We all at some point get depressed and feel some amount of anxiety, but when do should we know when it is time to seek out professional help? This post is going to focus on the three questions you should ask yourself that will help you determine if you should seek professional help.

1. Am I going to feel like this forever?

If you think the answer to this question is, “Yes, I don’t know if I can ever feel happy again. I don’t know if I can get over my panic attacks (or whatever you struggle with),” then you need to seek professional help.

If you believe that you will never be as happy as you were in the past then this means that you are losing hope (for more info click on this post). Hope is one of the first things mental illness takes from you. You begin to think today was dark, and tomorrow is only going to be darker. This twisted lie just rotates in the brain and when people buy into it they think there is no point in seeking out help because what is the point if they will always feel this way?

2. Is the fear debilitating?

Does your depression/anxiety keep you from doing things you have always wanted to do? Does it keep you from not just achieving your dreams, but does it keep you from doing everyday activities? Does it keep you from driving? From eating? Are you scared to do something that you used to be confident in doing? Are the things that were once normal overwhelming and daunting?

If your depression/anxiety is keeping you from the things you love, the people you love, and you can no longer enjoy things that you used to then you should seek out professional help. If the anxiety/depression is keeping you from doing the everyday activities then you should seek out professional help.

3. Are you losing the desire to function?

Do you not want to do anything? Is sleeping all day a common thought? Have you lost a desire seeing your friends? Do you have a desire to get better?

Depression and anxiety have a subtle way of taking over lives by sucking the energy out of the body. You lose the desire to do ANYTHING, but you can’t fall into this trap! It is so easy to do nothing and so difficult to get up and do something! However, you have to do something. You have to be proactive.

If you feel like you will never be normal again, your fears control your life, and have no desire to fix these issues then I would seriously consider seeking out professional help. Seeing a therapist is like going to see a doctor when you think you have a virus. You are not positive if you should go and see him, but when you do you finally get a professional opinion on if you need help or not. It is the same thing with mental professional help. If you are thinking if you should seek help, then get help! You won’t regret it.