I’m in Mental Crisis: How Can I Get Help?

Prolonged stress or exposure to trauma can cause a mental crisis. Being in a mental crisis can make everyday activities, such as brushing your teeth or talking to people, that much harder. It can make emotions feel more intense and overwhelming. Whatever your reaction to a mental crisis, it may require help and stabilization. Alter Behavioral Health has a specific facility for you to receive crisis stabilization help.

Crisis Help

If you are in immediate danger of harming yourself or others, you can find immediate crisis help. Sometimes you may not know to plan for a mental crisis, or you may not know what you would do to get help during one. Having preemptive plans, like creating a list of potential people or organizations to call if you are in a crisis, can help you in the minute. This can be a stop gate before you seek further treatment that can help you learn to manage your mental health or mental health disorder.  

How to Find Help for a Mental Crisis

During a mental crisis, finding help can be one of the hardest things to do. Your brain may not be functioning normally, so you cannot think or process as you generally do. When you are in a  more stable mindset, it can be helpful to write a list of things you need from a mental health program. If you cannot make that list, you can ask yourself the following questions:

• Do they offer crisis stabilization services? 
• Are there services for after stabilization? 
• Does the program offer holistic healing? 
• Do they offer psychiatric support? 

If the program you are looking into does not offer services to help your immediate needs, as well as help you heal from what drove your mental crisis, then they may not be the right place for you. It is important to get help with your immediate crisis, but it is also crucial to get help with what led to the situation. Further therapy support is needed to work through those thoughts, emotions, and memories.

Immediate Treatment for a Mental Crisis

One place to start your mental health care search is Alter Behavioral Health’s crisis stabilization unit in San Diego, California. As an alternative to inpatient hospitalization, they offer a variety of services to help you with your immediate crisis. Their most important goal is to get you stable for immediate help. The strategy for stabilization at Alter Behavioral Health is as follows: 

1. Define the problem: With the treatment team, work together to identify the problems at the core of the crisis
2. Ensure safety: Determine what is needed to reach and maintain safety in the program and beyond
3. Provide support: The core of treatment is providing you with support
4. Examine alternatives: Brainstorm ways changes can be made in your life
5. Make a plan: Work to identify what needs to happen to prevent another crisis
6. Obtain commitment: Make sure you are committed to your plans and treatment and that they work for you

However, Alter Behavioral Health also offers other services, such as an intensive outpatient program (IOP) or residential treatment, for further help working on your mental health. The program team can even help you identify if that is a good next step for you.

Why Does Mental Health Matter?

Mental health affects your thinking, mood, and behavior. Your mental health includes your emotional, psychological, and social well-being. When any of those are affected by stress or trauma, you may not be able to handle or cope with the situations or feelings.

In addition to stress, mental health also helps you relate to others and make healthy choices. At any stage of life, if you are hurt, overly stressed, or experience trauma, you may experience mental health problems or a crisis. However, you should not be discouraged. Understanding what a mental crisis looks like and what can cause it can help you learn when to ask for help, as there is always help available for you.

Mental Crisis: How You Are Affected

The prefrontal cortex is in the front of your brain. This area is where planning and decision-making occur. When a person is in their adolescence up to their early 20s, that area of the brain is still developing. This can make a younger person respond to stress or trauma differently than an adult would. Exposure to stress, especially prolonged exposure, can have long-lasting effects on a person. This can lead to the development of a mental health disorder, such as anxiety or depression.

A mental crisis causes stress. Extreme stress in the body can cause a person to react in a way they may not normally. It can cause a person uncontrollable emotions, an inability to react or plan, or cases of extreme apathy. Without the proper tools to cope, someone who has a mental health disorder and experiences any level of stress can experience a mental breakdown. 

When to Ask for Help

If you are struggling to settle or be okay with your thoughts, memories, and emotions, it can be a sign that there may be something deeper going on. When you grow up with trauma or even experience trauma in adulthood, it can have lingering effects. Sometimes, you need to acknowledge and talk through the problems.

A mental crisis or even an ongoing mental health disorder can cause changes to mood, behavior, and your physical body. You may experience body pains, rapid mood changes, acting out when you are overwhelmed, chronic headaches, and the list can go on. Knowing when to ask for help is up to the individual, but if you are experiencing differences in mood and behavior and you cannot manage them, it may be a good time to ask for help. 

Do you need immediate help with your mental health? At Alter Behavioral Health, our goal is to get people into the treatment they need immediately. Waiting to treat a developing disorder can increase or worsen the symptoms. By calling us at (866) 691-4386, you can talk with our kind and supportive staff about treatment options. Starting with an assessment, you will be placed in the program that is right for you and your needs. Whether you need residential care, outpatient treatment, or crisis stabilization, we have the program for you. Call us today to start treatment. You have the power to change your circumstances; we would be happy to help and support you on your journey.