In this article:
- Why we must consider therapy
- What happens in therapy
- Signs you need therapy
As mental and emotional issues are on the rise, the need for counselling & therapy has become even more pronounced. Seeking the help of a mental health professional enables us to support our mental, emotional and physical well-being in effective ways.
We’re all fighting our own battles.
Life is happening to all of us and amidst all that we have to juggle and find our way through, we’re all doing the best we can.
Each individual has their own ways of dealing with things and overcoming the challenges that life throws at them.
Some people’s battles are loud and out there for everyone to see and then there are those, who fight silent battles, that you know nothing of.
While we try and be as strong as we can so that we can get through our struggles; reaching out for help is he bravest thing we can ever do for ourselves.
Seeking professional help from a therapist doesn’t mean that you’re weak and incapable of handling yourself & your issues.
On the contrary, it means that you are strong & capable enough to admit that your ways aren’t working and it’s time to upgrade.
When we enrol ourselves in a program our course to gain knowledge & learn new skills, we do that with the objective of learning, upskilling and becoming better than what we are right now.
Similarly, when it’s time for us to gain more knowledge about different facets of life, learn better coping skills, deal with challenges in a more efficient way and improve the overall quality of life; therapy serves as one such important tool.
The kind of help & support that an individual can get from therapy is very different from the kind we get from our family & friends.
The fact is that no matter how experienced, mature, knowledgeable we are; there is always something more to learn and understand about ourselves & life.
It’s only when we gather the courage to be vulnerable, do we realise how strong we really are.
Does that mean that everyone should go to therapy to become a better version of themselves?
No.
While therapy is for everyone, not everyone needs it.
The decision to seek help, is completely subjective and depends on what are we going through at a particular point in our lives & how well are we able to support ourselves & others around us.
Yes, we can and should reach out to our friends and family for guidance & support. However, we do experience certain phases in life where this isn’t enough or not what we need. That’s only because our friends & family members will not always be able to understand us the way we would like o be understood.
Their suggestions or advise would be coloured with their own subjective views & experiences. They may fail to take into account our unique circumstances, personality & thinking process. There are also times, when they themselves are a part of our situation.
At other times, when we are going through psychological & emotional distress manifesting as anxiety or depression; they wouldn’t be equipped to support us through that.
Therefore, in such circumstances, it is important to reach out to a professional who can offer you the necessary guidance, support & tools to overcome these issues in a non-judgemental, empathetic and objective way.
Working with a trained mental health professional can help you to:
- Understand the root cause of your concerns
- Regulate your emotions effectively
- Manage distress
- Break the negative & self-defeating thought patterns
- Improve your relationship with yourself & others
- Improve your decision making & interpersonal skills
- Contribute to your overall growth & development
- Empower you to take charge of your life
When despite the best of our efforts, we continue to struggle, it is imperative that we reach out for help.
Some common signs that indicate an individual needs Counselling or Therapy are –
- Feeling Overwhelmed: Everything feels too much and you are struggling to concentrate and manage your day-to-day tasks. You feel like everything is a lot for you to handle. You often find yourself delaying, deferring and procrastinating your tasks which ends up adding to your existing pile of issues.
- Mood Swings: You find yourself sad, low, withdrawn or cranky, irritable, angry, aggressive etc. Sometimes you’re on one end of the mood spectrum and at other times, you could just be oscillating between them. You notice that your mood shifts have become more frequent, intense or prolonged than usual and are disrupting your functioning & relationships.
- Sleep Issues: You’re not being able to sleep or don’t get good quality sleep. You often find that you have tonnes of thoughts right before you go off to sleep which make it difficult for you to get quality sleep. At times you wake up in the middle of the night or have vivid dreams or nightmares.
- Difficulty interacting or maintaining relationships: You’re either withdrawing, becoming non-communicative or find yourself lashing out, losing your cool and being snappy in your interactions with people around you.
- Feeling hopeless about yourself, life and future: You feel gripped by a sense of meaninglessness and are plagued by thoughts that life is pointless & there’s no point in doing anything.
- Emotional instability: You’re finding it really hard to manage your emotions and are consumed by thoughts & memories of past events or worries & anxieties about the future.
- Changes in weight & appetite: You find yourself eating too less or more than usual and you’ve either put on or lost a lot of weight suddenly.
- Struggling in one or more areas of your life: You feel that one or more areas of your life has become difficult to handle and you’re struggling to express yourself, get your point across, make decisions etc.
If you or someone you know is going through most of the above-mentioned points, then you must reach out for help.
With mental & emotional health issues on the rise, we can no longer afford to neglect our mental health in the name of weakness.
Rather, we need to step up for ourselves and do what we can to take care of ourselves & improve our well-being.
After all, our mind and body are the only assets that we have and we need to learn effective ways to ensure their wellness.
DAMINI GROVER
COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGIST, CERTIFIED HEAL YOUR LIFE LEADER & COACH
FOUNDER-I’M POWERED- CENTER FOR COUNSELING & WELL-BEING