Seeing a counselor or therapist is your own decision. It may not always be the first thing that you can do each time you are distressed, but most positive individuals agree that it can be a proactive step. After all, counseling or therapy isn’t just for the unhappy, troubled, scared, confused, overwhelmed, or angry individuals.

Thinking that it is merely for desolate people is backward thinking. It is for everyone, even when you feel like you have nothing major to complain about. This fallacy of believing that you must be without hope before you should see a therapist can be a stumbling block to people who do not want to be associated with negative connotations. Counseling is rewarding. Whether you do it face-to-face or through online counseling, it can help address a broad array or emotion-related issues – insomnia, marital concerns, family conflict, and emotional conditions, like depression and anxiety.

If you are still undecided, there are five signs that may signal the need for counseling:

1. You are distressed. You can be distraught by a life-altering event. You may also feel troubled when you make a challenging change in your life. It may not fundamentally be a major thing, but it can substantially affect your life, wellbeing or potential. It can also add up to an overflowing plate, so you cannot see things clearly anymore. Swamped, you could easily succumb to overwhelm, anxiety and depression.

2. You are experiencing frequent mood swings. Though mood swings are natural, frequent shifts in your temperament are not. If the manifestations are unusually intense, so that they are difficult to control, it is time to seek professional intervention. The timely quest for professional assistance can be of immense value in preventing the worsening of the symptoms. Since counseling or therapy is done in privacy, you need not fear about people knowing your ‘secrets.’

3. You found comfort in abusing someone or a substance. If you are so immersed in your emotional challenges, you may seek ways of easing your dreadful feelings. To release guilt, anger, depression or fears, you may take it out on an addictive substance or a person. These cannot fix things or make it any easier or better for you in the long run. Resorting to aggressive or extreme behaviors cannot also help. You can safely find refuge in counseling instead.

4. You feel dreadfully alone. Feeling miserably alone amidst many individuals is awful. Forlorn and disconnected, you may feel miserable who cannot find pleasure in anything you do. Without anyone to talk to, you can have a depressing existence. People are meant to be socially connected. If the people around you cannot serve the purpose anymore (because they too have their own issues), a counselor can listen.

5. You can’t seem to succeed in anything. As you struggle in life, you will most likely explore and find ways to release your negative feelings in a healthy way. When your efforts do not seem to succeed, it will be productive to seek the assistance of a professional counselor or therapist. While having a firm resolve to rely on your personal abilities is wonderful, it won’t hurt to bring in professional help, particularly when you are deeply affected by treatable emotional conditions.

It doesn’t hurt to admit that you need help from time to time. It isn’t cowardly to acknowledge that you feel alone, even when you are in the midst of a big family or many friends. One good time when you must make that admission is when you are distressed, or suffering from excessive mood swings, and you cannot seem to ‘make heads or tails’ of life.

You are not alone. If friends and family feel disconnected, we – the Carolina Counseling Services – Fuquay-Varina, NC, are here. We can talk face-to-face. We can also connect via teletherapy or telemental health. Contact us for an appointment.