Going to therapy or seeking out a counselor for mental health support can seem like a daunting task, but when all the possible benefits are added up together and contrasted with the potential downsides, the positives outweigh the negatives by a landslide. Although it can be frightening to have a new experience, trauma therapy, anxiety counseling, and mental health support are all paramount in healing and ensuring you feel your best and get back to your normal. One reason you may be deterred from seeking out mental health services is because you’re unclear about how it can help you. Unfortunately, this is one of the legacies left behind from mental illness stigma. There’s still widespread distrust and misinformation out there regarding what a therapist can help with, with many associating psychiatric treatments with screaming patients in an asylum. This is simply not the case. Although a counseling session may be marked with some heightened emotions, crying, or the occasional wail, it’s not the intense, and often exaggerated depiction portrayed in movies. Mental health support resources are vast and range from casual group settings to more clinical settings, to just sitting at home in your living room meeting with your counselor over a video chat. Just like the types of therapy settings are vast, so are the ways that therapy, counseling, and other types of mental health support can assist you. Therapy is not just for depression, or even mental illness, it can be useful in many aspects of life, including workplace issues, adjusting to big life changes, and improving self-esteem. Most life issues, practical barriers, and mental blocks can be aided by counseling, sometimes it’s just a matter of finding the right type of therapy and right mental health care worker for you!
Below is a list of some of the ways that mental health support can improve your emotional well-being as well as your quality of life.
Mental health support
Mental health support can improve and treat mental illness conditions such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD, borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, phobias, and other comorbid conditions. Therapy and counseling are also beneficial to individuals with neurodivergent conditions such as ADHD, autism, or dyslexia. Counseling and therapy help individuals cope with all facets of mental health, including improving and reducing symptoms associated with mental illness and getting to the root cause of why you may be struggling. Mental health support may also provide certain tools or coping mechanisms to help individuals move through the world with more success and less discomfort.
Ways therapy may improve your mental and emotional wellbeing:
- Mental illness
- Intrusive negative thought patterns
- Feelings of hopelessness
- Substance misuse, abuse, and addiction
- Disordered eating, body dysmorphia, and eating disorders
- Loneliness
- Feelings of shame or guilt
- Self-harm
- Social anxiety
Social support
Counseling and therapy can help you in social settings with issues such as troubleshooting workplace dilemmas, mending old friendships or forming new ones, navigating romantic situations, or dealing with academic pressure. Although, therapy is often thought of as a solo activity, not only can it be used to improve your social life but you can also include friends, family, and partners in your therapy sessions to better address some of the hardships you may be experiencing.
Ways mental health support can improve your social life:
- Work performance
- Friendships
- Romantic relationships
- Social withdrawal
- School pressure
- Stress of being a long-term care aid
Self-growth and personal development
Counseling and therapy are not only beneficial to those suffering from mental illness, they can also improve the lives of anyone interested in self-growth, feeling like a life change, or simply looking for an outlet to explore themselves. Mental health support can help improve self-awareness and foster empathy towards others, it can help one explore sexuality and gender in a safe container, as well as boost self-esteem.
Ways counseling can improve your relationship with yourself:
- Outlook on life
- Self-awareness
- Increase mindfulness
- Understanding your habits and behaviours
- Help one explore sexual identity and expression
- Explore gender identity
- Secure self-identity
- Confidence and self-esteem
Coping with change
Change is neither positive nor negative, however, our responses to it can be. Counseling can help you navigate the life transitions that come with change, such as death, break-ups, starting a family, moving homes, unemployment, or a career change. Change can be a major contributor to stress, even positive changes, which is why it’s important to talk about these changes and the feelings associated with them.
Ways a therapist can help you cope with change:
- The loss of a loved one
- Job loss or workplace changes
- Finding closure
- Life and emotional changes associated with pregnancy and starting a family
Trauma
Navigating a distressing experience or traumatic event can be confusing, difficult, and highly emotional, which is why it’s important to seek out professional mental health experts. Healing from traumatic experiences can take a long time, however, with appropriate counseling and treatment, such as psychotherapy, MyRecon Therapy ™, and medication, you can heal and feel relief from painful traumatic memories.
Ways mental health support can heal trauma:
- A traumatic experience
- Occupational injuries
- Coping with chronic illness
- Experiencing Abuse
- Childhood related issues and traumas
Life skills and stress relief
Therapy is not often thought of as a tool for improving life skills, however, it absolutely can! Whether it just allows you to explore what’s holding you back, reduces stress, or actively improves your mental flexibility and problem-solving skills, counseling and therapy are excellent tools when it comes to making practical life improvements.
Ways therapy and mental health support can reduce stress and improve your skills:
- Problem-solving skills
- Mental flexibility
- Reduce daily stress
- Sport and athletic performance
- Prevent and heal from overwhelm and burnout
- Boundary setting
- Financial struggles
- Improve life skills
We all need a little tune-up from time to time, a mental un-plug, an emotional rest and recharge, or simply a safe space to let it all out – mental health support is that safe place. Although counseling, therapy, and other forms of mental health support are often the first line of defense for mental illness, there are so many other ways speaking to a trained mental health professional can help you and improve your quality of life. The right counselor and the right kind of therapy are out there for you!