Mental Health Awareness Month!

May is Mental Health Awareness month so I figured to make a post about mental health, the benefits of therapy, and bettering yourself. I'm going to basically make an argument for how great therapy is (not even as a way to promote myself, just in general), and how much stigma and avoidance sucks.

Many of us suffer with all different types mental health concerns, and most of us suffer silently. We tend to brush it off and tell ourselves we're fine, we're too busy, we can't afford therapy, blah, blah. Doing this is the number one way to turn a treatable concern into a major crisis. What we're avoiding very rarely goes away. There may be small moments that you feel "better", which reinforces the idea that you don't need therapy, but the bad feeling usually/always comes back. Things that are not treated don't just fix themselves. If you have an infection, and you let it sit without taking antibiotics, it festers--so do our feelings/troubles. It also takes a lot of hard work to take a good look within and accept and work with that. Therapy isn't always easy, it gets down deep and can sometimes be painful, but it's worth it for what you get after you go through it.

Let this be a reminder that you are important and what you are going through matters. There is so much pain and suffering that we don't need to go through, or if we do need to go through--we don't need to do it alone. There are so many things that get in the way of people seeking help, and usually it's themselves. Not to downplay financial concerns, actually not having the room for it in your schedule, fear of what it could bring up, etc, as I understand those are legitimate reasons, but many times we don't define it as important enough and therefore excuses get in the way. If we had to go pick up a million dollars every week, we'd fit that in our schedule.

What I absolutely hate seeing the most is embarrassment deterring people from therapy. The stigma is so real and even though we have come a long way, we still have miles and miles to go. The idea that attending therapy is something to be ashamed of, or is saying of some huge flaw in your personhood is so sad. Society has created this stigma, and I don't blame those that believe it--I just hope that they can see past that to get the help they may need.

I try to do my part in extinguishing this stigma by constantly talking about therapy and mental health. Admittedly I probably annoy my family/friends with how passionate I am about it, but I continue to say it because every time I sit in my therapist chair I see how much it helps my patients. I see people come in with problems that seem so monstrous, and leave with an idea of how to approach it. I see people that are going through the hardest of times getting to walk out of my office feeling understood, validated, and like a weight has been lifted from their shoulders.

To really sit down and think about what goes on throughout the week and get some perspective is insanely helpful. When we just go through the motions, without taking a second to think, there's no chance for us to be intentional with our actions. And without being intentional it's hard, or nearly impossible, to make any real changes or improve.

To sum up, the goal of any awareness month is--wait for it--to bring awareness to a certain issue. I hope that for May--and for always--we can pay more attention to mental health concerns, learn to see signs in friends/family, and show them that it's okay to need some help.