When People Suggest You Seek Help for Your Anxiety, How Do You Feel?

[FiestyAnxiety]

[mightypillow]

It really depends on who says it and the tone of their voice, but for the most part I feel worthless.

[Otherside]

It depends, really.

Partly, I've had to accept that I need it. That there is something wrong with me and that I need help. It did take a while. It took a while for my parents to accept I needed help (anxiety began when I was 12). It took a lot of persuasion from the school for them to refer me to CAMHS, and a lot of reassurance that the fact that I was recieving therapy for a mental health problem would not come back to bite me in the future, and would not be "on my record" for insurance companies, credit agencies, future employers...

I guess you need to think though. How much is anxiety really beginning to become a...well, nuisance? How much of a problem is? Why would someone else think you need help? If it was meant in a malicious way or you don't know them, by all means, tell them to "F-off". But if it's family or close friends...maybe they're right. After all, we're not always the best judges of ourselves.

[compulsive]

I don't really care if someone suggests it but therapy is not an option for me for many reasons. I don't agree that therapy is a good or the best solution for everyone. I have made significant progress by myself in the last two years.

[Sadeyes]

I cry

[merc]

I've only ever had a few people suggest that I need help. The most influential one would be my husband and his encouragement that he didn't like seeing me killing myself over what he considers minor things and hiding out like a hermit. I'm actually not sure if therapy is going to work for me. She gave me a homework assignment of pulling my resume together. Like I've said before I know that I can do school and pass any subject, thats not the problem. It's dealing with people.

[Dust_in_the_wind]

It depends, really.

Partly, I've had to accept that I need it. That there is something wrong with me and that I need help. It did take a while. It took a while for my parents to accept I needed help (anxiety began when I was 12). It took a lot of persuasion from the school for them to refer me to CAMHS, and a lot of reassurance that the fact that I was recieving therapy for a mental health problem would not come back to bite me in the future, and would not be "on my record" for insurance companies, credit agencies, future employers...

I guess you need to think though. How much is anxiety really beginning to become a...well, nuisance? How much of a problem is? Why would someone else think you need help? If it was meant in a malicious way or you don't know them, by all means, tell them to "F-off". But if it's family or close friends...maybe they're right. After all, we're not always the best judges of ourselves.

great post.

It depends on the tone and how close i know someone to determine offensiveness.

[takethebiscuit]

Agree with what Otherside has written.

There's still some stigma surrounding having a mental health problem and seeking help for that problem. But that stigma is getting less and less as time goes on. Public figures and celebs have come out and talked about depression, anxiety etc and that's helped sparked discussion, debate and got many people to consider whether they need to seek help or not.

It's difficult to acknowledge that you have a problem and that you might need help for it. And it's most of the time your decision whether you want that help or not. If you can make progress on your own, great. And there are many people there to help should you need help.

If anxiety is seriously messing with your quality of life then it's probably time to get some help. That doesn't mean that you stop making progress on your own. In fact, you still make progress on your own when you're seeking help because you're the one putting the work in, making the changes, overcoming challenges/phobias etc. A therapist/doctor/counselor is more of a guide or a coach you can turn to when you need to.

A lot of therapists don't find it easy to seek help for their own problems. They often feel powerless and worthless because they've got all these skills and they have helped lots of people but they can't help themselves alone. Any doctor/therapist is likely to be familiar with the courage it takes to seek help for a mental health problem. And familiar with the feelings of being worthless and powerless.

[Edge of Calm]

I knew I needed help and was glad I sought it. I'm debating right now if I should go back for another round as the first time through CBT really helped me. But it would depend on the context the suggestion came in. If it was done to make fun of me, I would just feel awful. I had a former friend who at one time made fun of my disorder in front of many people and it was terrible. I wanted to vanish from the earth.

Now, if its coming from someone who really cares, I personally wouldn't take offense. I think they are suggesting it because they care.


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