Relaxation Tip 10 - If you need it, get professional help

Depression, anxiety, worry. Trying to struggle through some of these issues on your own can be like trying to plug in with the wrong adaptor.  Let the professionals help you find the right one.   (David Algeo RobertsonCooper)

Talking is good as it forces us to actually articulate how we're feeling and in order to be able to articulate it to someone else, we have to really focus and give it some proper thought.

Then there's the saying "a problem shared is a problem halved".  Talking to a good friend or relative can be really beneficial in helping us unload and drill down to what is really bothering us.  Plus being listened to shows us that the other person really does care about us and we might even get some good suggestions.

Sometimes our friend or relative, however well meaning, just can't help us.  They may feel they don't know what to say, feel out of their depth or they are too emotionally involved with us to look at the situation objectively.   

Talking therapies come under many different names such as counselling or talking treatments but the name isn't as important as what is involved.  Talking therapies, as the name suggests, involves talking to a trained professional and can be helpful to anyone who is experiencing some kind of distress. You certainly don't have be diagnosed with a mental health problem to access or benefit from talking therapies.  

Talking therapies give people the chance to explore their thoughts and feelings and the effect they have on their behaviour and mood. Describing what’s going on in your head and how that makes you feel can help you notice any patterns which it may be helpful to change. It can help you work out where your negative feelings and ideas come from and why they are there.

Understanding all this can help people make positive changes by thinking or acting differently. Talking therapies can help people to take greater control of their lives and improve their confidence.

(www.mentalhealth.org.uk)

Where I live, we are very fortunate to have a talking therapies practitioner in all local GP surgeries and we can make an appointment directly without having to be referred by our GP.  I appreciate that this isn't the same everywhere but the professional help is there,it's just the route to access it might be different, but it's worthwhile finding out what is available where you live.