Prior to the pandemic talking about mental health was not at the forefront of everyone’s mind. As a matter of fact, people didn’t talk about it too much because they didn’t want to be labeled due to the stigma. The pandemic caused a shift and honestly I think a lot of people changed the way they viewed counseling.
I’ve heard people talk highly about their therapist and recommended them to family and friends. The pandemic cased a spike in mental health treatment leaving some therapist booked and referring potential clients to their colleagues, which is amazing because I think it’s important that we all see a therapist at some point in our lives.
However some people are still reluctant, some say because of the cost, others are still concerned from the stigma. Either way it is important to put yourself first and sometimes that considers therapy. I can talk for personal experience therapy is life changing and here’s how.
Makes you accountable: we all have to be accountable for how things pan out. Therapy makes us look at ourselves differently. We commonly go to therapy because of something or someone else like a stressful job, finances, or someone who appears to cause frustration in our lives. However, therapy allows us to view our challenging situations differently.
Process situations: we all need to process a situation when it happens. That’s one of the reasons we go to that best friend or appointment family member when things occur. Processing is critical because it allows us to rethink what happened leading us to express ourselves. However, you cannot process with anyone…that’s why its imperative to do so with the right person. Some people you reach out to for support won’t be much of a support at all. Have you ever reached out to someone and they criticize you or said, “your stupid,” or “you’re better than me I wouldn’t tolerate that,” we all know that one person that we refused to go and share our business with. Or worse yet, you reach out to someone and then another person calls you because they heard about what happened from the person you shared your story with. We have all been there. I am sure you are reading this recalling your own incident. Therapist on the other hand have confidentiality, (unless you plan to harm yourself or others) they have to respect your privacy and you do not have to be concern about someone you know calling you due to what you shared with your therapist.
Sense of relief: talking to a professional gives one a sense of relief, once you build that report with a therapist you can be honest without judgement. Therapist are about facts and they only know what you tell them. Knowing someone hears what you are saying and can find a way to help you through the challenges is worth any session…if you ask me. We can’t always figure things out on our own, especially when we are living it. Having someone view the situation from outside the box helps because it’s hard for them to be bias.
I hope this was helpful. I am going go on a limb and say that it was. There’s a lot of good things that come from therapy, yet these three are the ones that stick out to me the most. There’s also a resource of information to help you along with educating yourself on mental health and therapy. You can do so by checking out this link here.
We have multiple magazine issues along with articles that can help you, grasp a better understanding on mental health. Don’t just take it from me, read what other therapist and even clients say about treatment. There’s personal stories you can read up on, so take a moment and grab a copy for yourself today.