I come from an era of “keeping up appearances,” where no matter what was going on, you didn’t share it with ‘outsiders’ and were mostly encouraged to figure stuff out on your own. It’s really how many of us were raised. Generations of people were conditioned to sweep emotional and mental conditions under the carpet; you were expected to just suck it up.
In some cases, self-aware people may have tried to break the cycle of generations of bad habits or family dysfunction by choosing a different path in raising their own kids, but quite possibly and inadvertantly created a new and different dysfunction in the process, just by swinging the pendulum too far in the opposite direction.
Thankfully, in the last decade especially, there has been a distinct shift, and it’s become more mainstream to have a therapist or life coach, even though some still feel there is something wrong with them if they admit to others that they are seeking help. It used to carry such a stigma, but now, not so much. I hope the trend continues to make it more and more accepted and ‘the norm’ rather than the exception.
People who go to therapy are my heroes. I applaud them and the courage they have to pursue mental health and happiness. Navigating life today is way more complicated than the simpler days when there was no internet, social media and all the ways people had access to your personal life, thoughts and emotions. Yes, a person has a choice as to whether or not they utilize things like social media, but let’s face it—this is an electronic society anymore. It’s naive to think otherwise.
Therapy can help with your choices as to how you express yourself on these platforms as well as in all walks of life. Most importantly, it can help how you react to things. I believe that is one of its biggest benefits. I’m not a professional, and I don’t play one on TV (giggle), but I’ve partaken of therapy at different times in my life after traumatic events and can attest to its effectiveness. I also know many people who are in therapy and are receiving amazing results from it.
I can’t even imagine how drained a therapist must be at the end of his/her workday, but the importance of that work cannot be minimized. They make a huge impact on lives, and surely must make a collective dent in the overall mental health of our country—our world. And I, for one, believe mental health to be at the core of many of the biggest issues humanity faces right now.
But therapists can’t work their magic without clients. And we can’t have a mentally sound world if people don’t utilize the services available to them, and people won’t utilize those services if they don’t feel safe and supported to do so. I am here applauding anyone and everyone who seeks therapy for minor to major issues. Problems big or small. Never feel that you have to hide it. Wear it loud and proud!
