Can a chat with your friends/mates help when feeling stressed or down?
Absolutely!! Good friends often help us through tricky patches in our lives. It’s common for people to have created behavioural habits, patterns that are so entrenched that we don’t notice that we do them. Sometimes friends can help, by pointing them out, but often it’s difficult to hear the truth about ourselves. Much of the time, it’s easy to become defensive or stubborn to hearing what’s being said.
What’s different about chatting with a counsellor/psychologist?
Being an outsider in your life, they have no emotional involvement in your everyday life. Many people find exploring their emotions a daunting prospect, often afraid of the unknown, and worry about ‘what others think’. A counsellor/psychologist is trained to support you at the pace you need and help you work through the natural defence responses.
Individuals can use counselling to explore their emotional, mental, spiritual well-being, in a non-judgement environment. Personal growth is often challenging and encouragement from a counsellor/psychologist can assist you through the tough spots.
So how can all this assist my health?
As with most things, there are no guarantees. By freeing up their minds/emotions, many clients find that there is an improvement in their general sense of well-being, which often extends to their physical side too.
Some people change overnight, some take years. But that’s for you to decide. A counsellor/psychologist can encourage you, as much as you would like, if change is what you desire.