Physical Therapy is Okay, So Why Isn't Mental Therapy Okay?
Someone very close to me called today to ask what therapy is like and if she should do it. It's honestly one of the only things I look forward to. Even when I walk out of my biweekly sessions, I want to walk back in and keep talking. But today when my friend was talking to me about how she's interested in going to therapy, she told me that her husband thinks it's an awful idea. He doesn't think she needs it. Well buddy, I've got news for you. You've got no idea what is actually going on in her mind, and what really is breaking her down. She's gone through some things similar to what I've gone through, and then throw in a couple kids and just the every day stresses, and you've got a volcano just waiting to erupt. Have you ever wondered why she freaks out about the "little" things or why whenever you two fight she just shuts down and doesn't want to talk it out? She doesn't know how to handle it all the best way, but really, who has mastered how to handle everything life throws at them? She tries her hardest to be strong when things go wrong, but she's got so much on her shoulders. She needs someone who won't judge her, someone who wants to help her, and be there when she needs to cope with her marriage or her kids or her job or really anything and be able to unleash it in a healthy way instead of bottling up until one day she explodes and screams out of anger and emotion.
When I started thinking about attending therapy again, I asked a couple of my coworkers about it. There's this one girl that I work with who seems to just have everything going for her. She graduates from University of Oregon this spring, she's originally from Silicon Valley (if you don't know, it's basically the world's capital of technology, AKA, rich people paradise), she's been with the same guy for 3 years, and has friends and a social life I can only dream of having. She's overall an amazing person and a hard worker. When we were talking about therapy, I was shocked to hear that she goes to a counselor, and has been for awhile. She said it has helped her with just working through daily stress and anxiety that comes with work and school and the peer pressures we all have. It made me realize that we all have shit that we're going through, no matter how perfect our lives may seem to others.
But, if counseling can have such a positive impact on people, why is there such a stigma behind it? "You must be a crazy person if you go see a therapist." And really, I kind of thought that for a long time too. Normal, happy, strong people don't need help. They deal with their stress by themselves, they're never weak. WRONG. I saw online, on Calm Clinic's website, that about 40,000,000 U.S. adults have some kind of anxiety disorder (not including those that have anxiety not considered a disorder), and only about 14.3% of them actually seek help, whether with therapy or other healthy ways. I personally think that so many don't ask for help because they think they're not "crazy" enough for therapy, or they think their issues aren't big enough to need guidance. But really, if something is bothering your every day life, you probably need a shoulder to lean on.
My mom made my sister and I go to therapy after our dad died. My mom insisted on going because it was such a traumatic event at such a young age that we needed to work through it. I didn't think I needed it because it wasn't a traumatic event, death was just something that happens. But I went to therapy, and never really wanted to open up to the counselor about anything. Therefore, it never really helped. But if I would've had an open mind and been willing to deal with the trauma, I'm sure I wouldn't be in the state of mind that I'm in now, so many years later.
Bottom line is, counseling can help. It might not help everyone. Some need it, others don't. If you're willing to open up to someone who doesn't judge you and wants to help you work through things, then maybe counseling is for you. But even if you personally don't ever go, you should never tell someone close to you that they don't need it, all it does is add shame to an already touchy topic. I saw this quote from Susan Ford (President Ford's daughter), "Having to go through family counseling is a wonderful experience. I would almost recommend it to anybody. It opens a lot of communication, and it opens old sores, but once it is opened and hashed out, the rewards are far greater." Amen sister!
When I started thinking about attending therapy again, I asked a couple of my coworkers about it. There's this one girl that I work with who seems to just have everything going for her. She graduates from University of Oregon this spring, she's originally from Silicon Valley (if you don't know, it's basically the world's capital of technology, AKA, rich people paradise), she's been with the same guy for 3 years, and has friends and a social life I can only dream of having. She's overall an amazing person and a hard worker. When we were talking about therapy, I was shocked to hear that she goes to a counselor, and has been for awhile. She said it has helped her with just working through daily stress and anxiety that comes with work and school and the peer pressures we all have. It made me realize that we all have shit that we're going through, no matter how perfect our lives may seem to others.
But, if counseling can have such a positive impact on people, why is there such a stigma behind it? "You must be a crazy person if you go see a therapist." And really, I kind of thought that for a long time too. Normal, happy, strong people don't need help. They deal with their stress by themselves, they're never weak. WRONG. I saw online, on Calm Clinic's website, that about 40,000,000 U.S. adults have some kind of anxiety disorder (not including those that have anxiety not considered a disorder), and only about 14.3% of them actually seek help, whether with therapy or other healthy ways. I personally think that so many don't ask for help because they think they're not "crazy" enough for therapy, or they think their issues aren't big enough to need guidance. But really, if something is bothering your every day life, you probably need a shoulder to lean on.
My mom made my sister and I go to therapy after our dad died. My mom insisted on going because it was such a traumatic event at such a young age that we needed to work through it. I didn't think I needed it because it wasn't a traumatic event, death was just something that happens. But I went to therapy, and never really wanted to open up to the counselor about anything. Therefore, it never really helped. But if I would've had an open mind and been willing to deal with the trauma, I'm sure I wouldn't be in the state of mind that I'm in now, so many years later.
Bottom line is, counseling can help. It might not help everyone. Some need it, others don't. If you're willing to open up to someone who doesn't judge you and wants to help you work through things, then maybe counseling is for you. But even if you personally don't ever go, you should never tell someone close to you that they don't need it, all it does is add shame to an already touchy topic. I saw this quote from Susan Ford (President Ford's daughter), "Having to go through family counseling is a wonderful experience. I would almost recommend it to anybody. It opens a lot of communication, and it opens old sores, but once it is opened and hashed out, the rewards are far greater." Amen sister!
Its evyn you can get the D later text me 8103413743
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