Many people want to make positive changes, but don’t know how. The stress and demands of everyday life can leave you feeling so overwhelmed that you don’t even know what the first step is. You might have considered going to therapy, but hesitated because you weren’t sure if it would help.
Here are 4 common reasons that you might see a therapist:
1. Are you ‘happy’ with your life, but at times you find yourself feeling sad?
People who know you might be surprised by this. Your social media posts are positive and funny. You show up looking put together, informed, and upbeat. And yet… there is a part of you that feels like a fraud.
2. Are you surrounded by people, yet still feel lonely and unfulfilled?
In today’s world it’s difficult to be truly alone. If you have a charge in your phone, you can reach someone – via phone call, text, or social media. Yet loneliness is a serious problem.
We can categorize our relationships into four different categories: Friendship, Family, Love, and Professional.
When these relationships are healthy, we feel strong and confident. But if something changes in any one of them, we can feel untethered and old fears can creep out of dark corners of our mind. Some people don’t have many relationships that provide shelter from life’s storms. The reasons for this often stem from hurts and disappointments that they experienced growing up.
Feeling ‘less than’ or having fears of being ‘tricked’ or abandoned lead to anxiety and sometimes depression. Neither helps move us toward people. Loneliness can feel so discouraging, but there is hope.
3. Are you ‘enough’?
Do you ever feel invisible? Like someone waved a wand in front of your face and said,
“Abracadabra, Poof! You’re invisible!”
One moment, you’re there – and then you’re invisible. You look into the mirror and ask, “Who am I?” Gone is your sense of self: What you look like, what you’re good at, your dreams, and your values.
That “Not Good Enough” story can become a barrier – between you and the life you want and deserve. When we try hard to be social, make friends, find love, exercise, study, diet and work we expect positive results. If our mind convinces us that ‘we are not enough,’ it can be difficult to find the will to keep trying.
4. Are you feeling stuck in neutral?
Day to day demands of life can be so fast and unpredictable- forward, reverse, stop, go. Sometimes we feel like we’re just grinding our gears. This is a common struggle for women especially.
Being a modern woman means you wear a lot of hats: Daughter, Friend, Lover, Wife, Mother, Colleague, Employer, Parent. These are just a few of the roles you may slide in and out of daily. Even when you embrace the roles you play, it can be hard to find the YOU in all of that. It can be even more frustrating when you don’t want the role- or you are longing for a new one. You might think if only you could just be yourself. If only you could remember who you are and what you truly want.
Some women get to a point where they realize they aren’t happy, but they can’t really say why. They can be very hard on themselves and lack a sense of belonging at times. The independence that they’ve always been so proud of results in being unable to ask for help or to get close to people.
Therapy can help.
While your mind isn’t your enemy, it can kick you when you’re down. Finding ways to quiet the mind and pick out what is helpful from all the static is a useful skill.
Using what is known about how the mind and body respond to stress, a therapist can help you:
- Identify what is most important to you.
- Understand what choices and behaviors are moving you toward or away from your goals.
- Strengthen your resilience when difficult thoughts or feelings arise.
Choosing connection is possible. Change is possible.
Reach out to Sweetgrass ICT today to begin the journey to healing hurts and growing into the healthy resilient person you can be.
