With the COVID-19 pandemic, economic insecurity, and social unrest many of us are feeling on-edge and apprehensive about the uncertainty of it all. It is clear that many people are struggling with a whole array of issues that are driving them to seek help now.
The pandemic has led many people to experience social isolation from friends and family, feel consumed with financial stress and anxiety, and are lacking the normal everyday distractions to divert their attention away from underlying issues.
As a result, many are at higher risk of experiencing a resurgence of negative mental health symptoms, relapsing on drugs or alcohol, and engaging in self-destructive behavior as they struggle to cope with a new set of stressors and life challenges without much needed guidance and support.
Let’s explore several reasons why it’s important to seek therapy now, instead of waiting until it’s too late.
4 Reasons to Seek Therapy Now
1) Resurgence of Symptoms or Increased Cravings for Drugs or Alcohol
Many of us are experiencing a great deal of stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a resurgence of once controlled mental health symptoms or has drastically increased cravings for drugs and alcohol.
We felt we had it all together before the pandemic, but have noticed things starting feel out of our control and are gradually falling apart. We felt confident in our ability to handle cravings to use drugs and alcohol, but have started entertaining relapse and have been struggling to shake off temptations to use. We’re worried about “going back” to those self-destructive thoughts and behaviors that ruined our life and harmed our relationships, but don’t know what to do to stop the dam from breaking.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many people to see a return of once controlled negative mental health symptoms or cravings for drugs and alcohol. While some are able to manage these symptoms on their own, many need the guidance and support of a professional therapy to help them navigate a new set of challenges and avoid setbacks to their recovery.
2) Loss of Essential Social Support Network
While social distancing is a good way to reduce infectious disease transmission in the short-term, it has become exceedingly detrimental to our mental health in the long-run. Since the start of the pandemic and the shutdown of businesses and social venues, many of us have lost important social support networks (or have experienced significantly reduced social contact with supportive people) that are essential to our mental wellness and recovery.
Many clients have reported to me that they feel more isolated and alone than ever before, and as a result have been feeling more depressed, anxious, and hopeless. Recovering addicts who relied on 12 Step meetings as their primary point of sober social contact have discussed losing vital connections to the people in recovery who encouraged and guided them when they experience cravings or urges to use.
Therapy helps bridge those feelings of isolation and disconnection, while providing the desired support and direction clients need to handle the stress exacerbated COVID-19 pandemic, while also supporting their recovery from mental illness and addiction.
3) Hitting a Wall
A growing number of people report hitting a wall with the pandemic. They are discovering the coping skills they have been using to manage daily stressors and mental health symptoms are no longer working, and are now at a significantly high risk for a resurgence of self-destructive behaviors and relapse without appropriate intervention and support.
With the pandemic, many are experiencing what we therapists call “decompensation”, which means a client becomes both stagnant in their personal growth and actually start to regress back to self-defeating thoughts and behaviors they previously overcame.
If you’re feeling like you too have hit a wall and are no longer progressing towards your goals for mental wellness and recovery or feel like you cannot overcome current personal challenges, now is the time to seek professional help before things worsen.
4) An Opportunity to Strengthen Your Mental Wellness & Recovery Journey
While the COVID-19 pandemic may have left you feeling anxious or defeated, challenging times like this are great opportunities for growth… to grow our resilience, expand our coping skills tool belt, and strengthen our mental wellness and recovery journey.
Reflect on some of your favorite heroes (a couple of mine are Batman and Bruce Lee). What about your hero do you find inspirational? What makes them strong and courageous? For me, I am inspired by how Bruce Wayne transformed his grief over the death of his parents into helping the city of Gotham as Batman; or how Bruce Lee overcame racism and rejection to become a renown martial artist, teacher, and Hollywood actor.
The most inspirational aspect all heroes have in common is how they transform adversity into opportunities for personal growth. They transformed fear into courage; rejection into motivation; pain into healing; and catastrophe into success.
Therapy can help you use the challenges put forth by the pandemic as opportunities to strengthen your mental wellness, your relationships, and your recovery journey.
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Do you recognize yourself in any of these reasons? You are not alone. No matter how impossible or unbearable your situation may seem, understand there is possibility and hope. With therapy that addresses the heart of your issues (along with giving you the skills and confidence to handle challenging situations) you can learn to thrive – even in the most awful situations.
If you having difficulty navigating your current life situation, coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, or want to strengthen your recovery, contact me by phone or email for a free consultation or request an appointment below.
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