How Do I Know If I Need Counselling?

We’re living in stressful and troubled times, there’s no doubt about that. Many of us are feeling the pinch as we try to just get through difficult days in the here and now. For some people, the stress of their lives for reasons recent and also rooted in their past can get to be too overwhelming, and it’s at that point that some additional help and support is required.

It’s becoming increasingly common for people to seek professional counselling psychologists in Bayswater, or wherever it is that they live. But how is it that those seeking help know that it’s the right time? Many could benefit from counselling, but remain uncertain as to when it’s time to take that step. If you recognise any of the following signs, then you might be a good candidate for counselling:

1. You’ve Been Struggling Processing a Life Event for Many Years

Has an event in your childhood or from any point in the distant past been dominating your mental space for years? Does it still keep you up at night? Does the trauma of it continue to manifest? It’s more normal than you think, and it’s one of the many things that can be helped by proper counselling.

Counselling isn’t just about discussing these issues, it’s about a professional, impartial third party helping you to make better sense of them and to regain control over any rogue emotion or bad behaviour that they trigger. Sometimes the answer is right in front of you, but you just can’t see the wood for the trees.

2. Your Day is Dominated by Feelings of Anxiety

If you were to reflect on it, how much of your day would you say is dominated by feelings of anxiety and related stress? Does anxiety keep you awake? Does it distract you from your daily work? Anxiety often starts in small doses, but over time can come to occupy more and more of one’s day, and seep into more and more of one’s daily activities.

Counselling can help get to the root causes of your anxiety and help come up with strategies to help manage and even defeat it for good.

3. Your Patience and Temper are Wearing Extremely Thin

All of us have a point where we might snap or unleash a bit of a temper, but if and when the line one crosses to trigger it is moved beyond all reasonable limits, then it can become something that you see a counsellor about. This kind of poor temper and lack of patience can cause serious damage to the relationships that we have with people around us, including family, friends and colleagues.

4. You’ve Been Isolating Yourself Socially

The pandemic forced us all to socially isolate in a big way, but for some the negative pattern of isolation and loneliness was going on before the pandemic, and may continue after things have opened up again fully. Some people isolate themselves because they are suffering from low self-esteem and don’t wish to see other people. Others do it because they might be suffering from financial stress or other anxiety issues and don’t wish to see others. The list of potential reasons goes on and on.

Wanting an evening of alone time after a hard week, or unwinding after a stressful day at work is one thing, but when you find that you’re purposefully separating yourself from family, friends and others, you might want to ask yourself why, and a counsellor can help find the truth of it.

5. You Feel Caught in a Rut

Finally, another situation for which you might find help from a counsellor is when you just feel nothing in your life is going as it should be. If you feel you’re stuck in a rut and that you’re getting nowhere, a counsellor can help you determine the real reasons for that and help you develop strategies to overcome those obstacles and fulfil your real potential.