Humans are complex creatures. We have a variety of emotions we can express and embrace in our lives. It is normal to feel sad, disappointed, unhappy, or anxious from time to time. We go through many experiences that can evoke different feelings in us.

However, do you ever feel like your emotions are all over the place?

Do you notice that you feel sad more than any other emotion?

Is it hard to remember a time when you didn’t feel anxious at some point during the day?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might struggle with handling your emotions. If you find yourself dealing with negative emotions more than happy ones, this is a good sign that you should seek out help.

You deserve to live a life where you don’t have to struggle each day with your feelings and fight to keep a smile on your face. 

You See Areas in Your Life That You Want to Improve

Think about your dreams and imagine what it would be like to thrive in your life. How would you act? What would you be doing? What kind of choices would you make?

When you are struggling under the surface, it can be hard to stay motivated and keep your eye on the prize. A therapist can help you stop self-sabotaging when you pursue your goals. They can also help you work on crucial parts of yourself like self-esteem, self-compassion, and resilience.

By going to therapy, you are investing in bettering yourself and your future.

You’ve Tried Other Alternatives Already

You may have self-help books lining your bookshelf or positive quotes written all across your notebook. Of course, books and quotes can help promote motivation and happiness in people. However, as great as these things can be, sometimes just indulging in these activities alone is not enough to tackle the deep, underlying, and specific issues you are facing. 

Alternatively, you may confide in friends or family when you feel low. Although you appreciate and embrace their advice, your loved ones may not always say the right thing or understand what you are going through entirely.

A therapist is a mental health professional trained to tackle your specific needs and concerns. Also, a therapist provides a third-party opinion and outlook on situations in your life. This can help you be more level-headed and see situations from an unbiased perspective.

You Feel Inspired by Other People Who Have Benefitted From Therapy

Think of all the people in your life – there is probably at least one person who has gone to therapy. Therapy has amazing benefits and can help people tackle their most challenging battles and obstacles in life.

If you know someone who has been to treatment and is comfortable speaking a little about their experience, it would be great to pick their brains. If you sense that they’ve had a positive experience and have improved in certain areas of their lives because of therapy, it might inspire you to try it out for yourself!

You Need Support

Do you feel hopeless at all? Did you once have optimism for the future, but you feel like this hope has faded?

If you think this way, going to therapy may help you. Through different types of therapy, like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a therapist can help you challenge your negative thoughts and find ways to reframe them into more positive outcomes. 

Furthermore, it may feel like you have no one in your life who is there for you. You try reaching out to others but are met with people who don’t show you how much they care.

When you need a shoulder to cry on or an ear to vent to, no one adequately shows you that affection. A therapist is always in your corner, trying to help you become a better person, thrive, meet goals, and feel better about yourself. 

You Struggle Living Day-to-Day Life

As mentioned before, you may be struggling with handling your emotions or processing the way you feel. You may also notice that you are highly affected by the struggles you face each day.

Do you:

• Struggle to get out of bed each day?
• Feel unmotivated or uninspired?
• Find it hard to feel hopeful about the future?
• Feel emptiness or worthlessness with your life, overall?
• Not care about the things you once felt passionate about?

If you relate to the symptoms above, you may be struggling with depression. This is just one example of the many difficulties people unknowingly face.

A therapist can help you identify what you are going through, give you the tools to cope with these feelings, and support you through it all. Today, check-in with yourself and evaluate how you live each day. Ask yourself:

• Is there anything I am struggling with during my days?
• Do any problems stick out to me in particular?
• Is there something I am trying to quit (like alcohol, drugs, binge eating, etc.) that is very hard for me to get under control?
• How are my relationships with my loved ones? How do I interact with friends, strangers, partners, etc.?
• Do I have any fears that debilitate or stop me from living my life?

If you want, journal with these questions and use them as prompts. Record your answers and evaluate how your life’s going at the moment. 

You Have Experienced Hardships or Trauma in Your Life

There may be experiences you have gone through in life that have been challenging for you. You might have witnessed traumatic things or experienced these problematic situations for yourself.

Furthermore, you may be struggling with intergenerational trauma. This type of trauma is passed down through generations in families. Unfortunately, many families fall into cycles of abuse, and maltreatment/neglect continues to be present through each generation.

If you feel like a situation has left you scarred, you deserve to seek out help! Please remember how strong you are and see the resilience you exhibit each day. You don’t have to go through this pain alone.

A therapist can help you deal with any trauma while providing a safe place to engage in your healing journey.

Overall…

There are many reasons you might want to start going to therapy soon. You deserve to live a happier and healthier life. You should be able to heal and grow from anything negative you experience. If you are struggling each day, know that help is out there for you! 

Remember that you don’t need an exact reason from this list to start seeing a therapist. You can go to therapy for one simple reason: you just want to! 

Some people aren’t necessarily interested in healing from past events or getting over phobias. Many people want to go to therapy to become a better version of themselves, learn about who they are, and get the perspective from a mental health professional.

Here are resources to turn to for some of the topics mentioned in this blog post:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
• Disaster Distress Helpline: Call or text 1-800-985-5990
• The NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)