You may wonder do I need therapy? Or how do I know if I need to go to therapy? As I mentioned in my last blog, you might think something needs to be seriously wrong with you to seek therapy. However, that is not true, life is hard. Most of us have been put in situations we never thought we’d end up in. Or perhaps we struggle in our relationship with our family, friends or partner. Maybe you think one of these relationships is toxic or abusive.
Naturally when we struggle we are first going to try to figure it all out on our own. Next we might reach out to our support system that is family, friends, clergy, etc. If they are helpful, and you can improve your situation, that is great. However, these well-meaning people may offer you advice that isn’t helpful. Most often your friends and family will support your point of view. However, that might not be what is needed. Because a therapist is not emotionally involved in your life, they can help you have a different perspective.
There are several reasons why people to go to therapy
Relationship issues
As mentioned above, you might struggle in your relationships. Perhaps the person you normally turn to is the very person you are struggling with. Or maybe it isn’t appropriate to discuss these issues with your family. You may not want them to know that there are problems.
The main reason people come to couples counseling is due to difficulties with communication, or there has been some type of infidelity. Counseling can help you better communicate and work through your issues. A possible outcome is that your relationship ends because there is too much damage.
Life transition
We all go through normal life transitions. Some of these cause more emotional distress than others. Common life transitions include going off to college, graduating from college, new job, marriage, moving, having a child, kids going off to school, divorce, retirement, etc. This is a common time for people to struggle. It helps to have someone to talk to. Your therapist can help you better understand your struggles, make sense of them, and then move through them.
Go to therapy for stress-management
Do you know anyone who is stress free? It seems like our world is so fast paced. Perhaps you are struggling to balance work and parenthood. Maybe you are short staffed at work. Difficulty in relationships can also exacerbate things.
Therapy is a great place to learn stress management tools. It may involve setting better boundaries or figuring out if you can get extra help at home or work. There are also many stress management tools such as mindfulness, meditation, yoga, spending time with friends or hobbies, etc. Some of these things may seem obvious. Yet when are churned up it can be hard to think clearly.
Trauma
Trauma can happen to any of us. Our lives may be forever altered based on the situation. Perhaps you experienced some sort of abuse as a child, teen or adult. You may have a trauma from the military, or been in some sort of accident, or near death experience. These events can impact your mental health.
Mental health issues
I’d say the main reason people come to therapy is for symptoms of anxiety and depression. These are things that may be difficult for other people to understand if they don’t also struggle. Many well meaning people will say something like, “Just get over it or don’t worry about it.” Anyone with an anxiety disorder knows that those kinds of comments do nothing to help. A therapist can help treat these symptoms.
There are several other challenges such as trauma, bipolar disorder, OCD and eating disorders. Typically these types of diagnoses will not get better on their own. A therapist can give you all sorts of tools to help you work with these challenges.
Go to therapy for substance abuse
Perhaps you or a loved one struggles with drugs or alcohol. These things can destroy families and relationships. Often times there is something behind the addiction whether it is some sort or abuse or trauma. Maybe it’s just a way to reduce stress or cope with anxiety or depression. Your therapist can help you work on the root cause of what is driving the addiction.
Exploring identity
Perhaps you are questioning your sexuality. You are trying to make sense of all of it and what it means for you and your loved ones. Maybe you are just trying to figure out what kind of person you are or strive to be. Perhaps you are wondering how you fit into the world. Or maybe things just don’t seem right and you don’t know why.
You may not feel safe talking about these issues with friends or family. Maybe you don’t think any of them really understand you. Therapy provides a safe place to talk through these challenges in a safe environment where you won’t be judged.
As you can see, there are many reasons why people seek out therapy. None of them involve being crazy. It is important to know that help is out there. You are not alone. If I can help you with any of your struggles, I am just a phone call away 713-304-6554.
Take care,
Debbie
