Everyone Should Try Therapy At Least Twice
The cliche is true. If you broke your leg, you would seek help from your doctor. Professional medical help. You would expect support, a diagnosis, treatment. And if your leg kept hurting beyond expectation, perhaps you would also get a second opinion. So why are we so hesitant to reach out for professional help when it comes to our mental well-being?
Is there still too much stigma attached for some? How much relates to accessibility and affordability? Did you try it once but not really click with the therapist, so you decided it wasn’t for you?
I remember listening to an Armchair Expert podcast where they discussed therapy as a preventative measure. A sort of check-in. Like an annual doctors appointment. They were talking about couples counseling in particular, and the value of attending early on in the relationship. Long before you had any major issues, ideally even during the honeymoon phase. Because training that muscle to be used to asking for help, to be used to reflecting internally, and having access to a set of tools and informed communication were all great assets for a stable and supportive two-way relationship.
And it made perfect sense. Because surely, not only should we be normalising reaching out for support when we are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, lost, or any myriad of other things. We should be normalising regular check ins under the best of circumstances.
We are living in extreme circumstances. What’s that saying; same storm, different boats? I doubt anyone is feeling truly alright.
From small business owners facing having their livelihoods and accomplishments (not to mention their extended staff-families) wiped out. Employees living on the edge of the unknown. Single households struggling without regular human contact. City dwellers struggling with the balance of the anxiety from staying indoors vs the anxiety of sharing what few green spaces exist outside. Those now WFH permanently exhausted from the lack of clear boundaries between work and private life. Parents faltering under the pressures to keep working and earning, home schooling, caring, self-caring… And of course that’s before we have really examined the jobs lost, careers and futures derailed, educations placed on hold, life-changing debts incurred, etc etc etc.
And then there is the grief that’s shaken so many. Whatever that might look like. The bottom line being that it isn’t shared, because this isn’t normal. Restrictions mean too many find themselves grieving alone.
No one is completely okay in the midst of all that, we just appear to be managing on different levels of the scale (especially if you’re only watching through Instagram).
This week includes two important coffee stories when it comes to mental health. One focusing on parenthood in those early days and years. The other talks about grieving through traditions.
Both hopefully serving as reminders that you are in fact not alone, it was a mess in the best of circumstances so it is most certainly one now, and there is help and (while currently primarily virtual) support to be found.
And if you tried it once already, but didn’t feel sure or like you met the ‘one’, consider giving therapy another shot. Sure, it’s not for everyone but hey… Maybe having someone to chat to right now isn’t the worst idea?
xo
Please consider reaching out if you are struggling right now. Below are some resources that are available.