Have you had the experience, when trying to make a change in your life or self, of having a “back step” in your progress? Rhetorical question, right? We all have. The important thing is whether or not you give in to the temptation to just give up altogether because of one negative experience. The process described below is extremely helpful in addressing a variety of emotional and behavioral issues – including anxiety and depression. I will be using a weight loss analogy to demonstrate the process.

Saying goodbye to pet is never easy. When we made the decision to say goodbye to our cat Sydney, she was 25 years old and had been with us since right before we got married. Sydney had been with us through so many things – both in our personal lives and throughout history. Like most of our fur babies she was a source of comfort and joy…and could also be a real pain in the butt! During our first military move, she made it known how unhappy she was with the move by peeing on us in the middle of the night. It was only once – and I truly believe she was letting us know exactly how she felt.

If you have never been in counseling or have had an unpleasant experience but are considering giving it another, try, I hope this post may give you encouragement. It can feel scary to think about opening up about very difficult and personal issues under the best of circumstances. And going to meet with a person you do not know in order to do this can seem hard to get over. This is why doing your due diligence is important. Do not just go with the therapist that a friend recommends (although you certainly should consider them). Research a variety of sites of counseling practices.

It's important to be able to regulate our emotions. In order to move through issues that are bothering us or to heal, we need to feel our emotions. Stuffing them down is not going to help because eventually, they're going to come out somehow.