When is psychological help needed?

Working with a psychologist is not for everyone. Is it time to book an appointment or can we wait? We will deal with this with the psychotherapist Ekaterina Mikhailova.

In fact, interest in oneself, the desire to gain this experience, is quite enough to start therapy. But in life there are still situations in which the help of a psychotherapist may be necessary for almost everyone, regardless of age, character and gender.

Difficulties with elementary

You find it hard to do what seems easy to others. For example, you may not feel comfortable being “home alone” and find it difficult to engage in conversations with strangers or shop without advice. Reasons are insignificant, but for you they are quite serious.

Seeing a therapist doesn’t hurt if a quirk, like fear of the dark, heights, or public speaking, has grown to such an extent that you have to change something in your life because of it: for example, you refuse a good apartment just because that she is on the top floor.

Traumatic experience

It doesn’t matter how long it has been in your life. If, after a small accident, your pulse quickens and your hands become wet when you get behind the wheel again, if you saw or did something and this prevents you from living normally, this is a reason to meet with a psychotherapist.

Grief experience

It happens that the scale of grief associated with the loss of a loved one, experienced injustice, is such that it cannot be dealt with alone. If you live in acute pain and after a while, you definitely need help.

Low self-esteem

Everyone goes through periods when they don’t like themselves, when self-esteem drops. This is due either to specific failures or to age-related problems. But if you do not like yourself all the time, this is a direct reason to seek help.

Age change

Many people find it difficult to come to terms with the natural transition to the next age category. You are young and do not want to become an “older” person. But, alas, it will. In your case, with the support of a psychotherapist.

Dependence

When a person cannot cope with one of his habits and it begins to “lead” him through life, psychologists talk about addiction. Dependencies are different. For example, someone feels happy only when in love. But at the same time, he chooses such “objects” from which, in principle, nothing can be obtained except grief.

The value is not the relationship with a real person, but the state of “high illness”. The same category includes: slot machines, overeating, the habit of being in bed with someone you don’t know and then regretting it, addiction to work … If you fall under someone’s influence and this addiction deprives you of freedom, dignity, this problem is not situational, but psychological.

Anxiety

If you constantly doubt, you can’t take the necessary action in any way, you worry for any reason, and anxiety does not mobilize, but paralyzes you, this is a classic reason to contact a specialist.

Bad mood

It happens to each of us, but when it persists constantly, everything around is annoying, life seems hard and meaningless, thoughts arise about a possible serious illness in you or your loved ones, you need support. I note: in Western psychotherapeutic practice, about a third of the appeals are related to depression.

Family affairs

Family is our joy, pride and … the source of our problems. There are so many that it is necessary to talk about them separately and in detail. There is a special system of family therapy, which involves working with the family as a whole.

How to protect yourself from charlatans?

Psychotherapists are often credited with hypnotic and mystical powers. This is the result of many years of flickering on TV screens and pages of newspapers of “psychotherapists” like Kashpirovsky and pop hypnotists. You can distinguish a charlatan in the same way as in any other profession.

Be attentive to the signs that give him away: an abundance of external effects, exotic behavior, attempts to suppress your initiative.

A professional psychotherapist is always sensitive to time, free handling of it (regular rescheduling of meetings, delaying the session) speaks of unprofessionalism. Pay attention to the abundance of incomprehensible terminology: the psychotherapist always tries to speak the language of the client, this is one of the rules of the profession. He does not use the words “evil eye” or “damage”, does not make promises to “return a loved one.” He cannot give guarantees either: after all, most of the work will have to be done by you, and you cannot know in advance what results you will achieve. You are guaranteed only correct professional assistance.

Health problems

Yes, and they are a reason to turn to a psychotherapist if you notice that your ulcer is sensitive to relationships with superiors. Or you constantly catch a cold, but the medicines do not help … A lot of clients of psychotherapists are people not with their own psychological problems (behavior, relationships, etc.), but those who were brought to a psychologist by a physical illness.

But in any case, the psychotherapist is the only one of the doctors to whom the ambulance will not take him. It’s up to you to decide whether to go to him or not. Which, in my opinion, makes us “the most charming and attractive” of the whole helping shop.

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