4 Signs you Might be Spiralling Out of Control

There is only so much we can take as individuals when life constantly throws curve balls at us. In the past two years alone, we have all dealt with the following:

• Global pandemic
• Sheltering at home
• Societal unrest
• Social injustice
• Economic shut down

Our mental health and body can only deal with so much negative information and experiences before we begin to shut down completely. The key is to understand whether the stress of life heightens your mind and body or whether your mental health is a real problem and is on the decline.

Anxiety is one of the ways the majority of our bodies respond to stressful thoughts and experiences. Experiencing anxiety is an entirely normal part of life, and everyone at several points in their lives will feel this; however, it is a worrying sign when that anxiety and stress begin negatively impacting parts of your life or daily routine.

Below we have listed 4 of the top signs that you may be starting to spiral:

You have begun to lose what is important to you

One of the first signs that an individual is severely struggling to deal with themselves and life at the moment is if they begin losing vital assets of their life such as:

• Their job/career
• Their spouse
• Inherited valuable items
• Their home
• Their children
• Their close friends and family

It is tough to stop a spiral when parts of an individual’s life get taken away, especially when it is essential factors such as a spouse, job or children. In most cases, when an individual spiral gets to a stage where they have lost their house unless medical intervention intervenes, the mental spiral will, unfortunately, unravel ridiculously fast.

It is vital that if individuals believe they are about to start spiralling or are currently experiencing a mental spiral, they seek out medical help and family and friends to help support them through this tough time.

You only see life bleak and dim

When an individual begins to spiral, whether that is down to a traumatic event, mental health disorders or addiction, the individual’s outlook on life will change dramatically. They will often begin only seeing life through dark and dull coloured glasses, which will inevitably cause depression and various other mental health issues an opportunity to begin creeping in.

The anxiety the individual is feeling will make it hard for them to focus on finding ways to pull themselves out of this spiral or ask for help. The longer an individual spirals through these negative emotions, the worse their mental health will become, along with additional issues such as abuse and addiction.

You feel as though you can’t control your day

Anxiety and depression will often cause guilt due to various factors. Individuals will often mask these adverse emotions with alcohol to make them easier to handle; however, this type of practice can only go on for so long before the spiral takes hold and worsens. If you have actively become part of the addiction cycle that has begun to spin your life out of control completely, we would assume that your days look like something of the following:

• You often crash during the day
• You become anxious and restless
• You often will wake up promising that you are not going to abuse any substance
• You promise that today will be the last day and you will figure it out tomorrow
• You begin using more than usual and neglect all your other responsibilities
• You wake up feeling overwhelmingly guilty, and the cycle begins again

If you see the above replicating your life, then we would assume that you are in a deep spiral; you will need to find the strength within to break the cycle by getting medical help; otherwise, this spiral will completely ruin your life.

Trying to control the uncontrollable

At times in an individual life, when they believe everything around them is falling apart, their personality will shift. They can often be found to become bossier and attempt to control anything in an attempt to feel as if they have control over at least one thing in their life.

However, this personality trait can often begin pushing loved ones and friends away, and the overbearing, controlling personality becomes too much, and people start to slip away.

Reach out for support

It can be extremely tough to recognise that you or a loved one is experiencing a spiral, often, we as a society are overrun with negative emotions, so it can be hard to tell the difference between reacting to something we have seen or heard and experiencing a spiral.

If you have loved ones or trusted family friends, we would always advise it would be best to reach out to them and explain what you believe is going on with your mental and physical state. Simply telling someone your trust can take a massive load off your shoulders. They can be a vital support system and give you the confidence to seek professional medical help to deal with your spiral altogether. Learning to recognise any specific triggers you may have is a vital step to ensure you avoid falling into another spiral.