Helping Yourself or a Colleague / Signs of Concern
Signs of Concern
Personality Changes
- Direct statements indicating distress
- Constant sadness or tearfulness
- Constant anxiety or irritability
- Unprovoked anger or hostility
- Expressions of hopelessness or worthlessness
Behavioral Changes
- Deterioration in quality of work
- A negative change in performance
- Repeated absences from important activities
- Continual seeking of special accommodations
- Repeated trouble getting along with others
Physical Changes
- Deterioration in physical appearance
- Visible weight changes
- Excessive fatigue
- Sleeping much more or much less
- Coming to work bleary-eyed or smelling of alcohol
- Needle marks or bandages
Workplace Changes
- Patient or staff complaints
- Unusual pattern of prescribing of drugs
- Inappropriate orders
- Personal administration of drugs to patients
- Unreachable when on call
Other Factors to Consider
- Personal losses (e.g., divorce, deaths)
- Decreased self-care (e.g., discontinuing exercise)
- Expression of concern noted by peers
- A hunch or gut-level feeling on your part that something is wrong