If you are not well, tell yourself that you must get help. Not next week or next month, but tomorrow. If you are suffering from an illness, the most difficult words to say are I need help. And if the illness is a mental illness, it’s that much harder to deal with.
When your computer breaks down, you don’t hesitate to call a technical whiz to help out, now do you? And when your faucet leaks, you call a plumber, so …? Why then is it so problematic to make an appointment to visit a therapist, a psychologist or a psychiatrist? Could it be due to a mistaken belief that asking for help is a sign of weakness? We are in the year 2013 and people from all walks of life seek therapy nowadays.
I think that much of this supposed stigma lies in our own thoughts and beliefs about the issue at hand. If I think that I am seeking therapy because I am weak, then I will probably believe that others have the same view.
When my son needed the help of therapists, I was aware of the stigma but after attending two support groups, I no longer allowed it to happen and do you know what? My life changed drastically. Yes – for the better. Try it.