Dealing with life can be tough at times. A crisis can come out of nowhere and flip everything upside down. And if there’s anything the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us it’s that no one is immune to these life-changing events. The good that came from this pandemic was a high demand for professional counselling that didn’t rely on physically being in the presence of someone else. Online counselling developed alongside the online adaptation of society and what came out the other end was solid proof that a large portion of our lives could be handled online.
We are all for social interactions and being physically close to our fellow homo sapiens. That’s a natural and healthy approach to life. Online counselling is, however, a very viable option to in-person counselling and comes with its own, unique benefits.
Do you need online counselling?
Most will only seek out any sort of professional support or counselling when they are in a bad spot and things have already gone sideways. This is often a response to a major life event that unearths underlying issues that you might not even have known were there, and it can affect you for a long period of time. Dealing with these issues needs to be done in order to live a happy, healthy life. If they are left to simmer underneath the surface, it will lead to bigger issues in the future.
It is also common practice to go to a physician and get a health check-up. The same goes for a dentist and our teeth. We want to maintain our teeth and body and check in occasionally to make sure we don’t have any issues. Doing this with your mental health is just as important and is something that needs to become the norm. Online counselling is a great option. Doing it from the comfort of your own home and in your own space and time is both comfortable as well as convenient and affordable. These are some of the reasons why online counselling might be a good idea:
Reign in those emotions
Feelings often come as responses to things around us. We can’t control our environment to always keep us happy, and we can’t blame ourselves for getting upset when some negative events happen in our lives. What we can do, on the other hand, is get better at taking charge of our emotional state and not letting the emotions take charge of us.
What will happen with healthy regulation of our emotions is that we can mitigate the negative things in life and allow ourselves to be happy more often. An online counsellor can help with talks and exercises to help you process and get control of your feelings.
Work & school is going south
Laying the foundation for a good and secure life and maintaining it can feel hard from time to time. Whenever we struggle with things in our personal life, it affects our performance in our academics and at work. Naturally, we don’t want to be struggling in any part of our life, hence why addressing the source of our issues in a healthy and sustainable way might be a good idea. An online counsellor will be able to help and give some guidance on the matter.
When healthy sleep and eat patterns go out the window
A common symptom of feeling mentally unwell for a longer period of time is a loss of appetite and disruptive sleep patterns. These need to be addressed since we need to eat and sleep properly to have the energy to deal with our daily lives and struggles.
Loss of sleep and appetite are two common symptoms of depression and anxiety, which is why they should be taken seriously, even though they might not seem so serious at the time.
An online counsellor can help break the bad habits and get you back to healthy eat and sleep patterns.
Relationship woes (romantic or other)
As social creatures, homo sapiens have a number of chemical responses in the brain that reward us for engaging in social interactions and building bonds. In the early life of mankind, the ability to create and maintain relationships could mean the difference between life and death. When we struggle to create bonds, we miss out on the good rewards that our brain gives us, which can take away some of the happiness in life.
Social interactions can feel tricky and are often based on our view of ourselves. With some help and support from a professional, you can get back into the right mindset and get on your path to a more rewarding social life.
Losing interest
As life goes on and the responsibilities of adulthood take a hold of our time, it’s easy to get a little drained emotionally, physically, and mentally. This might lead to losing interest in all the fun things you used to love. This isn’t necessarily because they aren’t as fun or engaging, but rather that your mind is now occupied by everything else in your life.
Regaining interest and finding the habit of getting back into your hobbies might feel hopeless, but it really isn’t. Connecting with an online counsellor is a great way to start heading down the fun path again.
Being grief-stricken
Grieving is a tough process and when we are in it, it can feel like it’s never going to end. Just like many other emotional processes in our lives, it doesn’t have a set time period before it passes. It can also look very different from person to person. That’s why talking to a professional might be a good idea to get the support and tools you need to get through it.
Physical manifestation
Being mentally or emotionally unwell doesn’t just affect the mind. Whether it is being constantly tired or irritable, or having frequent stomach pains or headaches; being emotionally unwell will physically manifest in one way or another.
Just addressing the physical symptoms might keep them at bay for a short time. But dealing with the source might get rid of them completely. An online counsellor can help.
Being the best version of yourself you can possibly be
In today’s society we are often identified by our achievements or how we are perceived by others. This is often a very skew version of who we really are and what we are capable of and can get in the way of our personal development.
Online counselling can help you find the real you, in which areas of your life you might be your own worst enemy, and how to ultimately become the best version of yourself that you can be.
Those unhealthy coping mechanisms
Unhealthy coping mechanisms such as substance abuse, acting out, denial, and many others are often romanticised by the media, making it more and more common and accepted in society. Unfortunately, these never work well in the long-term and are likely to develop into other issues.
Getting rid of a bad habit or an unhealthy coping mechanism and replacing it with healthy ones is a process that demands determination and support. An online counsellor can help you through this transition.
Trauma
Dealing with trauma is unfortunately something you might have to do at some point in your life. A trauma response doesn’t have a specific timeline or look a specific way. It can show in a myriad of ways and differ greatly from person to person, which is why it can take some time and effort to deal with.
Knowing how to deal with trauma is an important skill that most people don’t look into before it is too late. It always pays to be prepared and we only have one life to live, so we think it’s important to take proper care of ourselves while we can. Knowing how to handle hardships can be taught by a counsellor without you actually having to deal with any hardships first.
The benefits of online counselling
There are many benefits to receiving online counselling such as:
- Finding underlying issues and patterns in your life
- Addressing issues in the correct way
- Shifting the focus on your life back to you
- Improving self-consciousness and positive self-worth
- Less effort in making an appointment as well as the logistics of having regular check-ups
- Creating a toolkit to navigate life in a healthy way
- Cost-effective alternative to in-person counselling
- You can keep your mental health improvement to yourself since you are getting counselling from your home
Free Consultation
Can you see yourself in any situation or feeling described above? Do you want to find out if there is anything in your life that is holding you back from happiness? Do you want to find out how to get to where you want to be in life, emotionally? Reach out to us at info@personalonlinetherapy.com or complete the form below and we’ll get in touch as soon as possible. Start with a free consultation to find out if online therapy suits you.
