by Christine Morrison, LMHC

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There is no one size fits all explanation when it comes to deciding if you need professional mental health support. There are however a few questions you can ask yourself that might help you make the decision about using professional support or taking a self help approach to caring for your well-being.

Assessing the Impact on Your Life

Reflect on how the issue affects your daily life. Is it consuming an hour or more of your day? If so, it’s worth acknowledging that it has a fairly substantial impact on your life and is creeping into time that could be filled with more joy, relief, or meaning with some professional support.

Relationships and Social Connections

Another important factor is how it impacts your relationship with those around you. Does the issue or thing you want to improve cause embarrassment or makes you want to avoid others? If so, it can be hard to work through it without professional support. We need support from others to tackle any problem and if your problem is preventing you from that connection, a professional can be extremely useful.

Professionals are open minded and non judgmental. They’ve heard whatever you tell them a hundred times before and know how to work with you on it to find relief. An unbiased neutral third party can help you work through your issue much faster and more effectively than going at it alone.

Quality of Life

Has the issue has caused your quality of life to decrease? You deserve to live a full, meaningful, joy filled life. Oftentimes people won’t seek mental health support because the issue isn’t so bad that they can’t cope. It’s worth flipping your thinking from “can I get by?” to “what kind of life would I like to live?”

If you feel like your quality of life isn’t where you wish it was and you’re feeling like you’re just getting by, professional support can help you live the life full of meaning and joy that you deserve.

School, Work, and Hobbies

A more definitive sign that professional support may be necessary is if the issue has negatively affected your performance at school or work, or you’re taking pleasure in hobbies. If you notice any decline in these areas, seeking professional help could get you back on track.

Coping Mechanisms

Finally, ask yourself if you've made changes in your life or developed habits to cope with the issue. If you notice you’ve made changes, especially those that you don’t like, it could be a sign that the problem is impacting you in a fairly significant way. Once a problem gets to the point you’re needing to compensate in other ways, it may indicate professional support is useful to help contain and improve things before it impacts other areas as well.

Exploring Your Options

Remember that seeking help, whether through self-help or professional support, is a flexible process. You can always explore different types of support and resources, just like trying on various pairs of shoes until you find the perfect fit. Taking the first step towards change is a significant accomplishment, and you should take pride in it.

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Cover photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash