Has it ever happened to you that people close to you notice when you gain or lose weight faster than yourself? They ask if you have been dieting or gaining weight, then you weight yourself and realize that, in fact, you have gained or lost a few pounds, and now you need to make decisions.
Whether you want to keep the weight, gain more, or shred it off! It, for sure, has happened to me many times! That is also how many of us come to the realization that we are facing a problem, and we need help. When someone else points it out to us!
How do you know if you need professional therapy? The easy answer is… when you feel helpless and lost without a way out. However, you do not want to seek help when you get to that point, the faster you get help, the quicker you get to fix the issues and enjoy life to the fullest. So when exactly do we seek therapy?
The first thing we need to address is the responsibility to acknowledge our problems, and that we need help. In some instances, we know something is wrong and seek therapy all on our own, but it is rarely the case. More often than not, we are so used to feeling miserable, unhappy, and sad that we do not realize the issues, and we keep falling deeper and deeper into a dark hole until we have someone who cares about us and points it out to us as it happened to me.
Research shows that ninety percent of the time, people seek help when they feel helpless and can’t find a way out. It is also proven that most of the time, it is someone else who pointed out the issue and advised the person to seek professional help.
When I was seventeen years old, I used to work for this man who was abused as a child; he was not embarrassed to tell his story to anyone. By sharing his story, he allowed me to share my story, and all I went through as a child for the first time. ( I think it is essential to share our story so we can help and also prevent others from getting hurt) No one ever knew about everything that had happened to me; I myself had not realized all the trauma and pain I was holding inside.
I need to be honest; I never thought I would need therapy before this man told me his story and told me that he recovered from childhood traumas. I never thought that I could have developed any traumas or that there was anything wrong with me. I knew I felt different and that I had issues, but it never occurred to me to seek help. I also never had an adult who truly cared about me to really get to know me and hear my story. My boss opened my eyes and made me realize I needed help; he referred me to his counselor.
Every human being is different; some people seek help as soon as they experience pain or hurt; others do it when they find themselves at the bottom of a deep dark hole. One of the most effective ways to know if you need therapy is to sit in silence and think about your past and the present.
- Do you remember being happy and safe as a child?
- Do you have any resentment towards one person in specific or multiple people from your past?
- Have you experienced any type of trauma?
- Are you abusing any substance?
- Do you have trust issues?
- Do you think you are not worthy of love and kindness?
- Do you have issues finding or committing to a relationship?
- Do you feel that you can’t accomplish anything in life?
- Do you want to improve yourself, but you don’t know where to start?
- You’re grieving ( lost of a loved one, break up, or divorce)
If you answered yes to any of this questions, you need to see a therapist.
In my next post, I will write about how to find the right therapist and treatment for yourself. STAY TUNE 🙂