It can be hard to know when you need help and even after you know it, it can be hard to accept the fact and actually go and get help. So many people think that counseling is something for weak people - something that you only need when you are forced into it, but that is far from being true. Counseling is truly life changing for me and for those around me (that have done it in the past). There is no need to be afraid to talk to someone or get help because at the end of the day, you are only bettering yourself and you have absolutely nothing to lose.
In fact, you will gain a lot from counseling. More than you will expect, probably. Here are just a few of those ways that counseling can help you and others, especially if you are depressed:
You will be held accountable
Accountability is so important. I truly think that it is the difference between success and failure. Why? Because when people do not take accountability, things start to go awry. When people do have accountability over their actions, they automatically are ready to take it on, in order to try to remedy the issue. While accountability should always start and end with the individual, it is so helpful to have someone hold you accountable, especially in the beginning and when it gets hard to keep going on. People thrive when they feel like they cannot (or should not) let someone else down. For example, you are more likely to go workout when you do not want to when you know that someone is waiting for you. That’s the basis of accountability and when you get help, you will be held accountable for continuing on your path to getting better. Accountability helps people know that they will be accountable, it gives people in your life an opportunity to support you, and it encourages you to do better.
You can see your situation from another view
It’s always good to get a different view on a situation. So many times, people fall into a routine that is easy and they do not even realize that it is hurting them. The same can be said for love - it is blind and even if you are in a ‘bad’ relationship, it is hard to see that without looking from the outside in. Going to counseling is the perfect way to see your situation from another view because you will get an unbiased opinion from a professional.
Counselors can teach you valuable skills
Counselors can definitely help you realize that you are depressed and need to do something about it and also give you valuable skills that you can learn to use in between your counseling sessions, in order to improve your stress and depression when you need it the most. Ray of Hope Counseling Services is a great option if you are looking for a counselor because they have seven convenient locations all throughout Georgia. They help heal and strengthen people in order to overcome life changes and challenges, so if you are in need of help when it comes to depression, stress, or other issues, please consider reaching out to Ray of Hope Counseling Services.
Lynn Thompson Umstead is the founder and clinical director of Ray of Hope Counseling Services. She is a trained mental health professional, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Master’s of Science degree in Clinical Psychology. Lynn strives to meet clients where they are - she helps the client navigate through their past to help with a better understanding toward how to achieve goals for a happier healthier life. She also has extensive training and experience working with relationship issues and is a Certified Imago Couples Counselor. Her educational training is primarily cognitive-behavioral, which means your thoughts and behaviors will be a focus in the therapy process. However, Lynn is eclectic in her approach in order to meet the individual needs of her clients. She believes exploring your emotions and feelings is of utmost importance. The ultimate goals of counseling would be to gain self-awareness into what is disturbing you; explore and understand your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; to seek a greater sense of happiness and contentment; and for you to choose and maintain behavioral changes.
You will learn to love yourself
This is the most important reason of all - get help so that you can learn to love yourself. The Odyssey Online says, “When you come to love yourself, you stop settling in all aspects of the word. You don't settle for half-baked love, you don't settle for fair-weather friends, you don't settle for being unappreciated. You. Don't. Settle. You know your own worth and you refuse to give yourself any less than you deserve. You become more aware of just how much you matter, and if other people aren't going to treat you in such a way then you simply do not have time to waste on them.
Speaking of time, your time becomes so much more valuable to you once you decide to love yourself. You stop going to events you don't want to be at just to make someone happy because you have better things to do. You could be spending that time doing something productive or being with people that make your time worthwhile. Time is precious, it's one of the only factors in your life that cannot be changed, and when you appreciate yourself you stop spending it doing things that don't hold value to you or make you better.
Having the capacity to cherish yourself improves you such a great amount at adoring other individuals. You turn out to be better at adoring your accomplice, your companions, your family, and even outsiders. You quit putting other individuals down and rather attempt to lift them up, you endeavor to get them to welcome themselves as much as you do. By cherishing yourself, you dispose of the requirement for individuals to promise you that you are keen, or lovely, or clever in light of the fact that you realize you are. All that time that used to be spent attempting to improve yourself feel would now be able to be spent on the general population around you.
Now don't get me wrong; loving yourself is about your physical being too. "Treat yo self," becomes a reality, and you say it often. You find yourself being treated to relaxation time, pampering, shopping sprees and diners not by a date, but by your own self. Knowing your worth makes you act on it, you truly believe you are worthy of your own time and you're going to spend it however you want, be it with a well-deserved nap or a full-sized cheesecake and no regrets.
Life is too short to spend it trying to make other people happy and neglecting yourself in the process. Once you've come to the realization that no one is going to take care of you quite like you can, loving and appreciating yourself becomes so crucial to a truly happy existence. So keep calm and love on darling.”
