Be kind to one another, you never know the personal hell of someone's own Twizted Journey. A kind word, a nice gesture, a helping hand and even a compliment can change the course of someone's day, week, month even their life.

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

Trying to tell the difference between what expected behaviors are and what might be the signs of a mental illness isn’t always easy. There’s no easy test that can let someone know if there is mental illness or if actions and thoughts might be typical behaviors of a person or the result of a physical illness.

Each illness has its own symptoms, but common signs of mental illness in adults and adolescents can include the following:

Mental health conditions can also begin to develop in young children. Because they’re still learning how to identify and talk about thoughts and emotions, their most obvious symptoms are behavioral. Symptoms in children may include the following:

1 Changes in school performance

2 Excessive worry or anxiety, for instance fighting to avoid bed or school

3 Hyperactive behavior

4 Frequent nightmares

5 Frequent disobedience or aggression

6 Frequent temper tantrums

Where To Get Help

Don’t be afraid to reach out if you or someone you know needs help. Learning all you can about mental health is an important first step.

Reach out to your health insurance, primary care doctor or state/county mental health authority for more resources.

Contact the NAMI HelpLine to find out what services and supports are available in your community.

When mental issues go untreated they can turn into worse issues, worse illness and much more detrimental to the person and also to society.