Mental health: When should you visit a therapist?

We all face different challenges every day and these are just facts of life. Normal as that may be, there is often some stigma associated with seeking professional help.

In reality, there is nothing wrong with needing some extra help. Besides, counselling is probably something that we all need even when things are fine.

Some of the signs that you need counselling or professional help aren’t always as direct as you may think and therefore you might overlook the need.

If you suspect you may require some assistance to sort through your mental challenges, here are some signs that may indicate you need to start looking for a good therapist:

Many people walk around with scars that aren’t easily noticeable. There are events that can root themselves in your life whether it is abuse that happened in your childhood, the loss of a loved one or just a period of stress which can slowly kill you inside if it goes unchecked.

When you have gone through something that affects your life drastically, you should find a professional who will give you the right steps of how to overcome them.

If you keep postponing it, those scars will constantly keep you from living a happy life.

Life is challenging in general. Once you cross over into the adulting stage you realize that there are certain expectations that you automatically have to meet.

Although tough times are a part of life, someone who is going through some deep problems will have a more difficult time regulating their emotions almost every day.

The overwhelming emotional breakdowns will keep happening over and over again and that is one of the biggest signs that it is time to do something about it.

Mental health struggles often manifest themselves physically. You will notice that for a while you haven’t been yourself and you will even struggle to get good grades or be as productive as you used to be.

If you used to dress up and show up your looks start to suffer as you become a shell of yourself. You might also start to sleep more and even your eating habits change. You will either be overeating or eating very little.

Another thing to note is, you are getting unusual physical symptoms like constant migraines and unexplained body aches along with other symptoms that don’t really have a direct cause.

Pay attention to some of these changes because they are a clear sign that something is off.

Depression, anxiety and other mental health problems can hide under addictions. They force you to rely on something else like alcohol or drug use as a way of coping with what is going on.

Aside from alcohol and substance use, its common to also depend on unhealthy relationships or sex because they temporarily fill a void.

This however is dangerous because these combinations can completely destroy your life. Check whether you have had a trend of relying on something or someone and get the help you need as soon as possible.

Sometimes it is hard to detect whether you need some support on your own because you think everyone around you is going through something as well. And to be honest, we are all facing our own individual issues and demons.

This generalization can however block you from seeing what is really happening in your own life.

If friends and family members have raised concerns about you lately, don’t ignore them. Look it into and do something asap.