Ayeman Qamri
Introduction
Often we are confused about do we need professional help or just talking to someone will make us feel better. Often we brush off our emotions thinking that ignoring them will make them disappear. We live in a society where you are taught to express success happiness with a huge celebration but not to express sadness or failures openly.
Often guys are told not to cry in front of anyone, crying makes you weak. Sometimes we even ourselves feel that if we will express our real sad emotions with anyone they may understand or they may not and this dilemma makes us suppress our feelings to such an extent that we start to feel suffocated. We want to scream out our feelings but the fear of people judging us, not being able to understand, and brushing off our feeling make us suffer in silence.
Depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders are not a part of any new trend they are real things, and just not accepting it or brushing it off will not free a person from it. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and reported in their flagship Global Burden of Disease study. For 2017 this study estimates that 792 million people lived with a mental health disorder. This is slightly more than one in ten people globally (10.7%).
Something needs to be seriously wrong for you to see a therapist. This is one of the many misunderstandings about programs for mental wellbeing. This is also a risky assumption.
The truth is, before seeking support, never make yourself come to the breaking point. Although therapists can support you in a crisis, their services are much efficient when requested quickly. You make it harder when you are not feeling ok but you claim to be okay. You dig deeper into a pit you are trying to get out of if you mask your discomfort.
Therapy should be considered a mental health examination. You must do the same with your mind when exercising, eating well, and taking care of your physical wellbeing. Therapy is a perfect way to see how the mind is well dealing with it. If something is wrong, you’ll know right away and take the action you need to fix it.
The choice to start therapy, like most things, is very different for everyone. If you think of it because something very tough has recently happened or because you just need someone to listen to you or you want to make changes in your lives, having a therapist can be immensely helpful to anyone for several reasons.
There are not any specific signs or symptoms that you need to have to go to a therapist. Like it is advisable to go for normal health check-ups every 6months in the same way if you feel you need professional help. Just try your gut feeling and go for it. Going to therapy has no harm and it will surely benefit you in one way or other
There are still some signs which you should not ignore, and seek professional help as soon as possible
1. Overwhelmed Feeling
It is the cultural standard to conceal our emotions. It is short-term, but not sustainable. The pent-up emotions blow up at some point. If you ever feel intense emotional outbursts, you may need assistance. This is particularly true if you cannot stop crying or feel frustrated.
2. Unexplanatory Illness
All of that is linked to your mind, body, and emotions. It may be a sign of psychiatric difficulties if you stay ill without a definite diagnosis. Lower immunity, physical pains, digestive disorders, and disturbed sleep were attributed to stress. Therefore physical signs should be taken as a warning and addressed with an advisor.
3. Unhealthy behavior regulation
You might experience psychological stress if you start to drink more than you used to or behave impulsively. It is dangerous to be unable to control pulses or to cope with external stuff. It is time to find a specialist if you cannot feel better without relying on alcohol and other drugs.
4. Low productivity
Depression will make everyday tasks difficult for you to concentrate on. Additional conditions of mental wellbeing can also interfere with and make the attention less effective. You should consider medication if you experience memory loss, indecision, and related symptoms.
5. Distinction
You’re not excited about anything when you’re listless. You lose interest and take no joy in anything that previously interested you. Depression is very common; people lose their excitement and don’t want to do interesting work. If you know your favorite pastimes are no longer thrilling, you should find why?
6. Isolation
Psychologically depressed people tend to step away from family and friends. If you think you’re talking to your buddies less and spend less time alone every day, it’s a red flag. Anxiety and depression are common isolation causes. It is not natural to always reject the company of others so that you can talk about it better with the therapist.
7. Negative Behavioural Patterns
A frequent mistake is an indicator that psychological problems are deeper. If the days get worse and you can’t see how to get out of the error loop, you have to look into it more closely. You may have some well-known therapy routines. Working with a specialist will help you determine the root cause of the behavior and deal with it.
8. Difficulties with sleep
You’ll have good sleep habits if your mind is at ease. Sleep is a trustworthy health predictor. There could be an underlying emotional or behavioral problem if you unexpectedly have trouble falling or sleeping. A common confusion is that insomnia refers to the failure to sleep during the night. This disorder also indicates that they get up very early, wake up, and can’t sleep regularly.
Conclusion
Always keep in mind that talking to a therapist doesn’t mean you are unwell or something is wrong with you. You might seek professional help to be the best version of yourself. And it’s not a sign of weakness to speak to anyone. it takes courage to admit that you don’t have answers to all questions of your life.
As daunting as you can, it does and does help, to see the hope or intent in reaching out. As a reminder, Dehorty says “therapy does not have to be a ‘deep-dive’ into your personality and family of origin.”
Dr. Chalepas adds that not only Google stuff is necessary for the symptoms to be recognized. Your emotional needs are probably complex and intimate, and you deserve more than just the internet offers.
So, if you feel like therapy can be beneficial, or if you’re just curious about it, do some research. And go for it. You will surely be glad that you did.
References
How to Know When It’s Time to See a Therapist (verywellmind.com)
Do I Need Therapy? 10 Signs It’s Time To See a Therapist | Calmerry
Related articles on Budding psychologist
5 myths about therapy (buddingpsychologists.org)
How to bring up you going to therapy to your loved ones (buddingpsychologists.org)
Good work
The article is an eye-opener for all who misunderstand therapy. But the introduction seems to be very long, there could have been a few sub-points added more about the benefits of therapy for the lay man. Also, while explaining the signs reference about mental health conditions other than depression and anxiety could have been added.
Very absorbing and informative!!! Additionally, putting down the benefits of seeing a therapist would make it more resourceful. Keep writing!!!
Very absorbing and informative. You have beautifully put down “why” one needs to consider seeing a therapist. I would like to suggest that it would have helped the reader to also know the benefits of seeing a therapist. Great work!! Keep it up
Very informative and well written. Keep it up
Very good and informative work! Hence, elaborate on the points that would help us to know the benefit of seeing a therapist.
amazing article ..kudos buddy 🙂
enjoyed reading the article above . Adding about the pros and cons of online therapy in this article would make it more insightful.
Your article makes it easier for people to understand what is therapy and why it is important! Really great work, keep it up!
Very informative. If more points could be included, also introduction could be kept short, while listing the benefits of therapy (in bullet points) would be easier for layman to read.
1. Excellent article on a very pressing issue and a matter of great importance. Avoiding phrases like “even ourselves” could improve the article. Wonderful use of the Rule of three or Triads to emphasize on your point. The use of studies to substantiate your points further creates a sense of objectivity which throughout the entirety of the article is coupled perfectly with opinions. Fantastic point about how one doesn’t need to be in a seriously grave mental state to visit a therapist. In the fast-paced world we are living in today, we often neglect our mental well-being, suppressing our negative emotions. The widespread stigma around mental health and mental health practitioners often stops people from seeking the professional help they require. Articles like this one help educating people on the same and normalizing seeking professional help as something that has scientific basis rather than something that is voodoo. well done.
this is a beautifully written article and it covers something so important. you could maybe add a segment stating how to prepare yourself for your first therapy.
Nice one…it’s give clear suggestions to everyone when they need therapist..this article give clear idea whoever need this…keep it up
This is really an intuitive piece of writing. The readers will surely be enlightened and be made free of all their doubts and misconceptions. In a society where seeking help for mental health issues is taboo, this article will prove useful in the de-stigmatization processes of mental health issues. Looking forward to reading more of your works!
This article is beautifully written. Every person going through distress or witnessing a person going through the same, should be aware of these points. Thank you for doing your bit to empower the world.
Very well written and a topic that needed to be discussed . You have articulated the article in a very nice way, very engaging and informative. Very well done !
This article will clear stigmas related to therapy. It was engaging and informative. Good work ✨
the article was really a sort of kindling my insight about mental health and treating emotions appropriately.
The article is very well-written and is able to throw light on the misconceptions people have towards therapy. But, it would have been wonderful if information about some therapist or organisations were included in the article. So that the readers can have easily contact therapists if needed.
Great work. This article certainly cleared out misconceptions about therapy. I would have loved to read more about why seeking help could be difficult for the affected and how they can over come this hurdle.
Very informative article. But adding the benefits of therapy would make this article absolutely complete. Thank you for sharing this. Well done.
Hey Ayeman,
This was a very informative and helpful article. It is true that there is always a misconception that going to meet a therapist means you are mentally ill and people often find it very insulting. I hope after reading this article, that misconception will be changed and people will learn to take help from external sources rather than trying to hide your emotions and problems eventually leading it to major issues.
The article breaks the misconception prevailing that consulting a therapist is an odd thing. We must seek their help when we are not ok and it will be easier for them to understand us.
This is much needed! super helpful article. Thank you for sharing this, great work!! 😀
Very well written
It’s quite informative and insightful
A very resourceful and informative article. All of the points covered are really important and will prove useful to a person who is confused about seeing a therapist. A few points about the pros about the benefits of seeing a therapist would have been motivating. A very informative read!!
I loved how point to point, yet detailed this article is. Addition of bullet points made reading it more easier. Even I believe It’s not necessary that only people with disorders should go for a therapy or counselling but it should be for everyone facing issues in their regular everyday life
Ayemen, great topic selection and a very well-written article!
Loved how you mentioned reasons besides diagnosable mental health issues.
If you could have elaborated on taking therapy according to age , such as elderly; child; teenage with bullet points on their issues while keeping the introduction short, it could have been better. You could have also elaborated on non-therapy ways to try and see if they could work and then go to therapy if the ways are in vain.
Overall , an amazing article, Kudos to you!
A good article and the signs although are acceptable reasons to go to a therapist but I’d advise you to mention that such symptoms are felt by people once in a while, it’s when they occur frequently and simultaneously that a need arises to do something about it. But well explained nonetheless.
I hope that atleast after reading this article, people wil understand why therapy is important. It is not just about having any disorder, but as mentioned here, therapy is important to bring out the best version of yourself. Very well written.
An extremely necessary topic that needs awareness in today’s society! You have given a lot of important information for people who may lack resources, and citing your sources will also prove to be useful for those seeking more information. The general signs to look out for in order to determine if therapy is required is given in concise bullet points, which makes it easier for people to soak in all the information. I would suggest, however, to organise your article more professionaly for future references, where one idea connects with the other in a flow. Also, mentioning that this informaiton should be taken only as a reference and not as an absolute diagnosis and/or professional help is extremely important, as some people tend to blindly make whatever they read online their own truth, which may lead to problems. All in all, excellent work!
Insightful article. Seeking for help is always good and this article will help people to destigmatize about seeking for therapist
It’s actually important to seek help before it goes out of control. But we tend to ignore it more often. This is a really important thing that you addressed. Much love and blessings. Being judged because you felt in a certain way is the most awful feeling and we need to overcome that acknowledge what’s happening and there’s nothing wrong in asking for help to get out of that situation. Such a helpful post. Really appreciate your work! ☺️
A article is a very good one. I feel if benifits was written then it would have turned out even better.
The article is very well written. Surely, it’s very important to seek help from a professional. In our society people often hesitate to go to a therapist. The points are very clear and the language used is easy to understand. I would like to suggest that mental health issues other than anxiety and depression should also be added because mental illness is not just restricted to these two. Other than this, very nice work.
When to see a therapist is something no one is ever sure about. People are scared about seeing a therapist. Very well put out there. Good job.
This article is informative and should have added mental disorders and explained about it with effective points.
Amazing and well written…Just a suggestion…keep the intro short and to the point so it makes the reader inquisitive to read further.
When to see a therapist? Amazing title. Everyone wants to know when they should go to the therapist.even few years ago people dont have believe that therapists can help them and make them better feedings but now it’s a big achievement that the somehow can believe.
Hey…such a good topic… just a suggestion…keep the introduction shorter
Very informative & well explained!
I would like to see more of your work.
Kudos to you!
Keep it up
The introduction grabbed my attention. I loved the intro. And I guess we need more blogs like this because people often misunderstand therapy. Good work!
Articles like this are really important to reduce the stigma surrounding seeking psychological help.
A real piece of information. Many ignore that their physical symptoms can actually relate to mental health. Also in a society which sees seeking a therapist as taboo, its our responsibility to share the facts.
Good writing buddy! Here are few comments i would give, it’s great to write on this topic but try to cover more aspects, it’s not only about when to see a therapist but also about how?
It would have been great if you could shorten the long pointers you’ve made. ❤️
loved the conclusion. “It takes courage to admit that you don’t have answers to all questions of your life” We all are not born as scholars. we struggle to understand and cope up with the challenges life throws at us. great choice of quotes Ayeman. Liked your article a lot.
great work