Have you ever been to a situation wherein you misjudged someone you thought was mentally impaired because of his actions? Well, I have experienced that a dozen times. But assuming that they are mentally ill is as far as I go. I usually talk to them and clarify things with them. However, not everyone is like me. Some people don’t confront and explain things with the person. Instead, they report it directly to a law enforcer or a medical health professional.
You have to make sure that you are knowledgeable enough before concluding that the person is mentally ill. There are cases where the lack of knowledge and information resulted in a false accusation, bringing a person who they thought was mentally challenged and brought to a mental facility even though he is perfectly fine.
This often happens in Florida since they have a law called the baker act, which states that any mental health professional, law enforcers, and even the court can declare that a person is mentally ill if they think they can harm himself or others. But of course, before the false accusation reached these professionals, the reports came from ignorant citizens who don’t know what the signs and actions that will consider someone to be mentally ill are.
If you ever know someone that other people and the authorities misjudged as mentally ill, you might consider getting yourself a baker act attorney. These attorneys will help those accused of being mentally challenged by the court or any person and are forced without proper evidence to go to a mental facility. To avoid falsely accusing someone as mentally challenged, here are five signs you should consider before calling a person mentally ill.
1. Prolonged sadness
There are extreme cases where our sadness will stay with us for an extended period. Maybe because of trauma or the death of a special someone. But even so, we can still smile and talk to other people very often. However, a mentally challenged person will have prolonged sadness or anxiety due to natural circumstances in life. You will notice that the tiniest mistakes will have them be sad until the day ends.
2. Strong feelings of irritability or anger
Getting irritated quickly over small matters and having the tendency to pull tantrums if they are mad is one sign of having a mental illness. This is a vital sign. Especially when they show signs of aggressive actions such as self-harm or trying to hurt other people when they are angry.
3. Overuse of substances like alcohol or drugs
This might not be the first sign that you will notice, but being addicted to drugs or alcohol will definitely make anyone mentally challenged if not treated urgently. These substances can change a person’s behavior and will be more aggressive to anyone. In most cases of the baker act, people are often falsely accused due to being drunk that resulted in aggressive behavior. But they are usually set free because they were just drunk that time and weren’t mentally ill. But for alcohol addiction, you will adapt to those aggressive behaviors because you are drunk almost every day.
4. Distant to society
Another sign of being mentally ill is when a person distances himself from society. But other people don’t want to be with people and prefer to be alone. This is why you need to know more about other signs before concluding a person is mentally ill.
5. Extreme changes in eating or sleeping
If a person doesn’t want to eat in their usual eating time and will not sleep during the night, they might have mental issues. These cases usually go on for days which is why they are considered mentally challenged.
It would be best to consider all of these signs first before concluding a person as mentally challenged. Ensure that the person has all of these signs before asking the authorities to bring them to a mental facility.
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