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how do I know if I need counselling?

You are possibly exploring this page as you maybe wondering if counselling can help you. I've listed below some of the common reasons that people seek counselling.

Struggling to handle stress.

It might be that something stressful has happened to you and you're struggling to bounce back from it. Maybe your usual ways of coping aren't working at the moment. There are many experiences that can cause stress; workplace stress, relationship breakdown, bereavement, moving house. Sometimes when stress isn't resolved it can turn into an anxiety disorder or depression. Counselling can help you to understand and manage the stress you are feeling better.

Anxiety is affecting your every day life

Anxiety occurs when normal stressful situations become too overwhelming. Anxiety can interfere with your daily life and sometimes has no obvious cause. Anxiety is a persistent sense of worry, tension or dread and can include feelings of fear, helplessness or panic. Anxiety can affect work, relationships and every day life. Counselling can help you to understand the root cause of your anxiety, understand what you are going through and help you to find ways to cope.

Not feeling yourself recently

Sometimes there isn't a certain problem that is making you think about attending counselling. It may just be that you haven't been feeling yourself lately, feel a bit off or struggling with day to day life. Counselling can provide the space to explore what is currently going on in your life right now and help you to feel yourself again.

Feeling stuck

Perhaps you keep repeating behaviour no matter how many times you tell yourself you don't want to do it anymore. Maybe you are feeling stuck in a situation or a place where you don't want to be anymore. Counselling can help you understand the underlying reasons why you may be repeating behaviour and finding it hard to change.

Understand yourself better

Maybe you are feeling like you don't understand why you react or feel the way you do in certain situations. Perhaps you wish to connect to yourself better and live a more authentic life. Counselling can provide a space to explore yourself and find a new perspective.

Thoughts and emotions out of control.

You may have experienced racing negative thoughts that are illogical. This can be a sign of anxiety or depression. Counselling can provide you a safe space to explore these thoughts, notice patterns and help to look at different ways of viewing situations and manage racing thoughts.

Feeling that nobody understands you.

It might be that you feel surrounded by people who do not understand you or that you struggle to connect to others. Counsellors listen with empathy and hold no judgment. They try to understand your perspective, help you to look at why you may feel misunderstood and ways to connect better with others.

Wanting someone impartial to turn to.

Sometimes you may feel alone in life or struggle to know what you wish to do about a certain issue. Even though you may have lots of support around you, these people are emotionally invested in your life and so its hard for them to give impartial advice. Counselling can provide a confidential, non-judgemental and unbiased space to talk honestly about what is troubling you.

Unprocessed feelings or experiences

Sometimes something in the present can trigger past memories and feelings that you haven't had the space to process. Counselling can help you to process past experience so that you are able to move forward with greater strength.

Not feeling good enough.

You maybe struggling with low self-esteem which can have negative affect on other aspects of your life such as relationships or your career. Counselling can help you to understand the causes as to why you are struggling with self-esteem, help increase it which can then improve your satisfaction with life.

Other people are worried about you.

Sometimes when emotions become so overwhelming we can't always tell that our behaviour has changed. You might find that others have noticed and are worried about you. Counselling can provide a safe space to focus on how you are feeling, thinking and to process whether these thoughts are justified or not.

Wishing to feel listened to.

It might be that you don't have the space to be able to talk to others about your problems. It might be that you are experiencing painful thoughts or feelings that you don't feel comfortable sharing with others. Counselling provides a a non-judgemental space in which you can explore your thoughts and feelings.

Wanting to improve your relationships.

You maybe having difficulties with intimacy or may find that you struggle to maintain a long term relationship. It maybe that you are having problems with family members, children or colleagues at work. Talking to a counsellor can help you to look at the underlying causes for your relationships difficulties.

Its usual in life to go through times in which you feel confused, anxious or struggle. There may not be one reason you decide to start counselling, there maybe many. No one reason is more important than the other. Counselling helps to us to develop insight into who we are, the problems we face and gain clarity and new perspective on how to feel stronger and in control of the choices we make.

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