Stress, emotional distress, and anxiety are all part of life. We may experience them due to problems in our professional life, financial issues, rejection, personal loss, etc. Normally, you may be able to bounce back from these setbacks over time. But in different circumstances, it may require more time and professional assistance to return to normalcy.
The help you require in such times is known as therapy. And no, contrary to the widely believed misconception, you don’t have to be insane or experience a meltdown to seek therapy. However, it also isn’t necessary to run towards therapy because of the smallest of inconveniences, especially if you have a reliable support system around you.
So, how does one determine that they need to consider therapy? Some of the signs indicating you require professional help are:
1. Unhealthy coping mechanism
We all have a coping mechanism that helps us deal with stress, sadness, or depressive thoughts. If it’s a harmless activity or hobby such as immersing yourself in painting, then there’s no issue. However, problems arise when you start indulging in unhealthy means as your coping mechanism. For example, turning towards alcohol, drugs, or even junk food to lessen your stress, anger, and sadness can lead to several irreversible issues. Such unhealthy habits can often almost serve as the cause for dire consequences later in life.
If you’re unable to curb your urges and get your behavior under control, you’re bound to experience negative consequences of your actions. In such situations, seeking help from drug rehabilitation institutes like the Delphi Health Group can help eliminate unhealthy habits and regain health.
2. Not feeling like yourself
Uncontrollable surges of anger, deep bouts of sadness, or feelings of hopelessness may be a telltale sign that you’re battling with your mental health. But sometimes, it can be hard to determine temporary distress from something more serious in nature. If it is serious, you may notice a change in your daily routine. For instance, you may have trouble sleeping or you could be sleeping too much. Your eating habits may have gone haywire, and you seem to be withdrawing yourself from everyone.
The feelings that cause these habit changes can escalate to depressive thoughts, raise questions about your worth, and even make you idealize self-harm. In such scenarios, it’s crucial to seek help immediately.
3. Continuous grieving
Losing someone or something really important to you can cause great grief. Dealing with grief is a long and tough process, especially if you don’t have adequate support from friends and family. However, in times of such grief, there is no harm in seeking a little help to deal with the loss of someone/something.
We specifically urge you to seek therapy if you have experienced multiple losses in a short period.
4. Trauma
Trauma doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to abuse or neglect. Any experience that has left you in shock or denial and is deeply disturbing and distressing qualifies as trauma. Trauma can stem from abuse, harm, being a victim of a crime, accident, experiencing a natural disaster, or chronic illness of yourself or your loved ones.
When you are clueless about how you can deal with your emotions and your trauma is affecting your mental health, everyday life, and relationship with others, it is time to seek help. Professional assistance not only enables you to open up about what you went through but also helps you discover healthier ways to heal and cope with your trauma.
5. Lacking motivation to do the things you like
It may seem at first that you’re just losing interest or growing out of your hobbies and activities that you typically used to enjoy. Nevertheless, when the feeling is constant and applies to everything in your life, know that it is something more problematic.
One of the major reasons is that painful experiences and emotions keep a person from enjoying the things they previously enjoyed. They stop participating, isolate themselves, and actively start avoiding anything remotely enjoyable. Such behavior serves as a huge red flag, indicating a worry in life and the need to approach professionals. So, if you decide to acquire help, therapy is a reliable and worthwhile way to go about it.
6. Constantly underperforming
Your distress and emotions won’t only impact your personal life but also your professional or educational life. Eventually, you’ll find yourself unable to pay attention during class or office meetings or experience a lack of energy, forgetfulness, dwindling concentration, etc. As a result, you’ll witness a decline in work performance or academics. And this could pose a grave danger to your professional and educational life.
Therefore, professional assistance is crucial, as it can help you regulate your emotions and behavior and improve your productivity.
7. Unable to build or maintain relationships
Unarguably, your mental health doesn’t only impact you but almost everyone around you. It adversely affects your relationships with friends and family members in several ways. It might compel you to withdraw from people close to you, give way to self-esteem issues, insecurities in relationships, or become completely dependent on others. The reason is that people with emotional and mental problems have difficulty cultivating meaningful relationships, and pre-existing relationships also take the brunt of these issues.
Hence, if you notice that you don’t enjoy other people’s company anymore, feel like withdrawing yourself, or are irritable around people, there’s a chance you require help. On the other hand, if you’re facing insecurity and issues with existing relationships, we suggest you seek family therapy or couples therapy to resolve these issues.
Conclusion
If you’re experiencing any or some of these signs, it is high time you seek help from a healthcare professional. And while severe psychological issues may require intense intervention, behavioral adjustments, and even medication, most people can benefit from short-term therapy dedicated to resolving a particular issue. Therapy helps you make better decisions, figure out your feelings, deal with grief, or overcome trauma more healthily. You also learn better and healthier ways to cope with your stress triggers, which significantly helps in the future. Therefore, therapy is worth the time and resources you spend on it.
