Ask a therapist > Depression > What do I do if I'm worried about my mental health?

What do I do if I'm worried about my mental health?

I have been feeling not really sad, but a nothingness. You don’t feel happy, you don’t feel the sense of drive you think everyone else does. You feel that your life is going nowhere or that you feel caged. You don’t know what to do next, or that you don’t know how to handle this new feeling of nothing. You don’t feel motivated, or happy. You no longer carry aspirations or ideas, and that you don’t wanna just sit somewhere and rot, but you also don’t want to do anything but work. Like I’ve lost all hope but you still wanna live. I feel like my whole life I’ve been carrying this backpack. I place inside this imaginary backpack a bunch of sh*t. All the times I’ve failed my mom and all the times I have felt like nothing and all the times I kept everything in and all the times that I didn’t want to be bothered anymore. I kept every single hurtful word that someone I respected has said to me and tucked it in there. I cradled years of emotional neglect and the result of generational trauma in my imaginary backpack. I stuffed in there all my negative self-talk ready to use. Now I’m here talking to you and I don’t know how to let it all go.
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Asked by Kia
Depression
Happiness
Answered
10/25/2022

Kia,

 

Welcome to BetterHelp and thank you for your consideration. Thank you for asking this great question. I'm Nathan, a licensed therapist, dually licensed in the states of Florida and Tennessee. You can read more about my background and education, my experience and therapeutic approaches by clicking on my name on this page.

 

“What do I do if I'm worried about my mental health?”

 

This is a challenging question to answer, but I would reply by encouraging you, as you are taking the first initial steps now! Simply reaching out, and asking the question is a healthy step in itself. At the same time, not everyone is in a place where they are seeking or willing to receive help. If someone is not willing to engage in therapy, counseling, coaching, etc… then they will potentially benefit very little from the process, and possibly waste time, money, and be further discouraged. We do understand that there are basic “Stages of Change” that have been categorized by Motivational Interviewers and Therapists as follows:

 

 

1.     Pre-contemplation – this can be denial, or ignorance of a problem even existing altogether.

 

2.     Contemplation – this can include ambivalence or conflicted emotions.

 

3.     Preparation – this can include experimenting with small changes, researching information about change.

 

4.     Action – this is taking direct action toward change(s), and goal(s).

 

5.     Maintenance – this is maintenance of the new behavior(s), change(s), avoiding temptation(s), managing triggers.

 

6.     Relapse – this is when an old, unwanted behavior or pattern occurs again.

 

 

Thank you again for your honesty and vulnerability. It took courage to reach out Kia, and I am glad you did. You seem to be in that Contemplation stage where you are experiencing ambivalence and conflicted emotions. You have acknowledged that there is an issue, a concern, some type of challenge, a problem, struggles. You also have considered what help may or may not look like, so perhaps you are dabbling with Preparation, but not quite there yet. My encouragement to you is, keep the momentum going. Therapy is not always easy, or something that one enters into without reservations.

 

What you describe above sounds like Anhedonia. That is a fancy way to say that you can lose interest or pleasure in what you have previously enjoyed, in life itself, and is a key symptom of Depression. It takes courage, and a bit of vulnerability to take that step. I commend you for reaching out and asking the questions. My personal approach explores the importance of balancing, investing in, contributing to our overall, Whole Self Wellness, a Holistic approach. In other words, how can you improve, invest in your Mind (Mental Health), your Body (Physical Health), and your Spirit (Spiritual Health) to be a healthier overall person. I firmly believe you have been designed to operate in health. You have a true identity and I would consider it a privilege to help you discover, rediscover, connect, reconnect with and nourish yourself.

 

I look forward to connecting with you soon. Have a blessed day!

 

(LCSW, QS)