12 Risks You Could Encounter Ignoring Mental Health Issues

With the increasing recognition of mental health conditions, people are becoming more comfortable discussing their issues and experiences. Since mental health issues can run in the family, more and more people understand that such problems are not solely related to drug abuse or other factors. Instead, the majority recognizes that anyone can go through mental health struggles. 

But what about those with mental health problems that do everything they can to ignore them? This is not a situation where sticking your head in the sand will solve everything. Instead, increasing risks could happen if someone continues to ignore their mental health issues. 

Untreated issues won’t go away 

While it’s tempting to ignore your mental health struggles, they will not go away no matter how much you shove them down and out of sight. 

In many cases, ignoring your mental health issues will even make things worse. Some conditions become more difficult to manage as time goes on, so you are putting yourself (and others) at a disservice by telling yourself that nothing is wrong and even refusing treatment. 

This can impact your family life and a wide range of other relationships–both personal and professional–which may hinder your progress as a human being that can be tricky to recover from. 

You might turn to substance abuse 

If you don’t opt for traditional and professional treatment, your mental illness could manifest in other ways, which may result in you turning to substance abuse to deal with your issues. 

Substance abuse is common for many people with mental illness as they use it to self-medicate, yet this rarely–if ever–works out well for them and those around them. A lack of treatment is one of the reasons that veteran addiction assistance is available for service men and women who have experienced issues like PTSD or painkiller dependence.

Although it feels like any escape from your reality will benefit you, the risks of substance abuse are something you cannot underestimate, which is why professional advice and assistance is necessary. 

Your diet will suffer 

Depending on your mental illness, your diet could suffer by ignoring it. Depression can cause people to stop eating altogether, while issues like anxiety or severe ADHD can cause you to run out of time and so rely on something easier, like frozen pizza or takeout. 

Of course, there’s nothing inherently wrong with quick food fixes, but this is only when you indulge occasionally. Consuming this every day puts you at risk of other conditions, such as heart disease and obesity. Furthermore, getting the right nutrients is essential for managing stress and living a healthy lifestyle which you won't get from fatty foods.

Hygiene becomes a low priority 

Similarly, your hygiene could suffer as a result of your mental illness. Depression can cause you to forget to bathe or feel like it’s not worth it since you aren’t going to do anything or go anywhere anyway. 

On the other end of the spectrum, experiences with OCD might make you too diligent with your hygiene and may even result in you scrubbing your hands and body raw trying to eliminate germs. This may lead to your skin drying out and cracking, which is not just painful but could increase the risk of infections if any open wounds come into contact with bacteria. 

There is a risk of self-harm 

People who struggle with mental health issues can try to cope with their problems in other ways if they cannot speak to a psychiatrist. The risk of substance abuse is one issue, but self-harm is also common, especially for younger generations who may not have access to mental health support or whose issues are being ignored and dismissed by their parents. 

There are various types of self-harm that you should look out for. Just because you aren’t cutting yourself does not mean you are not trying to hurt yourself. If any of these acts sound familiar, you may be self-harming without considering it self-harm.

Or harming others 

There is also the risk you could harm others depending on your situation or where you are. Untreated mental illness can manifest into more violent conduct the longer it goes on, especially with issues that could trigger a psychotic break that makes you act entirely unlike yourself. 

This issue also relates to drug abuse, especially if you take too much to cope with an overwhelming episode or even through careless driving. You don’t want to be responsible for injuring–or even killing–someone else, so this should be more than enough reason to seek treatment. 

You may destroy your things and home 

If you aren’t hurting others, you could look at other ways to take out your frustrations. One of these ways could be destroying things in your house, such as your TV, glasses, plates, or even the walls of your home. 

This can be expensive as you’ll need to replace everything, but even worse, it may cause you to get evicted from your property if you rent the space. Such behavior may also cause your landlord to deny a recommendation for future accommodations, meaning it will be difficult to get your own place even when you feel better. 

You may struggle to keep a job 

Struggling to keep your mental health issues under control and seeking appropriate treatment might always mean you will struggle to keep your job. Various scenarios could lead to this, including being late for work, getting distracted, or blowing up on a co-worker or even a customer because you are having a bad day. 

While many jobs will work hard to accommodate your needs and understand your situation, there will come a point when they cannot make excuses for you anymore. If you need to support yourself, this could put you at risk of losing your home and a secure lifestyle. 

You will struggle to maintain order and stay organized 

You already have a lot on your plate when dealing with mental illness. But conditions like ADHD can make it impossible to ensure you are on time for anything or stay organized. If you need to work or go to school, this issue can be hugely damaging to your career and may end with you losing your job or getting expelled from your course. 

This issue can also be present at home. Without a proper routine, you won’t keep your home clean. You may miss garbage collection day or forget to switch the stove off. All of these can cause significant problems for you and anyone else living at home, including an unhygienic property or even burning the house down altogether. 

There is a risk of homelessness 

Whether from losing your job, being kicked out of the house, or burning it down, untreated mental illness may lead to homelessness if you do not take steps to fix it. If you cannot pay your bills, you could end up on the streets which can be difficult to survive. 

Hopefully, it never comes to this and you should have someone you can rely on until you get back on your feet, but you must make an actual effort to improve your citation. You cannot mooch off your loved ones or good samaritans forever, and if you don’t show that you’re trying to improve your citation, you may find yourself searching for somewhere new to live again. 

There is a risk of incarceration 

Although incarceration is a worst-case scenario, it can happen to those who cannot receive effective professional treatment for their mental health. While you hope that your situation never comes to something like this, it can only take one mistake or a single bad day for you to do something you immediately regret. 

It doesn't even need to be something you’ve done, though. Some police forces will arrest mental health patients because they deem them undesirable. Rather than helping them find treatment, they instead throw them in jail during an episode, but such behavior can cause problems for the individual, especially if anything goes on your record. 

You could alienate friends and family 

While incarceration or homelessness can seem like the worst thing in the world, three are a few things more terrible than feeling alone. But this can happen if you do not take steps to treat your mental illness and strive to get better. 

There is only so much that your friends and family can do for you without you trying to help yourself. Therefore, avoiding your chance to receive treatment and medication to nullify your mental health problems could lead to you pushing them away. While they still love you and want to help, there are only so many times they will let you let them down. 

Summing up 

Depending on where you live, it can be challenging to even receive mental health treatment, let alone establish a program to help you work through your issues and come out the other side happy and healthy. Still, seeking help from professionals as well as researching support systems and self-care options will always be more effective than ignoring your problems as this can severely disrupt your life and the life of your loved ones.