Do I Need Therapy?

16 Signs You Need or Can Benefit From Therapy

If you’re experiencing any of the following, it may be time to seek help, whether it’s from a licensed therapist or mental health professional. 

1. Irregular sleep habits

Studies show that sleeping too much, or not getting enough sleep, is a classic sign that something else may be going on. Sleep and mental health are very closely related. When you’re not getting enough sleep, you might begin to have more negative thoughts or become more emotional. 

Sleep issues are more common for those with depression, anxiety, ADHD, and bipolar disorder.

2. Feeling incredibly overwhelmed

Feeling overwhelmed can affect how you think and act, impacting your mental health condition. It can make it hard to navigate the very basics of life, as you may be experiencing intense and extreme emotional distress that results in difficulty making rational decisions. You might even find yourself increasingly unable to handle basic daily functions.

People who feel emotionally overwhelmed may be extremely stressed and expressing emotional distress, going through relationship or job issues, or have experienced serious trauma.

3. Avoiding social situations

If you’ve recently begun to withdraw from social situations and friends or isolate yourself, you may be dealing with something more than just feeling a little bit blue or down. A change in behavior when it comes to how social you are can be a telltale sign that it may be time to think about getting therapy — especially if you find you’re avoiding things you once enjoyed or loved doing.

Social anxiety can result in going to great lengths to not have to interact in social settings. 

4. Feelings of hopeless

Are you constantly thinking: do I need to see a therapist? Do you feel hopeless more days than not? Feeling hopeless can create a spiral of negative thinking. It can make seeing the light at the end of a tunnel incredibly difficult. 

Feelings of hopelessness may be a sign of depression, a serious but common mood disorder that can affect how you think, feel, and act. Depression affects about 1 out of 6 adults at one point in their life. 

5. Inability to control your emotions

Emotional instability is a sign you might be in mental health decline. It might feel like it’s increasingly difficult to respond to your emotions. The cause can be related to either a mental health condition or a situational event in your life. Therapy may be able to help both.

The inability to control emotions tends to be a symptom of mood and anxiety disorders.

6. You’re consumed by intrusive thoughts

Have your thoughts become intrusive? Are they starting to take over your days? If you’re consumed with anxiety-riddled thoughts, you might want to consider therapy to help you break your thought patterns. Learning how to accept or challenge your thoughts and how to manage them so you can live a healthy, productive life are all byproducts of the right therapist and effective therapy. 

Intrusive thoughts may be the result of extreme stress or anxiety. 

7. You just don’t care

Failing to care about your life is a sign that your mental health is suffering. Feeling irritable all the time, or like you just don’t have the energy or care enough to do basic things like shower regularly, get out of bed, or show up for work or school — these are all signs that it’s time to seek help.

Not caring is common in people who have clinical depression, also known as major depressive disorder.

8. Change in eating habits

If you suddenly begin eating more or less than what’s normal for you, you may be experiencing what’s known as emotional eating. People who are having mental health struggles often see a change in their eating habits. This can become problematic when it progresses into disordered eating, which is a range of eating disorders like bulimia, anorexia, or binge eating disorder. 

Therapy can help with emotional eating, which is common in people who are experiencing mental health struggles.

9. Work or school issues

When a mental health issue leads to difficulty being productive in school or work, you can begin feeling even more overwhelmed. Additional stress that stems from knowing you’re not doing your best or living up to expectations can quickly culminate into bigger problems. 

Having issues focusing on work or school can result from any number of mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and more. 

10. Trauma

Past trauma can interfere with how you relate to people or anything else in your life. Trauma can be difficult to overcome on your own, but with therapy, it is possible. If you’ve recently experienced a trauma, or are dealing with an old traumatic experience that’s coming to the surface, you might want to try trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT has been found very effective in helping people overcome negative thought patterns related to their trauma so they can move past it. Traumatic experiences like past abuse, addiction, abandonment issues, and more can lead to needing help.

11. Grief

Grief can be tricky because there’s no timeline or one way people do it. But it’s also incredibly difficult to navigate on your own. There is no hard rule about how long someone should take to go through the grieving process. But if your grief has been extended and is now affecting your daily life, you might want to consider grief therapy.

It’s important to remember that grief isn’t always the result of a death. It’s common to grieve the loss of a job, a relationship, a major move, and more.

12. Relationship problems

Relationship issues can serve as a significant indicator that therapy might be beneficial. If you find yourself frequently arguing with your partner, feeling dissatisfied, or experiencing communication breakdowns that you can’t seem to resolve, these might be signs you need therapy. Relationship problems can often mask deeper individual issues that can be explored and addressed in talk therapy.

It’s often in the context of our relationships that our most intense and difficult emotions come to the surface. A therapist can help you understand these patterns and work towards better mental health, both individually and in your relationships.

“When mental health issues aren’t addressed, there’s a risk of worsening symptoms and it may take longer for symptom relief when they are finally addressed.”

– Talkspace therapist Amy Cirbus, PhD, LMHC

13. Feeling worried or anxious regularly

Experiencing worry or anxiety occasionally is a normal part of life, but when these feelings become overwhelming or a daily occurrence, it might indicate a deeper mental health concern. Frequent anxiety can be debilitating, affecting your ability to function normally in your daily life.

Consider discussing your anxiety with a mental health professional if it’s interfering with your happiness and ability to cope. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a particularly effective therapy for anxiety, as it helps you change negative thought patterns and behaviors.

14. Feeling depressed

Depression deeply affects your emotional state, leading to a significant impact on your day-to-day life. It’s not just severe sadness but a profound emptiness that may prevent you from enjoying life, affecting your productivity at work and your relationships at home.

Recognizing these feelings and understanding their impact can be the first steps toward finding a way to cope with them.

15. Struggling to cope with challenges

When ordinary challenges start to feel overwhelming, it can be a signal that you might not be managing stress effectively. This constant state of overwhelm can diminish your enjoyment of life and make you feel as though you’re always in recovery mode from one day to the next.

Learning new strategies to handle life’s pressures can make a significant difference in your daily contentment and effectiveness.

16. Difficulty controlling anger

While anger is a natural and sometimes necessary emotion, it becomes a concern when it’s out of proportion to the situation at hand. If your anger feels uncontrollable, erupts frequently, or impacts your relationships, it’s important to consider what’s driving these intense reactions.

Finding constructive ways to express anger and frustration can greatly improve your interactions and personal health.