Asking for help is a tremendous start to a series of life changing events. You do not have to live in pain or continue to suffer. Help is available.
When Is Too Late?
It’s hard to discuss timing being “too late” in seeking help for mental health issues. What constitutes too late? An emotional breakdown? An overdose? Self-harm? An attempt at suicide? There is a hint of morbidity which has to be mentioned. When is too late? If there is no life left to live, it is too late. If a heart is still beating, a mind still functioning- there is hope. There is always hope.
Any Time You Ask For Help Is The Right Time
Of course, one doesn’t have to overdose before they ask for help with a drug addiction. One doesn’t have to have one, two, three, or more DUI arrests before they ask for help with alcohol addiction. Court mandated anger management doesn’t have to be the answer for dealing with anger. Often, for addicts and alcoholics, those who struggle with mental health conditions, and many others who suffer from the egoism which is being a human, the pain has to be great in order for change to take place. Asking for help is a sign that there is no more room for suffering, no more room for denial, no more room for hiding.
Making the decision to ask for help for any mental health condition is a sign that you are ready for help. The right time to ask for mental health help is when you know you need it, when you are ready to receive it, and when you’re willing to make a change.
Why Don’t We Ask Sooner?
There are a hundred ways or more to answer this question, some of them proven, some of them more phenomena. In the brain, many neurological processes, altered by drugs, alcohol, or various conditions, contribute to an inability to overcome pride, shame, fear, or consider negative consequence. Why there is a need to wait until things get anywhere near bad is a mystery. On the one hand, there is a severe lack of information and awareness of what mental health issues can look like, or the signs that symptoms are worsening. Presentation of any symptoms at any stage is a problem worth asking for help about. On the other hand, there is a persevering stigma and shame regarding “being mentally ill”, “having mental health issues” or having to “ask for help.”
LEAD Recovery Center offers transitional care through a multiphase treatment system emphasizing leadership and personal development with a goal of achieving autonomy in recovery. You can recover. Let us lead the way. Call 800-380-0012 for more information.
