Our culture stigmatizes seeing a therapist. You may have felt that look in someone's eyes when you told them you were thinking about visiting one yourself. Next time you encounter that awkward moment, remember this simple "reframe":
Therapy is house cleaning after a crazy party. I love a good party but if we don't clear out the emotional "baggage" of our past, our living space gets messy and uncomfortable. Seeing a therapist doesn't mean you don't know how to take care of your home; it's just easier to clean up when you have a little help!
Therapy is decluttering. What do you really need to keep? What needs to be tossed out or donated? Doesn't it feel good when you finally clear out the junk drawers and attic? 12 Step programs utilize this principle as a means of letting go of personal "defects," which inhibit a person's conscious contact with their higher power. Therapy helps reorganize and simplify your life so you can live truer to what makes you happy.
Therapy is disinfecting a cut. If a cut isn't cleaned, it becomes infected. The longer the infection lasts, the more trouble it becomes. All that is needed to heal is to clean the wound. Nature does the rest. Shipibo shamans of the Amazon follow this principle to clear blockages in a suffering person's body, mind, and spirit so healing can happen.
Life brings on the messes, doesn't it?
Next time someone looks at you quizzically because you are seeing or want to see a therapist, you might consider asking them why they aren't! Ok, you might keep that one to yourself, but you could say, "I'm just doing a little work around the house." Afterall, "sweeping the dirt under the rug" eventually makes a noticeable bulge...
If you could use a little help from a trained therapist to turn your big mess into "bite size" chunks, get ahold of me at www.wildwaysintegration.com/contact.
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