Therapist Time

I mentioned in my previous blog post that I am seeing a therapist.

I am not shy to admit such things at all; nothing wrong with getting help, right?!

And what's super cool about this is, I noticed a few months ago how my two-week-long reaction to a situation made me realize I was still having some issues I couldn't control that I wanted to work on. And I therefore I wanted to seek some help.

For me, that is actually REALLY huge.

There has been one other time in my life where I sought therapy because I knew I needed help. I had just gone through a severe bout of deep depression, and one day I just simply said, "Man, I need some help."

I can't begin to explain why all the other bouts of severe depression didn't kick my butt to go see a therapist or seek help, but for some reason that severe depression episode when I was 35 years old just made me want to.

This most recent instance of not being in control scared me. I didn't like how I reacted to a potentially high-stress situation coming up at work. And because of that, I wanted to look into what was going on with me and therefore researched therapists who might be able to help me.

Again, I can't begin to explain why this particular situation led me to want to seek help, when in the past I've experienced very similar episodes and didn't even consider looking into help. Maybe I just have more self awareness in my life now for some reason?

My therapist and I have chatted about 4 times now and I have another session this week.

I am so thankful I reached out to someone. I am actually really proud of myself! And I'm smiling as I type this.

Btw, I am discovering that I need to instill coping strategies when I feel or experience fear/stress/anxiety. This takes a huge amount of self reflection that I actually really like! I am not yet utilizing all my coping strategies or skills, but just knowing when I should or realizing I'm feeling a certain way is a huge step for me. (more smiling!)

Good Friends, Different Levels in Life

I think you all know that I love learning new things. And when something amazing catches my ears, I like to share it via my blog so we can smile together.

I heard this from a therapist the other day. I actually thought she was going to say something else and she completely surprised me. 

I divulged to my therapist (that's what we do with them, right? lol) that I was afraid a friend of mine would not understand that I have some stress and anxiety about an event coming up. The therapist tried to tell me that's it's okay that my life has changed and this is something that I just don't feel comfortable doing anymore. The therapist told me, "We have to live in our own truth."  You would think that statement (we have to live in our own truth) was the epiphany moment. 

It wasn't.  Sure, it was also powerful (right?!), but so was something more.

When I expressed I didn't think my friend would understand my emotions, the therapist responded... "Then she's not on the same level as you."

Thought for sure she was going to say, "then she's not a good friend because she doesn't understand."  Instead she threw me completely off! And I loved what she said. And she is 100 percent correct: sometimes we just aren't on the same level.

Some friends will make judgment of our decisions and may be hurt and or upset at us. But if we realize they're just not at the same level as we are right now, then hopefully deep down we understand their feelings. 

But her choice of words was impactful to me. Friends can be great friends, and throughout life, especially as we all experience different things and or mature at a different rate and/or experience learning experiences at different times in our lives or whatever - that's okay, right? Yes! And this understanding will help our relationship with them.

I really loved it!  

Don't you all love learning with me too??