I've been thinking about starting this blog for a while. So many of us struggle with depression, anxiety and countless other mental health concerns. As mental health professionals, how can we help others while struggling with our own demons? It can feel as though you are alone in your own fight to overcome these struggles, and if our clients suggested such a thing we would tell them they are never alone. They have us to fight for them, and fight with them. Who can we turn to when our own struggles rear their destructive heads, when the counselor needs help?
I'm currently dealing with this issue ; I'm out of my normal and safe environment, alone in this place with what seems like nothing but my own depression and anxiety. This week was supposed to be my "study for the NCE" week, develop my theory paper based in Emotionally Focused Therapy (holla, EFT folks), and I can't seem to find the motivation to do anything other than cry and fuel this sadness inside of me that runs so deeply that it honestly terrifies me. Sometimes it feels like my soul is only composed of sadness. I've known since I was a child that I had sadness that the "normal" kids didn't have. It isn't for lack of love; I have a wonderful fiancé and support system that love me dearly. And it isn't a question of brain chemistry as I currently take medication for depression and anxiety. This appears to be a matter of bad coping skills, of low adaptability, or perhaps simply being alone in a big empty place feels too isolating for me to handle at this time.
I guess what I'm saying is, as mental health professionals we are down in the trenches of trauma and crisis and anguish and sadness so frequently that it can be difficult sometimes to recognize when we are in too deep and develop issues of our own. We have to remember that secondary trauma is real, and does not discriminate. I struggle with the idea of this frequently.
Self care is not a want but a need, in order to continuing fueling the fire of passion that helps us brave those trenches every day. Reach out to others in our community of helpers, your family or friends. Do one small thing a day just for you, and never let work get in the way of your one thing.
As I try to remember the tenants of self-care this long and arduous week, I hope you are all remembering to take care of yourselves not just so you can take care of others; our mental health matters, too.
