Let’s face it, we live in stressful times. Rates of suicide, depression, and anxiety are up across the country. The National Alliance on Mental Illness found that 1 in 5 U.S. adults will experience mental illness in a given year. That’s over 48 million adults! Between financial pressure, family pressure, relationships, and the constant expectation to look perfect on social media, it’s understandable to feel stressed out or worse. Therapy is a meaningful way to work through life’s stressors and, fortunately for everyone, therapy is finally gaining the popularity it deserves. In fact, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that “Millennials are the therapy generation.” This generation is more open to seeking assistance for mental health problems and is changing the landscape of mental health treatment. We’re okay with that.
Therapy has been used to treat mental health illness and conditions since the 19th century. Healthline reports that “Behavioral therapy has successfully been used to treat a large number of conditions.” Some of those conditions include anxiety disorders, depression, and substance abuse. However, you don't have to have a “disorder” or mental illness to see a therapist. Therapy is wildly successful in treating conditions that we all might experience at one time or another, such as work stress, the death of a loved one, or any other terrible life event that may happen. We are all human and we all can benefit from therapy, especially when there are obvious signs that life sucks right now and it’s time to see a therapist. The following are a few of those signs.
Five signs it's time to find a therapist
Something major happened in your life
Whether it’s the death of a loved one, divorce, job loss, or a traumatic event, life doesn’t always work out and sometimes it can be really cruel. When these events happen in your life, don’t pretend to be okay and mask the pain. Take the time you need to process the event and talk through the pain you are experiencing. The longer we hold in our pain, the harder it is to work through. Take the time you need right now to work through the ball of crap that life just threw at you.
You start overusing or abusing something or someone
When we start overusing drugs and alcohol, it’s usually a sign that something deeper is going on in our lives (and maybe we’re avoiding it). When we start abusing the people we love with negativity and neediness, that’s usually a sign it’s time to talk with someone who has a fresh and nonjudgmental approach. Either way, when you notice this happening in your life, take the time to give yourself the attention you’re clearly craving with talk-therapy. Both your future self and your loved ones will thank you in the end.
People have noticed you are not acting like yourself
Sometimes, the unhappiness we are experiencing is so subconscious that we don't even notice the pain we’re going through. The people close to us might. When someone in your life asks you if everything is going ok because you seem off lately, take that as a sign to check out what’s going on inside. Their observations can lead to your insights, so take them seriously.
You know that you're in a funk and can't shake it
Find yourself tired all the time? No desire to do the things you used to love? No energy to spend time with the people you love? If you answered yes to all these questions and you know that you’re in a funk, why not reach out and ask for help. The beauty to therapy is it doesn't have to be long-term, it just has to be long enough for you to feel good again.
You were recently diagnosed with a medical or mental health condition
Being diagnosed with a medical condition is nothing to be ashamed of. Being diagnosed with a mental health condition should be and hopefully, one day will be, the same. If you were recently diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, a mood disorder, or any other medical condition, using therapy to process this diagnosis is extremely beneficial.
Most people will benefit from receiving therapy at some point in their lives. No can get through life unscathed, and sometimes that pain is best released in therapy.
If you are experiencing any of the above-mentioned signs or just know that you will benefit from therapy at this point in your life, don't wait any longer. Take a quick survey with reflect and let us find the right therapist for you in the Bay Area. We will send your top matches from our largest self-pay network of top therapists in the Bay and you can finally choose a therapist in your area with confidence that they are a great fit for your needs. Click here to begin the matching process.