6 Proven Ways A Psychologist Can Improve Your Mental Health

In this article, you’ll learn and discover proven ways a psychologist can improve your mental health.

Mental health is a state of emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It relates to how you cope with stress, deal with others, and make decisions that affect your day-to-day life. Thoughts, feelings, and actions are heavily impacted when an individual faces problems in their mental health condition.

Factors such as genes, experiences, and trauma contribute to this condition. A person who suffers from this often withdraws from daily activities, develops odd sleeping patterns, eats more or less, pulls away from family and friends, or worse, turns to substance abuse.

When you identify a person with a mental illness, finding the right help is crucial. It’s imperative that they receive therapy with a professional psychologist. They help treat this problem by helping you cope with loss, depression, managing anxiety and stress, deep-seated issues, and addiction.

Here are five proven ways a psychologist can improve your mental health:

They provide interventions

Developing a pattern of harmful use of alcohol, medicine, tobacco, and other legal substances to alter one’s mood is common in people with mental illness.
Most family members and friends of addicts turn to the direct intervention with the help of psychologists by creating a treatment plan in advance without the input of the person in need of help.

Direct Focus Solutions is a clinic composed of excellent psychologists who offer a multidisciplinary approach that allows the patient to receive quality care. The treatment involves:

• Focused psychological strategies
• Biofeedback training
• Psychoeducation regarding co-occurring mental health issues such as anxiety and depression
• Liaising with the patient’s doctor about medication support
• Programs for relapse prevention

They use Psychotherapy

People suffering from poor mental health are commonly advised to seek therapy in the hopes of helping them cope with their problems. Psychologists often talk to these people in order to identify and figure out the root causes of the illness.

By understanding the behavior and life experiences of the person, psychotherapy aids in letting the person regain control over their lives and teach them healthy ways to cope.

They understand anxiety better than anyone

Excessive worrying, nervousness, and panic attacks often characterize an anxiety disorder. It can get worse over time when it persists. Once diagnosed, psychologists can teach patients effective ways to cope in numerous ways:

Cognitive behavioral therapy

This therapy involves identifying thought, and behavioral patterns that distort the way you perceive situations, and so causes your anxiety. By addressing these negative patterns, you will be able to make appropriate changes that’ll give you better coping techniques to reduce stress.

Exposure therapy

Patterns of avoidance can backfire and make anxiety even worse. By facing your fears, you will have the power to overcome them. This therapy exposes you to these fears repeatedly until you can take control and realize that it’s all inside the mind, decreasing your anxiety.

 Relaxation therapy

This utilizes exercise for the mind and body to diminish anxiety. Deep breathing, guided imagery, along with progressive muscle relaxation, tighten then release tension in the body, making you feel at ease.

Interpersonal therapy

By helping a patient’s interpersonal relationships and social functioning, their mood will improve positively, and their feelings of distress will lessen. This usually comes in a program that lasts for weeks, and a patient may or may not join a group.

 They help you communicate better

Talking to a psychologist can improve how you connect to the people around you. Their job is to enable you to express yourself more verbally and listen to your story without bias, giving your self-confidence a chance to grow.

Communicating comfortably allows you to have better conversations with your family and friends without the fear of being judged.

They motivate you to become healthier

For your overall health, psychologists will encourage you to be physically active and eat more nutritious meals. Research shows that healthy food choices help reduce depression,  while exercise is a handy tool to combat anxiety.

It can also serve as an antidepressant as it helps release chemicals called endorphins which alleviate the mood and create a feeling of happiness.

They teach you how to be self-reliant

Self-reliance is the ability to think and make decisions independently. Psychologists can give you techniques on how to improve your cognitive ability in order to achieve a better life quality by making wiser decisions. Healthy habits such as exercise, mindfulness, getting enough sleep, and meditation, are useful in boosting your cognitive function.

Conclusion

Most mental health problems cannot be prevented, but you can still take the necessary steps to protect yourself by learning the cause and seeking professional help. It’s important to surround yourself with supportive family and friends who know what’s best for you.

With a psychologist, not only will your problems be addressed and given a solution, but your quality of life will also improve. You’ll be in a more positive state of mind to take care of your body, as well as make smart choices on your own.