One thing Therapy Taught me was…?

@Desmynn6789 Therapy taught me that it's okay to admit I'm not okay, and it's okay to ask for help. Therapy also taught me that self care can come in a variety of forms, mine including: painting, reading, writing, sitting outside, calling my sister, etc.

Have a lovely day babes.

Therapy taught me that mental illnesses are oftentimes no different than physical ones when it comes to healing.

You'll have to actually make changes in your life.

When you break your leg and you usually go for a jog each morning, you wouldn't continue to go for that jog because it's harmful now. When you're depressed and you usually don't mind staying alone for a longer period of time, you shouldn't isolate yourself anymore because now it's harmful.

The same with medication. Take medication for a heart condition because there's something wrong with it. Often times you can work against it by eating healthy and getting regular exercise as well as doing regular grounding techniques. And if mental illness gets too bad you'll have to take medication and then work against it by doing lifestyle changes. The problem in both cases is an organ that needs a little extra help first so you can get up and change your lifestyle to give it back power.

Healing takes work. Physical healing might need movement improving therapy. Mental healing might need talk therapy.

But you'll actually have to work for what you want. It won't heal if you don't change what makes you sick.

Therapy taught me to accept that I will always have to put in a little extra work on staying healthy, compared to my peers. That I'll always have to remember to not give up on my workout routines, to eat healthy, to go to bed and stay up at reasonable times even when those around me are having a lazy day in bed, to stay away from drugs and alcohol and to always check in with myself to look for any kind of signs that a new episode will happen and to work against it straight away.

Therapy taught me to not get angry about all of this but instead be compassionate with myself and to remember that working hard to stay healthy is the most beautiful thing to invest energy in. And at the end of the day I'll feel better when I didn't spend a lazy day in bed than my peers who will awkwardly realize they "didn't get anything done today".

Therapy has taught me compassion for myself and that just because I have to do things to keep my brain healthy and working, it's not less important than remembering my daily medication for my heart.

Although I never really connected with any therapist I have been to, one thing that my current therapist has made me realise was that I was feeling very anxious. It seems strange, but I am rarely aware of my body, and how tense I was, which resulted from an underlying feeling of anxiety I was not aware of. I did not until then realised that I have social anxiety, because I usually act confident (or try to) and I do not tend to overthink what others think of me, in a conscious way. It seems like I do this unconciously. Now, I am more aware of my reactions and I often stop wjat I am doing and try to de-tense

@Desmynn6789 im honestly never been to therapy but was considering it. i enjoyed reading how it has helped you all and i am more willing to try in future now. thank you.

@Desmynn6789 to smile through gritted teeth, I learned how to be studied, not as a peer, as a file. I learned how to not cry when i felt like screaming

@Desmynn6789

the difference between a response and a reaction.

the whole concept of validation

we can change our actions to emotional distress through repetition of a new learned coping skill.

that I should argue with the negative inner critic opinion a bit more, or at least don’t overgeneralise…

To name a few teaching’s, I could write so much more but I don’t have the energy required.

After hitting a rough patch, my sister suggested trying online therapy. So I figured what the bleep, can’t hurt.

Found one and started blabbing about my worldly woes, and the therapist listens and asks a few questions and doesn’t say much.

Eventually the tone of her responses starts changing and she asks ‘why are you so nice?’ Thinking this was a question designed to cause me to reflect on why I arrived at the place in life I was at, I thoughtfully answered. A bit later she’s like ‘you deserve so much better.’ Okay, nice encouragement. Definitely needed.

But then after nearly an hour, she says she recently broke up with her boyfriend and really enjoyed talking with me, would it be possible to talk outside of therapy… What?!

Making poor life decisions seemed like a good new direction, and I gave her my name for the big I G social media platform.

We talked for some days, and at the end I was feeling more emotionally drained. But she said she felt better. So I guess it all works out in the end.

So what did therapy teach me?

A lot, actually.

It taught me that everyone sometimes needs to feel heard, even those who may be the ones expected to do the listening.

Also that something about my personality attracts those with broken hearts or damaged psyche.

Therapy taught me how to be honest about my emotions while I share experiences from my past. I have a tendency to laugh away things that are serious. I am still learning to be comfortable with myself especially when I feel anxious.

I was taught in therapy that you need to be yourself and focus on yourself before getting into a relationship and stay positive and strong especially now. A breakup is a starting process but healing is easy on some but you need to learn about yourself more.

There are toxic relationships, and once you get out you see everything you were blinded by