Today’s post comes from a guest blogger, Jason York.  Jason is a counseling intern who sees clients under my supervision.  He specializes in helping people get unstuck and he has just opened a few more spots in his schedule for clients.  He offers counseling on an affordable sliding scale of $40 to $80 per session.  If you’re looking for affordable counseling in Austin, email him to set up a free 30 minute consultation. 

Imagine you are walking in a field.

With your eyes covered.

And you are carrying a bag of tools.

The field is filled with large holes in all directions.

After a few minutes of walking, you make a right turn and fall into one of these holes.

You uncover your eyes and begin to try and get out.

You jump.  And climb.

But each time, you slide back down.

You scramble for your bag of tools hoping for help, only to find a shovel.

Stuck with a shovel– what now?

Part of you knows that using the shovel will not help, but you are desperate.

Maybe you can dig some stairs!

But of course, this does not work.

And you find that you are beginning to feel quite hopeless.

You begin to curse yourself for taking that right turn instead of a left.

You call yourself stupid.

You spend hours remember what it was like before you fell in the hole.

How much better things were.

Wishing you had another chance to enjoy being free again.

After a while, you are utterly convinced that you will be stuck in this hole forever unless you can either climb out or get the shovel to work.

You stop trying to come up with new ideas.

If you feel like your life has stopped moving in the right direction, this metaphor is all too familiar.

You feel stuck.

And all of the tools you have to help you get going again have stopped working.

You begin to avoid things that are uncomfortable, procrastinating and only creating more stress for yourself.

Ruminating on the past to see how you got here, desperate for answers of how to fix your feelings.

Worrying that you will never be happy again or get the things you want most.

You may even begin self-medicating or spending hours doing other things to distract yourself from the pain.

This is what it feels like to be STUCK.

To be at the bottom of a hole with nothing but a shovel.

Help is here

So, what can you do?

GET RID OF THE SHOVEL!

“But how?”  you may ask.

“Why would I get rid of the only tool I’ve got?  Even if it doesn’t seem to do any good?”

I get into that more in my next couple of posts, which you can find here.

The thing is, being stuck is something I know a thing or two about from my own life.

And so I specialize in helping stuck people.

I’m sure some of you may be raising an eyebrow at such an untechnical term– it’s not your standard psychological jargon, I know.

But for those of you reading this who have felt stuck before– or maybe are feeling stuck right this very instant– you know what I’m talking about.

You know it is just as powerful a feeling as depression, anxiety, loneliness, and anger– in fact, it tends to show up with many of these feelings in tow.

The feeling of being stuck can be brought on by any number of things and can happen at any point in one’s life.

I’ve been at the bottom of the hole with nothing but a shovel.

I know what it feels like.  I know how scary and frustrating it is.

And I’d like to help.

Would you like to add some help getting out of the hole?

I’m opening a few more spots in my schedule for new clients.

I’d be happy to meet with you for a free thirty minute consultation to talk over your situation.

You don’t have to stay stuck.

Call me at 512-200-2377.  Or simply email me to set up a free consultation.