It’s common to be apprehensive about booking in to see a therapist. You have likely thought about the possibility a number of times, but then put it off again. That’s even more likely if you are someone that likes to solve your own problems and really don’t like asking for help.
Psychotherapy, life coaching, counselling – whatever you choose to access – can help a huge array of people and problems. You don’t have to have a diagnosed mental health problem and you don’t have to be ‘ill’ or at breaking point. You may simply need some help making sense of what is going on and why and ways to improve this.
Signs that therapy could help you:
- Your mood is impacting you for more days than not
- Your emotions are affecting your work and/or relationships
- You have a repeated problem that keeps re-surfacing
- You know you have unhealthy habits or boundaries
- You are finding it hard to cope
- Your mind never shuts up and you constantly overthink
- You regularly feel overwhelmed or exhausted
- You struggle with your self-confidence
- Your life is absent of enjoyment
- Your sleeping and/or appetite has been disrupted lately
- You are struggling to relax or switch off
- You find certain tasks or experiences are harder for you than for others
- You’ve begun to withdraw from life or avoid things because of anxiety
- You have found yourself drinking more alcohol, or comfort eating more in response to stress
If you identify with any of the above, therapy could really help you to live a better life.
As a therapist it’s sad when I hear people saying things like “I should be able to do this by myself” or consider themselves as being weak for coming to therapy.
Engaging in therapy takes strength, it’s much easier to live in denial or push the problem to another day. Everyone will experience emotional suffering at some point in their lives it comes with being human and living in the modern world. Therapy can be a great outlet to help you find ways to resolve, cope or manage this strain better.
There are factors that put us at greater risk of emotional distress of course like abuse and neglect. However, the majority of the people I work with have a seemingly ‘good’ life, but alongside that experience many of the problems such as those above.
You don’t need to rule out every other option before you try therapy, it shouldn’t be treated or seen as a last resort when in fact it could help you with the issues you are facing relatively quickly and easily.
I work on the basis that if you would seek help if a physical issue was affecting you this much then you should seek therapy to help you with the emotional issue. Therapy uses scientifically tested approaches and is shown to have benefits that last long after the sessions have stopped.
Benefits of investing in high quality therapy:
- Understanding what the problem is and why
- Recognise where you are going wrong
- Learn strategies for breaking with unhelpful patterns
- Learn how to rewire your brain and think differently
- Understand how to prevent problems re-occurring
- Improve your quality of life
- Become a happier and more relaxed you
I’ve tried therapy before, and it didn’t help. Why should I try again?
About half the clients I work with have never had therapy before seeing me. The other half have often tried it many times and got nowhere which is understandably incredibly disappointing.
The biggest factor for therapy working is the relationship between you and your therapist. Just like in life in general, not everyone we meet we will connect with.
Not every therapist will be right for every client. It’s about finding the one that gets you, that you feel comfortable sharing things with, and that offers you what you are looking for. The main reason my clients choose me for example is because I’m straight-talking and I’ll give them the answers they are seeking and need to change their life.
