One of the major fallouts of the Industrial Revolution has been the creation of the issues of depression, anxiety and most serious of all €" issues of identity. The modern individual is faced with a bewildering number of choices and cross cultural influences resulting in confusion. People start wondering whether the individual identity is linked to race, or to religion, or to education or even profession and social status. This confusion can be further compounded by gender issues €" not simply gender roles and sexuality but by deeper worries resulting from the Christian sense of sin and guilt linked with desire.
Eventually some do need professional help to come to terms with real life issues like relationships, illness, loss and even achievement. Psychotherapy can play a significant role in helping such people to come to terms with life and make the most of the existing situation. Some situations are irreversible like the loss of a loved one €" you cannot bring the dead back to life €" and you have to learn to accept the situation and get on with the business of living. Many of these issues might be the culmination of a process of rejection of one's social and cultural heritage. This rejection deprives the negating individual the support system which social fabric in the form of institutions and religion affords.
Issues of identity emerge during adolescence with confusion between role and identity. Identity crisis is a time of intensive analysis and exploration of different ways of looking at oneself. The person who learns to make a commitment to an identity and stay with it is the one who has learned to strike a balance between diffusion and foreclosure, i.e. commitment without exploration. Occasionally, this crisis of identity can lead to even depression, loneliness and anxiety. Yet we tend to leave such people emotionally neglected, starving for comfort, consolation, or attention where psychotherapy would help them to recognize the source of their pain and offer healing. Psychotherapy helps these people to manage their inner conflicts and their pain which is interfering with the conduct of their everyday lives and rebuild it.
You may be able to deal with some level of tension yourself. Some great self-help techniques include progressive muscle relaxation, visualization and meditation. Professional therapists help you to manage stress to keep it under control over a long term. Remember, that when stress goes unchecked it can also lead to depression and impair socialization.