Do I Need Therapy?

Life revolves around an unlimited amount of experiences, relationships, and eventually memories that follow us throughout time. Understanding the things that occur in one’s life can be challenging sometimes too, especially if things create stress and despair. These events start to interfere with life and moments like these seem unmanageable or overwhelming. Luckily therapy can help.

If you are feeling like the impact of trauma is interfering in your life or you are struggling with depression or anxiety, you may want to consider therapy. Below is a list of helpful questions to help you know if you need therapy.

Do you wonder if therapy might benefit you?
Do you want someone to talk with?
Do you want extra support from someone who doesn’t know you personally and is going to just focus on your problems, not theirs? Therapy is focused solely on you and your needs.
Do you have low self-esteem or feel bad about yourself?
Are you having problems in your relationship(s)?
Do you feel depressed, anxious or worry a lot?
Have you been raped or sexually assaulted?
Do you avoid talking about it or is it “haunting” you?
Are you a victim of a violent crime?
Do you avoid talking about it or is it “haunting” you?
Are you a survivor or childhood physical or sexual abuse, neglect or emotional abuse?
Do you think it is still effecting you? Do other people tell you that it might be impacting you even when you don’t think so?
Am you jealous of people giving your boyfriend/girlfriend/significant other attention even if you know they are just friends?
Has someone you loved recently died or died a long time ago but you haven’t been able to grieve? Do you need a place to talk about this?
Do you feel sad, anxious, moody or angry often?
Do you cry a lot, feel hopeless, worthless?
Do you avoid your feelings?
Do you frequently feel afraid or scared?
Do you have trouble leaving your house or being in large crowds? Do you have easily overwhelmed in grocery stores or other larger stores? Do you ever feel like you have to leave because it is too overwhelming? Have you ever left a store because it was so overwhelming? Do you avoid crowds and/or large stores?
Do you become really sad, anxious, angry, enraged, or emotional to the point that it seems excessive to you or to others?
Do you use sex, drugs, alcohol, relationships, exercise, eating, etc. to avoid pain?
Are you addicted to anything?
Do you feel out of control?
Am you having trouble keeping things together?
Do you have a pattern of problems in your relationships?
Do you avoid having relationships because you don’t want to get hurt or am afraid you will hurt someone?
Am you afraid of men or women because you have been hurt in the past?
Do you avoid sex?
Do you have sex to avoid intimacy or forming a relationship with someone else?
Do you lie?
Do you have uncontrollable outbursts of anger?
Do you have rage?
Do you have panic attacks or anxiety attacks?
Do you do things that you know are wrong but just can’t seem to stop them and don’t know why?
Do you feel like you need help but are afraid to ask for it?
Do other people suggest that therapy may be helpful to you?
Would you like to get support from someone who has no other agenda than just to be there for YOU for a change?
Are you having thoughts or fantasies about dying or want to kill yourself?
Do you ever cut, scratch, burn or hurt yourself intentionally?
Do you think about doing things to hurt yourself but don’t act on it?
Do you wish you could die, but wouldn’t take your own life? Do you think about suicide, whether you would do or not?
Have you been abused as a child or an adult?
Have you ever hurt another person or an animal?
Have you ever abused someone like you were abused?
Have you ever had sexual contact with a child or teen?
Do you get so angry that you want to hurt another person?
Do you steal?
Do you often feel as though you are not fully present, like you are in a fog or everything around you feels surreal?
Does time pass and you don’t know what happened when it passed?
Do you ever feel like, or wonder that maybe there is someone else inside my head or do you have other identities?
Do you still have imaginary friends that are real to me even though you am older than 10?

Results: Did you answer yes to any of these questions? If so, you may benefit from therapy.

Some of these questions assess trauma responses that are mild but disruptive to one’s life, and other questions serve to reveal more serious problems. If you answered yes to any of the disruptive questions, it’s still a good idea to seek out help. The list contains a variety of trauma reactions from varying levels of traumatic responses. For example, one may have problems with depression, anxiety, stress, relationships, and/or feel generally out of control, but seem to be somehow holding it together day to day. For these people, therapy can be very helpful and enjoyable because results would be seen quick.

If you found yourself answering yes to many more questions, it is likely you should consult with a therapist. Therapy is best for helping prevent crisis or more problems. The hardest part about therapy is to initially seek it. This is also true for those who have gone to see a therapist in the past. It is very common for people to see a therapist even if it isn’t necessary. Most therapists have more people who see them for support than because they “NEED” they seek their help. It is helpful to have someone who isn’t asking for something in return from you, which is usually how many people about talking to friends and family. That is a big advantage of therapy – having a person who is focused on your well-being, who doesn’t know everyone else in your life.

Other reasons to consider therapy;

If you are being abused by someone else or are abusing someone else
If you fantasize about sex with children, teens (if you are an adult), or violent sex with another person
If you have had sexual contact with children or teens
If you are physically and verbally abusive with others including animals
If you are scared to ask for help, know that everyone is afraid to ask for help. This is normal. The therapists at Los Angeles Therapy Network are experienced in working with these types of problems, and if we are not a good match with you, we can refer you to someone who will be. But no matter what, call us, or another therapist for help, even if you think you don’t need it. Pick up the phone and reach out.

LA Therapy Network (323) 829-3548