What is psychotherapy, and should I start?

Emotional therapy is much more than just sitting on a couch.

There are many misconceptions about what it means to talk to a mental health professional. The need to talk about your feelings is often perceived as something that can be mocked, or an expression of weakness and therefore should be ashamed of it. In fact, this stigma is often the reason people do not seek help in the first place.

But the reality is quite the opposite - emotional therapy is an incredibly useful tool that helps with a variety of issues, from anxiety, sleep disorders through relationships to trauma. Many studies show that emotional therapy is incredibly effective in helping people manage emotional states toward mental health, and it is worth it even if you do not have a noticeable acute problem.

What is emotional therapy?

Emotional therapy is therapy that focuses on the person's psyche and emotions, usually when the patient feels an emotional difficulty in his or her life. The treatment takes place in a room or in any other comfortable space, where usually the patient and the therapist talk together to identify the feelings, difficulties and the way the patient manages his inner world. Together they find tools and ways to deal with the emotional difficulty. Emotions are very significant in the way we experience the world and different relationships in our lives, emotions are a big part of how we experience ourselves, so it is important to understand their part in shaping our lives, how they affect us, how we can manage them instead of them managing us.

What is the importance of treatment?

Therapy is a person's journey on the path to enabling himself help on how to manage his life and experience it in a healthy way, and to deal with emotional difficulties along the way. The main problem is that only about 40% of people who suffer from mental health problems get help, 60% are left to deal with the problems alone. The latest statistics show that 1 in 5 American adults live in a mental crisis, while one in 25 adults live in a severe mental crisis. Untreated mental health problems often worsen and can have other negative effects. They can also lead to:

- Unpleasant strong emotions: anger, sadness, frustration, loneliness and more

- Day-to-day emotional difficulties that can affect functioning

- Inability to work or go to school

- Difficulty in relationships or childcare

- Increased risk of health problems

- Hospitalization

- Suicide - Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people in the United States between the ages of 10 and 34. About 90% of people who died in suicide in the United States were in a mental crisis.

Treatment can help improve the symptoms of the emotional difficulty you are facing, understand the root of the problem and acquire tools for a significant improvement in the life experience. Studies also show that the benefits of psychotherapy treatment last longer than drug treatment alone. Medications can reduce some symptoms of mental health conditions, but psychotherapy treatment teaches you skills to deal with the symptoms themselves. These skills you will learn will keep going with you after the end of treatment, and the symptoms may continue to improve, which reduces the chance that you will need further treatment.

Do I "need" treatment?

Telling someone they need to go for treatment can be a challenge. It is difficult for us to see our loved one face mental health challenges, but even if we dare and offer him reaching for help, it is important that people choose to ask for help themselves [as long as of course they do not put themselves or anyone else in danger]. What we can do is encourage someone we care about to explore possible treatment options, even offer to check with together, this is usually a better way to show support. People who feel compelled to go for treatment may feel resistance and find it difficult to invest the work needed for change.

Therapy can help people work on an emotional difficulty they are experiencing but if you are experiencing an emotional crisis [such as suicidal acts] you can immediately contact a hotline via phone, text message or online chat. Hotline representatives may encourage you to call or visit the nearest emergency room. After the immediate treatment of the crisis, you can turn to emotional therapy with a therapist who specializes in the difficulty you are dealing with. Of course, if you are already being treated and are in crisis, you can get help from your personal therapist.

If you are experiencing an emotional crisis, lack of motivation, fear, depression, anxiety, strong stress in a way that affects your daily life and functioning I advise you not to be left with it alone and seek professional support. Treatment can help you learn about how you feel , Why these are the emotions you experiencing and how to deal with them in a way that brings more balanced and healthy life. The treatment also offers a safe place to talk about life challenges like separations, grief, fears, parenting difficulties or family struggles. For example, couple counseling can help you and your partner work on the relationship and learn new ways to communicate within it.

When should I seek treatment?

It may take you some time to consider this option before making the final decision to go for emotional treatment. Sometimes it's really worth the wait and see if time itself, a different lifestyle or the support of friends or family members enhances the emotional struggle you are facing.

The American Psychological Association suggests considering treatment when something is causing you distress and interfering with your daily routine, but especially when:

1. Thinking about the issue or dealing with this emotional issue takes at least an hour each day

2. The subject causes embarrassment or makes you want to avoid meeting others

3. The problem causes a decrease in your quality of life

4. The issue adversely affects important frameworks in your life: school, work or relationships

5. You have made changes in your life or developed habits to deal with the issue

Although, there are other specific cases that if you experience them, I recommend that you seek the help of a professional:

1. Unexpected changes in mood.

If you notice that you are in the mood or in an ongoing negative thinking process - you may want to talk to someone. This is usually a sign of a mental health problem. A therapist can help you get to the root of the problem, and find tools to achieve well-being and emotional balance.

In the treatment space you have the opportunity to open up and explore the brain Returns, feelings and circumstances of your life in a safe environment.

2. You are going through a big change.

It could be a new career, a new family or moving to another city. New ventures are challenging and it is normal to need help with that. This is your opportunity to work with someone with a neutral perspective to identify goals and develop a plan for achieving them, therapy often involves developing skills and strategies for reducing or managing stress in life.

3. You have harmful thoughts.

Suicide and self-harm can be completely prevented through treatment by a licensed professional. If you are thinking of hurting yourself immediately, seek immediate help through the suicide prevention hotline.

4. You retreat from things that have brought you joy in the past.

Loss of motivation can indicate a mental problem. If you are usually a social butterfly for example and suddenly you find yourself preferring to stay home all the time, there may be something deeper you are experiencing. A professional therapist can help you uncover why this is happening, and what can be done to deal with it.

5. You feel isolated or alone.

Many who face different mental states feel they are the only ones on this journey, but the truth is that you are not alone, almost everyone at one time or another in their life experiences a crisis and the truth is that it is completely human and normal, just as it is perfectly normal for Panamas to help deal with it. Group therapy may also suit you, where once you get in you get an immediate sense of relief that you are not alone in this journey.

6. You use addictive substances to deal with problems in your life.

If you find yourself turning to drugs or alcohol as a way to deal with the experiences in your life, it's probably time to turn to professional help. It is important that you always remember that addiction and drug use is an emotional disorder - there are no defects in your character, it is possible to cope and there is something to be done about it. There are many breakthroughs today in our understanding of the biology of addiction, and there is groundbreaking evidence for the treatment of addictions.

7. You suspect you have a serious mental health condition.

Severe mental illness affects nearly 10 million adults in America in any given year. If you feel disturbed for a long time, seek help. Psychiatric conditions like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia rarely develop out of nowhere, and people sometimes ignore the symptoms. Symptoms should not be ignored - especially such as severe irritability, apathy or invasive thoughts. They can be treated.

8. You feel you have lost control.

This particular feeling arises when people are dealing with drug use or drug addiction, this lack of control can leave the person in the cycle of addiction - use one substance or another to prevent painful feelings. But not only addiction can cause a sense of loss of control, sometimes it is a stress response or crisis in life.

9. Your relationships feel tense.

Relationships - no matter what type - are hard work. Not all of us have learned how to communicate properly and in a healthy way in relationships, many times the model of relationship we have internalized within us is not at all unstable and healthy. If you are with a partner, therapy can help both of you explore better ways to communicate and also work together on any other issue that seems to arise.

10. Your sleep patterns are deficient.

A major symptom of depression includes a sleep disorder, whether it is too little or too much. But in fact it is Sympton for more emotional difficulties. If you have noticed any significant change in your sleep patterns, it may be time to look into the matter.

11. You just feel like you need to talk to someone.

Bottom line: There is nothing wrong or wrong with seeking professional help on any health issue, including mental health. To put it as actress Kerry Washington once did, “I go to the dentist. So why not go for an emotional therapist? "

If you have an emotional need to talk to someone, do so. The treatment is a normal - and valuable - experience that works well for many people.

What if I had already tried treatment and it did not work?

Sometimes treatment does not help immediately. Even in situations of ideal treatment where you find a therapist who is just tailored to you and understands you well, it can take time for the symptoms to improve.

Going for treatment and not seeing any change can cause frustration, it can seem like a waste of time and money, so many people also stop going for treatment. We are accustomed to the consumer Western world we live in for quick results here and now, but most of the time such results do not solve the problem but only weaken symptoms, which can be dangerous, because if the problem is not treated but only the symptoms it can cause the mind to express its distress in more severe symptoms. .

It is important not to panic and understand how the mind works, she needs her time for healing and we need to give it to her. There are many factors that can affect the rate of healing, and the degree of effective treatment. But it is also important to remember that there is no one right approach that works for everyone. A therapeutic experience is a meeting of two of the therapist and the patient, and it is very important that the relationship and communication between them be good, not every therapist is suitable for every patient. So if you feel difficulty communicating with the therapist I recommend just giving it some time at the beginning, each beginning of the relationship requires some time where both parties are more focused, if the difficulties continue I recommend consulting the therapist and talking about it, you can always decide Go to another therapist, and a good therapist will also recommend you a colleague who he thinks will be more suitable for you.

What are the benefits of emotional therapy?

1. With good emotional therapy you can learn more about yourself. That this is the point that is most important to me. We are in this life on a personal journey, telling our own story, but we are not always skilled enough to learn how to listen to ourselves, how to understand and look at a new perspective on ourselves. A good therapist helps you tell your own story, look inward and understand your different patterns, find connections between different parts of your psyche, and find ways to live a healthy and beautiful journey with yourself and your environment.

2. During the treatment, the therapist may offer or recommend you what to do in certain emotional situations or when you feel lost, but he or she does not tell you what to do. The goal of therapy is to empower you to act on your own, with the help of the therapist.

3. Therapy can help you achieve the Your goals. If you are not sure what your goals are, therapy can help you clarify them and set realistic steps to meet them.

4. Therapy can help you live in more fulfilling relationships. Whether you are single or in a relationship, therapy can help you deal with difficulties in relating to others, such as insecurity in relationships or difficulty trusting your spouse.

5. You are more likely to get better physical health. Many studies support the link between mental and physical health. Untreated mental problems can affect physical health. On the other hand, people with good emotional health may cope better with physical health problems that arise.

6. Treatment can lead to improvement in all areas of life. If you feel that something is holding you back in life as you see them, therapy can help you deal with it. When you are not sure what prevents you from making a change, therapy can help you find the answer.

Even if you are not sure you want to commit to treatment, many therapists offer a free first appointment or a telephone consultation to talk about what you are dealing with.

Every process of seeking treatment requires a lot of courage!

I invite you to the process of personal growth and development today!

Schedule a free consultation with me now!