Adjustment Challenges: Facing them Positively with a Counselor

Over the course of a lifetime, you are bound to experience a significant amount of change. In adolescence, these changes may be related to sexuality, family conflicts, social pressures, or relationships. If you’re an adult, you may be facing divorce, retirement, or financial changes that you find it challenging to adjust to. These life transitions may unduly weigh you down. Seeking intervention from a counselor may help you face and adjust to the changes you can’t control.

When Is Change Beneficial?

There are certain changes that may cause anxiety despite being exciting. Entering a new school, starting a dream job, getting married, or being pregnant are positive changes that can earn you a degree, lead to excelling in your career, or start a family. Who wouldn’t be excited about them?

On the other hand, there are difficult changes that can nonetheless make you stronger, more confident, and better equipped for the consequences. Changes that are not warranted or to your liking may also work to your advantage.

For example, if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with depression, the changes it brings may help increase your awareness about this emotional health condition. The knowledge can save more members of your family who may be vulnerable to depression. If you’re a parent of a teen with self-harming behavior, you can reach out to other parents who may be struggling with the same issue. Both negative and positive changes can help you understand what is important in life and allow for greater self-discovery.

Living with Adjustment Issues

Change can cause emotional disruption that significantly affects your daily life. Some people are more resilient and find it easier to handle traumatic life changes and events. If you are not confident in your ability to manage adjustment issues on your own, they may overpower you and transform you into a nervous wreck. You may develop insomnia, lose appetite, or seek relief in alcohol or drugs.

Some traumatic life changes can disable or disrupt a person’s ability to adjust. After such events, you may have difficulty adjusting to the consequences or new circumstances brought about by the change. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual lists the symptoms of adjustment disorder that usually occur within three months after the onset of a change. This includes depression, anxiety, feeling emotionally overwhelmed, panic, changes in sleeping or eating patterns, and loss of interest in enjoyable activities.

Adjustment issues may also give rise to self-harm and destructive or risky activities. If you’re experiencing more emotional turmoil than those in similar situations, you could have adjustment disorder. For example, it’s understandable to grieve the loss of a spouse, but if you stop speaking to your children and refuse to leave your room, it’s definitely time to seek counseling to face the adjustment challenges positively.

Seeking Counseling for the Big Change

Any number of life-changing events can take you off course. Most of the time, it helps to talk about your problems. You may find relief discussing them with another person. While talking to a friend can help you release your emotions, it can be difficult to burden loved ones with them. You may also wonder if your secrets are safe with them. This is why it is beneficial to talk to a therapist in such cases.

Counseling can be very helpful when the stressors or events related to your issues are making you extremely distressed or out of control. When the stressors make you feel anxious, sad, or reckless to the point that it affects your work, school, or relationships, it’s worth seeing a counselor to help you feel better. Untreated symptoms can turn into other serious psychological health problems.

If the specific signs and symptoms of adjustment disorder make life difficult for you, help from an experienced counselor is most effective when sought early on. The good news is that the prognosis for individuals with adjustment disorder is good. Research shows that seeking professional intervention, especially within three months after the stressful event, can yield positive results.

Counseling is especially essential when life changes challenge your ability to adjust. Don’t let the symptoms become intrusive enough to control you. If a recent stressful event or a major life change is making you overly anxious, seek support from Carolina Counseling Services – Southern Pines, NC. Our independently contracted counselors are properly trained and have long years of experience in treating adjustment disorder. The right-fit therapist will work with you to identify the root cause of your vulnerability and provide you with invaluable skills to manage the symptoms.

Get your life back on track. With CCS-Southern Pines, NC, you’ll receive appropriate treatment from a licensed, contracted counselor so you can face life positively again. The sooner you address the issue; the sooner you can resume enjoying life. Call now to request an appointment.