Many people believe that one has to be suffering from painfully obvious psychological impairments to seek therapy. The way these individuals figure it, if someone appears to be perfectly healthy on the outside, there’s no sense in seeking mental health assistance.
While somewhat understandable, this way of thinking is extremely misguided. Mental health problems aren’t always obvious, and a person doesn’t need to be rife with mental illness in order to pursue therapy.
As you’ll find, there are a number of common reasons for which seemingly “normal” individuals make therapy a part of their lives. In fact, if any of the following afflictions apply to you, you may benefit from becoming acquainted with a good therapist.
Stress
We all feel stressed at one time or another. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find an area of life that isn’t somewhat conducive to stress. From working to maintaining relationships to attending to family responsibilities, there’s no denying that we live in a stressful world. However, when we lack effective coping mechanisms or our stress levels go into overdrive, it becomes necessary to seek professional assistance. People living with chronic stress run the risk of doing long-term damage to both their mental health and physical well-being. Stress is synonymous with a vast array of health problems, and the longer you allow your stress to go unchecked, the more damage it’s likely to cause.
A good therapist can help you identify your most potent stress triggers and develop appropriate coping mechanisms. In addition, they may offer valuable advice on reducing your stress levels long-term and cutting certain stressors out of your life. While a life that’s completely free of stress may not be feasible, a life in which you’re faced with minimal and manageable stress certainly is.
Depression
As is the case with stress, all of us feel depressed at certain points. Depression stems from sadness and despair, both of which are common emotions. However, when such feelings come to consume us, it’s time to seek help. Unchecked depression can pave the way for low self-esteem, social isolation, self-harm and even suicide. So, if you’ve been struggling with depression, don’t wait for the problem to get worse before reaching out to a dependable therapist.
There’s also a common misconception that one’s depression needs to be severe in order to warrant therapy or counseling. In addition to being incorrect, this line of thought can prove outright harmful to people struggling with depression. Whether you’re mildly depressed or clinically depressed, you are more than worthy of a therapist’s time and attention.
Relationships
Relationships can be a consistent source of stress, depression and other complex emotions. There are a variety of reasons for which people seek therapy for relationship matters. For starters, people in toxic and/or abusive relationships can often benefit from the advice therapists have to offer. A good therapist can provide someone who’s been beaten down by a terrible relationship with the confidence and coping tools they need to extricate themselves from the situation.
Keep in mind that a relationship doesn’t have to be bad to be stressful. Even people in healthy relationships regularly seek the advice of therapists. For example, if you’re in a loving relationship after experiencing scores of abusive ones, you may be lacking in confidence or unable to properly communicate with your partner – both of which are problems a therapist can help you tackle.
Work
Working is among the most common sources of stress and depression. From long commutes to office politics to insurmountable workloads, the working world is rife with stress at every turn. So, if your job has exacerbated any existing mental health issues or given rise to new ones, don’t hesitate to seek therapy. Golden State residents whose work schedules are too busy for traditional in-person sessions should do a search for “online therapy California”.
Although some of us are able to hide it better than others, a staggering number of people suffer from some form of mental illness. Unfortunately, many of us never seek to treat these afflictions. As long as we’re able to more or less keep stress, depression and other psychological issues in check, we believe that professional intervention is wholly unnecessary.
At the end of the day, you aren’t doing anyone any favors by gritting your teeth and powering through mental illness. So, whether you’ve been suffering in silence or have a very pronounced mental illness, you stand to benefit from seeking therapy.