Many people take months or even years to make up their minds and schedule their first counseling session. Once you have taken the big step and you are ready for your first appointment, it is natural to feel anxious or even intimidated. However, by preparing yourself better for the first appointment, you can manage your feelings well and make the most from your session with the counselor.

Set clear goals

Before you visit the counselor, make sure you know what you are seeking from the therapy. You cannot just go to the counselor and say that you want to feel better or more relaxed. Make a note of your exact goals and think of why you wanted to see a counselor in the first place. For example, your goal could be to overcome stranger anxiety due to childhood trauma or to panic less when appearing for interviews. These are just simple examples of how you should have precise goals in mind. The best thing to do is to make a list of things you would like to bring up in your first session. Make sure you communicate these goals clearly to your counselor so that the therapy is directed in the right direction.

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The word PERFECT is often used as a complement. People often describe themselves as a perfectionist in job interviews. However, mental health practitioners are of the opinion that trying to be too perfect can be counterproductive.

Perfectionism is broadly defined as a combination of excessively high personal standards and overly critical self-evaluations.

Experts identify two sub-dimensions of perfectionism. The excellence-seeking perfectionism and failure-avoiding perfectionism. The former type of perfectionism involves tendencies to fixate on and demand very high standards. They strictly evaluate their own performance and hold high expectations for others as well. The latter type involves an obsessive aversion to failing to achieve high performance standards. They are constantly concerned and worried about their work not being good enough.

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We all feel anxious, unsettled, or fearful from time to time. Anxiety is a natural and normal reaction to stressful situations. However, for some people, this feeling is not temporary. They have persistent anxiety and it doesn’t get better on its own. It can severely impact their ability to function in school, at work, or in everyday social situations. Anxiety can also affect relationships and severely impact the quality of life.

If you too are suffering from obsessive thoughts, panic attacks, crippling phobia, or unrelenting worries, you are not alone. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, and affect 40 million adults age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population each year. Though, there are effective treatments for anxiety, only 36.9% of those suffering receive treatment.

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We all experience anxiety, stress, sadness, anger, mood swings, and other forms of emotional distress at some point in life. Most of the time, we are able to overcome these feelings and bounce back to normal life. However, some people are unable to overcome these emotions and may need some extra help to get their emotional and mental health back.

Counseling, also known as psychotherapy and talking therapy, is a process that involves a person talking with a trained professional about their mental health concerns or anything else that’s troubling them. Remember, therapy is not necessary for every little struggle you face in life, but it can be really helpful when you are unable to cope with your mental and emotional health issues. So, how do you know when it is time to see a counselor?

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