Should I Go to Therapy?
If you’ve been wondering if you or your child should go to therapy, this post is for you. Most of us know when it is time to take our car into the shop, to finally schedule that dentist appointment or when our child’s symptoms warrant a trip to urgent care. Do we know when it’s time to start seeing a therapist for our mental health?
Starting therapy is uncharted territory for a lot of people, it can feel overwhelming of how and where to even start. Many people mull over their concerns, unsure if they are serious enough to warrant therapeutic intervention. Maybe you’ve wondered, “Can’t I just get more sleep or exercise or talk to a friend and feel better? Is going to therapy really necessary?” Just like taking our car to a mechanic or our child to the doctor, sometimes its necessary. It turns out we are not all mechanics and pediatricians. Even if we are, improving our mental health often requires someone else’s expertise, experience, and perspective.
When is it time to make an appointment with a therapist?
Usually there has been a decrease in a person’s ability to function and manage daily tasks or responsibilities at work, in relationships, at school, and other settings. They may be sleeping or eating too much or not enough, feeling more anxious about things that didn’t seem to bother them before, feeling depressed or numb… in general not feeling “like themselves,” and struggling to “snap out of it” on their own. Some people carry on their work, school and family responsibilities just fine but find themselves trying to control more around them or increasingly self-medicating through food, alcohol, drugs, prescription pills, escaping into video games, tv shows or books attempting to manage and cope with their uncomfortable and overwhelming emotions. Essentially, when your quality of life is in the negative and everything you have tried isn’t working, it’s time to find a therapist and make an appointment.
So why therapy?
Chances are you’ve been trying everything you can and know how to do to feel better and your level of functioning has not improved or not improved enough. A therapist can help you sort through, hold space for and process the thoughts, feelings and experiences in your life in a completely confidential and non-judgemental space. Think of your appointment as an emotionally safe Fort Knox without the expectations of your significant other, friends, in-laws, parents, or boss. It is your space and your time to explore and express any emotions and thoughts you have not trusted to share before.
Can’t I Just talk to my friend?
Friends are great. Support systems make an incredible difference when we are struggling with life’s problems. But, not everyone has emotionally healthy support systems to rely on when they need a listening ear or a perspective they can trust. Additionally, some of life’s problems need a resource with professional training. It is very normal to start meeting with a therapist when both major and minor changes and traumatic events have occurred. These could include stress, a recent move, job loss, car accident, medical diagnoses, divorce, loss of a loved one, any type of abuse, persistent feelings of depression and anxiety, perfectionism, phase of life transitions and life plan disappointments.
Therapy is for anyone who wants to improve their mental and emotional functioning, work through vulnerable thoughts and feelings, and improve relationships with themselves and others.