Knowing when to seek help
Most of us experience stress at some point in our life and some experience other mental health issues during their lifetime. So when do you know you might need to find some help for a mental health issue? Stigma has long been a barrier, but now more and more people readily access therapy and discuss mental health. Everybody feels down or sad at times, but it’s important to be able to recognise when a mood or behavioural change has become more than a temporary thing. Some of the signs that may indicate that it’s time to seek support may include, but are not limited to:
- Unusual changes in mood, sometimes those changes include more than just your mood, such as, crying frequently without knowing why, having anger outbursts at others for no apparent reason, and feeling anxious in situations that are usually considered non-threatening.
- Changes in the way we cope with life’s pressures can be an indicator.
- Grief: Loss of a loved one, a divorce, relationship breakdown, or loss of employment can be a long and difficult process to endure. While not everyone needs counselling during these times, consulting an expert is not a sign of weakness especially if you’ve experienced multiple losses in a short period of time.
- Sometimes a significant or traumatic event in your life can cause physical and emotional problems. It can be an event that has happened recently or something that happened a long time ago. If you have a history of abuse, neglect or other trauma that you haven’t fully dealt with, or if you find that it impacts your functioning, it’s probably time to seek support.
If you are going through difficulties and need support, why not give us a call today? Our team of highly skilled and well-experienced Psychologists are here to help.
If you need support right now
If this is an emergency, call 000. For 24-hour support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14. More options are on our resources page.
Our Blog Author
This post was written by Aanchal Sood, Senior Psychologist and Supervisor at Your Mind Matters. Aanchal works with adolescents, adults and couples on anxiety and mood disorders, grief and loss, trauma, adjustment and relationship difficulties, and is fluent in Hindi and Punjabi. Meet our team.