Feeling a bit sad or down, losing interest in going outside or in hanging out with your friends; maybe this is something you recognize, maybe not at all. A lot of people occasionally have to deal with periods in their lives where they aren’t feeling their best. Still for many, reaching out for help from a psychologist is too big of a step; “I’m not doing that bad, am I? I haven’t experienced any terrible or traumatic experiences in my life, I’m sure I’ll be fine”. Esther (30) did look for help and encourages everyone to do so: “Just a few sessions can already help you sort things out. It’s such a shame if you spend your time feeling this way, when it can really help to talk to someone!”. Read Esther’s experience story below.

I hadn’t been feeling well

For a few weeks already, I hadn’t been feeling well; I felt down, tired and didn’t have the energy to see my friends. I locked myself in my home, worked there and didn’t leave the house as much. Naturally I knew that things weren’t going very well, but I also didn’t think it was that bad. I didn’t talk to my friends or family about my feelings. Probably because there is still a bit of a taboo around the subject. I’m not doing that bad, right? It felt so dramatic to look for help just for not feeling well. Don’t we all have days on which we feel a bit down? But, when my friends told me that they were worried about me and wondered why I didn’t talk to them, I decided to take the first step.

It’s probably because of the pandemic

I called my doctor to tell her how I felt. Because of the corona crisis, I wasn’t allowed to go to the doctor’s office at the time. So, my doctor scheduled a telephone appointment in which I had to tell her what’s going on. I found it really hard to describe how I felt over the phone. But, I told her that I didn’t feel well and that I felt very down and didn’t feel like seeing anyone. “Ah, but you’re not the only one feeling like this; a lot of people do! It’s probably because of the corona crisis, it’ll pass”, she told me. I’m not a pushy person, so I decided to leave it at that. “She’s probably right, it’s not that bad. This will pass”, I thought to myself.

What can I do?

But the feeling didn’t pass, so I decided to start looking for answers on Google; what can I do to feel better? I ended up on the NiceDay website and read about the app. I saw that with this app you can start working on yourself, by setting goals or registering feelings for example. This seemed like a great first step, so I decided to go with it. I started to register my feelings, and to challenge myself to go outside every day. But after a while I did get the feeling that it would be nice to talk to someone. So I started an online treatment.

It’s not at all strange you feel like this

I started my online treatment and was assigned to NiceDay psychologist Sarah. Before treatment began I was a little bit sceptical. How can a treatment via telephone be just as effective as a face-to-face treatment? And how can I express my feelings over the phone? However, during my sessions with Sarah I was pleasantly surprised. She understood me, comforted me and told me that it was not at all strange that I felt like this. That it is totally normal to have periods in which you don’t feel well, but that you can do something about it. She told me that she was happy that I decided to look for help, and so was I.

Online treatment via NiceDay

What I really liked about the online treatment is that it’s from my own home, my own safe environment. Sarah and I had our sessions via telephone (without video), which also gave me a sense of anonymity. I didn’t have to see anyone and could comfortably tell my story.

Next to that, being able to register some thoughts or feelings in the app before the start of our sessions, felt very good and effective. I would write about how I was doing, what I had been through or the things that I had to deal with. Sarah was able to view my registrations at any time, after which we could discuss them in our session. Next to that she made a summary of all the things we talked about, and then she would send it to me via the chat. The summary wouldinclude links to articles that applied to my situation and that I could read through.. These were short and clear articles that often provided me with useful tips and information.

Don’t wait too long to reach out

The talks I had with Sarah over the phone have been incredibly helpful and I feel a lot better now. If you are feeling down right now, please reach out for help! Look at the things you can do to improve your situation. It’s totally normal that you go through periods in which you don’t feel god, so don’t be ashamed about looking for help! You’ll notice that after only a few sessions, it’ll help you to sort things out. I would definitely recommend NiceDay; I actually already have!

Are you not feeling well, and would you like to know more about an online treatment via NiceDay? On this website you can find more information about the treatment, and how you can start it.