Hello, Lovely Soul Drop! How are you feeling? I started having psychological therapy when I was ten years old due to my father’s death. I have had different psychologists and psychiatrists since then! I have been more time with psychological help than without it, and I have learned quite a bit not only about myself but also about what it means to have therapy. I wish to share my thoughts about it with you today.
Asking for help is always good: I was very distressed at first, because I didn’t wish to be a burden for my mother or for anyone else. However, asking for help and getting the tools I needed made me more independent. It gave me the chance to fix things by myself. I thought I was walking on crotches as a bad thing. It isn’t! If I need the crotches to walk, then it’s better to have them to get where I need than to sink where I was. Needing help is intrinsic of the human existence. We created societies and tribes, because we can’t survive entirely on our own. Our nature is to call for help, it is the very first thing we learn, so asking for help is always a good idea.
It taught me about trust: Being vulnerable is quite uncomfortable. We open up to a complete stranger during therapy which can be terrifying. The thing is, if we don’t allow ourselves to trust…we can’t be helped. That’s why finding someone that makes us feel comfortable is crucial to a good therapy journey. I used to hide information from my psychologist, and that made my situation worse. Once I understood I needed to learn to trust, everything changed. Life is a gamble, there’s always a risk of trusting the wrong person. Yet, we must take the risk sometimes. Otherwise we won’t achieve our goals in life.
Healing doesn’t have a time: Your healing process doesn’t have a denominated time. There’s not an amount of days, months, or years you need to heal emotionally. Everyone has their own pace, and you should respect yours. If you get over it in three months, wonderful! If you take five years then take them. Emotional wounds are like physical ones, if you don’t heal properly then it will leave other problems that will hamper your life. Be patient, be kind, be compassionate…you’re human. You’re doing your best, and that’s all that matters.
If it doesn’t work out, try something else: I had three therapists before I got the one I felt comfortable with. I had therapy with her until I felt our process was over, and I needed someone else to help me move forward from my current standpoint. If you don’t feel like your current therapist is helping you, look for another one. If you feel like therapy isn’t for you, then that’s alright. Trying new methods when the previous didn’t work is the logical solution to any problem. I now know that giving up on something that is not working isn’t negative.
Therapists are guides: Many ask me what is like to have a psychologist, and I explain that is like having a guide that will show you what’s going on inside your mind. They don’t take decisions for you, they don’t solve your life, they are there to show you the paths you can take. The one you take is your own choice. They don’t know it all, and they can’t read minds. Their work is to guide you through your psychological processes and help you understand them. I have achieved a lot thanks to their guidance, but the choices were my own. The steering wheel is in my hands while they sit as a copilot and explain the map.
After so many years with psychological help I have grown in ways I never imagined possible, but my journey isn’t over. I have a new therapist and I will continue to learn about myself. I’m grateful for all the tools I have now, and I know I will acquire many more. Thank you for reading, and if you decide to take this path I wish all the best for you.
Podcast episodes:
Let’s Connect Monday: https://anchor.fm/bellemoon99/episodes/Lets-Connect-Monday-50---Truly-free-ev6lto
Let’s be Kind Thursday: https://anchor.fm/bellemoon99/episodes/Lets-be-Kind-Thursday-47--Give-up-euv12q