All Things Therapy: You Don't Have to Be Sad to Benefit
Just like most everyone could benefit from daily walks and exercise, just about everyone can benefit from therapy. Working with a professional on your mental health can get you closer to future goals, figure out everyday problems, and make general progress toward the best version of yourself. Everyone has stress and shitty things happen to them: Therapy can help you just learn how to deal. Including the good, the bad, and anything weird that comes up in life.
Why Should I Go To Therapy?
Some people shudder at the word “therapy” and the idea of sharing their inner thoughts with a stranger. Some fear the stigma of seeing a therapist, but it’s fortunately becoming more and more normalized in western society.
No matter who you are, it’s no doubt a good idea to keep an eye on your mental health and your own emotions, including how to process them and how it affects others (read: checking in on your empathy, outbound anger, all that good stuff). Many people who go to therapy don’t do it because they’re feeling sad or anxious— But they want to because it’s basically another form of self care.
Mental Health Awareness
While mental health awareness becomes more prevalent, it’s important to remember what it means at its core. It sounds simple, but being aware of your mental health means checking in on yourself and your happiness once in a while— Even if you don’t struggle with depression and anxiety. Also, we encourage you to keep a close eye on your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers, and look for mental health warning signs. Talking about personal things like emotions becomes less stigmatized as we do it, and will hopefully lead to further mental health awareness.
Then, if you want to, doing the whole therapy thing doesn’t have to be a big deal. And there are many different ways to go about it depending on what you want to gain— Talk therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy are a couple common approaches. Plus, back in 2012, the American Psychologist Association even cited psychotherapy as effective, yet underutilized. Many of these approaches to therapy can be done face-to-face with a psychologist, or over the phone or video call through telehealth.
Telehealth
As mental health awareness increases and after the past couple taxing years, telehealth therapy has become more common and available. It’s a way to talk to a licensed therapist without having to meet up face-to-face. This can save you time, any hassle of transportation, and reduce some of the anxiety associated with talking to a therapist. These days, you can find options for Zoom, voice calls, instant messaging— Different types of telehealth and therapy can work better for different people.
Benefits of Therapy
While some of the benefits of therapy might seem obvious to some, it’s not so clear to others. Bringing up emotions and deep thoughts may be challenging and just not feel worth it. But anyone can work with a psychologist to advance their positive thinking and general life coping skills. And there are a host of reasons therapy can be beneficial for everyone, no matter their mental health status and even if you aren't sad, anxious, or stressed.
Therapy can help anyone:
- Talk through everyday challenges with an outside perspective
- Understand themselves and others better
- Work through specific personal frustrations
- Learn tools to deal with life that will come in handy for years
- Build a substantial support system
These benefits of therapy are just a few reasons why it can be helpful for just about everyone: You don’t have to feel sad to reap the benefits of therapy. But wherever you’re at in life, we encourage checking in on your mental health and staying mindful when it comes to addressing everyday stress and challenges.