Therapy is well known as a common treatment for mental health issues, but it carries a bit of stigma. People don’t want others to know that they have problems in their lives, and fear the vulnerability that accompanies such interactions. But therapy is something that nobody should be ashamed of—and everybody should try.
- Talking to somebody is awesome
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I’m not exaggerating. Spilling the tea to somebody who legally can’t gossip to your friends about it is a freeing experience, even if what you’re saying wouldn’t harm anybody if it got out (Note: your therapist CAN tell somebody if they think you’re going to hurt yourself, but everything else stays in the room). Maybe your friend has been pushing your buttons lately, or you just need to vent about how you’ve been stressed out without the lingering (usually unfounded) feeling like you’re burdening others. No matter how small or insignificant, having somebody to listen to what you usually bottle up, without having to let people involved know about it, takes a weight off your back. And telling someone about something big (trauma, anxiety and depression, life struggles, etc.) can help validate those emotions and create ways to deal with them in a healthy manner. Sure, it can be nerve racking at first to let a supposed stranger know about things, but once you get used to it, talking to somebody and letting the pressure off is an amazing experience.
- It provides new perspectives
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Sometimes when you’ve been thinking about a situation from one side for so long, it becomes the only avenue your thoughts go down. But somebody who hasn’t been thinking about it the same way as you, and who is trained to see other ways of considering things, can help provide new perspectives and angles on things that might be bothering you, no matter how small.
- Lack of bias
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You know your friends and family, and most people you turn to know them, too. But a therapist doesn’t know about what those in your life have done and said in the past, and so any bias that you or your loved ones may have about a situation is significantly lessened. Emotional ties to certain people and their actions aren’t relevant to a person that’s removed from a situation, providing you with logical and unbiased, reasonable responses.
- You might learn something about yourself
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By talking about your life and your experiences, and explaining them to somebody who doesn’t know anything about you, patterns of behavior and habits that you might not even notice about yourself come to light. Your therapist might even point them out to you, creating a great lesson in self awareness, and teaching you about the things you don’t even notice you do.
- It can help normalize the experience
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Therapy is something that not a lot of people partake in normally, but it can be so incredibly helpful for mental health. Although it’s viewed in our society like a specialized treatment for those with mental health issues, therapy truly can be for anyone. Think of it like your emotional checkup or visit with your PCP—especially considering that your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Plus, it takes the pressure off of those whose do need to go to specialized therapy for mental illnesses or disorders—you wouldn’t shame a person for seeing a cardiologist, so an OCD specialist would be the same. By taking mental health as seriously as physical health, and normalizing the experience of regular upkeep and care, everyone benefits.