How do You Know When You Need Professional Help?
Worry, stress, anxiety, depression, and phobias are all fairly common problems, but for most people they’re not major issues. For some people, however, minor problems turn into major ones, with life-disrupting symptoms. The question is, at what point do you need professional help?
It’s not easy to recognise, in yourself, the point at which a minor problem becomes a major one. Often what happens is that the change in your mental outlook is so gradual that you don’t notice that there’s anything wrong. For instance, if you’re suffering from severe work-related stress, it may be that your stress levels increased slowly over a period of several months. It’s common for something similar to occur for people who become depressed or develop an anxiety disorder.
Changes like these tend to go unnoticed, simply because it is so gradual that it feels like a continuation of what you think of as normal. It’s like walking up a very slight incline—you don’t notice you’re going uphill until you’re at the top looking down.
Another reason it’s hard to know when you need help is that temporary feelings of deep sadness, anxiety, conflict or stress are common for most people. Sometimes the only difference between these normal feelings and an unhealthy level of sadness, anxiety, or stress is how long you’ve been feeling that way.
Recognising the Signs
When you’re having these kinds of problems, it’s important to get help as soon as possible. The sooner you get help, the easier it is to get back to a healthy state of mind. So, it’s helpful to know what kinds of signs to look for.
Intense ongoing thoughts or emotions
Emotion is a good and healthy thing, but when it gets too intense for too long it can be a sign there’s something wrong. If your sadness or anxiety is so strong it’s interfering with your life in some way, it’s time to get some help. For instance, if you avoid an event you really want to attend because you’re anxious about social interactions, then your anxiety is interfering.
Some kinds of thoughts can act in the same way. For instance, if you are anxious because you habitually expect the worst possible outcome in every situation you encounter, this can be just as stressful as any other kind of anxiety.
Unexplained physical symptoms
Emotional problems can have a strong influence on your physical health, especially in the long term. Stress, depression, and anxiety can suppress your immune system and make you more likely to suffer recurrent illnesses, and can cause muscle tension, headaches, and digestive problems.
Other kinds of physical changes can occur too. For instance, sleeping or eating either more or less than you normally do can be a sign that you’re dealing with stress, depression, or anxiety.
Using substances to cope
If you’re drinking or using drugs more than normal, or you’ve started drinking or using drugs, there’s a chance you’re doing it to try and suppress unwelcome thoughts or feelings, or to relieve or escape from stress.
Feeling joyless
Anhedonia—loss of pleasure—is a common symptom of depression. It means it’s hard for you to take pleasure in things you used to enjoy, such as hobbies or spending time with friends. You may also feel as though there’s no point or purpose to life, whether in general or in your own life in particular.
Therapy can Help you get Your Life Back
When you’re in the midst of depression, or experiencing chronic stress or anxiety, it’s easy to forget what life was like before the problems started. Therapy is challenging, but it can help you overcome these problems and get back to the life you used to enjoy.