, Clinical Psychologist and Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience,聽
Sometimes our minds work against us. Therapy can help you understand why you think, feel, or act how you do and give you the skills you need to think, feel, or act in healthier ways.聽
People go to therapy for many reasons. A challenging life event, trauma, volatile emotions, relationship problems, poor mental health: all can prompt someone to seek it out.
Whatever the reason, it can be difficult to decide when and if therapy is right for you.
If you鈥檙e reading this, now鈥檚 probably the right time. If you鈥檙e considering therapy, something is likely bothering you and you want help. Consider this your sign to reach out.
If you鈥檙e still unsure, keep reading.
Why therapy?
Sometimes, our minds work against us. Therapy can help you understand why you think, feel, or act how you do and give you the skills you need to think, feel, or act in healthier ways.
This includes helping you:
identify, understand, and overcome internal obstacles
identify and challenge thought patterns and beliefs that are holding you back
improve your mental health
cope with mental illness
and create lasting changes to your thoughts and behaviour that can improve all areas of your life.
No one鈥檚 20s and 30s look the same. You might be saving for a mortgage or just struggling to pay rent. You could be swiping dating apps, or trying to understand childcare. No matter your current challenges, our has articles to share in the group chat, or just to remind you that you鈥檙e not alone.
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When your mental health is suffering
Everyone experiences negative emotions in difficult situations 鈥� like sadness after a breakup or anxiety before a big life event. But when do these feelings become problematic? When you have .
Mental health and mental illness , but related, concepts. refers to the inner resources you have to handle life鈥檚 ups and downs. You have good mental health if you enjoy life; feel connected to others; cope well with stress; and have a sense of purpose, a sense of self and strong relationships.
If you have poor mental health, it can be hard to adapt to changes like a breakup, move, loss or parenthood. Therapy can help you improve your mental health, develop resilience and maintain a state of well-being.
refers to distressing disturbances in thoughts, feelings and perceptions that interfere with daily life. There are of mental illness, each characterized by different thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Mental illness may feel like:
Hopelessness 鈥� feeling stuck, unmotivated or helpless.
Apathy 鈥� feeling uninterested in things that used to give you satisfaction or pleasure.
Anger 鈥� feeling rage or resentment, especially frequently or disproportionately.
Stress 鈥� feeling overwhelmed, unable to cope, unwilling to rest or like everything is hard (even if you know it shouldn鈥檛 be).
Guilt 鈥� feeling ashamed, undeserving of good things or deserving of bad things.
Anxiety 鈥� worrying about what has or might happen or having disturbing intrusive thoughts.
Exhaustion 鈥� sleeping more than usual, having difficulty getting out of bed or lacking energy during the day.
鈥� having difficulty falling or staying asleep.
Both poor mental health and mental illness are equally good reasons to seek therapy.
Ask yourself: Am I having trouble dealing with life challenges?
If the answer is yes, therapy might be for you.
People often cope with the feelings listed above in different ways. . Others might seek out or do things that are unhealthy for them, like entering a toxic relationship, engaging in dangerous activities, developing an unhealthy habit or procrastinating. Others might isolate themselves from friends and family, or catastrophize and .
However it manifests, . It can have very real impacts on your life, potentially leading to unemployment, broken relationships, poor physical health, substance abuse, homelessness, incarceration or even suicide.
Ask yourself: Is mental illness negatively affecting my functioning or well-being?
If the answer is yes, therapy might be for you.
What if therapy didn鈥檛 work before?
Many people put off going to therapy because they don鈥檛 think their problems are serious enough, but you don鈥檛 need a big, deep reason to start therapy.
Some people go to therapy to learn more about themselves. Some, to improve their skills, relationships or productivity. Others go for help reaching their goals or because they aren鈥檛 happy and don鈥檛 know why. Any of these are good reasons to start therapy, even if they don鈥檛 seem like 鈥減roblems鈥� in a traditional sense. You can go to therapy just because there鈥檚 something about yourself or your life you鈥檇 like to explore.
Therapy is a process. Whether psychotherapy works for you depends on many factors, such as time, effort and your psychologist.
There鈥檚 no quick fix for mental health. Symptoms can take weeks, months or even years to improve. Although this can be frustrating or disheartening, for therapy to work, you have to give it time.
Sometimes people go to therapy, but are skeptical or resistant. Therapy won鈥檛 work if you aren鈥檛 invested in it. For therapy to work, you have to put in the work.
Therapy is a vulnerable process, so finding a psychologist you trust and relate well with is crucial. Psychologists also have different specialities and approaches. For therapy to work, you have to find the right therapist for you.
What if I鈥檓 not ready?
There are several reasons why now might not be the right time for you to start therapy. Maybe therapy isn鈥檛 in the budget. Maybe you have other priorities. Maybe you鈥檙e scared to relive trauma. That鈥檚 okay. Therapy can be expensive and difficult, but also rewarding. Just because now isn鈥檛 a good time, doesn鈥檛 mean there will never be a good time.
If you don鈥檛 want to start therapy, don鈥檛. However, it can be helpful to determine why you don鈥檛 want to.
Maybe you don鈥檛 want to go to therapy because you鈥檙e worried what others might think. If so, remember that people are often than we anticipate, and there is nothing wrong with investing in your health or happiness.
If you鈥檙e struggling with your mental health, know that you鈥檙e not alone. Mental health issues are common. Having them or attending therapy does not mean there is something 鈥渨rong鈥� with you.
Mental illness affects and is the leading cause of disability worldwide. and more than have mental illness. About use mental health services each year.
Don鈥檛 let stigma keep you from bettering your life and well-being. Everyone deserves to live a healthy, fulfilling life. Therapy can help you get there.
This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .