You’ve been feeling down and out for a while now. You’re thinking about seeking help, but you have some questions. When should therapy start? A therapist will tell you that it should start when you feel distressed or impaired. You have to ask yourself two questions. First, how upset are you about what you’re experiencing? Secondly, how much is your mental health getting in the way of what you want to do?
Seeking Mental Health Help
You know yourself best. If you don’t feel like you’re coping well, therapy can help you. The only difference between going when things start getting difficult versus waiting until later is that your needs and goals are different. Some people have found that therapy is easier and shorter when their symptoms haven’t been around for very long, but it’s never too late to seek help.
Seeking Help for Your Anxiety
When things change in your life, it’s normal to experience anxiety. You’ll know when you’re experiencing these feelings because you’ll feel worried or nervous. You may even experience some physical symptoms. These feelings can also occur when you’re experiencing changes that are both good and bad at the same time since it takes time to adjust to these things. Throughout this time, it’s important to remember that stress and sadness will change when given time or looked at from a different perspective.
One of the best things you can do for yourself when experiencing anxiety is to talk to your friends and family. You should also have a set of coping skills in your “toolbox” to help you cope. These “tools” may include exercising, eating well, and sleeping regularly. All of these activities have been shown to improve a person’s mood.
You’ll also find many excellent self-help books, webinars, and support groups (both online and in-person) available. These are also great ways to address your feelings of anxiety. However, if your anxious feelings continue, recur frequently, or grow more intense, it’s time to get some help from a therapist. Another great reason to seek help is if you feel like it’s too hard for you to cope. If you don’t have a support network you can talk to, a therapist is also beneficial.
Seeking Help for Your Depression
When you’ve been suffering from depression for at least two weeks, it’s time to seek help. You should also seek help when you have recurring patterns of bad days, weeks, or years. While you may not even notice that this is happening, look around your environment, and you’ll be able to see that you’re pulling away from people or not spending time doing the activities that you enjoy. These issues should be taken seriously because they’ll make you feel lonelier and worse. While you may want to try shifting things on your own, you should seek help for your depression if this doesn’t work.
Depression will not only interrupt your sleep, but it’ll also show up in physical ways. For instance, you may have a headache or a stomachache. You may feel like your heart is racing, you’re sweating, or you can’t catch your breath. These things shouldn’t be common, but you should seek help if they are. Left untreated, you may become fearful. You’ll start to avoid places and things that trigger you when this happens. Doing so will only make your world feel smaller.
Seeking Treatment for Depression and Anxiety
There are many different reasons why you may wish to seek treatment. At TMS Advantage in St Petersburg, FL, we believe it’s never too early to seek treatment. You don’t need to wait until you’re unable to do what you want or need to because you feel physically ill from anxiety or depression. Treatment works, and you deserve to live a rich, full life, so contact us today.
Picture Credit: Freepik