Many of us are aware of the stigma and stereotypes that surround therapy and mental health. From the images we view on television and other sources of media, to the casual way we say someone is “acting Bipolar” or “schizophrenic,” with little thought about the reverberating effects of how we use these labels. The idea that only crazy or weak people go to therapy is based on beliefs that do not serve any of us.
So, in case you’re considering going to therapy, here are a few reasons why people decide to give it a try.
- Major life transitions. A few examples of major life transitions are: moving, starting or ending a job, ending or beginning a romantic relationship, becoming a parent, or losing a loved one. Think of periods in your life that have required you to make significant adjustments and are often uncomfortable.
- Noticing something is off. Maybe you are irritable or fatigued, you find it challenging to manage your emotions, or feel general discomfort in your mind-body. And these symptoms likely interfere with your relationships and other important areas of your life, like work.
- Processing family dynamics. Most of us do not have much needed conversations with our family members for various reasons. Therapy can give us the space to make sense of our experience of our family, and our role within our families, before we take on the courageous and sometimes scary decision to begin to discuss relationship problems with family members.
- Challenging self-narratives. Most if not all of us regularly have thoughts that are not aligned with who we truly are, a big one is, “I’m not good enough,” or something with that same sentiment. Therapy can help us understand the origins of these thoughts, the situations that reinforce them, and how to give ourselves the love and care we need to let them go and nurture the stories that are representative of our true essence.
- Practicing experiencing emotions. Emotions can be uncomfortable, so we often avoid them. We distract ourselves with television, our relationships, alcohol, hobbies, social media, food etc. We use whatever will help us escape the discomfort. Therapy can be a space where we take the time to acknowledge and be with the feelings that are uncomfortable at times. We learn that our feelings will not consume us.
This of course is not an exhaustive list. However, we tend to go through some of the same life stuff as people, and the five topics listed above are just a few of the themes I have noticed in my work so far. I hope these remind you that you are not the only person going through whatever it is that you are currently experiencing, and therapy is one way that you can reconnect with how to best care for yourself.
Featured Image: kevin turcios on Unsplash
