What You Can Do if Traditional Therapy Isn’t Enough

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Seeking therapy is an important step for anyone—whether they suffer from physical or mental ailments. But sometimes going to therapy alone is not enough to fight off the problems you are facing or you may find that therapy just doesn’t work for you the way that you want.

While that isn’t a bad thing, that doesn’t mean that you should just give up on your quest to feel and be better. Educate yourself on how you are feeling, and make changes or find new help to help you feel better.

Change Your Lifestyle

If you are feeling negative physically, you may need to create a more effective exercise schedule to better fend off these effects. Exercising is one of the ways physicians recommend mitigating feelings of anxiety or depression.

Lifestyle Changes
Lifestyle Changes

Running, biking, hiking, and yoga are all positive forms of exercise you can do anywhere. Choose a form of exercise that you both enjoy and challenges you to push yourself harder.

Though exercising can help with your mental health, your physical health is also largely based on the food you choose to eat. Make sure you stay within your daily calorie intake and that you are accurately calculating what that intake should be.

Just because 2000 calories is the recommended amount doesn’t mean that is right for your body and level of exercise. Instead of focusing on what you shouldn’t be eating, focus on increasing the amount of healthy foods you do eat.

Try to work a handful of vegetables into every meal and snack and it will make a huge difference.

Join a Support Group

Support groups are great for helping you to deal with the challenges that come with both everyday life and the less common things that come up.

The point of a support group is to connect you with people who are going through similar things who can understand your struggles. Joining either an in person or online support group can do wonders for helping you feel less alone and discovering that some of the things you are struggling with are actually quite common.

Support Groups
Support Groups

It can also give you the opportunity to help other people, which can be incredibly beneficial. Just make sure that the support group you join is actually supportive. There are some groups out there that aren’t actually helpful and can make you feel worse about yourself and your situation.

Try Experiential Therapies

If regular therapy not cutting just doesn’t seem to work for you, you should give an experiential therapy a try! Rather than talking about problems, most of these unique therapies place emphasis on redirecting pain into something productive.

They can be relaxing, fun, and physically engaging. This is especially effective for people who deal with neurodivergent conditions.

For example, equine therapy can be especially helpful for teens dealing with emotional or social issues. Working with a horse has often given people unique strength and support.

Dance studios are offering class opportunities to get active and promote body positivity. Finding a unique hobby you can attach to is a great way to find additional purpose in your life.

Stay Away from Certain Foods

While making sure you stick to an effective diet is essential, you may want to avoid specific foods or drinks altogether. Some things are addictive in nature and add to your anxiety and depression instead of quelling it.

Sugar and rich foods are a good example, but there are more things to think about.

Avoid Certain Foods
Avoid Certain Foods

Gluten and soy have been shown to have a detrimental effect on a variety of conditions, beyond just the normal sensitivities. Caffeine is one of the most common substances people drink.

Coffee, tea, and soda are prevalent in our daily purchasing and consuming habits. Excessive caffeine use can aggravate anxiety symptoms. Instead of continuing to consume the same products regularly, you should avoid foods that make your symptoms worse.

Talk to Your Doctor

While most people turn to therapy to treat mental health issues, this is something that your doctor can be brought in on as well, especially if therapy alone is not enough.

While there is some stigma surrounding medication for mental health, it is one of the most beneficial things you can do for yourself. Work closely with your doctor to make sure that you find the right medication and dosage and keep them regularly updated on any side effects or progress you are making.

Talk to your Doctor
Talk to your Doctor

If you feel the need to go to therapy, you should. It is worthwhile and does a lot of good for people. However, it is not the only solution to mental health and physical health problems.

You can use these other methods to assist in your recovery. Everyone has different needs and different things that work for them. The important part of all of this is to find what works for you.

Are you struggling to relax? Check out these tips!

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