By Brindi Streufert, M.A.
Have you been feeling down lately? Maybe your nerves are starting to get the best of you or you can’t get those worrisome thoughts out of your head. Are you struggling to get along with someone important in your life? Maybe you’re not sleeping as well as you used to.
Sure, everyone goes through obstacles and bumps on the road of life. Often we can make it through those obstacles with some hard work, good stress management, support from family and friends, or some vacation time.
But what if your usual tricks to beat the blues or calm your nerves just aren’t working like they used to? How can you tell if it might be time to get some professional support for what you’re going through? Could you really benefit from therapy?
To know if it might be time to seek some professional help, you might benefit from asking yourself these questions:
• Have I ever experienced this level of difficulty?
• Is my mood or worry affecting how I live my life?
• Are my job, school, or relationships suffering because of my current experiences?
• Have I ever had this much difficulty getting back to living the way I want to live?
• Have I been able to get better on my own?
• Do I know how to get better on my own?
Your answers to these questions may indicate that you would benefit from therapy. If you find yourself experiencing more distress than you have had to cope with in the past, and the distress is significantly affecting your job, school or relationships, you might benefit from therapy. If you are unsure of how to help yourself get better or your efforts are not helping you feel better, you might benefit from therapy.
If you think you might benefit from therapy, we, at Nebraska Mental Health Centers, would be happy to assist you. You can call us at 402-483-6990. If you don’t live nearby, the American Psychological Association (APA) can help you find the provider in your city who might be right for you at this link: http://locator.apa.org/index.cfm?event=search.text.
Nebraska Mental Health Centers 