
• Take a longer time for emotions to pass. 

For various reasons, people might struggle to identify and name emotions and might not feel able to cope with them leading to dysregulation.

Your loved one may experience unusual experiences to a degree which impacts on their functioning and understanding of reality. 

Our responses to unusual experiences will vary - how we interpret the experiences is really important. These interpretations might be influenced by things that have happened in our lives. For some people, experiences will be interpreted as something positive (e.g., seeing their loved one after they have died). Some interpretations will increase levels of distress.

Unusual experiences are common in the general population:

• Hearing a noise and thinking that someone has said your name/is talking to you. 
• Déjà vu – feeling that you have already experienced this moment. 
• Seeing something in the periphery of your vision. 
• Your mouth can become dry (e.g., due to feeling anxious) which may alter your sense of taste. 
• Feeling a sensation on your skin (e.g., tingling or itching).

These experiences are more common than you might expect, many people (3 out of 4) have one-off unusual experiences like hearing their name being called or feeling like someone is watching them during their lifetime. This is not always a sign of a mental health problem, however for some (around 1 in 25 adults) the unusual experiences are present to the extent that they cause distress and affect the person’s ability to function in their day-to-day life in the way they would like to.

The way an individual interprets these experiences will influence how much distress they cause. 

E.g., if my sense of taste changes and food tastes different - believing that the recipe may have changed, or that something (a cold) might be affecting my taste - is less threatening and distressing than believing my food is poisoned. 

Suicidal thoughts can occur across a range of difficulties and can even be present for people who do not have a “mental health disorder”. Suicidal thoughts can exist on a spectrum - at times we might have thoughts and intend to act on them, at other times we might still have the thoughts but not intend to act on them.

It can be distressing to hear that your loved one has been thinking of suicide, and it can feel like a difficult topic to talk about. 

There is no evidence to suggest that asking someone if they are having thoughts of suicide increases the likelihood of suicide.

You can find more information about supporting loved ones with suicidal thoughts on the Mind Website.

If you or your loved one need support you can contact the Samaritans by calling 116123. 

You can also call 111 or GP.

You can also call 999 if lives are in immediate danger.
 

• When someone feels low, they may experience decreased motivation to do usual activities. 
• When the activity level decreases, they become even less motivated and lethargic. 
• Negative thoughts such as “I am useless” and “what’s the point?” may arise.
• When someone stops doing the things they love, they miss out on positive experiences and pleasant feelings.
• When they stop doing the things they need to do, tasks will pile up and become overwhelming. 
• They then become even less likely to do these tasks, and negative thoughts might be reinforced.