Therapy, Therayou, Therame

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Week, I wanted to write a post about therapy. I think that a lot of people see going to therapy as a sign of weakness and that can discourage people who need help from seeking it. Facing mental illness and having the self awareness to find treatment shows a lot of strength. And many of the issues people see therapists for are much more common than we think, check out this article.

I've had some wonderful experiences with therapy and some terrible experiences with therapy and a LOT of humorous experiences as well. Sometimes I cry in therapy but mostly I laugh. My therapist laughs too and I'm pretty sure it's with me. I wanted to share some of my more lighthearted thoughts on therapy to raise awareness, shine a little light on the process and hopefully help some people start a dialogue.

• Sometimes your best friend is your therapist and sometimes your therapist is your best friend and that's okay.
• I've always disliked sororities and fraternities because it seems like paying for friends but how is that different than what I do with my therapist? And I only have one therapist, they get a ton of brothers and sisters...maybe it's a really good bargain?
• My therapist offered to write me a note explaining why I can't do something and now she might be my maid of honor.
• My therapist might be relocating. I see her for abandonment issues.
• Here's a thought. Uber but for therapy. Instead of splitting the fare with fellow riders you can split sessions with whoever should be paying for it. $10 charged to my mother for my need to micromanage, $20 charged to middle school bullies for chronic anxiety, a $50 bill for my ex for the inability to trust.
• One of my therapists still had the DSM-III sitting on her bookshelf. I swear horror movie music started playing when I saw that.
• I used to want to be rich so I could afford to not eat off the kid's menu at Disney World and maybe get a beach house someday. Now I want to be rich so I can afford a therapist that makes house calls. 
• They say Millennials are ruining the diamond market and the housing market and the furniture market and kind of everything, but I think we're doing wonders for the therapy market.
• With the money I spend on therapy, I almost can't afford to do all the impulsive and reckless shopping to make myself happy. Which is part of why I go to therapy in the first place. So...I guess it's working? 
• I kind of want to bring my boyfriend to therapy with me but what if we break up and he gets her in the settlement?
• When I was little I used to tell my parents when other kids were mean to me. They thought I would grow out of tattling but now I just tell my therapist.
• Whenever I go to therapy my goal is to make my therapist laugh but it should probably be to tell the truth.
• The older I get, the more I realize that the one area in my life where I truly can’t afford NOT to splurge is therapy. 
•  I see approximately 4 "my husband is better than yours" posts on social media every week and I just think "my therapist is better than yours." 
• I love to say "my therapist says" before statements so I don't sound too assertive. "My therapist says that the way you communicate is unhealthy."

If you're ever in need of a therapist you can use this site to search by insurance provider, gender, sexuality, age, faith and any other metric you can think of. However, between insurance plans and work arrangements, attending weekly therapy can be expensive. Sometimes local psychology programs will provide free or discounted therapy through clinical interns, like at this site. One of my friends created a mental health awareness initiative to benefit Club Nova of Orange County. You can find more information here. 

The important thing to remember if you're ever experiencing any mental health concerns, anxiety, depression or something you don't know how to deal with is that there is always someone to talk to. There are numbers you can call, friends online and in real life you can reach out to and adults you can trust. Find your people and know that you're never a burden. You are loved and needed.