I’m sure reading my title, you may have thought I was speaking about the couch in my living room. But no, I am talking about that amazing couch I sit on every 2-4 weeks for my counseling session.
In 2019, I decided that I would focus on me; not for a specific reason, I just wanted to better myself — for me, my child, friends, and family. There was nothing in my life that happened for me to do this for myself but I wanted to experience it. I also feel as if my generation is getting better about speaking on counseling and the benefits of counseling. I reached out on social media (typical millennial, right?) for a possible therapist that my peers knew of and got a few recommendations. I reached out to one of the recommendations and made my first intake appointment. I remember sitting in the waiting room filling out the big stack of papers asking me about my life and what I was unhappy with and what I needed help with and thinking “Oh gosh, I am pretty happy with my life so why am I even here?” But I continued filling out the forms and had my appointment. It was great to talk to someone about my life and things I could work on to make better myself.
Let’s Fast Forward
After a few months, I realized that it wasn’t a good fit. There was absolutely nothing against her, she was great at what she did and listened well. We just didn’t mesh like I wanted to. And guess what? That is OKAY. I took a few months off from therapy and remember putting it on the back burner because “nothing was wrong with me.” I wasn’t depressed, no anxiety, I was comfortable with life at that moment. I found myself reaching out to a new counselor in the area and made my appointment. There I was again, in the waiting room filling out my forms and thinking to myself “I hope I am not wasting my time.” I went in for my intake appointment and it was EXACTLY what I needed. Just someone to talk about my problems and small issues with. I realized those small issues I have aren’t very small, they are bigger and change the way I handle normal situations in life. Every time I leave that couch, I feel so refreshed and like a huge weight is lifted off of my shoulders — just from simply talking out the small things going on in my life. I leave with homework, of sorts, each time. It could be as simple as staying the extra 5 minutes at the end of yoga for mindfulness time or answering questions about how I may or may not handle decisions that could come up in my life.
Bottom Line
You do NOT have to have something mentally wrong to seek a therapist. You may be happy with your life and find out something about yourself or why you think the way you do about certain situations. Therapy does work — you just need the right therapist for it to work and that may take time finding someone you like. At some point in our lives, we have all experienced times where we have felt stress, sad, anxious and no one person is immune to these various emotions. It is a safe place where you can express your thoughts and not be judged. Lots of people don’t realize that therapy is covered under most insurances and they won’t have to pay a ton of money to go. I highly recommend everybody to try therapy and see how amazing it truly is.
