Have you been considering Psychological Therapy to assist your mental health and wellbeing, but you’re unsure about whether to give it a go?
Here are some signs that it may be time:
Talking to your friends or family is no longer enough
If you’re fortunate enough to have a network of supportive family and/or friends, those people might provide all you need to help get through difficult times and challenging circumstances. There may be times though when those connections are not working out so well. Maybe your usual go-to people are not available, or maybe you know that you’re at risk of asking too much of them - that they just don’t have the expertise or perspective to provide the assistance you need right now.
You feel alone
Maybe you feel alone because of an absence of support, or perhaps you’re feeling that aloneness despite having a whole host of people around you. Feeling alone isn’t always about the number of people you have in your life, but it may relate to the level of support and connection you feel to the people around you in times of need.
You’re seeking perspective
It’s hard to have perspective about the circumstances you live with every day. Psychological therapy can help provide perspective. Imagine you’re on a mountain, and your therapist is on their own mountain, a little distance away from yours. The therapists task isn’t to take over your mountain, but to stay on their own and with a bit of distance and perspective – to shine their spotlight onto your mountain to help you see things more clearly. That spotlight of perspective might help you see potholes, flowers, gaping chasms, pathways, obstacles… all kinds of things that can be difficult to see without the light of perspective or awareness.
You’re suffering
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, distressed or even emotionally disconnected, Psychological therapy can help you understand what’s happening, and to explore pathways of acceptance and/or change to move toward greater wellbeing. Good therapy enables you to explore your mental health needs in the context of a safe, supportive professional relationship.
You know things need to change, but you’re not sure what to do or how
Sometimes you might be aware that ‘things’ need to change, but you’re not sure where or how to start. Psychological therapy can help you explore your current situation with the assistance of an independent professional who brings fresh eyes and professional skills to your situation. Psychologists are highly skilled in cognitive change, emotional coping, and behaviour change strategies.
You’re stuck
You know that feeling of getting up every day with an intention to make change, but realising when you go to bed that night that nothing is any different? Psychological therapy can help you explore and understand what’s keeping you stuck, and maybe even how you got there in the first place. This level of understanding might be just the thing to enable you to move forward.
No-oe nseems to understand
It’s possible that the circumstances you’re in or the suffering you’re experiencing are not easy for others around you to understand, no matter how hard they try. Psychologists are trained to understand the mind and the nature of emotion, and many therapists have additional experience and skills to assist people with more complex mental health needs. If you’d like assistance with a complex mental health condition, look for a Psychologist with experience in that area.
Everyone keeps recommending it
It can be difficult to ask for help. Many people are better at giving than receiving when it comes to support and assistance. When the people who care about you repeatedly suggest you seek professional help – and if you know that recommendation is coming from a place of care and love – then it may be time to give therapy a try.
Its time to focus on you
Maybe you’ve just come to the realisation that you’ve given so much energy to everyone else that you’ve neglected your own emotional life, and it’s time for you to put yourself back on the agenda. Therapy is an opportunity to focus on you – your experiences, your needs, and your intentions.
Just because you want to
No, you don’t have to wait until your life is falling apart before you seek therapy. A desire to understand your own life and your responses to it, and an intention to address acceptance and/or change are the fundamental prerequisites for therapy. You don’t have to ‘earn’ it, ‘deserve’ it, or ‘be desperate’ before you can open yourself up to therapy.
The team of Psychologists and Clinical Psychologists at Mind Body Well are all qualified and experienced therapists, offering in-person therapy at our Melbourne office, or Telehealth therapy for people rights across Australia. We also have Accredited Practicing Dietitians our team who can assist people seeking guidance about their eating patterns via Dietetic Therapy.
If you would like to explore therapy at our practice please contact us to discuss your needs.