One of the questions that I receive most often is “Why should I go to therapy?” As a therapist and a walking example of what therapy can do, I’m aware of so many benefits to going to therapy that I don’t know where to start. Usually, if you’re wondering why you should go to therapy, you’ve already noticed a bothersome nudge. While there are countless benefits that come from therapy, below are a few to highlight.
Mental health has a direct impact on one’s physical health. When mental health concerns go untreated, consequences are far-reaching and can include sleeping issues, headaches, lack of focus, gastrointestinal problems, and many more. Addressing mental health concerns in therapy can lead to a decrease in symptoms without the use of pharmaceutical medication. Therapy can also shed light on ineffective coping mechanisms such as substance use, “retail therapy”, over or under eating, and avoidance, as well as the underlying reasons for these behaviors.
Have you heard the saying “how someone reacts to you is more about them than you”? This saying refers to those that aren’t managing their emotions. Avoiding feelings, allowing them to build and then “explode”, and excessive expression of emotions are symptoms of unmanaged emotions. Therapy often leads to exploring emotions and processing the experiences that evoke intense emotions. Using the skills learned in therapy can lead to healthy expressions of emotion that stop reactive outbursts.
While learning to manage emotions, you’ll likely learn words to put to your internal experiences. The ability to communicate what you’re experiencing leads to emotional connections with others. Improving the emotional connection that you share promotes improved relationships. While this can apply to intimate partners, it also applies to family members, friends, and colleagues. When your emotions are easily accessible and shared, others can understand your perspective and develop empathetic responses.
Therapy allows time and space to evaluate what is most important to you. By engaging in the evaluation you get to choose what stays in your life and what is no longer serving you. We typically function on autopilot, but the art of therapy asks you to dig deeper and assess the parts of your life that you love, as well as the parts that you no longer have use for. When you make decisions to strip your life of the people, experiences, or baggage that weighs you down, your way of life is truly yours. Liberating.
There are many other ways that therapy can be beneficial and invite you to explore them further. Therapy is a personal journey of incredible self-love and self-improvement. These journeys evoke a sense of purpose and meaningfulness. If you’re looking to improve your life, contact us online or call us at (512) 914-6635 to schedule a consultation.
Effective communication takes time and can require a shift in the relationship. If just one partner is committed to improving communication, the relationship has the potential to change for the better. If you’d like to learn more about your communication style and how to improve your relationship, contact us online or call us at (512) 914-6635.