3 Reasons to Start Therapy Today

Mental health awareness has come a long way in recent years, with more people seeking out therapy than ever before. While in-person services decreased during the pandemic, telehealth support increased substantially, primarily with focus on anxiety disorders (McBain 2023). However, despite the increase in seeking counseling, many people still have difficulty taking the first step toward getting support, and, most often, it’s because they don’t know when to do it. 

Ask any mental health provider and they’ll tell you: It’s always a good time to seek therapy. Often, we think something needs to be wrong in order to seek professional support. However, even though therapists are trained in treating mental health disorders, many therapists also work through a preventative care lens. Establishing a relationship with someone who creates a safe place full of trust, acceptance, and compassion means that when greater challenges arise, you won’t have to start from scratch getting the help you need. If you wait to find a therapist, you may find that it can become an additional stressor during an already stressful time.

Three Reasons to Start Therapy Today

1. You want to prepare for the upcoming fall/winter seasons. 

While the cooler weather that comes with fall is a reprieve from the hot temperatures of summer, for some, the gloomier weather and shorter days can trigger a change in mood and functioning. Seasonal affective disorder, a subset of Major Depression Disorder, can occur to between 1-9% of the U.S. population, but the prevalence is likely higher due to this disorder often being unreported and underdiagnosed (Melrose 2015). If you notice you tend to have lower moods, energy, or motivation during the fall and winter seasons, it may be helpful to seek support ahead of this pattern to be better equipped to navigate the winter months this year and in years to come. 

2. You start feeling unlike your usual self. 

You are the expert of you. If you begin to notice that you are experiencing higher than usual levels of anxiety, depression, or stress symptoms, it may be worth seeking support in order to avoid worsening manifestations. Just like when you notice a new ache in your knee, you want to get it checked out before it becomes detrimental. Since it can be difficult for some to identify those changes in their mental health, paying attention to your body can help clue you in, as well. We often see an impact on sleep, appetite, energy, and motivation with most mental health disorders. Using those as alerts to seek help can be very helpful in getting you to feel like yourself again.

3. You are ready to dig deeper. 

Therapy is great for addressing mental health disorders and learning coping skills to navigate the world around us. However, it can also be a wonderful place to explore identity, relationships, and values. We don’t often have the space to reflect on who we are and what we’ve been through. When you engage in mental health counseling, you can begin to dig deeper and look more closely at yourself and what makes you, you. People often begin to notice patterns of behaviors, sticking points, and true wants and needs when they participate in therapy. Having a better understanding of ourselves can further help support healthy coping skills to navigate life’s challenges. 

We know that preventative care is not accessible for many people due to finances, time, stigma around mental health, and other barriers in our healthcare system. At NCCC, we do our best to break down these barriers by taking insurance and offering sliding scale or low fee sessions.

Wherever you are in your mental health journey, know that you are not alone. The right time to seek mental health support is when you are ready and willing - and we’ll be here for you when you are. 

Resources

McBain, R. K., Cantor, J., Pera, M. F., Breslau, J., Bravata, D. M., & Whaley, C. M. (2023). Mental

Health Service Utilization Rates Among Commercially Insured Adults in the US During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA health forum, 4(1), e224936. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2022.4936

Melrose S. (2015). Seasonal Affective Disorder: An Overview of Assessment and Treatment

Approaches. Depression research and treatment, 2015, 178564. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/178564