If you are dealing with physical illness or injury, you might be wondering what counseling has to do with it. After all, you have a physical diagnosis, for something that is NOT "all in your head." 

The body and mind are connected, and have an effect on one another. When we feel bad physically,  our mental well being can suffer. This can affect our ability to heal from surgery or other treatments, and our ability to participate fully in our chosen course of treatment. 

 Stress, anxiety and depression can also have a negative influence on our imune system, cardiovascular system, and our muscular skeletal system. 

What follows are a few of the problems that counseling can help with:

• Feeling overwhelmed and confused.
• Difficulty with making decisions.
• Loss of  motivation to take actions to support health.
• Feeling like a failure for loss of ability to stay healthy.
• Feelings of guilt and shame for changes in abilities or appearance.
• Loss of  joy for living, leading to wondering "why bother?" 

The above mental states can prevent you from taking actions to support your physical well being. Here are a few examples of negative results:

• Passively accepting a treatment that does not feel right.
• Not seeking more information or second opinions.
• Not comunicating with health providers, to be able to work together as a team.
• Becoming lonely and isolated from friends and family, who "just don't understand."
• Not getting what you need from your health and insurance providers, which can take great persistence.
• Not following helpful assignments given by physical therapists or other providers.  

Counseling is like "therapy for the mind", also known as psychotherapy. Once the mind starts feeling better, there is a carry over to how we care for our bodies.

Here are a few good things that can come out of feeling better mentally:

• The energy and assertiveness to seek second opinions.
• Ability to consider available information more clearly.
• Increased confidence and trust in your intuition and hunches.
• More meaningful communication with your loved ones.
• Better ability to get what you need from your health providers.
• Committment to "homework" recommended by your health practitioners.
• Daily habit of very pleasant stress reduction practices.   

And a few benefits that can result:

• An improvement in the quality of your life.
• Hopefulness for a better future.
• More tolerance for the unknown, and less fear.
• Peace of mind, happiness, and joy in living.