When should someone come to therapy? - The dangers of putting it off for too long

Starting therapy is a tough decision for many people. Frankly, if someone asked me "when should someone go to therapy", I would say "it really depends". Below are some things I suggest anyone consider when they are torn on whether they should try to work on their problems on their own, or seek professional help.

1. You are starting to lose touch with your 'daily rhythm'

Human beings tend to be drawn towards patterns and routines. When healthy, we wake up at the same time each day, eat meals consistently, bathe, and head to work at whatever our jobs may be, and generally follow a pattern. This consistency is a key indicator for how someone is functioning: are you doing similar productive things each day at a relatively regular time?

Why is this factor so important? When someone is stuck in a mental health problem their life tends to become more and more unpredictable. Relationships become unstable, job performance can decrease and lead to job loss, and moods can fluctuate wildly.

Depending on what issues are present, where the dysfunction is developing can actually be a diagnostic indicator for what the problem is! For example, poor sleep can indicate mood and anxiety problems.

2. You are losing an interest in bettering your life

Hope is something that many people take for granted. When has the belief that working at life is worthwhile, and that your efforts will be rewarded one day, it makes putting in real effort a sensible thing to do.

However, when someone doubts themselves, their future, and the world too much, it is easy to fall into a 'whatever' attitude about life's circumstances. This can lead to very serious consequences, especially around career ambitions, relationships, and your sense of overall happiness.

As you can imagine, hopelessness is a major issue and one that should be addressed appropriately.

3. You are suffering and it isn't changing

In a popular therapy approach, counselors are tasked with teaching clients about pain vs. suffering. Pain, as the theory goes, is a tolerable and normal part of the human experience. It may even be something that helps you grow and shed prior ways of thinking that were holding you back.

Suffering, on the other hand, is pain that is not tolerable and serves no purpose. There is no education, no benefit, and no chance to improve. Suffering is just pointless pain. If you and in pain and there is no end in sight, and it is only holding you back from change, it may be time to address your experiences in therapy.

What would you tell a friend to do?

If any of the above sound like it may be you, or a loved one, and you're still unsure, ask yourself this: If someone you loved was dealing with this problem, what would you want them to do to address it? Whatever advice you would give a friend is probably good advice for your own situation.

Oftentimes people can see their circumstances with more compassion when they imagine someone else going through it. By stepping out of our own unique issues, we can often see ourselves more clearly.

Call it a trial period!

If you're interested in trying therapy, give us a call. We offer free consultations without any commitments. If you want to give therapy a trial period, we usually consider the first 4 meetings a 'get to know you' period. If we aren't the right therapists for you, or you want to try something else to work on your problem, we will even help you find other resources that may be able to help.

Call us today to discuss your individual situation and get an idea of how we can help.