Expressing ourselves is important for our mental health. Expressing ourselves can take many forms. We can express what we are feeling with someone else, whether it be a close friend through a video chat, with a family member, or a counsellor.
There is nothing wrong with seeking out additional help or seeking out another person’s perspective, especially when they can offer an impartial outside perspective.
If you are having a hard time knowing if counselling is right for you, here are some possible life circumstances that could mean you would benefit from exploring some options.
- Is there a hurt from your past (i.e. loss of someone important, broken relationship, trauma) that continually pops up in other areas of life?
- Are you having a difficult time processing the loss of something or someone, whether it is a relationship, a job, or something else that was important to you?
- Does there seem to be a number of stressful situations piling up? Each feeling more overwhelming than the last.
- Are you finding yourself seeking out isolation, not feeling like you CAN or even WANT to reach out to people?
- Do you feel consumed by a situation or sense that the situation is in control of you?
- Are the things you are doing or saying different or unusual from the norm (i.e. spending more time on my phone, agitated by others more often)?
- Are you experiencing difficult thoughts that you don’t know what to do with (i.e. self-harm, low view of self)?
If any of these situations fit you, it could be helpful to reach out to a counsellor.
Counselling is not about receiving a diagnosis. It is about sharing your difficulties with someone who loves to listen and to help you navigate what you are going through. When difficult life situations comes and hard emotions start to surface, it is normal to want to get rid of, avoid, hide, or just simply run away from those experiences. Although it is harder in the short term, expressing those emotions and the difficulty of our experiences with another person may provide relief in the long term. Coming to counselling is another helpful way to express the difficult parts of our life with someone else.
By: Brent Thiessen