When should we seek help from a psychologist and why?

1. When should we seek help from a psychologist?

When we feel sick for a long period of time, we immediately pay a visit to a doctor. In the same manner, when we feel hurt emotionally, mentally stressed and we don’t feel ok for a long period of time, we should pay visit to a local psychologist. We must question ourselves whether we really do so or not.

Psychologists know how to help us improve our well being and function effectively but we always assume that we should go to them only when we become crazy. Why do we need to loose control over our senses to realise that we must seek help?

2. Why can’t we take responsibility for our own life and seek timely help to ensure our well being?

Life poses a lot of obstacles which we perceive as threatening us in some way or the other. When these challenges seem to be overpowering us to such an extent that we are not able to deal with them effectively then we must seek professional help immediately. When the difficulties become so severe that they reduce our ability to function in a productive manner, then we must understand that the time has come that we must consider seeking help from a psychologist.

3.Why we must seek timely help from a psychologist?

One out of five Indians need counselling at least once in their lifetime but they don’t seek help because of the stigma attached to the process (Masand, 2012). Corona-virus has cause a lot of anxiety within us and when it becomes unbearable, we must seek help. (Thacker, 2020)

A psychologist is a trained mental health professional and s/he can provide significant amount of help provided we ask for help.

3.1 To deal with grief of loosing a loved one:

For example, when we feel distressed because of the death of a loved one and we don’t wish to continue being our normal self again. We need support from a psychologist so that we can accept the demise of our loved one. We must decide to keep their memories alive within ourselves and we can continue living our lives.

3.2 To deal with traumatic life events:

When we fall sick for a long period of time or we stay with a family member facing some chronic illness, the emotional trauma we face seems to be unbearable. To handle this emotional pain, we need some support. We can seek support from psychologists who can help us channelize this pain in a productive manner.

When we witness a crime or accident or we become victims to it, we keep picturing the incident again and again. We feel miserable because we have no control over the traumatic sequence of events which occurred suddenly. This loss of control makes us feel miserable. A psychologist can help you deal with this trauma in effective ways.

3.3 To handle extreme stress:

When we are overburdened with the expectations from various fronts, we face a conflict situation where we don’t know how to meet these expectations. We don’t like the idea of choosing only some of these expectations to fulfil and leaving out the rest. We wish to divide our time and energy to all the activities we have in hand and we might end up unsuccessful in completing most of them. A psychologist can help you manage stress and anxiety by finding the source or cause of your problems, by emphasizing which areas of life we must focus more upon, by increasing motivation and by teaching appropriate ways to cope with stress.

3.4 To overcome marital problems:

You might get so involved in the fights that you may forget that you are fighting with a person whom you love. Every problem can be seen from different perspectives and this new outlook will come to you if you decide to seek professional help. When you will sit down and discuss the problems, resolution would become more visible.

3.5 To say goodbye to addictions:

When we get over-dependent or over-attached to the items we consume, it may negatively impact various arenas of our lives.

3.5.1.Abusing drugs:

When drugs start ruling over our lives, we tend to loose control over our actions and we start feeling bad about oneself. Drug dependency has several negative repercussions on the individual as well as his/her family and friends. For the individual, his/her state of mind gets affected and s/he shows unpredictable and  erratic behaviour to all. Their interpersonal relationships and self-concept get severely damaged. Before it’s too late, To take back the control of one’s life, one must seek professional help immediately so that they can provide appropriate help.

3.5.2.Alcohol addiction:

When alcohol consumption goes way beyond the limits, it disturbs every aspect of our lives and it silently takes us away from our loved ones. When one realises the damage caused by excessive alcohol consumption, it may be too late. That’s why we need help from a psychologist to draw the boundaries.

3.5.3.Food addiction:

When food becomes the only priority and we start neglecting our friends and family. We may develop a distorted sense of self and forget our real self. When we realise that we need to improve our lifestyle and deal with our self-esteem issues, we must contact the local psychologist at the earliest. A psychologist can guide us to improve our quality of lives and our lifestyle.

3.6 To deal with bodily symptoms caused without any medical reasons:

Inner conflicts stay hidden but they may cause physical symptoms which cannot be diagnosed medically. Psychologists can help out by finding out the real causal factors. After finding the causal factors, they will help in resolution of the conflicts which caused the physical symptoms. They will put in their best efforts to ensure that we feel relieved by leaving the emotional baggage behind.

3.7 To accept one’s real self:

When suddenly you loose interest in doing the things you always loved to do, you must seek help. You need professional support to explore your real self and come in terms with it. This acceptance develops gradually after a lot of patience and efforts. This transformation can be facilitated by the dedicated efforts from a professional psychologist who will ensure that you put in your efforts in the right direction.

3.8 To find someone who won’t judge you:

This world has become very judgemental about everything we do and everything we don’t do. Everyone has become too nosy about what goes around in others lives. It is difficult to find someone who won’t judge you and who won’t criticize you for your choices. When your dear ones also seem to be judgemental, you can take help from a psychologist who would provide unconditional positive support always.

3.9 To find someone who will really listen to you:

We may feel the need to confide in someone but we may not trust anyone to understand what we really mean. This is when we need a person who doesn’t just hear what s/he is being told. One must also understand the underlying meaning of everything we have said and that level of understanding is possible only when the person really listens. When we search for such a person, we reach a psychologist. For example, in the movie Dear Zindagi, Kaira (Alia Bhatt) likes to meet Dr. Jehangir (Shahrukh Khan) mainly because he really listens to what she says and understands the meaning behind her words. This motivated her to continue visiting him. In the same manner, when we feel that no one listens and understands what we say, we can consult a psychologist.

Conclusion:

Help is available if you really want it. Whenever, life seems to be spiralling around you and you are not present anymore, you must acknowledge that there is some problem and you need professional help. Any event that causes unmanageable grief and you feel that there is no way out of it, professional psychologists can help you manage grief more efficiently and go ahead living your life. Marital problems are common but when they reach the extreme levels, you must resort to professional help to explore these problems with your life partner and come to some conclusion. When our life is revolving only around substances and we fall behind in our socio-emotional, occupational functioning, then we must seek help.

If you are facing serious challenges in life, then professional help is worth giving a try. You deserve to get help and psychologists are always ready to support you. Please ensure your well being. Before it’s too late, realise the need and seek timely help.

Other important articles to read:

To understand how to explain your need for therapy to your loved ones, you can read the following article:

How to bring up you going to therapy to your loved ones https://buddingpsychologists.org/how-to-bring-up-you-going-to-therapy-to-your-loved-ones/

Importance of seeking counseling services is well iterated in the following article:

Counselling and it’s Usefulness to Help People to Cope with their life’s  https://buddingpsychologists.org/counselling-and-its-usefulness-to-help-people-to-cope-with-their-lifes/

References:

David Sack (2013) ‘5 signs it’s time to seek therapy’, Psychology Today magazine. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/where-science-meets-the-steps/201303/5-signs-its-time-seek-therapy%3famp

Pratibha Masand (2012) ‘One in five Indians needs mental health counselling, reveals government statistics’, Times of India. https://m.timesofindia.com/india/One-in-five-Indians-needs-mental-health-counselling-reveals-govt-statistics/articleshow/16747494.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Teena Thacker (2020) ‘Covid-19 takes a toll on mental health of many’, Economic Times, India. https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/covid-19-takes-a-toll-on-mental-health-of-many/amp_articleshow/76881278.cms