I don’t like openly admitting that I need counseling to get through my issues because of my anxiety. There is a stigma that goes along with going to counseling, and it isn’t a nice one. Sometimes we cannot get through our problems alone and we need some help (not just venting to your best friend). I have come to learn that admitting you need help isn’t a bad thing at all. It simply means your ready for the change you need.

I was very excited to start college when I was a freshman, but I didn’t realize how stressful the first semester was going to be. During my first semester of college I tried to do too much and I got very overloaded. I have always been a stress-filled, tense person (or at least I think I am). After a few months of trying to deal with my stress on my own it got to be too much. I couldn’t deal with my panic attacks or stress, it was very hard for me to calm down. I needed some professional help with dealing with my stress, I never learned how to properly handle it.

I went to the doctor to talk about it and maybe get some medication or see some other options that could help me deal with my stress. The medication didn’t work and it wasn’t helping me with my stress. Then I decided to try counseling and it was the best decision I have made.

Counseling helped me train my brain to think in different ways so I either don’t stress about something or can calm myself down. Counseling also helped me understand my anxiety more and boost my self-esteem. Counseling isn’t just talking to someone and getting something off your chest, you can do that with your friends. It is more than just talking to someone, its helping you through your issues in a healthy way.

Counseling isn’t easy, you have to put in hard work. You have to want to change for the change to happen. If your counselor tells you that they want you to practice thinking differently or do a specific action, its important you do it. You need to be willing to do whatever the counselor says for you to change and to get the help that you need.

If you feel overloaded, and venting to your best friend every once a while isn’t working, try counseling. It has so much valuable information and techniques to offer. Even if you only go once to learn how to deal with stress, or if you go to just to talk something out, I promise you will benefit from it in some way.