Changes in Health

When is it time to get help?

If you are experiencing a change in your health, you’re likely feeling the symptoms of grief and possibly anxiety and depression as well, especially if you’re dealing with a serious, debilitating, or terminal diagnosis. If the symptoms of grief (or anxiety or depression) are affecting your life, relationships, or the ability to enjoy your life – then it is time to get help for the mental health issues that are accompanying your physical health challenges.

NOTE: You can feel this same kind of grief about changes in the health of a loved one as well.

Grief from changes in your health treatment methods

There are many different treatment methods that your therapist may discuss with you. Treatment may depend on what issues you are facing. For example, if you’re feeling depressed, then treatment for depression will be the best course of action. If you’re experiencing anxiety, then those treatments make the most sense. Each individual has unique circumstances – together with your therapist, you’ll find the best treatment method for your needs. In general, some treatments that have been shown to be effective for grief include:

• Grief work therapy refers to the methods used in counselling that help people to grieve loss and understand their emotions associated with the loss in a healthy way, with the ultimate goal of moving forward.
• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach to treatment that focuses on how people’s thoughts, emotions, and beliefs influence their behaviour and how they perceive themselves.
• Person centered therapy differs from more traditional therapeutic approaches in the belief that, while the therapist has expertise in many areas, the client is the expert on themselves and their lived experiences. People are essentially trustworthy and have a vast potential for understanding themselves while also being able to ultimately resolve their own problems when guided properly.
• Narrative therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses narratives and/or client’s stories to help people separate themselves from their problems, believing that the person isn’t the problem; the problem is the problem.
• Faith based therapy is using science-based therapeutic techniques that are administered by a therapist with similar spiritual beliefs or an understanding of those beliefs. This is not based on any one religion or spiritual belief.
• Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is a treatment method that’s similar to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) but emphasizes building skills to manage stress, emotional response and regulation, mental health issues, and the psycho-social aspects of relationship building.