There are two main purposes counseling serves. The first would be to understand and work through an issue that is, or has been, causing distress in one’s life. These would be things like persistent anxious thoughts, or invasive sadness that permeates throughout the day. The second would be to prevent a possible issue from surfacing. This would look like preparing for big life transitions such as: college, new jobs, getting married, having children, moving to new places. This second purpose can also look like educating yourself on mental illness that runs in the family and learning warning signs/coping tools in case you start to see them show up in your life or your family member’s lives.
It is important to remember that you are not alone. Everyone is living with some level of discomfort in his or her life, whether it is: the impact of a stressful job, the isolation that can come from changing friend circles, or just the doldrums of falling into a routine that locks significant joy. We tend to define a noticeable level of distress based upon frequency and intensity. Now this can seems subjective because everyone defines stress/pain differently. However, if you do feel impaired by persistent feelings, thought, or behaviors, it may benefit you to give counseling a try.
The gift of counseling is that you have dedicated space and time each week to analyze and work through troubling issues with a trained and unbiased professional. Outside of counseling we usually do not make a habit of looking at painful things because, well… their painful. The counseling room is a safe place to examine life and learn new skills that may benefit your living style.