Today, faced with the negative situations of the world, we are in a challenge to treat mental health like never before. The data confirm that nearly one billion people around the planet live with some form of mental disorder. Even so, talking about the benefits of going to psychotherapy is still a subject that contains false beliefs.
With considerable figures regarding the mental issue, the stigma for going to psychotherapy is embedded in our societies, although, undoubtedly, there are great advances that have led to a normalization of the subject and the need to go to psychotherapy.
Some excuses that we find about going to psychotherapy are based on imaginations that are far, in many cases, from reality and that cannot be compared with all the benefits that you can obtain by going to a mental health professional.
Undoubtedly, fear is one of the paralyzing elements for not going to psychotherapy:
- Suddenly you think that going to psychotherapy implies having to go all your life. That’s not true! All diseases require time and treatment, which indicates a process whose periods are unknown and that depend on each person.
- Going to therapy makes you believe that it is only for crazy people. One of the peculiarities of assisting with a mental health professional is recognizing that everyone at some point in life requires help with situations that we cannot deal with. Just as you go to the doctor for a physical ailment ─ and you receive improvements ─, in the same way, you can receive the benefits that psychotherapy offers you for your mental health.
- Believe that going to psychotherapy is exposing all your privacy. The fear of who you are can be instructive to receive the benefits of mental health assistance.
- Consider that there is nothing so serious that you cannot solve it yourself. In the same way that there are physical diseases that require specialized intervention, there are mental conditions that can exceed you and require psychotherapeutic action.
The professional training of a psychotherapist allows you to work in your cognitive, affective and behavioral areas, facing your daily life and the difficulties that arise day by day and to improve your quality of life.
Before talking about the benefits of going to psychotherapy, it is good to emphasize that a mental health professional does not seek to give you isolated advice about your situation, but rather to diagnose what is happening to you, why and what is the best way to face what distresses you.
Five benefits of going to psychotherapy
I am going to establish only five benefits of the many that you can obtain by going to psychotherapy. It should be noted that these can be seen within a process that can take some time, which requires patience and enthusiasm. The psychotherapist is trained not to judge you or make value judgments that harm your life, but to understand what is happening to you and how it can help you.
- Helps you feel better. Although it seems obvious, many people cannot reconcile themselves with their feelings. One of the benefits of going to psychotherapy is being able to face what creates your discomfort. Through this process, you will learn to talk about what happens to you. Doing so will help you understand your feelings, develop emotional intelligence and self-knowledge: knowing what your strengths, weaknesses and limitations are and how to use them in each situation.
- You learn tools to resolve conflicts. Another benefit of going to psychotherapy is being able to face conflicts as something normal that happens to all of us. In fact, psychotherapy allows you to recognize when these conflicts can help you in your personal growth or in your relationship with others. Through psychotherapy, adaptive experiences are achieved in the face of these situations that, many times, you do not know how to deal with, which generates frustration and more pain. Psychotherapy provides better opportunities in conflict.
- You change wrong and limiting beliefs. Getting you to give a new meaning to what happens to you in the world is an important benefit of going to psychotherapy. Together with a mental health professional, you will be able to identify the limiting beliefs that you have acquired throughout your life, which must be analyzed, questioned and modified. The objectivity of the psychotherapist will allow him to look at the situation from the outside and think in various ways about his solution and effectively conclude against it.
- You improve your self-esteem . Lack of mental health affects self-perception. Therefore, another benefit of going to psychotherapy is the strengthening of your self-esteem, self-confidence and self-acceptance as being with limitations, but with great strengths. Similarly, going to psychotherapy benefits in the discovery of talents or in the development of these, which affects the quality of life and the idea of personal fulfillment.
- Psychotherapy gives you emotional support. The psychotherapist creates a safe environment for you, which allows you to express your doubts, fears, experiences, beliefs, joys, feelings, among others. Unlike many medical consultations, going to psychotherapy indicates establishing a relationship between the mental health professional and the patient. The confidentiality of the professional is crucial and is an important bastion in the assistance you require. Therefore, it is important to have someone who is trained to fully comply with the requirements that suit your needs. Don’t be afraid to check what methods the psychotherapist uses and what certificates he or she has.
Going to psychotherapy is a beneficial act in many ways. However, as I have said, there is still fear in going to mental health professionals to deal with difficulties that cannot be controlled. Today, going to psychotherapy is synonymous with a brave, sensible and intelligent person. Don’t be afraid to seek help! If you think you need to go to psychotherapy, the time is now! Cheer up! For sure, you will see more benefits in your life.