Hi pretties! I’ve been going to therapy consistently for 2 years, and recently upped my sessions to become weekly instead of biweekly. There are so many benefits that therapy can offer, and here are 4 of them.
It’s confidential
When you speak to a therapist, everything is confidential. There is no need to be afraid of anyone knowing what you have told them. Therapy is meant to be a private way to help you heal, process trauma, and to live a better life. I feel like it’s been beneficial for me as I don’t have to be afraid of other people knowing what I speak about with my therapist.
Therapists can only release information if you sign off on release forms, which is even better. Anything you tell your therapist will stay with them, and they will not tell a single soul unless you authorize them to do so.
It teaches you better coping mechanisms
One thing I love about seeing a therapist is that it teaches me better coping mechanisms. Before attending therapy, I would often isolate myself when something bad happened. I would bottle up my feelings as well. Those are not good coping strategies, contrary to the truth. The more you bottle up your emotions, the more they build up until something makes you reach your breaking point. I’ve learned to let it all out in a journal, and to talk to people about my needs.
Another life skill I’ve learned is knowing and learning how to identify feelings. I struggle with alexithymia, which is difficulties in identifying, processing, and expressing emotions. My struggle comes from not being able to do all three of those. I am autistic, so expressing how I feel can be quite a challenge for me sometimes. It’s led to strains in my relationships. However, my therapist has provided me with a feelings wheel, so it’s easier for me to identify how I am feeling when I am looking at the wheel. I also have a feelings wheel app downloaded on my phone in case I don’t have the paper copy on me.
Therapy has taught me a lot of coping skills, especially when it comes to managing my alexithymia and anxiety. I have severe generalized anxiety disorder which I have to take medication for, and it was so severe it affected my romantic relationship and caused it to nearly break. However, I’ve learned so many coping mechanisms to manage my anxiety alongside medication, so now it is much more manageable, which I am happy about.
It encourages openness
Therapy has encouraged me to become more open with my friends. I especially struggle with being open due to past judgment. Being open is also a struggle for me because I find it very hard to express myself in speech sometimes. Oftentimes, I have to resort to writing my feelings down over text. Therapy has encouraged me to be more open with those close to me. By allowing myself to be more open, it’s strengthened my relationships with other people. I’m really happy that I am being encouraged to be more open. It allows me to think thoroughly through any problems I’m facing. Therapy also allows me to communicate in a calm manner to the people I care about.
It motivates me
Therapy has motivated me to become better, not only for myself, but for others. Before starting, I always used to be very unmotivated to change. I thought I would be a certain way for the rest of my life. Luckily, it taught me that people can change if they are willing to put in the effort. I have improved myself so much due to that motivation. I want to be better so I can live a better life. Living a better life also motivates me to try harder in everything I do.
Do you go to therapy? How has it benefitted you?
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