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Is therapy for crazy people?

  • May 15, 2018
"Therapy is for crazy people" is a misconception that can unfortunately prevent people from seeking quality help. Find out why.
therapy

The concrete answer is No.

The justified answer is as follows:

Therapy is a valid method for alleviating many of the psychological and emotional symptoms of our daily lives. However, due to the many myths and misconceptions surrounding it, there are still those who are hesitant to consider it as an option to improve things they themselves recognize as causing discomfort.

In other words, when a person knows that he is going through a situation that makes him emotionally vulnerable, or that he lives with afflictions that diminish his quality of life such as anxiety, depression either obsessive thoughts, means that he lives in a discordance that causes conflict.

There are people who realize something is causing them conflict as soon as the first symptoms appear. At the other extreme, there are people who, until they find themselves in the midst of the storm, realize that they've been carrying their own discomfort for a long time. Either way,As long as the person in conflict believes in the myths surrounding psychotherapy and psychologists in general, it will be very difficult for them to seek and receive quality help.

The misinformation and prejudices surrounding so many areas of health can be very dangerous. Therefore, I have taken the liberty of translating the words of the mental health expert. Shainna Ali has written for Psychology Today. In his article, Ali writes about six common lies people believe about therapy. I'll take up one that is unfortunately very common, but fortunately it is becoming less so:

"Therapy is for crazy people."

This unconvincing claim is riddled with stigma, but it's also the most common misconception I hear about therapy. Our image of therapy is so skewed: needing mental health care doesn't mean someone is "crazy," but rather that they are brave enough to ask for help when they need it.

Society's perception of those seeking mental health care often involves images of someone who lacks the ability to think clearly, hold a job, live independently, be a loving parent or partner, etc.

Yes, people who have to deal with these concerns attend therapy.—But so do thousands of people who don't fit that description. This black-and-white "functioning versus nonfunctioning" view of mental health care can cause real symptoms to go unchecked, often making things worse. Just because someone is "fully functioning" doesn't mean they don't have the opportunity to grow in therapy.

Going to therapy is a unique and invaluable experience for understanding and dealing with the external world, but above all, with our internal world. This doesn't mean that every inhabitant of the planet needs to go to therapy, of course.

Starting a therapeutic process is a personal decision, at best, motivated by our desire to grow and leave certain conflicts behind. Let's not allow such an important decision to be based on prejudice.

 




 

 

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