Why Do We Need Counselling?

Judith Murray November 01, 2011

It has been a long-held belief that one only goes to counselling if there is a serious problem that is too big for one to solve. Or if there are childhood traumas that have severely affected one’s adulthood. Or for many, if there are some relationships that need to be fixed. The truth is, most of us need counselling at least once in our lives. It is an exercise that frees the mind and liberates the soul into who we really are after an intense examination of self with the help of a counsellor.

Why go counselling?

Some people might think that they are absolutely fine, but little do they know how the most inconspicuous symptoms already ring warning bells for a counselling session. Heed these reasons why you should consider counselling:

You are in trouble way deeper than you think. You may assume that the normal body pains that you feel are just, well, normal. If you suffer from unexplained weekend headaches, intense cramps during your period, muscle pains behind your neck, shoulders, and back, and shallow sleep interrupted by frequent urination, then you are actually stressed out already. You may choose to disregard the problems that nag you every single day, but those little worries can accumulate and take its toll on your mental and psychological health. Always make it a habit to stop yourself whenever you feel like you are about to (yet again) push a problem away and refuse to deal with it. Choosing not to deal with problems will surely catch up on your health in the form of various physical aches and pains. And your body will continue to send signals that you are not well until you heed the warning signs.
You need to experience therapy at least once in your life. The exercise will give you the opportunity to take a closer look at how you are and how you are moving toward your life goals. Even though you believe that you are fine, a little check every so often is good for your mental well-being.
It’s always healthy to let it all out. With a counsellor, you can say even the worst thoughts and the craziest ideas without having to worry that he or she might judge you. A good, long narration of those long-overdue expressions of emotions might just be what you need at this point in your life.
You will learn to deal with problems on your own. If a trip to the counsellor is what you need to put all those thoughts in order, then by all means do so. Sometimes, all we need for us to realise what to do is to talk about our plans to someone else. Simply talking about our plans and hearing them gears up the mind to work full-time in making sense out of all those plans and reorganising them to form a completely grand plan.

Do not hesitate to seek the help and guidance of a counsellor to help you sort out your thoughts, emotions, relationship concerns, and even self-perception. You do not need to wait for a major tragedy or emotional breakdown for you to merit a visit to the counsellor. As with regular physical checkups, you also need to have your psychological and emotional well-being checked and maintained in order to prevent graver consequences in the future. As the wise people say, prevention is always better than cure.