The Benefits of Therapy
I’ve done therapy before, and it works. It was one of the most invaluable experiences I’ve had during my lifetime. But I didn’t stay in therapy. In fact, most of the personal development work I did during that period was outside of therapy; I was assigned many books to read by my therapist, and I read all of them.
Therapy is a superb outlet to dive into when you need some objective help in one or more areas of your life. The benefits are astronomically positive if you do therapy right. You have to do the work, though. One of the reasons people stay in therapy is because they don’t do the work, and they kid themselves into believing they are doing the work by staying in therapy long-term. If you do the work (i.e., make active changes in your behavior, decisions, relationships, and thinking patterns), you will find yourself graciously telling your therapist at some point, “Goodbye, and thank you.”
The Benefits of Therapy:
Have an objective sounding board.
Gain access to information, useful strategies, and materials that can transform your life.
Address areas of your life you didn’t know needed tending.
Empower yourself to help and heal yourself.
Deal with and let go of things from your past.
Learn how to let go.
Have someone objective to chat with regularly.
Improve your mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health.
Improve the way you live your life.
Come up for air.
Encourages journaling your thoughts and feelings.
Encourages you to read books you’ve probably never given a second thought about.
Address the shadow work that needs to be done
Book Recommendations:
1. Shortcut Through Therapy By Richard Carlson
2. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff By Richard
3. Carlson The Power of Now By Eckhart Tolle
4. A New Earth By Eckhart Tolle
**For people in caregiving careers (e.g., therapist, psychologist, doctors, ministers, chaplains, etc.), long-term therapy has proven to be effective for some.
Long Term Therapy Is Debilitating
I chose the word “debilitating” to describe the effects of long-term therapy on some people because that is exactly what it does.
Many people can tackle and address their issues within 0–3 years if you go every so often; if you go every week or multiple times a week, you can cut this time in half. After this period, it’s a great idea to take a break, focus on reading, and practice everything you have learned. Hopefully, you have already been practicing the new behaviors during that time as well.
What does belaboring a subject for years on end do for you?
It debilitates you. It jeopardizes your ability to move forward with your life. It keeps you stuck. It keeps you sad. It keeps you encapsulated by certain unproductive emotions and feelings.
Unfortunate things happen to everyone. People have experienced unimaginable traumatic situations, and for those who have gone through traumatic situations, it can be healthy to stay in therapy for more extended periods. But when has it been long enough for you to take a break from therapy? 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? How long does someone need to continue talking about pain, hurt, problems, regrets, and mistakes to wake up and realize they have the power to move on with their life?
There is nothing more painful to watch than someone who creates pain for themselves by re-hashing the past over and over again when they can make a new decision to move forward with their life now.
Deal With The Past
Some people go to therapy to deal with ongoing issues, but many people go to therapy to deal with their past. Furthermore, many ongoing issues are because people have not dealt with their past.
If you ignore the past and the lessons it taught you or tried to teach you, the past will find a way to creep into your present days.
The best advice I can give here is to deal with your past immediately and quickly. Don’t ignore the past, don’t brush off the past, and don’t mitigate events and circumstances you went through in the past. If people hurt you, deal with it, forgive them (which may take time), and let it go.
DEAL WITH YOUR PAST.
This is one of the most productive things you can do for your present, future, relationships, career, health (i.e., mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, and sexual), and overall well-being.
Obsessing The Past
Once you deal with your past, you mustn’t obsess about it. Many people choose to obsess over their past instead of dealing with it. Developing an obsession with the past is where people get into trouble.
When I’ve tried to hold conversations with people who live in the past, I often can’t because they are so caught up in their emotions and about the past that the conversation goes nowhere except backward.
Rehashing the past keeps you stuck and prevents you from moving forward; it can also alienate you and repel you from establishing healthy and wholesome relationships.
Long-term therapy keeps you stuck in an infinite loop. A loop that keeps you focused on the past instead of living in the moment and planning your future.
Alternatives
Therapy works! I’ve tried it. I’m a firm believer in its effects. But I will say this:
1. I usually had a set number of therapy sessions to complete within 3–6 months.
2. I did most of my therapy outside of therapy by reading self-help books assigned to me by my therapist.
3. If I needed to go back to therapy, it was not for the same issue.
Time is the healer of all wounds, and not everyone heals in the same amount of time. But I guarantee, not constantly thinking about your wounds will help you recover and heal faster, live in the moment, and experience your best life now.
In the first section of this article, I listed four books that have impacted my life on immeasurable levels. I recommend if you need to go to therapy, start with these four books. Books have a magical way of opening our hearts, minds, souls, and infinite intelligence.
If you take anything away from this book, let it be these 3 things:
1. Read self-help books to improve your life entirely.
2. Deal with your past, forgive, and let go.
3. Move forward with the one life you’ve been given to live graciously and joyously.
Learn More About Me — Destiny S. Harris
Destiny S. Harris is a writer, poet, entrepreneur, teacher, and techie who offers free books daily on amazon. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook, or @ destinyh.com