The Stigma Behind Therapy
The public eye tends to assume that certain people “need” to go to therapy. When hearing the word therapy, a natural response is to correlate it with a time of distress. We tend to assume the worst. While this can be true at times, therapy offers so much more. Society has misconstrued an amazing opportunity and resource, so we at The Edge are here to fix that.
Having a tough time? You can go to therapy. Loving life and feeling great? Guess what—you can still go to therapy! Regardless of how you may be feeling, it’s human nature to want to talk through things. Therapy plays such an important role in this, utilizing an outside perspective and in a productive space to do so. Whatever these feelings may be, it’s important to process them in a healthy way, so let them out!
A common misconception is that therapy is something to be “ashamed” of (to whoever made that up, bye!). 87% of Gen Z who have attended therapy have found it helpful. This statistic needs to be recognized based on society’s current view of therapy. Therapy can help us learn more about ourselves, improve our confidence and process emotions we wouldn’t normally think about outside of a session. Therapy and counseling are safe spaces to talk openly and share what has been going on in our lives. This conversation can be anything, and we mean anything. No one can tell you that your problems aren’t “heavy” enough for therapy; feelings are feelings, and if there’s an inclination to talk about them, therapy is first in line.
We don’t want you to worry; therapy isn’t like committing to a year-long Hulu subscription. It’s more like a 7-day trial period. A perk of therapy is that you don’t have to go all the time. Scheduling sporadic sessions instead of committing to going on a weekly basis is perfectly fine.
In the end, therapy may not be your thing and that’s okay! Going to therapy can be a very vulnerable experience, so a more private alternative can be journaling. Journaling is highly recommended by therapists, as it allows us to get our thoughts down on paper, having an outlet to express how we feel without having to speak to someone.
A message to our readers: your feelings are valid. How you feel is how you feel, and no one can undermine that. If you or anyone you know is interested in therapy (for any type of reason), links to Elon University’s mental health and counseling services are below. Take care of your minds!
https://www.elon.edu/u/health-wellness/counseling-services/
https://www.elon.edu/u/health-wellness/counseling-services/make-an-appointment/