Anxiety
Anxiety is a natural and sometimes even adaptive part of being human. It can also cause problems if it becomes too much of a part of your daily life. Sometimes, anxiety interferes with essential aspects of functioning, resulting in sleep disruption, difficulty with relationships, feelings of physical pain or stress, excessive sweating, difficulty in social situations, intrusive thoughts or feelings, and in extreme cases, panic attacks. Personal therapy provides a safe venue to explore the roots of these uncomfortable feelings. Understanding anxiety is the first step to alleviating it.
Depression
Depression is one of the most common issues treated in counseling. It can look different for different people, with experiences ranging from sustained apathy or indifference to profound sadness. It can be a contributor to sleep difficulties, weight gain or loss, lack of motivation, agitation, confusion, and disorganization. With such varied manifestations, depression often has effects on relationships with family, coworkers, and friends.
Psychotherapy often provides a starting point to explore personal causes of depression. Having a consistent venue in which to objectively explore different areas of stagnation, conflict, sadness, or guilt can allow for insight and relief.
Mood Instability
Do you have trouble staying calm, or managing anger? Do “little things” make you feel inappropriate stress? Sometimes even the smallest things can seem overwhelming, and can result in our emotions feeling out of control. Managing emotions involves becoming mindful of triggers, learning coping mechanisms, and understanding larger patterns. Starting therapy can be a good way to learn how to manage emotions more effectively.
Personal and Career Identity Development
Identity is shaped by many influences. Who you are is informed by biology, family, culture, race, religion, personal beliefs, and education. As we navigate these different spheres of identity and move through different levels of education, we begin to hone in on a sense of interest in meaningful tasks in school, then at work. This translates to a career identity. Understanding how to balance these influences and construct a meaningful, dynamic and mature personal and career identity can lead to a more fulfilling life and can start with exploration in therapy.
Understanding Relationships
No matter how satisfied we are with our relationships, they require consistent work, understanding, and compromise. Being in therapy can help to explore relationship patterns, uncover dynamics unique to a person’s history, and identify ways in we both contribute to and detract from wellness in our relationships.
Dealing with Change
Our lives are always changing: a new job, a new friendship or relationship, an illness, a graduation, or even the loss of a loved one are all different types of transitions. Transitions come in all shapes and sizes. A larger scale transition like a break up, job change, or apartment move may have a different effect on our life than a medium scale transition like needing to work from home for a week because of the flu, and a small scale transition is like unexpectedly taking the bus instead of the subway because of weekend construction. Transitions can be both exciting and challenging. While trying new things can be refreshing, many people find comfort in their daily routines. Therapy can offer a safe space to plan for, cope with, and grow constructively through life’s many changes.