When to Seek Psychotherapy: Signs You Need Help

Mental health issues can influence our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, interfering with daily functioning and leading to significant distress. Psychotherapy is an effective way to achieve the support and guidance needed to overcome these challenges. The question is, when should you consider seeking psychotherapy? In this blog post, we will explore several signs that suggest you may need professional help and how psychotherapy can help you heal.

1. You Feel Overwhelmed, Stressed, or Anxious

Life can be tough sometimes, and the pressure can leave us feeling anxious and overwhelmed. However, when that feeling persists and begins to interfere with daily life, it’s time to seek help. Psychotherapy can help you learn essential coping strategies that can help reduce stress and anxiety. Therapy can also provide you with the tools for identifying and changing negative thought patterns, as well as boosting self-esteem.

2. You Have Experienced a Significant Life Change

Significant life changes, such as a divorce, job loss, or loss of a loved one, can be stressful and overwhelming, leading to depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. Seeking psychotherapy can provide the support and guidance needed to overcome these challenges. Additionally, therapy can help you navigate difficult life transitions while creating a sense of normalcy and routine.

3. You Have Trouble Maintaining Healthy Relationships

Our relationships play a crucial role in our lives, providing us with support, love, and meaning. However, when our relationships become dysfunctional, they can cause significant distress and interfere with daily life. Psychotherapy can help you work through and resolve relationship issues like communication challenges, infidelity, and lack of trust. Therapy can also help you understanding relationship patterns that may have been learned from past experiences.

4. You Experience Frequent Mood Swings

Mood swings can indicate underlying emotional distress, such as depression or bipolar disorder. These mood swings can also interfere with daily life and relationships. Psychotherapy can provide a safe environment for discussion and exploration of the symptoms and concerns and provide the tools required to manage mental health issues.

5. You Have Experienced Tramua

Trauma effects are long-lasting and can interfere with relationships, work and daily life. Trauma can stem from sexual or emotional abuse, a tragic accident, criminal activity, or military combat. Seeking psychotherapy can help you work through and resolve the negative emotions associated with the traumatic event.

At some point in our lives, we all need help managing the stressors and challenges of daily living. Seeking professional help from a psychotherapist is not a sign of weakness, but a way of empowering oneself to face the challenges head-on. Psychotherapy can help you build coping skills, identify and modify negative beliefs or thoughts, and find positive ways to deal with challenges. If you notice any of the above signs in your life, don’t hesitate to contact a qualified psychotherapist. Improve your mental wellbeing with psychotherapy today!

Grief impacts the brain. Therapy can help.

Neurologist, Dr. Lisa Shulman, describes the impact of grief and trauma on the brain in this article in Live Science. Through repeated stimulation of the limbic system, the seat of the body’s fight-or-flight response, we can become hypervigilant and highly sensitized to perceived threat. The good news is that therapy can help to calm these stress responses and “rewire” limbic reactivity to appropriate levels.

Try These 3 Self-Compassion Tips

This Psychology Today article is called “Painfully Self-Critical? Try These 3 Self-Compassion Tips.” Self-compassion, or positive affirming self-talk to use we fall short of our goals, is an incredibly therapeutic tool to have in our repertory. Still, it’s one thing to want to be self-compassionate, it’s another to build it into practice. This article goes over some strategies for being self-compassionate in our day-to-day lives. It’s a good read and we recommend you check it out. Take a look at our individual therapy services to help get you started on the road to greater self-compassion.