Basics
August 12, 2020

Jem Fundano

Do I Need Therapy?

Therapy is the best way to deal with mental issues. In the 2017 Mental Health Statistical Report, WHO stated, ".. one in four people around the world suffers from mental issues at some point in their life".

Despite the high rates of individuals with mental issues, the National Alliance on Mental Health reported how only 40% of people with mental problems get help.

In time, when certain mental issues are untreated, it gets worse. The inability to work, go to school, issues in relationships, increased health issue risk, hospitalization, and suicide are effects if you don't get treatment.

It's hard to watch someone you love deal with mental health issues, but they need to know that there is help.

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN I NEED THERAPY?

The best way to address mental issues is through undergoing psychotherapy with a therapist.

A therapist is a qualified professional who helps you process inner difficulties that interfere with your ability to cope with tasks and stressful events.

It may take you some time before you decide you’re ready for therapy, but it’s important to see that it shouldn’t take a breakdown or panic attack for you to consult a therapist and get help.

Here are the following signs to know when to go to therapy:

  • Feeling overwhelmed or not being able to control and pace your thoughts
  • Oversleeping or having trouble getting out of your bed because you feel extremely exhausted
  • Being irritable and explosive towards other people and events
  • Extreme worry takes up most of your day and is causing physical problems
  • You find yourself withdrawing from activities and people that you once find pleasurable or enjoyable
  • Feeling unmotivated, hopeless, or worthless
  • Developing destructive habits like drinking too much, using illegal substances, overeating, or restricting yourself of food.
  • Having trouble defining what is real and imaginary
  • Experiencing visual, auditory, or tactile hallucinations
  • Obsessing about plans to harm self or others
  • Having difficulty in dealing with your relationships

Psychotherapy or talk therapy is a beneficial process because it helps you overcome the pain, shame, guilt, or regret from your past and develop new mental tools that can help manage your life in a more realistic and less distorted way.

Therapy helps you explore your thoughts, moods, and behavior in a safe place. Therapists are there to guide and teach you how to help yourself in times of mental crisis.

If you’re having thoughts in undergoing therapy, you may be listing down the disadvantages if you do go. Spending money might be a concern. Fear of being stigmatized by your community once they know you’re undergoing therapy can be another issue. Talking about and dealing with your past trauma may be frightening.

But, without the proper release of your thoughts and feelings, everything will be bottled up until one event or thought pushes you to explode. Therapy offers you a safe place where you can openly share anything with a trained professional who can help you manage negative feelings.

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