How to Know if You Need Therapy
These days, most people understand that therapy is an extremely useful tool for making positive changes in your life. Whether you are experiencing anxiety, depression, or general trouble with this stage in your life, the research shows that therapy is effective. But how do you know when it’s actually time to reach out for help? It’s not just about “how bad” you are. In this post, I want to talk about who therapy is for.
Who is therapy for?
Predictably, my answer to this is that therapy is for everyone. It’s true that just about everyone could benefit from therapy. BUT… and this is a big but… not everyone needs to go run off and get therapy right away. Honestly, if you are doing very well, feel fulfilled in your work and relationships, and don’t have anything that you actively want to work on, you should probably skip therapy for now. That’s a recipe for boring sessions as the therapist tries to pull out any sort of goal or topic of discussion. But you also don’t have to be struggling and completely debilitated by a mental health disorder to benefit from therapy either. It’s perfectly valid to seek out therapy to get through a difficult life transition or to simply have someone to guide you through personal exploration and soul searching.
You don’t have to be “bad enough”
If you are experiencing psychiatric symptoms to the point that you are unable to function in your everyday life, you should definitely seek out some professional help. But for a lot of us, we fall somewhere between perfectly happy and extreme suffering. Please understand that there is no gauge that us therapists use to determine if someone is bad enough for therapy. YOU are the expert on yourself and if you feel like you would like to suffer less and thrive more, you deserve to get some therapy. Even if you don’t think that you would meet criteria for a specific mental health disorder, you might still be struggling. That’s absolutely a valid reason to seek help.
Some red flags
Here are a few things to look out for. These would be indicators that you should take your situation seriously and may benefit from additional help.
If you find that you are having a difficult time functioning at work or school.
If your relationships are being interfered with due to the symptoms you are experiencing.
If your physical health has significantly changed (i.e. losing weight due to no appetite) due to your emotional difficulties.
If you find yourself wondering if you are suffering “enough” to get help.
There are many types of therapy out there and many skilled clinicians that can help you make progress in your life. All it takes is making that first leap to reach out and ask for help. You got this!
