Eight reasons why you should think about having therapy.
It may be a tricky topic to discuss or suggest to our friends or family who are going through challenges. Taking an honest look in the mirror can take a lot of courage, but admitting that we may need help is often the first step to reaching out for therapy and feeling better.
There may be many reasons why people resist the need for getting help.
Why Resistance occurs :
- Social conditioning/constructs/ societal expectations – negative social image, (In the US it’s completely normal and no one even bats an eyelid!) Male role modeling – men need to man up, children don’t need therapy they’re too young and will grow out of it.
- Fear of unraveling the past and being upset by it again – reliving traumas is painful and could be the biggest block!
- Can’t express self clearly – communicating with the self and others – trusting yourself to say the right things.
- Negative mindset – Being stuck – feeling nothing will change the situation.
- Being seen as weak or vulnerable in front of others is difficult so a fake armor/bravado is adopted instead.
- Finding the right therapist – needle in a haystack – where do I even start?
- Negative therapist reputations/ don’t know who to choose or what type of therapy to have?
- Not having time – Ignoring or minimizing feelings and problems, which then turn into bigger negative behavioural challenges.
How you can turn the resistance into healing, growth, and development:
- Take a breather and think about it calmly if a loved one is telling you that you may benefit from talking to someone else professionally.
- Do not worry about what others say, think, or feel about you, or what current trends are or are not, focus on your own self and healing only.
- The moment you allow yourself to be free from the burden of hurt and pain, you can lift yourself up to a better place with the help of a good therapist.
- Once you start to express yourself and open up, your head space can open up for brighter things – discussing emotions or learning new techniques on how to challenge your thought patterns also becomes easier.
- Having a positive growth mindset will open you up to new possibilities in your life you may not even have anticipated before.
- Having therapy is not weak – having therapy is courage and requires inner strength because you are dealing with the challenges and issues in your life head-on rather than dismissing them.
- Therapeutic relationship – Having a professional to support you through your hard times can make everything much more bearable. You can develop a healthy therapeutic relationship knowing that someone understands you in a non-biased way and is willing to listen and help. Visit your GP and get yourself on a waiting list as soon as possible. If you can afford it then have private therapy, the waiting lists are much shorter or not even there! Whenever I became extra busy, I extended my availability. I know many other therapists who do the same.
- Make time for yourself for therapy – it will be the best thing you can do for yourself by far when you look back. Taking accountability for your own mental health is absolutely essential to being happy. If you don’t have time to travel, then you can have it online, it cuts out the travel time.
