Mental illness is considered an invisible illness and that’s because there are many mental illness symptoms you can’t see. In fact, most of the worst symptoms of many mental illnesses can’t be seen. This causes many problems for people with mental illness. Because mental illness symptoms can’t be seen they’re often not thought of as real – but mental illness symptoms are as real as the pain of a two-by-four to the head, trust me.

Mental Illness Symptoms You Can See

This is not to suggest that there aren’t mental illness symptoms you can see. There are. Just looking at bipolar disorder, for example, the following symptoms are visible:

  • Weight gain or loss
  • Sleeping too many or too few hours
  • Excessive talking
  • Talking about random and unconnected ideas
  • Espousing grandiosity
  • Being easily distractible
  • Being easily irritated
  • “Goal-focused” activity that’s out of character
  • Excessive seeking of pleasurable activities even with painful consequences (often hypersexuality)
  • Change in speed in speech and/or movement (could be slower or faster)
  • Excessive talk of suicide/a suicide attempt

While it may require knowing a person well to pick up on, for example, unusual distractibility, it certainly is visible if you know what to look for. In fact, in the case of mania or hypomania, part of the definition of the episode is that it is noticeable by others.

Mental Illness Symptoms You Can’t See

Of course, the worst symptoms of mental illness you can’t see. The above symptoms, mostly, don’t seem that bad, and yet the pain of mental illness symptoms is bad enough to cause up to 50% of people with bipolar disorder to attempt suicide.

There are many mental illness symptoms you can't see, but does this mean they aren't real? Learn more about the symptoms of mental illness you can't see.You can’t see the symptoms of mental illness such as the following of bipolar disorder:

  • Irritability, elevated or expansive mood that is felt but not overtly shown
  • Racing thoughts
  • Depressed mood
  • Loss of interest in most or all activities
  • The inability to feel pleasure
  • Slowness of thought
  • Loss of energy
  • Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
  • Inability to concentrate
  • Inability to make decisions
  • Preoccupation with death or suicide/a plan for suicide

This is one of the things that makes mental illness so insidious – the worst parts of it are hidden from view most of the time.

Are the Symptoms of Mental Illness You Can’t See Real?

The trouble with the symptoms of mental illness that you can’t see is that people often think they aren’t real – in fact, sometimes even people experiencing the symptoms don’t know if they’re real. But pain, no matter what the reason, is real.

For example, take a headache. For the average headache, there are no outward symptoms and no test can prove or disprove that you have a headache. And yet, the pain of a headache is as real as the pain of a physical injury. Moreover, the pain can be mild, such as in the case of an everyday headache, or the pain can be crippling, such as in the case of a migraine.

And mental pain is exactly like that. There is the normal pain humans experience on a day-to-day basis such as when a relationship breaks up or when you’re passed over for a promotion, and then there is the pain that severe mental illness brings – it is severe, real, debilitating and medical. And the mental illness symptoms you can’t see play a major role in that. They are the drivers of the suffering. It is the cluster of symptoms – both visible and invisible – that make mental illness an illness and something that needs to be professionally treated to alleviate.

Recognizing the Symptoms of Mental Illness You Can’t See in Ourselves and Others

The important thing to remember about the symptoms of mental illness that you can’t see is that invisible doesn’t mean nonexistent. When a person talks about pain, we all need to support the person by believing him or her. When we, ourselves, experience suffering, we need to support ourselves by getting help. We all need to recognize that much of the human experience can’t be seen or even fully understood. And while seeing may be believing, it’s also true that experiencing and educating should be believing too.

Image by Flickr user Marian.