So, finally, I took therapy...
The train has started moving and I am running as fast as I can. It seems like I could never catch up to it no matter how hard I try. It feels as if I have not moved at all. This is how I describe the past few years of my life. I was stuck with fear and time didn't stop.
As days went by and with no lasting solution from all the self-help books and mental health content my life stayed stuck. My day consisted of mindlessly scrolling through social media for hours of distraction and regretting that whole day at night and dreading how to pass time tomorrow.
The concept of mental health and therapy/counseling I know are from movies and series (Dear Zindagi). But it had always been a foreign western concept until one day a friend who had to go to therapy told that it made her life better. That is when I started considering it.
It took me almost two years from considering and actually booking a session.
So, why did it take so long?
I always believed that my mental health was not bad enough to go to therapy.
What if it didn't work, how am I going to bear the disappointment.
I blanked every time I thought about what to say in the session about what was wrong with me. As I didn't grow up in a toxic family, I had good friends so what is the problem? (3 months of contemplation for this particular point). It's me, I'm the problem...
Everyday at night, I would resolve to book a session and in the morning, I would back off. One day I impulsively booked a session .
No, I did not get answers for my worries but I could give answer to you now
(1) There was no good change happening irrespective of all the self-help content I consumed and I was miserable. It was as if the last 4 years of my life hadn't been lived at all. It was bad enough.
(2) Now I know that therapy is working. But an empty assurance is never enough. So you could take some precautions.
● Look for reviews. It is best if it is from people you know
● Book a session according to your age group, gender, and concerns (it is for your own self-assurance and has nothing to do with the ability of a councilor). Like if you have marriage concerns you can opt for someone who has experience in this field over a young person. Or to opt one in your state or country, so that they are culturally aware of our social structure.
● Be open for counseling not to work the first time.
● Consider therapy before it becomes a last resort. It gives you breathing space if one counselor didn't work for you to try another again.
3) When you are attending a session you will either tell the concerns yourself eventually or the therapist will ask you questions so that you answer.
So, is therapy working?
It definitely is. It helps to get a third person view particularly without any bias in a rational way .
It validates all your concerns and helps take responsibility.
It helps to address pacify your fears so you could have mental space to figure out your life
Therapy doesn't just give you a solution for a problem. It guides you to find them on your own.
These are a general set of my own experiences over 4 months of therapy. It will benefit uniquely to different people. Did I have a 180° transformation? No, It is a journey and I'm very well on the path to a life that was once wishful thinking. Therapy was and always will be worth a try.
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