Many clients start off struggling with the question of whether they need therapy or not. Are you wondering if you could benefit from therapy?
Are you experiencing repeated bought of hopelessness? Hopelessness is the loss of hope and we may find ourselves with a struggle to find motivation, whether it be loss of motivation to exercise, to go out with our friends, to clean up the house, or it could be more intense, where we find ourselves struggling to eat or even to get out of bed. Sometimes, loss of hope can be experienced when we lose faith in our future or in ourselves. Persistent hopelessness can be a sign of mental health struggles that can be addressed with the help of a therapist, who can provide you with the tools to fight back and challenge your hopelessness, and lead you to a better state of mind.
Another sign that therapy might be right for you is if you are experiencing anxious thoughts or excessive worrying. Everyone worries from time to time. It is a normal response that keeps us on top of the ball and ensures we manage our responsibilities. If students didn't feel any anxiety over failing a class or not getting into university, many wouldn't try very hard and would slack off. If people weren't worried about having their electricity shut off, many wouldn't pay their bills on time, and if people weren't worried about getting tickets, people who didn't need handicap parking would use handicap spots to park their cars right up front. Worry and anxiety ensures we put in the work and do the right thing, but when anxious thoughts are becoming overwhelming and controlling aspects of your life, talking to a therapist may be beneficial to gain the tools to quiet these anxious thoughts and regain control over your life.
Do you find that you are experiencing reoccurring and frequent bouts of anger and rage? Just like with worrying, anger is a normal and healthy emotion. The problem comes about when we are finding ourselves experiencing a lot of anger and rage, or when we are not handling anger in a healthy manner, such as when we find ourselves taking our anger and rage out on others in disrespectful or problematic ways. It is important that we know how to let go of our anger, as opposed to holding it in, which commonly results in our anger building up and eventually exploding like a bomb or erupting like a volcano. Therapy can give you the skills to deal with anger and rage in a healthy and timely manner and to be able to express your feelings to others, without causing physical, mental, or emotional harm to others.
Now, the above are a few signs that an individual may benefit from therapy, but to be honest, everyone can use, and benefit, from therapy. Therapy is actually an excellent form of self care. Taking the time to work, and focus, on yourself can help us in many ways. Therapy gives us the space to be introspective and look inwards into ourselves. It helps us to sort through whatever it is that we are going through in our lives and in our minds. Therapists act as a sound board through which we can bounce ideas off of, and therapy is a safe place where we can open our hearts, and be raw and vulnerable, without getting hurt. To be honest, everyone can benefit from therapy and it provides us with the unique opportunity to explore ourselves, our emotions, and our feelings.
