How do you know if you should see someone?

And by "someone" I mean a counselor/psych. We have free counseling services at school and I've been toying with the idea of checking it out, but I'm not sure if I even need to. I mostly just feel sad at night when I'm trying to get to sleep, and it doesn't get in the way of carrying out my day to day activities. It's more or less how I've felt for years--kind of down, but not in a persistent way. If nice things happen, I feel happy; it's just that these nice things don't happen too often.

I'm definitely not depressed, but I think I'd like someone to talk to every now and then. I just feel stupid for even considering the option because there are so many people they probably see regularly who are in a much worse shape and going through actual hardship. I'd feel kind of... emotionally spoiled, I guess? I don't know. I'm okay on my own but with all my close friends scattered across the country and quickly forgetting about my existence, I have no one to turn to.

What do you think? What kinds of things does counseling help with? And how do you know if your state is "bad enough" for it to actually be useful?

I think that anyone could potentially "get something" out of counceling. You are the best person to ask, and it does NOT mean that you have psychiatric problems.

So, I think you should try it if you want to


I did not like therapy as I do not really like to talk about personal things to ladies with big earings that sit behind desks and lecture you on caffiene and then have to look up in a book what to say about your diagnosis.


but, it helps MANY people, and there are A LOT of good listeners out there.

What kinds of things does it help ? well, anything you need help on.

YOU control the conversation, so, if you feel like talking ... go for it

I hope that helped

alonewanderer said:

I'd agree with counseling but not from a school because that "at-risk" (not my choice of words it's the schools) stigma stays with you for quite some time.

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By school I mean university. It's not so much for "at-risk" people--they refer the more serious cases--as it is a resource for students and faculty. It's pretty anonymous, although I called them once and they told me they had an intern listening in. I can only hope the intern does not attend the same university .

I wish there were a way to "preview" the counselor. Some people I click with, many I just cannot be comfortable with.

What exactly do you want to talk about? Just normal stuff, or personal stuff that's been bothering you? If it's just normal everyday chitchat, maybe you could start a conversation with the person next to you in class. (I know, may be harder than it sounds..)

Depends on what's worth more to you.

Your money? Or your comfort?

If your money is more important, then face your fears and talk to strangers and make friends.

If your comfort is more important, go ahead and shell out up to $40 (or more) an hour for a therapist.

Your call.

Teenage Dream said:

What exactly do you want to talk about? Just normal stuff, or personal stuff that's been bothering you? If it's just normal everyday chitchat, maybe you could start a conversation with the person next to you in class. (I know, may be harder than it sounds..)

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Well, I was thinking more like "cognitive therapy" type stuff... So I can learn how to change my way of thinking into something more productive. It would be just to sort of set me off in the right direction, I guess. It's true, though, that my goals for this are not very clear to even myself.

Badjedidude said:

Depends on what's worth more to you.

Your money? Or your comfort?

If your money is more important, then face your fears and talk to strangers and make friends.

If your comfort is more important, go ahead and shell out up to $40 (or more) an hour for a therapist.

Your call.

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My university offers free counseling services, so that's the only reason I am even looking into it. I don't think my issues run deep enough to need to spend that kind of money this early in life. Also, it's not just the friends bit--I have enough to keep me afloat, they just don't come easy and they go pretty quickly. It's more like this mental construct of the world that I've had for years that I know is keeping me from making the most of my life. I want to change it, but I don't know how to change something that's been the truth to me for as long as I can remember.

I think I'll go ahead and schedule one appointment, just to see what it's like. I figure it can't hurt, and there's a small chance it could help.

futurecatlady said:

I think I'll go ahead and schedule one appointment, just to see what it's like. I figure it can't hurt, and there's a small chance it could help.

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Well, whether things work out or not, I hope you do find a direction in which to travel as far as changing the mental construct of the world you mentioned. *hugs*

Personally, I'm not a big fan of therapy. I've never personally seen a miracle story where psychology/therapy actually helped. In my opinion, a lot of the time it seems to just feed into peoples' need for attention... so basically it ends up being just endless talking sessions. *shrug*

I'd personally prefer to square my shoulders and hit things head on, continuing to fight and adapt and figure things out for myself. Maybe that's a bit nutty, but it's my stubborn streak and it's how I am.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand:

Good luck!

Hey Futurecatlady: I wasnt a fan, but i work for alot of people. Don't think of it as "We'll their worse off, im not their".. Think of it as, can it help you. In anyway. Can even talking to an anonymous stranger who will listen intently for 30 minutes make me feel "a little better" if yes, than try it out. if its not for you, im sure you'll know.

Best wishes