It’s Time to RESET: Answering, “How do I know if I need therapy?”
Few people feel like it’s time to see a therapist and get help. Often, we think, “I’m not suffering enough to see a therapist.” We feel like if we just had our shit together, we could handle whatever is causing us pain, so we should try to help ourselves first. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
How do you know if you need therapy?
It can be hard to identify if you or someone you care about needs to find a therapist when you don’t know what to look for. I use this handy acronym to identify if someone needs to start therapy to make it easier.
If you or someone you love feels Restless, Sensitive, Empty, or Tired, it’s time to find a therapist and RESET.
Not everyone needs therapy for the same reason. It’s a spectrum. It’s not just if you’re feeling empty inside and having trouble feeling anything at all, but also if you’re overwhelmed because you’re feeling too much. It’s not just if you’re too tired to get up in the morning but also if you’re too restless to go to sleep at night.
“But Dr. Rachel, I don’t know if I’m suffering enough to need therapy.”
Hey. You’re suffering. That’s enough.
You don’t have to be struggling a certain amount to justify feeling comfortable in your own skin. You don’t need to be hurting ‘enough’ to deserve healing.
“But, everyone else seems to be dealing with life just fine without a therapist.”
First, you don’t know that others aren’t seeing a therapist. It’s a very personal decision people often don’t share, and they don’t have to. Since this is private information, for all you know the reason they cope so well is because they have a better life balance due to talking to a therapist.
Second, you don’t know how they are dealing with it. In the age of social media, everyone wants to look like they have their lives together in that perfectly impossible way. They want to look like they do a 5-mile run every morning before tackling their day and only eat 100 calories to magically feel full. I don’t care what their Instagram looks like; no one actually lives like that.
Third, how others are handling something vs. how you are handling it is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter how much others are suffering compared to you. The plain and simple truth is that you don’t need to be suffering.
How did I get here?
People often seek therapy because they feel stuck in a loop of being restless, sensitive, empty, or tired. Something in their life feels like it’s repeating, and they don’t feel like they can move forward.
For some, they feel like it’s always been this way. They’ve been stuck with the same feelings, with life being the same level of ick as long as they can remember.
For others, it started with an impactful life event. Something that happened majorly changed their lives, making it feel like it hasn’t been the same since.
It’s time to RESET and get unstuck.
Things don’t have to be this way forever. You can get out of the loop, and you owe it to yourself to find healing and move forward. With therapy, you can get unstuck, and pursue a balanced existence where you can feel rested and excited to get up in the morning because your life feels secure and manageable.
I’m doing a blog series to unpack each of the key reasons people should see a therapist and also how each of these types will benefit from therapy. If you’re feeling restless, sensitive, empty, or tired, I want you to know there is a way to heal.
Stay tuned as I unpack RESET over the next few months, and if you or someone you love lines up with one or more of the RESET symptoms, feel free to reach out. I’d love to get you the help you need.
