I had heard it from friends, acquaintances, and blog posts: “everyone should go to therapy.” Did that really apply to me? Blanket statements are often hyperbolic, and my understanding of therapy was that it was a tool used to treat people with serious emotional trauma, depression, and other issues that I didn’t identify with.
Over dinner with one of my best friends, the idea that maybe I could benefit from seeing a therapist became more attractive. My friend shared that they had been going to a therapist and enjoying the sessions, and thought that maybe I would be interested. I agreed to take the therapist’s contact information down, and pondered whether to actually give them a call.
My biggest concern was not that I had some deep-seeded issues that I was ignoring, but that I would be wasting the therapist’s time, and my money. There isn’t anything obviously wrong with me. I’m happy. I feel generally fulfilled in life. I love my family and friends. I’m grateful to be who I am. What could we have to talk about?
An introductory session with the therapist put my concerns at ease. “Therapy is a tool we can use to work toward becoming the best version of ourselves, whatever that looks like to you. You don’t need to have experienced a big trauma, or have a disorder, to reap the benefits of talking with a therapist.” Reassured that this could be worth our time and effort, I decided to follow through and schedule weekly sessions.
By the fourth session via Zoom, I was crying on my keyboard about things I hadn’t thought about in years. They weren’t big-time traumatic events, but things that I had consciously or unconsciously decided to bury and leave unattended. Without addressing them, they clearly festered under the surface, and brought me to tears so many years later. Each time we reflect on these experiences, I feel that sadness, but the way that I think about them is changing, and the actions I take during the week to improve my relationship with them.
I’m so grateful to my friend for suggesting therapy to me, and I sincerely hope that whoever reads this gives it a thought. It’s fantastic to have a professional, to whom you have no emotional ties, listen to what you’re feeling, give you some ideas about how to work with those feelings, and help you achieve your goals. They can identify things you didn’t know were there, and provide you with tools that you already have to improve your relationship with yourself and others.