Since I’ve restarted therapy I cannot stop talking about it. On my Instagram I even started a series called “Sam Goes To Therapy” where every month I post a video about what ever lesson I learnt in therapy.
I have seen a drastic change in how I am, feel and interact since starting and scream praises to anyone who will listen to me!
Below are three of my reasons in no particular order why you should start therapy!
Objective Advice
I didn’t realise how many of my friends giving me advice, especially about relationships (all types, from their own trauma informed perspectives. This became even clearer to me when I started talking more and more about my relationships with my therapist and compared what was said in therapy and my friends. Remember your friends are (usually) not trained therapists and will often interpret situations using their own perspectives informed by their own experiences.
With starting therapy, there have been situations where the way I interpreted someone else’s actions had everything to do with me and not them. Sometimes I like being in an echo chamber and know what friends to go to for that- your therapist will not be that.
No Judgement or Shame
It took a while for me to get comfortable talking about certain topics with my therapist. In fact we all know that I’ve stopped and restarted therapy quite a few times. I’m a huge fan of shopping around to get a health care worker that’s the right fit. My current therapist is pretty awesome, however it still took some time to build trust and reach the point where I could share things I was embarrassed about. Your therapist isn’t supposed to judge or shame you, but rather provide a safe space where you can talk about yourself and concerns and have them addressed over time in a way that maintains your dignity.
Explanations for and Understanding your Patterns
Understanding the reasons behind why certain things and behaviours triggered me and even why I reacted a certain type of way or kept dating the same types of persons have done wonders to help me both heal and break my cycles. It is extremely hard to move away from the tried and true road that you’ve always taken. And for me it was extremely difficult to see a way out. I knew certain behaviours and patterns weren’t what I wanted but no matter what I tried I kept reaching the same end result. Having external input from someone who is both trained and not you makes it easier to see the patterns and change the patterns. Now I’m less afraid that I’ll end up doing the same things over and over again because I know I’ll have someone to help me see what I’m doing with enough grace.
There are definitely more than 3 reasons why you should start therapy. But these three have been my major reasons to not just start but also continue. Therapy has been a great addition to my life and I really wish more persons could access therapy. Unfortunately it’s almost seen as a luxury because of how much it can cost and the waiting times for many therapists. That’s a conversation for another day- making therapy more accessible and affordable.
However, if you’ve been looking for your sign to start- this is it.
Merry Christmas!
Samantha
