There’s something about walking out of therapy on a Monday night after work and feeling – clear. Like everything slightly heavy and thick on my mind has been shaken loose and aired out, or as much as possible in an hour. I always emerge with a sense of relief, and gratitude.
I consider myself to be in a maintenance phase with therapy. And what I mean by that is, I have a standing monthly appointment regardless of what’s going on in my life. And regardless of the fact that nothing feels really wrong anymore. I started going to therapy years ago to address dark moods, disordered eating and feelings of extreme anxiety. But coming out on the other side of those issues didn’t make me want to stop talking through stressors and frustrations and general life experiences with my therapist. If anything, it made me more motivated to continue monthly therapy so I can address issues, big or small, as they come up, rather than getting to a point in my life again where I feel overwhelmed and beaten down by them.
So: Maintenance therapy.
For anyone who’s been flirting with the idea of going to therapy but doesn’t know how to start, or doesn’t feel like there’s enough to talk about, try this: For one month, take a notebook and write down everything you bump up against during that month. Stress, frustration, anxiety, sadness, anger, hurt … whatever. Write it down. Then take a look at that page at the end of the month, and I think you’ll find you have a lot on your mind. A lot to air out. Big or small. My hope for you is that you don’t let it build up too long so that it negatively affects your relationships with yourself or with others. Bring that notebook to a therapy session and just start working through the bullet points. Therapists are trained to guide you – it’s their job. Let them, and trust the process.
Go weekly, go monthly – what ever it takes to find that feeling. That clearness.
