The first question you should ask yourself before seeking therapy is, “Why am I seeking help?” You may not know how this treatment works, but if you are no longer able to face your problems alone, it's time to seek the help of a psychological health professional.
Often, there is a certain prejudice when it comes to seeking therapy. It seems to be something that is necessary only for other people, but not for ourselves. We have the false idea that seeking psychological help is only for crazy people, a sign of weakness, that it costs too much or takes too much time. But this thought is more than wrong. There are many ways that therapy can help us. However, you have to keep in mind that therapists will not give you advice and will not tell you exactly what to do, but rather give you the knowledge and tools necessary to work through the obstacles in your way in order to help you to make the best decision.
We all go through periods of sadness, conflict, stress and grief, and the sooner we seek the necessary help, the easier we will be able to resolve the problem, and the treatment will be less stressful and shorter.
But how do you know it's time to make an appointment with a social worker, therapist or psychologist? Stay tuned for the symptoms we've listed below and know when it's time to seek help.
focus on you
You may have a lot of people close to you to vent, whether they are family members or friends. However, sometimes you need a space where you can reflect on your life and talk about yourself without someone expecting something in return or turning it into something else. It's amazing the change we can see in our lives when we have a professional by our side, focused on supporting us.
Become more, be more
Therapy will help you see parts of your life that are not going well and improve them. Maybe you are a shy person and what you need is to practice speaking in public, in front of dozens of people. Perhaps you hate conflict immensely and need to learn how to defend yourself. Maybe you're not good at showing feelings and need to learn to open up.
Are you feeling unhappy at work?
Are you feeling extremely unhappy at your job? You don't know how to deal with bosses and co-workers, do you want to finally get that dreamed up promotion you so deserve, do you want to find peace between work and your personal life and find out why you're feeling this way?
A therapist can help you discover what you really want, your life goals and guide you in which direction to go in order to achieve success.
Don't know what to do in your professional life
A therapist or psychologist may not be a professional counselor and clearly will not find work for you. But, for sure, it can help you work on the organizational, motivational and emotional side of things, and also to live with and reduce stress. This is a feeling that, most of the time, prevents individuals from getting a job.
Intense, out-of-control emotions and moods
Let's think about this situation: you used to feel very excited about an activity, but now that feeling has turned into one of deep anguish and sadness. Or, you've been getting extremely angry with your friends or family without even having a good reason for it. Significant changes in mood and emotion are a sign that there is something much deeper going on.
Afraid to face a scary or difficult conversation you need to have
Our life is full of scary and difficult situations like starting a new relationship, ending a relationship, quitting your job, asking your boss for a raise, opening up to someone who hurt you, etc. Well, therapy is an excellent place to role-play these situations and see what feelings will surface and how to best deal with the problem.
Do you want to have more emotional intelligence or be more aware?
Often, we end up spending much of our lives without thinking about how we really feel and what we really want. Knowing more about how we feel, what we want and how we react to certain people and situations is useful to help us achieve better perspectives in all areas of our lives.
He's been through a big trauma and he can't get over it
Have you recently gone through a breakup, suffered the pain of the loss of a loved one, or been laid off and are unable to get over the trauma in any way? A good alternative is to resort to therapy. Our biggest mistake in these cases is thinking that these feelings go away on their own. But on the contrary, it is essential that someone listens to us objectively and that we have a safe space to talk about our deepest feelings.
You finally feel ready to talk about something traumatizing or painful that happened in your past
In many cases, we end up keeping formative events inside us, whether traumas or ordinary events, but which we can never fully deal with. If you feel ready to finally speak up but don't know who to turn to, turn to therapy.
Unable to perform routine activities such as going to work or college
This can be a great sign that there is a real disorder in your psyche. If you find yourself getting to the point where your routine is being negatively affected, seek the help of a professional.
Relationships are taking a heavy toll
Have you noticed lately that your relationships are getting frayed and strained? Pay attention, this can also be a sign that something is wrong. Therapy will help you improve your attitudes and your body language.
No longer recognized?
Your relationships or friendships don't last more than a month, got fired from all the last jobs you got, can't you stop bumping into those closest to you? A therapist will be able to help you find out if the problem is you or if it's them.
you sabotage yourself
Maybe you drink too much. Maybe you are thick. Maybe too sincere. If you notice that you are taking actions that do not allow you to reach your real goals or that you are not focusing and acting on what you have best and you don't know what to do, how to stop and much less why this is happening, it is a good reason to look for help.
You constantly need people to give you feedback about you.
Most of the time, we can't see our flaws and flaws. Having someone help to objectively point out the habits that may be harming us is essential.
Do you want to improve your quality of life?
Therapy shows very useful tools that we can apply in several other areas of our lives, in order to promote an improvement in our quality of life.
You are no longer able to control anxious, racing, or negative thoughts
Nowadays, it is quite common to live constantly stressed. However, if your thoughts are somehow affecting your sleep or your everyday life, it's time to get some help.
can't forgive
It is very difficult to forgive, no matter what the situation. But a qualified professional is the ideal person to help see beyond negative feelings.
Are you always scattered or easily distracted?
This is a symptom that most people don't pay much attention to. But stay tuned, something deeper could be going on.
Written by Flávia Faria of the Eu Sem Fronteiras Team
