Advertisement

I'm in therapy and that's OK

Wednesday September 08 2021
Therapy

Your therapy room won’t always have a chair bed, napkins and a therapist who asks exactly what gets you talking. PHOTO | FILE

By Ange Iliza

Your therapy room won’t always have a chair bed, napkins and a therapist who asks exactly what gets you talking. The room is probably not going to be as quiet and your therapist won’t necessarily be an old professor.

One thing is for sure, your first session will be very uncomfortable. You might cry, hold yourself or completely lose connection with your therapist before they refer you to their “colleague”. Yes, you have to connect and feel free to share, otherwise, the help you demand will turn into an awkward conversation with a stranger.

Covid-19 has made me realise that mental health issues are non-discriminatory. As awareness and cases start to surface, thanks to social media and lockdowns, we are normalising seeking help.

When I first went for therapy, it was a pilot move. I knew I had been struggling for a long time but I was a master of the "I will fix this myself." It has now been three months of weekly therapy sessions and none of my family members know about it. I am sure their first reactionary question would be “you are paying for that?” or “What is wrong with you?”

Whenever I mention that I am seeing a therapist, my friends who I thought had it all together, start recounting how they struggle sleeping, how lonely and worthless they feel or how unfocussed they have become. And then I know I am not alone in this.

Advertisement