Why Seek Counseling?

Most individuals who enter counseling do not have a serious mental illness. They have serious life challenges or are going through difficult life-cycle transitions that may be taxing their current ability to cope. This, in turn, may be adversely affecting their well-being and ability to function as well as they would like.

Sometimes life’s circumstances get in the way of our well-being and we need help taking back control. Work issues, relationship troubles, family conflict and academic problems occur–and they’re all valid reasons to seek a little support.

You may be experiencing unexpected mood swings.  Perhaps you’ve taken on a more negative frame of mind and can’t seem to shake it.  This is especially problematic if the depressed mood causes you to withdraw from family and friends, to isolate, and to lose interest in things, events, and people who used to bring you happiness and satisfaction.  Your eating and/or sleeping patterns may have changed—and not for the better.

Some people, particularly younger individuals, have difficulty making life decisions, saying no to their parents, or dealing with the anxiety 21^st Century life creates.  These days people experience more stress and are less able to manage it than ever before.

You may struggle to avoid bad thoughts, and therapy is designed to help you get a good grasp on those negative thoughts.  You need to know you are more than capable of working through them and coming out stronger.

Examples of serious life challenges can be dealing with chronic work-related stressors and career issues, financial problems; health issues, family conflict, cultural assimilation, and academic issues. Examples of difficult life-cycle related transitions can be the death of a family member or friend, the ending of a romantic relationship or close friendship, getting married or divorced, and caregiving for loved ones due to illness or disability.

Talking about these issues and problems with someone who is trained to understand anxiety and depression can be very helpful to help manage those symptoms, reframe some of the negative thoughts we tend to have and move us to a place where we can cope with those difficulties.

Having a more serious mental illness may require you to visit a separate medical professional for pharmaceutical intervention.  But talk therapy is strongly recommended to accompany drug treatments, and research shows that these two therapies—when combined—provide the best results.

These are just some of the reasons why people decide to go to counseling. So, if you are going through one or more of these challenges at the same time, you’re not alone. Counseling during these times can be quite helpful in providing both the support and skills to better address these life challenges. Ultimately, it is an important investment in your emotional, physical and mental health, an act of courage not weakness, and a gift to others around you.