“If I talk about my mental health, will it make things worse?” It’s a common concern: A google search (01/09/2025) reveals 815,000,000 results. If you’re not talking about your mental health because you truly believe it will make you worse it may be worth considering the information we discuss below.
Fear of Judgement
If you are not talking about your mental health because you fear others may judge you then considering how you engage with services and your understanding of privacy and confidentiality as it applies to psychologists may be helpful.
All psychologists adhere to a code of ethics that requires high levels of privacy and confidentiality. This level is much higher than most other health professionals. For example, psychologists are required to ensure that you consent to them talking to others. This is often written consent. When was the last time you recalled written consent at your GP’s office?
Talking Makes it Worse vs Talking Helps Us Process
Avoiding difficult thoughts and feelings often means not talking about them at all. While this might seem protective in the moment, it can actually make things harder over time. Avoidance-based coping strategies such as distraction, denial, or suppressing emotions, have been linked to increased anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress symptoms (Krause et al., 2008).
In contrast, expressing thoughts and feelings, especially in a supportive, therapeutic setting, is associated with reduced emotional distress and improved coping (see Hofmann et al., 2022). Therapies like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and some trauma-focused treatments work by helping people talk through their difficulties in a structured way. Rather than getting stuck in painful emotions and unhelpful thoughts, people learn to manage them more effectively, so they don’t quietly influence your life in the background. There are over 2000 studies showing the effectiveness of CBT (Beck, 2021). CBT is also known as talk therapy, due to a large component of the therapy being talking about mental health. Clear support that talking about mental health doesn’t make it worse.
How to Get Help
If you’re struggling with your mental health, one of our team members can help you. To book an appointment at the Centre for Clinical Psychology, please call (03) 9077 0122 or visit www.ccp.net.au.
References
Beck, J. S. (2021). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond, 3rd ed (pp. xvi, 414). The Guilford Press.
Krause, E. D., Kaltman, S., Goodman, L. A., & Dutton, M. A. (2008). Avoidant coping and PTSD symptoms related to domestic violence exposure: A longitudinal study. Journal of traumatic stress, 21(1), 83-90.
Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Cognitive therapy and research, 36, 427-440.
