Everyone needs to go to therapy. Why? I think Julia Michaels said it best in her song Issues – ‘I’ve got issues, but you’ve got ’em too”. We all have issues. And we all need help to learn to live with them. But there is good news, therapy is the new norm! Here are 3 Reasons to Rejoice!
I know there are people who are not convinced by the concept yet. Therapy used to be for ‘crazy people’. (Actually, that reminds me we should never refer to anyone as ‘crazy’, check out This Is Why You’re Not The Crazy Girlfriend to find out why). To be a bit more PC, therapy used to be for people with ‘mental issues’. Turns out, we all have mental issues! Who knew?
It’s hard to believe that we’ve really only started talking about mental health openly inside the last 10 years. Of course, we’ve come a long way in a short space of time but also have a long way to go. My favourite analogy that sums up the need for therapy to be normal is “we go to the gym to maintain our physical fitness, why not go to therapy to maintain our mental fitness?’. And in an effort to keep the movement going, here are 3 reasons to rejoice how far we’ve come already;
1. Imperfection Is Acceptable
No one is perfect. At first this sounds like a cute quote from a cheesy rom com but in fact I mean it very literally; no one is perfect, mentally, physically or otherwise. Therefore going to therapy will help you. There is a long standing misconception that therapy is for people who are unwell. In fact, it is for everyone who is not perfect. Or to put it bluntly, everyone.
The first reason to rejoice that therapy is the new norm is that clearly we are all starting to recognise and accept that no one is perfect. And that alone puts less pressure on us to portray ourselves as such. We all know social media has a habit of portraying a perfect but fake reality – that is what inspired our recent post 4 Reasons We Should Stop Idolising Influencers – but being able to talk openly about therapy as a normal part of life, starts to reverse the perception of this fake perfect reality. Now, people can also show and talk about the imperfect parts.
2. Freedom To Make Better Choices
Life is not easy. We know that. Therefore we can’t do it on our own. Yet up until recently, we’ve been giving it a real go. Or have we? In 2019, almost 20% of Europeans reported drinking heavily at least once per month and 29% of us drink weekly. Unfortunately the statistics don’t tell us why people drink. And I know there is certainly a group who are doing it for fun. But there are also a group doing it to cope. If that’s you, maybe it’s time to think ‘Is Now A Good Time To Reassess My Relationship With Alcohol?’ I did and couldn’t be happier.
As Therapy continues to become part of life for everyone, I believe we will be less reliant on consuming harmful substances in excess to deal with life. Instead we will be able to make better choices for physical and mental well being. And we won’t have to hide the fact we go to therapy. Or feel judged. We will have the tools that we need to cope with and manage the challenges that life throws at us, in a non harmful way.
3. Know Better To Do Better
I am guilty of using the phrase “that is just the way I am”. In reality, I’ve only started to know myself in the last few years. And with that I’ve come to realise that we can change how we think, feel and act. But we have to know better to be able to do better. For me, therapy is not about anyone else. It is about us and our internal world.
But giving ourselves the time and space to process, understand and develop our thinking allows us to do better in every aspect of our lives. Internally we have a better understanding of how we respond to things and we can implement coping mechanisms to support our well being. Externally, we can be less defensive and critical because we know better. We are more understanding and can approach any situation with more empathy. The world needs more empathy – am I right?!
Disclaimer: It's Not Easy
Although there are a lot of benefits to normalising therapy, it doesn’t mean it’s easy. It is hard to be vulnerable and truly be honest with yourself let alone anyone else. And it can be scary to open up those old wounds. The best thing about therapy being the new norm is that we can actively maintain our mental wellbeing.
Maintain on an ongoing basis rather than wait for the straw that breaks the camel’s back such as a break up, a bereavement or whatever else might happen in life. We can deal with small things as they come so they never become big things. We can develop techniques to manage and live with our challenges so that they don’t take over and lead to more complex health issues. If you’ve been thinking about starting therapy, this is your sign. I truly believe it is for everyone. Maybe that means you too.
If you are struggling with your mental health there are always services out there to help you. In Ireland, check out these 8 Organisations That Can Help You If You Are Suffering With Your Mental Health or for those of you in the UK – An A-Z List Of Mental Health Organisations in the UK. If you are based elsewhere, a quick google search for “Mental Health Services in X” is a great place to start.
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