Now, I’ve never been a person who tries to impose her ideas onto others. Not only do I never impose my beliefs, but in fact, I hold an attitude of healthy skepticism towards most ideas I carry. So, what I’m about to say, I say after lots of thought, reflection, and experience; everybody needs a therapist.
From my own observations, there’s still a lot of stigma around having a therapist nowadays, especially among more traditional families, those raised within collectivistic cultures, and unfortunately among men.
When you tell most people to see a therapist, their first reaction is usually “why, there’s nothing wrong with me?” or something along the sorts. Telling some people that they might benefit from seeing a therapist is equivalent to diagnosing them with Bipolar Disorder. Some merely think that therapy is a huge waste of money and that they can do what a therapist could do, much more effectively for themselves. And others feel uncomfortable with the idea of opening up to a complete stranger.
Unfortunately, I think the misconception which surrounds therapy is that you should only go if you are facing serious issues. While that may have been true in the past, today, I believe that everyone who can, should benefit from it.
This is why:
As a Psychology student who felt she should solve her own emotional obstacles, I reluctantly began therapy about five months ago after realizing that I was experiencing an abnormally high level of anxiety which was becoming counterproductive. While that is something that I still struggle with at times, I no longer see my therapist for that reason alone.
Now, my therapist and I work on improving various aspects of my interpersonal relationships, as well as enhancing my self-esteem. As a result, I experience less anxiety, judge myself less harshly, and have learned to communicate better. Overall, I can say with absolute certainty that I feel more confident and satisfied with myself, not to mention that I find comfort in feeling as though I have made a close friend with whom I can share everything with.