Should I be ashamed of seeking help?

Question

If a person is truly not happy with the way their life is, maybe they have some kind of personal problem that's so bad that it's making their life miserable, should that person be ashamed of seeking professional help (psychologist, pherapist, counselling, etc)? The reason I'm asking is because I have a lot of personal problems that I feel are grately disturbing my life (read my latest two questions to understand). I have no social skills, have no idea how to properly communicate with other people & have a severe stress-disorder. I am SICK of it as I feel my problems seem to be getting worse the longer I leave them & have decided that I would like to seek professional help.

If I go ahead with it (& I really wish to), should I be ashamed of myself for doing so? Will the doctors label me as a crazy person or something? I am definitely not crazy, but a part of me is frightened for wishing to seek help with my problems in case they wrongly give me that label.

Am I crazy?

Thank you all very much for your heart-felt answers. Here's the story of my life in a nutshell. I had a learning disability as a child, was separated from my family for 5 years stuck in a boarding school hundreds of miles from home, was severely bullied in High School & developed I.B.S (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) as a result & have been very withdrawn from people ever since. I especially find it EXTREMELY difficult to trust me (no offence to good men). This is why I wish to seek help. It's affecting my health badly.

Thank you all for your wonderful advice.

Answer 1

Seeking help will be the best thing that you'll do for yourself. Therapists will never label you as crazy because they deal with people's problems everyday.

Answer 2

First of all, ‘crazy’ people do not ask, “Am I crazy?” They think that they are totally normal. Therefore, you are not crazy.

Second, you should understand that it is very beneficial to seek professional help when you are going through difficult times. You can cause more harm to yourself if you do not see professional help. The only way that a doctor would label you “as a crazy person or something” is if they were to be quacks and not real doctors. A doctor might diagnose you with depression or suffering from anxiety and they will then attempt to help you through the issues and teach you how to function properly in society but they will not look down on you or call you crazy.

Third, if you are seeking professional help to help yourself improve your life then you have nothing to worry about. The fact that you realize that you do have a lot of personal problems that are greatly disturbing your life and because you feel that you have no social skills, have no idea how to properly communicate with other people & have a severe stress-disorder. This tells me (and any other mature person, that you are hurting and you do want to improve your life. Nobody respectful person can honestly look down on you for that and you do not need to worry about what other will think about you for seeking help. Although most people will actually be very supportive of you, you might run into some who do not understand or who want to hurt you. They can only hurt you if you allow them to hurt you. If you realize that seeking professional help will improve your life and listening to skeptics will not improve your life, you should not be hurt if somebody give you a hard time about seeking professional help

I would also like to recommend a book for you to buy called THE FEELING GOOD HANDBOOK by David D. Burns. You can buy this book on Amazon.UK.com and it will help you quite a bit. Here is the link to that book.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Feeling-Good-Handbook-Plume/dp/0452281326/ref=sr_1_1/026-0606012-7148438?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188082774&sr=1-1

I hope that this helps and I wish you all the best.

Your friend in San Diego, California,

mgctouch

Answer 3

NEVER be ashamed to ask for help we all need it at some point in our lives. Go to Catholic Human Services, Community Mental Health, look in your phone book for other resources. The best thing you can do for yourself is to go any talk to someone that can give you the help & resources you need to start feeling better. Maybe once you get your stress disorder under control the other issues you have will dissolve them selves. Stress disorders affect many different aspects of your life. Don't let it control you any longer. Your a good person with many fine qualities that are hidden from others due to your stress disorder, go talk to a professional.

I wish you the best, & know you can work through this.

Answer 4

There has to be a reaspn for this, I have a similar story and i have been seeking help for years, my problem is I can't find the help I need, that drives me crazy, I can't set proper boundaries so people walk all over me, when I get angrey, I either cry or start screaming at loved ones, I can't calm;y talk to someone, I seem to attract men who can't keep a job and women who want to be mothered, so I can't seem to have a normal relationship with women or the opposite sex, I mean I could go on, of course I know my problems stem from coming out of the Mormon cult and being brainwashed all those years, I don't know about your past, but mine was pretty dysfunctional, and I can't seem to find a counselor or therapist I can feel confortable with so i can get the help I need, the only thing that has seemed to help so far is theophostics. So i would tell you to get help.

Answer 5

You are not crazy,you won't have to be ashamed if you are going to seek a doctor,on the contrary,you must be happy because you will resolve your own problem,your personal problem,and you are not crazy,if I were you,I should go to a psychologist. Don't worry,you are not alone in this world,if you need anything,Iam here for you.

Answer 6

No you are not crazy. As a matter of fact you have a lot of clarity to recognize that you have a problem and want to seek help but feel fearful. That is normal. Good for you that you are ready to deal with the problems that afflict you. None of us are perfect and we all have our share of issues. Psychologists, therapists, or psychiatrists are all professionals. They are not there to judge you but help you. They will get personal but not to be inquisitive but to help to get to the core of your issues. Your fears will be replaced by relief and once you've settled in to your therapy you will be glad you took the step to improving your life.

Answer 7

You should not be ashamed at all. After finding a psychologist you feel very comfortable with you will be glad you sought counseling. It took me awhile to finally go, but now that I have I cannot imagine why I ever waited or hesitated.

Take care and I send my best to you.

Answer 8

You should be commended, for having the strength to face up to things, and trying to get better...Personal problems, don't always mean 'crazy'...you are in need of someone to talk to...but I don't always think that physiciatrists are the answers...try talking to a pastor of a church for instance, if you belong to one...you might find better help there, without worrying about being 'diagnosed'..good luck and say your prayers...you might find you answers there, really

Answer 9

All my best to you!

I have been in the same seemingly sinking boat.

Check out http://www.befrienders.org/, which is completely anonymous.

It's unfortunate in our culture that mental problems are stigmatized; even folks seeking medical degrees must hide any mental difficulties - that is, lie.

Try the website I've given you. It is a blessing!

Hang in there, and no, you are no freak!

Frederic Kahler
Las Vegas USA

Answer 10

NEVER be ashamed of seeking help. We all need it at some point or another. You have to take care of yourself cause no one else will. Good luck and get the help you need.