5 Signs You May Need A Therapist
How do you know if you need a therapist? Sometimes, life can feel like a lot. You’re either trying to get through school, hustling to make some money, adjusting to that new environment, or just trying to get through the day in one piece.
While it is important to stay positive with a grateful heart, it’s also normal to feel overwhelmed from time to time. This does not make you an ungrateful person, so rest assured, there’s no judgment here.
As social beings, our emotions are complex. Life is not always black or white, and there are often a lot of gray areas. If we’re being honest, things would be a bit boring if it was all roses and sunflowers, but you also don’t want a life filled with doom and gloom.
To have a healthy and fulfilled life, it is important to prioritize your mental well-being, and one of the best ways to do this is to see a therapist.
Why Do You Need Therapy?
In 2020, the world paused for a moment when the Covid pandemic broke out. Humans were faced with different challenges that affected life and the standard of living for many people. We were forced to spend time alone with each other, and all the distractions we usually had like school and work activities, were all gone.
For some, they had to confront the people they ordinarily would avoid, whether it was their spouse, their kids, their relatives, or their demons. We do not have to wait until we feel trapped with nowhere else to turn before we confront our emotions. Therapy is beneficial to a person in many ways, whether you need to talk about everyday challenges, work stress, emotional challenges or just to get things off your chest.
How Do I know If I Need A Therapist?
They say that there is no smoke without fire, and this is a visual depiction of human behavior. When people act out, it is always fueled by some kind of emotion. There are a few things that could mess with your ability to control your emotions and protect your mental health. For these reasons, you need to see a therapist to help you regain control. Some of them include:
1. Stress
In today’s society, many things are a source of stress. The World Health Organization defines stress as a feeling of physical, psychological, or emotional strain. When you feel tense, tired, exhausted, or weak, you may be experiencing different forms of stress. Having a better understanding of the things that cause you to stress can help you tackle it easily.
Stress in small doses can be a good thing, it gives that adrenaline rush to get things done as quickly as possible. On the other hand, chronic stress is a terrible thing. Prolonged stress may be caused by illnesses, trying to meet a certain goal at work, family life, financial obligations, extraneous physical activities, and so on.
Stress affects how we sleep, eat, think, react, and relate to other people. Science has established a connection between stress and mental health. It affects mental health manifesting as a feeling of aggression, anxiety, irritability, sleep problems, fatigue, inability to focus, and many more.
Recent studies have shown that long-term stress can alter parts of the brain responsible for memory and learning new things. Scientists believe that these changes alongside other factors can increase the chances of mental illness.
The immune system, which comprises cells, tissues, and organs working hand in hand to fight foreign bodies and antigens, is another link between stress and mental health. When your body faces more stress than you can handle, your immune system is suppressed, increasing your vulnerability to illnesses.
Oftentimes, we have little control over situations that cause us stress, but it is possible to manage stress and improve our overall health. Here are five things to do when you feel stressed;
- Take a break.
- Exercise and Meditate.
- Play games.
- Call a loved one.
- Keep a journal or diary.
And if it becomes too overwhelming for you to handle on your own, please seek professional help. A good therapist can help you with healthy coping mechanisms, and wellness exercises, and develop an overall healthier and less stressful lifestyle.
2. Trauma And Anxiety
Trauma is an emotional response to a bad event, such as abuse, bullying, violence, an accident, or the death of a loved one. Victims of trauma often experience shock, denial, flashbacks, and insomnia after the event. Sometimes, these emotions can make one unstable and unpredictable.
People who have gone through a traumatizing event have a higher risk of suffering from mental illnesses such as anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and depression, which in severe cases leads to self-harm or suicide.
One of the best ways to overcome trauma is to talk about it. Therapy gives you a safe environment to let go, own your vulnerability and speak your truth. In these moments, you can let your fears be known without shame, and without the need to hide or suppress your emotions.
Your therapist can help you identify the source of your anxiety, and figure out what makes you so afraid. Is it the fear of failure, the fear of success, the fear of being alone, or some other deep-seated feeling of anxiety? Therapy helps you unpack all these conflicting emotions so you can move forward as a better version of yourself.
3. To Overcome Grief
Losing a loved one is one of the most difficult phases anyone can deal with. At that moment, you may feel weak, alone, and lost. It may not help when you hear familiar phrases like, “he’s in a better place”, “it will get better soon”, “this too will pass”, or something similar. To deal with such moments, you need professional help.
A therapist will see through your weakness, recognize the signs that you’re struggling with, and give you an insight into understanding your emotions better. It would also help to be in a serene environment, without prying eyes, and just let it out. This time, you will not be alone. There would be someone to help you, to guide you, and to listen to you.
4. You Are Battling Depression
One case that shocked the entire world, is the case of Lufthansa v. Andreas Lubitz. In this case, a suicidal pilot intentionally crashed the Germanwings airplane into a mountain, killing the 150 passengers on board. He had been struggling with depression for years, and upon investigation, it was discovered that he researched how to crash a plane a few days before the tragedy. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in today’s world, as the World Health Organisation estimates that over 700,000 cases of suicide occur globally per year.
Depression is a disease of the mind, a silent killer that should never be underestimated or disregarded. Sometimes we pass off aggressive behavior, constant fatigue, deep sadness, memory problems, difficulty in maintaining relationships, and even changes in appetite as normal, but they may be signs of underlying illnesses.
Although mental health is gradually becoming an important discourse, we still struggle with seeking help, even when we know we’re losing control. Perhaps because we feel there is some kind of stigma attached to seeing a therapist, or because of the cost, but none of these reasons should stop us from seeking professional help when we need to.
5. You Are Struggling With An Addiction
Some people who have trouble understanding their emotions may turn to drugs and alcohol for comfort. While these may provide temporary relief, the reality is that they do nothing to solve the actual problem. If anything, they make things worse. Before you realize it, you quickly become dependent on these substances, and all your money goes down the drain trying to fund this addiction.
Whether it’s alcohol, cocaine, codeine, or any other mood-altering substance, addiction is a deadly disease. It could cost you your job, your relationships, your accomplishments, and your money. Worse still, addiction could affect the lives of innocent people around you.
You may think your mental health is strictly your business, but it can quickly become a public concern, especially if your job revolves around the lives of others. You can only offer your best services when you’re in the right frame of mind, so when you’re not, your clients or customers suffer just as much.
Some organizations have made it compulsory for employees to undergo regular checkups, including psychological checkups. If you ask us, we say it’s about time. Innocent people can become victims of a momentary lapse in judgment, or a person under the influence of alcohol or hard drugs. The number of deaths that drunk drivers cause yearly is one piece of evidence of this.
And as a service provider, your services affect the people around you, whether directly or indirectly, so it is in the best interest of everyone, not just you, that you see a therapist.
Conclusion
As we celebrate World Mental Health Day, remember to prioritize your mental well-being. Treat everyone around you with the same love and respect that you deserve. Finally, unpacking your emotions and navigating them with professional help will leave you feeling light, strong, and free, which is nothing short of what you deserve.
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