How Do I Know If I’m Ready for Counseling?
There are many reasons that people seek help through counseling. Sometimes, the situation is dire and timely healing is needed. Others enter therapy in order to grow, mature, and understand themselves more fully.
HERE ARE 8 SIGNS THAT IT MIGHT BE THE RIGHT TIME TO START COUNSELING:
1. There have been significant changes in your life.
Something is different in your life. It may be external—like a new job, a move across the country, or the loss of a loved one. Or it may be internal—related to how you feel and harder to put your finger on. Often it is one of these:
2. Your mind or emotions seem hard to understand or control.
It could be that you are experiencing anxiety, depression, or immense stress. Are you finding it hard to regulate your emotions or function? Counseling can help us locate and navigate the deep places we struggle to understand:
“Why do I feel so low, stressed, or overwhelmed?”
“Why am I having trouble sleeping?”
“Why can’t I keep up with work or school?”
“Why don’t I feel like me?”
3. Your physical health has declined.
We don’t often give mental, spiritual health the same attention as we do our physical health. But most emotional issues have direct and indirect relationships to our body—including the central nervous system which impacts all others (endocrine, immune, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, etc.) It may be that your headaches, fatigue, muscle aches & pains, weaker immune system, etc., are revealing that therapy is needed.
4. You are struggling in your relationships or hoping to do better in one.
Relationships have often been compared to cars. They are bound to have some breakdown over time, especially if we haven’t lifted up the hood in a while. This doesn’t mean you’re bad at them, or that your relationship is doomed. It just means that they need investment and reflection, which counseling offers.
5. You are dealing with something from the past (recent or far off) which has stuck with you, is still affecting you, or you’ve never sought help for.
It’s been said, “The past is always with us.” Painful memories and traumatic events (whether recent or in the distant past) can have a profound impact on our today. Therapy can help you process these events & relationships, name how they affected you, and find new healing.
6. You want to understand yourself more fully.
Therapy is a relationship & space designed to help us understand ourselves. Most of us are unaware of the automatic ways we live, think, feel, and relate to others. When these patterns emerge, we often need someone to help us see them, and name them. We also need new information and practice to learn a better way.
7. You are grieving.
We all experience significant losses in life. Whether it's a divorce, a breakup, or loss of a loved one, overcoming grief can be a long and painful process. This is especially true if you've no one to share that emotional burden with.
8. Your loved ones think that you may benefit from counseling.
Sometimes, the people closest to us see things that we don’t. Sometimes, they see a crisis or need even before we do. When loved ones express concern about our mental health or wellbeing, it’s worth paying attention (even though it can be difficult to admit).
HOW DOES COUNSELING HELP?
Whatever your reasons for coming, therapy provides a safe space to explore memories, behaviors, feelings, & relationships—with a trusted professional who is for you. Therapy can help you put words to things that have been confusing or burdensome. It can give you perspective from multiple sources and healing lenses from the field of psychology. It can remind you who you truly are. It can explore who God is and how he is at work in your situation. And it ensures that you aren’t alone as you move toward growth.
HOW CAN I GET STARTED?
Are you ready to start therapy? Click here to get started.