Why Should I Consider Therapy?

In our society today of flashing video games, vibrating texts and beeping phones it’s no wonder that the year swirls by faster than the last. No doubt that i-phones, texting, cell phones, facebook and twitter help us to keep in touch, live more productively and aid us in many aspects of our daily lives.  BUT, in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives of work, family, socializing, household responsibilities, benevolent endeavors, when do make time for understanding our own thoughts, emotions and behaviors?   Do we muddle through life handling the next task in front of us or are we living consciously?   What does it even mean to live life consciously?  To live life consciously means to know who you are, your likes and dislikes, it means exploring where you have been, where you are now and where you are going.  It means being honest with yourself and it means having the courage to feel the truth.

In my experience as a counselor, I have seen many clients disconnect from their emotional selves in an effort not to feel.  Sometimes, we disconnect from our emotional selves so that we don’t have to experience pain, embarrassment, sadness, sometimes we even resist feeling joy, pride or happiness.  Yet, we are given the ability to experience emotion just as we are given the ability to experience physical pain.  As physical pain is necessary as an indicator to aid in our safety and wellbeing equally imperative to our wellbeing are our emotions.  If we ignore the important emotional aspect of ourselves we lack very valuable information in managing our lives.  More importantly, we stray from truth which thwarts us from our highest good.  At its worst, straying from this path of truth can eventually lead to an unfulfilling life, depression, anxiety or perhaps even a physical manifestation of the pain (our bodies will get our attention one way or another).

So…I encourage you to take time to live life consciously, to ask yourself the difficult questions and most importantly to be honest with yourself.  It is paramount to have a dedicated time and place to explore and ponder yourself.  Sometimes that could be through journaling, prayer, meditation, friendship and at other times it may mean that you need someone to guide you through this exploration.  At its best, therapy provides a safe place, providing accountability and objectivity.  Therapy is not magic (my hairdresser’s plaque above her mirror comes to mind it reads “I am a beautician…not a magician”), it won’t necessarily solve all of your problems or “fix you” and sometimes change seems like an arduous uphill battle.  But like life, therapy is a journey worth taking.  I hope that you find the time to live life consciously this year better yet…this decade.