Originally Published on The Recovery Village
This might sound obvious to a lot of people who read any kind of recovery blog, but let me be very clear… the word ‘Therapy’ is NOT a bad word. It saddens me that I feel I must emphasize this, but something happened to me recently that made me think… Maybe this wasn’t so obvious to as many people as I originally hoped, and maybe this is a much bigger problem than I realized. The more time I spent thinking about it, the more I decided that the word THERAPY needed to be defended. Why are we so afraid to bring up a potential solution to a plethora of potential problems? When will we stop ignoring the kinds of conversations that need to be had so we can finally discover the root of all evils? I am a firm believer in the power of talk therapy. It is at least a good place to start for anyone out there who is feeling alone.
Be Loud & Proud Of your Therapy!
The first time I realized that therapy was a taboo topic was in the middle of a conversation with a friend. I am not sure what we were discussing exactly, but every time the word ‘therapy’ was mentioned, it was said in a hushed tone. At first, I let it slide, but then it kept happening, and I felt the need to point it out. Maybe they were unaware of it occurring. Either way, I wanted to hear why they felt the need to do this. Turns out, they did not realize how silent their voice got when saying the word, but once I pointed it out to them, they became aware of it and started pointing it out themselves. This started a whole new conversation about THERAPY, and it allowed me a chance to speak proudly of it. I do believe there is a stigma about therapy in this world that is unfortunately very alive and well. How do we go about tackling this? I think it starts with just talking about it in the first place. I proudly talk about my experience with therapy because without it, I would not have been able to progress in my healing. There is a freedom to be gained in not feeling shame about what should NOT be causing you shame in the first place. Admitting that you are in therapy is the same as admitting that you are working on yourself. Good for you! I am proud of you! We all need to be doing that!
There is no need to stay silent about THERAPY!
I will be the first one to admit that therapy has changed my life in so many positive ways. It took me two years of recovery before I swallowed my pride and decided to ask for professional help. Admitting to yourself that to move forward, and grow, will require the help of others…well, that is something to be proud about. Regardless of who you are, or what you have been through in this life thus far…we ALL have baggage, and situations that have damaged us, changed us, or shaped us in some way. How far they reach, or how deep they go, well, the only way to truly heal is to get to the bottom of it all. Therapy has been doing that for me, and I refuse to ever stay quiet about what has been working. Therapy is a matter of being introduced to parts of yourself that you may have been avoiding, or incapable of knowing that there was any other way to live outside of how you have chosen to survive. Therapy has allowed me the opportunity to set certain truths free, learn from what it all means, and finally be able to live with myself in a much more understanding way. For me, the purpose of therapy is to come to terms with yourself and develop ways to managing your life in the healthiest way. Where is the harm in that?
Therapy is NOT the enemy!
Anyone that ever tells you that therapy does not work has either never been fully open-minded enough to trust the process, or they have just been shaped by different experiences. Regardless, none of that has anything to do with you. You are going to come across those who won’t understand the benefits of therapy, nor will they even entertain the idea of it being able to work. That is their own battle to fight. You should never feel the need to defend what works for you because, at the end of the day, that is all that matters. Therapy has never been your enemy. If anything, therapy is the ally that you have been looking for all along.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate you.
Megan Lawrence