#26 We All Need Therapy

The terms mental health, treatment, therapy, or rehab have had a negative connotation in this country for as long as they have been in our lexicon. This is a shame because in reality seeking some sort of mental health care is no different than seeking physical health care. At least it shouldn’t be. Americans have historically been terribly unhealthy. We eat the wrong things, we don’t get enough sleep, we don’t exercise and so on. We then develop symptoms that are a consequence of those decisions. This is well known and accepted as normal. But we also neglect our emotional health just as much if not more. We hear about someone seeking to better themselves in some sort of mental health therapy and we immediately think, “wow their life must be so messed up if they have to get mental help.” The reality is, we all need help. We all need therapy, we all have struggles and battles that we fight. We all suffer from depression at times, we all develop grief and anxiety. We all experience traumatic events or periods of great loss. Most of us don’t cope well with any of those things because we simply don’t have the tools to deal with them. Instead, we suppress the feelings. We soldier on, we stay quiet, we fear what others will think if they knew the kind of things we are struggling with. The shame and stigma is overwhelming. Especially in a small town or within a small community of friends or church members. We feel the need to outwardly portray perfection or even just “normal” lives. Not realizing that what we are really going through is normal, it is in fact no different than what our neighbors and relatives are also dealing with. The biggest problem is that we constantly compare ourselves with others. But what we see from the outside looking in, is almost never accurate. My current struggles might be different than yours, but I guarantee you’ve had just as worse trials in the past and most likely you will in the future. So let’s shatter the stigma around mental health, let’s look at it the same way we do physical ailments, let’s work to expand mental health coverage for insurance plans and let’s stop judging what we don’t understand and just choose to be kind and considerate. Compassion and sympathy is a choice.