I Go to Therapy, and You Should Too

Therapy. Let’s talk about it, shall we? To many, it’s a scary and dirty word. It’s something private. We shouldn’t talk about it. Right? Wrong! There’s a huge stigma surrounding mental health already, and going to therapy seems to be a hush-hush concept that nobody wants to talk about. Here at The Edge, we want to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. So, let’s talk about it.

Many think that going to therapy is only for people who have something ~wrong~ with them. I’ll admit—I was among that crowd. As a sophomore in high school, I refused to recognize my own struggles with mental health, and I put off going to therapy for so long. If I went, then that meant there must be something terribly wrong with me. I thought therapy was a place for people with severe trauma to go and be psychoanalyzed. I was so wrong.

Admitting to myself that I needed to get help was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I was fifteen; I barely knew who I was, and all of a sudden I was about to tell a complete stranger all of my deepest thoughts and secrets. Walking into that first session was terrifying. Looking back, I had no reason to worry. A therapist should make a point to make you feel as comfortable as possible. That doesn’t mean it can’t be scary to think about starting your therapy journey. It’s important to remember that getting started is the hardest part. Once you start going, it only gets easier. And it really does help.

The whole point of therapy is to have a completely unbiased outside person to talk to. A therapist is someone who can look at your insecurities, fears, and struggles from an objective view and give you support and advice. I’ve been seeing my therapist for the past four years. She’s seen me through every stage of my life. She helped me talk through personal family matters that I was struggling to understand. She was there to help me manage the stress of applying to college. She knows more about my boy drama than most of my friends do. She helped me love myself. That was the whole point.

I look at my therapist as a sort of “common sense filter.” When you’ve been diagnosed with anxiety, it can be hard to not overthink and not let your mind immediately wander to the worst-case scenario. I went on medication for my anxiety, but it’s still hard to filter out the rude intrusive thoughts that love to creep their way into my mind. That’s where a therapist can really help. In a way, it’s almost comical. She can see so many things that I can’t because my anxiety simply won’t let me. If you’re someone who tends to overthink and run away with anxious thoughts, a therapist might be really good for you.

I could go on and on about how amazing my therapist is and how therapy has changed my life. But, the point I’m trying to make is that I think everyone could benefit from therapy regardless of how their mental health currently is. Even if you have a perfect life— which, let’s admit, nobody has— you’re still human. Life is designed to be stressful, and we all have our own issues. Bottling them up and thinking you can handle everything on your own is so counterproductive. Believe me, I would know. Talking to friends and family about internal and external struggles you’re facing is great, but they can sometimes be too close to you or the situation to really give a clear perspective.

Going to therapy shouldn’t be a shameful or awkward thing. At the end of the day, we can all use someone to talk to. These people are professionals. Their JOB is to listen and help. They’re trained to find the flaws in the “logic” our brains come up with and provide us with real solutions. I really think we need to end the stigma surrounding therapy. Going doesn’t mean that you’re crazy or have “issues.” It means that you’re mature enough to seek an outside source when you recognize that you need a little help. There’s nothing shameful about that.