To piggyback off my last article regarding mental health, I want to share more about my experience. Everyone’s therapy journey is different and unique but my hope is that the more people share their stories, the easier it will be for another person to give therapy a try.
Mental Health is important. LIKE I REALLY CAN’T STRESS THE IMPORTANCE ENOUGH SO I’M GOING TO PUT IT IN BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS, MENTAL HEALTH Y’ALL. It is so important that you take care of your mind. We go through a lot of shit as humans. Sometimes our brains can process it and sometimes they can’t. And sometimes our brains aren’t equipped to process it and you have to seek therapeutic and medical help. And that’s OKAY!
Before I started working in the mental health field, I never gave any thought to working on my own mental health. I remember my best friend, Katie, was on her therapy journey and would always talk to me about going to therapy, the positive effects of therapy and the progress she had made. She raved about it. But I wasn’t ready to embark on the journey for myself…until I was.
“Remember that the world can wait. You should never feel guilty for taking a break and prioritising your mental health.” -Charlotte Freeman (posted on @momentaryhappiness Instagram page)
It’s really sad to know how many people neglect their mental health and then wonder why other aspects of their life are not happy or fulfilling. I was one of those people. And I quickly learned that my happiness honestly starts with my mental health.
I remember sitting at my kitchen table with my soon to be ex-husband talking about life and catching up, and out of nowhere I broke down. I remember crying so hard that I couldn’t breathe and all I could tell him was that I was sad all the time. Nothing was going the way I wanted it to in my life, nothing was making me happy, I didn’t like my job, the pandemic was driving me crazy because all of the activities I did to keep me happy were canceled. I was in a dark place and there were a lot of moving parts to my darkness. It was that night when I realized I needed help. I couldn’t take care of this on my own, I had tried and I was unsuccessful. It was time to call in the professionals. Before my ex left that night, he made me promise him that I would seek help. When he walked out of the door I immediately visited psychologytoday.com and began my search for a therapist. I found a potential therapist, sent an appointment request and the next day they called me to schedule. It was that easy. And I feel super blessed to have found such an amazing, inspiring therapist on the first attempt!
I remember being so nervous for my first appointment. I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t articulate my feelings so how was I going to explain to her how I was feeling or what was wrong with me. But once the appointment started, it all came flowing out. Therapists are good like that, y’all.
Everyone's therapy journey is different because everyone’s issues, traumas and pain are different. My therapy started off very intensive but after a few months it was more maintenance therapy which I’m still engaging in two years later. The amount of work that I have put in over the last two years is actually quite amazing and I’m so damn proud of myself. I’ve shown great success but I’ve also had some major setbacks. The waves of life can be easy to ride or they can swallow you up. It’s inevitable, it will happen. How you react and recover from those waves is what matters. And never give up on your therapy journey!
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