{"id":2424,"date":"2019-02-04T19:47:44","date_gmt":"2019-02-04T19:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/article\/how-do-i-know-if-i-have-a-mental-illness\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T13:24:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T18:24:29","slug":"how-do-i-know-if-i-have-mental-illness","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/how-do-i-know-if-i-have-mental-illness\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00bfC\u00f3mo puedo saber si tengo una enfermedad mental?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Mental health is finally entering the mainstream\u2014it\u2019s been a hot topic in the news and on social media. So you\u2019ve heard of it. And you\u2019re also going through\u2026 something. But how do you know if what you\u2019re experiencing fits the definition of a mental illness?<\/p>\n<h2>Looking for signs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Mental illness is just that\u2014an illness. <strong>Try to think of your mental health the way you think about your physical health.<\/strong> We all experience ups and downs in our physical health. Some days you might feel a little sore, or tired, or sniffly. That doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you\u2019re \u201csick.\u201d You know you\u2019re sick when you notice that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Changes are new.<\/strong> Your experiences are different from what you\u2019re used to in your life. Maybe you felt anxious, sad, or fearful before, but now it feels more than what you\u2019re used to.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The changes get in the way of living.<\/strong> Things that are normally easy now feel a lot more difficult. Maybe it\u2019s even bad enough that you can\u2019t make it to school or work, or maybe it stops you from socializing or doing the things you love.<\/li>\n<li><strong>It\u2019s not getting better<\/strong>. Just like when you get a cold &#8211; things might go away in a few days, and you\u2019re back at work. If you try to make changes and nothing is making it get better, it&#8217;s a good sign that seeing a profession can help explore what might be going on and how to get better.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mental illness is the same way. The only difference is that instead of looking for physical symptoms, like a runny nose or an upset stomach, you\u2019re looking at your <strong>thoughts, feelings, and behaviors<\/strong>. Here are some examples of things that might tip you off:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You used to be really cheerful and outgoing, but lately <a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/i-dont-want-to-leave-my-room\/\">all you want to do is sit in your room<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Things you used to enjoy have lost their appeal. Food doesn\u2019t taste as good as it used to, and all your favorite music just sounds boring.<\/li>\n<li>You\u2019re always falling asleep in class. It\u2019s hard to pay attention and do well in school.<\/li>\n<li>Your friend is talking and you\u2019re trying hard to listen, but you can\u2019t concentrate. All you can think about is bad things that might happen.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/i-hear-voices\/\">Recently you started hearing voices that no one else seems to hear<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>You can\u2019t leave the house without checking all the locks several times. You do this so much that it\u2019s making you late for work.<\/li>\n<li>You\u2019re always irritated, and <a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/i-cant-stop-snapping-at-people\/\">you can\u2019t stop snapping at people<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Of course not all of these will apply to you, but they all have something in common: there\u2019s some change in your thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that makes it harder for you to live a normal life.<\/p>\n<h2>\u00bfY ahora qu\u00e9?<\/h2>\n<p>If you think you might have a mental illness, there are a few different things you can do. Taking any action is better than nothing, so start with whatever seems most helpful to you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/screening-tools\/\">Take a mental health test to get a sense of how severe your symptoms are<\/a>. The more intense they are, the more important it is to seek help! Try taking a few different mental health screens\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/what-mental-illness-do-i-have\/\">even if you\u2019re pretty sure you have a mental illness, you might not know which one<\/a>. And having a label for what you\u2019re experiencing can be really helpful.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/who-can-i-talk-to-about-my-mental-health\/\">Talk to someone you trust about what you\u2019re going through<\/a>\u2014a friend or a family member is a great start! A family member might be able to tell you about your family history. Just like with physical illnesses, mental illnesses have genetic components.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure it\u2019s not drug-related. One of the first things a doctor might ask is whether your mental health problems are related to a physical health condition (like another illness, puberty, or hormone changes) or <a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/addiction\/\">consumo de sustancias<\/a>. This might be something to explore with your family as well!<\/li>\n<li>Get educated. Learning about mental illnesses and building awareness about what\u2019s happening to you<a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/how-can-i-improve-my-mental-health-my-own\/\"> gives you control and knowledge<\/a> to help you advocate for your well-being. No one is a better expert on your experiences than yourself.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Finding out that you have a mental illness can be tough. So whatever your next steps are, take some time to sit with your feelings. It\u2019s okay to be overwhelmed or discouraged. But there\u2019s also good reason to feel hopeful\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/how-common-mental-illness\/\">mental illness is common<\/a>, and recovery is possible!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mental health is finally entering the mainstream\u2014it\u2019s been a hot topic in the news and on social media. So you\u2019ve heard of it. And you\u2019re also going through\u2026 something. But how do you know if what you\u2019re experiencing fits the definition of a mental illness? Looking for signs \u00a0Mental illness is just that\u2014an illness. Try &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/how-do-i-know-if-i-have-mental-illness\/\" class=\"more-link\">Seguir leyendo<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;How do I know if I have a mental illness?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"template":"","age_group":[23,100,19],"condition":[],"class_list":["post-2424","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","age_group-11-17","age_group-over-18","age_group-under-11"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<title>How do I know if I have a mental illness?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/how-do-i-know-if-i-have-mental-illness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How do I know if I have a mental illness?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mental health is finally entering the mainstream\u2014it\u2019s been a hot topic in the news and on social media. So you\u2019ve heard of it. And you\u2019re also going through\u2026 something. But how do you know if what you\u2019re experiencing fits the definition of a mental illness? Looking for signs \u00a0Mental illness is just that\u2014an illness. 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