Mental health is an integral part of overall health. Unfortunately, mental health issues are most often overlooked, undetected, or under-assessed, even when the World Health Organization or WHO has identified that half of all the mental illness starts at 14 years old. Mental illness is a touchy subject and a taboo to some people.
Even when the numbers are rising, the social stigma concerning these are still prevalent and is one of the reasons why many individuals opt not to seek help or assistance. People don’t want others to know they are seeking therapy. Good thing that there are psychology clinics that exercise discretion and sensitivity for their clients that need help.
Psychology Clinics
Clinical psychology is a branch in psychology which focuses on diagnosing and treating mental, behavioral and emotional disorders. Clinical psychology was first a phrase coined by Lightner Witmer in 1907, after some years of helping children with learning disabilities. A psychology clinic like Western Plain Psychology offers support for various issues like depression, relationships, anger, and others to ensure that individuals can cope with their societal functions.
There is often a stigma with approaching psychology clinics because there is a misconception that individuals who need these services are mentally ill and unwell, with the lack of knowledge that these clinics also cater to counseling psychology to help with mental distress and interpersonal functioning.
Benefits of Visiting Psychology Clinics
1. Not feeling alone
There are times where you think that you aren’t able to share your problems with anyone. It could be because of the thought of being judged or misunderstood by your family or close friends that worry you when you start to open up. However, with someone who’s practically a stranger could make talking freely much easier.
It’s better when you don’t feel alone because here some of the things that can happen when someone is lonely:
● Feelings of loneliness even in the presence of others or surrounded by people
● Increased stress levels
● Difficulty in sleeping at night
● Decrease in self-esteem
2. Share in your emotional strain
The most common people do is bottle emotions as long as they can. In instances where it’s no longer something one can contain, it can lead to more harmful things like self-harm, inflicting pain to oneself, or sudden bursts of aggression. There are also times where a person chooses to cry alone, in fear of being called a drama queen.
With the help of a psychologist, you can confide to one person about all the emotions you can have, determine the root cause, and take steps to resolve these issues so that your emotions no longer affect your mood, behavior, family, or career.
3. Presence of a neutral party
For those who have issues with relationships, having a psychologist is beneficial because there is a presence of a neutral party. Whether it’s for a couple, a husband and wife, a mother-daughter, or other kinds of relationships, a psychologist can serve as a mediator between the two parties as they vent their issues and frustrations.
When there is a neutral party, one party will be presented with the perspective of the other without bias.
4. Having a different perspective
When you’re really worried or anxious, it could be difficult to believe that you can get past a particular phase or a problem in your life. However, when you verbalize your thoughts to someone else, it allows you to be able to examine your worries from a different view. Psychologists can prompt you with questions to shed light on the issue and give you another perspective of it, and you’ll realize it’s not as bad or serious as you imagined it to be.
5. Better self-awareness
There could be times where you have difficulty in discerning between your intuition and inner critic. With the ability to talk about your emotions with someone else, you can achieve a higher degree of self-awareness that you may not have been able to see without the support of the other person.
Self-awareness is vital to every individual because:
● You will have a clear perception of yourself such as your strengths, weaknesses, emotions, motivation, among others.
● You will understand how other people perceive you.
● You’re able to accept more things about you and others.
● You will have more peace with yourself, shutting up the inner critic that seems to always give you self-doubt.
6. Coping better with negative emotions
Many individuals seek professional help to deal with stress, pain, grief, or even anger. When you’re able to unload your emotions, there will be lesser chances of sudden bursts of aggression or other behaviors that could affect other aspects in your life. You will be taught to identify what and when these emotions are triggered, pinpoint your initial reactions, and given suggestions on how to handle these kinds of feelings.
Here are some things that happen when you aren’t able to cope with negative emotions:
● You will be continually be anxious or fearful.
● Your chronic anger can increase your risk for dementia.
● You increase your risk for heart attack when you suppress emotions.
● Your societal functions and relationships can be affected.
7. Improving overall health
Once you have better mental health, your overall well-being also improves. When an individual seeks psychological help, many advantages have been seen to develop over time. There is a domino effect of positive feelings rather than having negative thoughts which could even result in self-harm.
Some signs of improved overall health are:
● Better sleep
● More energy
● Fewer mood swings, and
● Better appetite
● More positive outlook in life
Final Thoughts
Despite the presence of societal stigma, psychological clinics have been seen to be exceedingly beneficial by individuals who have sought for support. With such a need for these kinds of services, online counseling has even received its part of the study. If you’re having distressed feelings and the benefits outlined in this article seems to be what you need, don’t hesitate to reach out for support.