Seeking therapy is something many of us may do at various junctures in our life. Knowing if and when you could benefit from therapy or counselling is not always easy. Indeed, for many folk, seeking support and therapy may not be easy, and they may wish to rely on their own inner resources to guide them through challenging times. Others may look for support and guidance from an impartial third party at the first sign of unease. And of course, then there are those who will tough it out until things become overwhelming, and they will eventually seek external support.
None of these situations are wrong. People must always do what feels right for them at any given time, and of course, rely on their gut instincts and own realties to help see them through not-so-good times.
However, there are occasions where it might be wise for all individuals to seek support from a trained and skilled professional. I have outlined a few of these below, and I hope they help give you comfort and confidence to seek support if you feel any of these apply to you. Before i delve into them though, I want to stress that there is absolutely no shame in seeking help, support, therapy or guidance. In fact, it is more often than not a great way to arm yourself with resources to not only tackle the issue at hand, but any future discord that may arise.
You’re Experiencing Feelings Of Anxiety
It is natural for all individuals to experience anxiety from time to time. This is nature’s way of telling us something isn’t quite right, or that we need to be fully prepared for a big event or situation. It’s a biological protection mechanism that saves us from danger, negativity or embarrassment. However, if anxiety levels are churning and you can’t control them with relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises, meditation or a good old work-out, then it could be time to think about seeking therapy.
A qualified therapist will be able to sit with you and work out where these feelings are coming from and empower you with the tools for better managing anxiety. It may also be that you could need to seek further support in the form of natural anti-anxiety herbs from a naturopath, or even medications from a doctor. Your therapist can guide you to find the right solutions.
You’re Drowning In Overwhelm
As humans, it’s normal for us to bite off more than we can chew. We all do it at one time or another. When we experience overwhelm, it is our body and our mind telling us to slow down. When we recognise these feelings and take a breather, we can come back into balance. But what if we experience this feeling on a day-to-day basis? When even the smallest and most simple task fills us with dread? This is a sure sign that things are out of kilter. If this is happening to you and it’s going on for longer than a month, I would suggest seeking therapy to help brings your life back to balance.
You Consistently Feel Sad
Again, feeling sad is normal in our life journey. We should feel sad if we lose a pet, a partner, a job, or something that we hold dear. It is when these feelings of sadness become all encompassing that we should start thinking about seeking therapy. If we can’t see the light, we become disinterested and empty, we find ourselves constantly weeping, or sinking into a deep depression, we should take stock and do something about it. You don’t have to live life with sadness or depression and you shouldn’t. Seeking therapy can set you on a path to a happier life and future. Again, you may need to double down with help from a GP or medical specialist too, but a therapist can be your outlet for discussing the whys and wherefores of the sadness/depression.
You Have Unresolved Anger
Much like sadness, anger comes hand in hand with a disappointment or betrayal, and it again is a perfectly normal human response. However, anger shouldn’t linger and it shouldn’t take over your life. If this sounds like you, it might be wise to seek out a professional therapist to help you resolve past issues.
You Are Not Performing At Work Or School
We all have our off days and it’s perfectly normal to leave your A-game at home now and then. If you find yourself in a pattern at work or school where you just can’t get ahead, or seem to do anything right, seeking help may help you get back on track. Our mental health is so important in challenging areas of our lives such as work or school. It is in these areas of life that we are consistently challenged and expected to overcome obstacles, so we do need to have healthy thought processes. Seeking therapy can empower us to deal with the challenges in a calm and reasonable manner and not allow them to overflow into our personal lives.
Your Relationships Are Suffering
If our relationships are feeling the fallout of unresolved mental health issues, then we definitely want to think about seeking therapy. It could be couples counselling, visiting a therapist to help with a parent-adult child relationship, or even to salvage a treasured friendship. While it is certainly true that some people are in our lives for a short time only, we all have relationships that we value and cherish. These often are tested by circumstance, and it definitely does not hurt to have support when times are rocky.
You’ve Experienced Trauma
Trauma can be any kind of situation where you have experienced shock and upset unexpectedly. It could be a sudden death of a loved one, post-traumatic stress from something that has occurred in your life such as an attack or a past abusive event, or it may be the irrevocable breakdown of a treasured relationship. There are lots of different scenarios where we might experience trauma in our lives and if you feel this applies to you, I would advise seeking therapy to support you as you work through this.
You’re Turning To Drugs And Alcohol
While I wouldn’t suggest seeking therapy if you enjoy a glass at the end of a rough day, if you are relying on alcohol, medication or illegal drugs to ‘take the edge off’ on a regular basis, it is definitely time to take stock and try to address unhealthy habits before they truly become out of control. Seeking therapy can help, however if things are compulsive and uncontrollable, you may even wish to seek addiction therapy.