Why Should We All Go To The Psychologist Every Now And Then?

Psychotherapy is a great tool for dealing with our problems from another point of view. Friends can give us advice, but many times it is not enough or does not correspond exactly to what we need. It is then that the psychologist enters the scene.

Society is finally beginning to understand that psychotherapy is not a “crazy thing”, but that more and more people are looking for a contribution in it that they are unable to find elsewhere.

To ask a psychologist for help, you don’t need to be “crazy” or “out of your mind”. It is very common nowadays to go to therapy even to improve and get to know each other better. Psychotherapy for many has become a space in which to explore their own lights and shadows and learn from them. It is not about getting advice from someone who does not know us, but about learning to see our problems from another perspective.  

Misconceptions about psychotherapy

Many people continue to think that the psychologist should lie on a sofa in search of childhood trauma that can explain current feelings. Others think that the therapist is a person who will resolve the patient’s or client’s conflicts without the client having to make any effort. There are also people who think quite the opposite, that is, that the psychologist is a passive agent of therapy who only listens. 

All of these are misconceptions about how a psychotherapy session takes place today. The sofa image belongs to the world of psychoanalysis, but currently not all psychoanalysts have one. In this sense we could say that, especially in Europe, the evolution of psychology has banned sofas, making them an exception and not the rule.

Psychologists do not give answers, they help to find them, some will even ask questions that we had never thought of and that may (or may not) be relevant to the problem. In addition, according to the situation, they will also propose some exercises that can facilitate this task. The world of psychotherapy has evolved a lot and it is possible to find different currents, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy or third generation ones (mindfulness, humanistic therapy, systemic therapy, etc.), which are based on face-to-face confrontation. 

Why is it good to go to the psychologist every now and then?

Psychotherapy is not just for people with mental illnesses. It is an excellent resource for everyone, because no one is invincible and sometimes we need external points of view that enrich our own. We’re not even perfect, so it’s easy to make mistakes that we should analyze to avoid repeating them. 

Going to a psychologist is necessary for many people. For others, it’s not mandatory, of course, but it will certainly benefit their mental and emotional health. Life presents us with situations, traumas and difficult moments that we are not forced to know how to manage on our own. In this sense,  psychotherapy offers itself as a resource to help us. 

7 reasons why psychotherapy can help us

It is interesting to analyze the different reasons why psychotherapy is a good resource for any person at certain times in their life, which don’t have to involve sadness or anxiety. Let’s begin!

Relieve suffering by offering new glasses to view the world with 

Psychotherapy teaches us strategies to reduce our distress and distress. Furthermore, it not only relieves the symptoms, but helps to understand how they came into our life and why they persist. For example, it will not only help us to reduce the anxiety we feel, but also to understand why it has come at a certain time in our life, so as to observe what is happening to us from another point of view.

It protects emotional health to better understand our emotions 

The psychotherapeutic process is a good resource for improving our emotional intelligence. It delves into our repressed fears and emotions to bring them to light and start expressing them. This way, they will no longer be a problem.

For example, if you are afraid of being alone, it may be useful to share this fear in order to be able to manage it in another way with the help of the psychologist.

It invites you to leave the comfort zone

What we already know does not always represent the best for us. It is for this reason that good psychotherapy can help you explore unknown areas and handle uncertainty more calmly.

For example, imagine that you are suffering because you have no friends, but you do nothing to remedy this situation. Learning to open up and express yourself with the psychologist will be very useful to carry out, later on, new activities that will allow you to meet new people.

It helps to distance yourself from problems and see them from a better perspective

When we are immersed in our problems, it is often difficult to find a solution. In this sense, the psychologist can help us to broaden our range of options and also to understand why some ideas, while valid according to a logical reasoning, arouse rejection in us.

For example, if you have a problem with a relative, putting yourself in their shoes during the psychotherapy session with a role-play will allow you to better understand the conflict.

It allows us to learn more about our different aspects

We never fully know each other, there are always aspects of ourselves to explore and understand. Sometimes we consciously reject some of our ways of being and acting.

For example, during the session, we can understand which aspects of ourselves we do not accept and begin to reconcile with them.

It clears the mind and allows us to see the important things in life

Often we let ourselves be clouded so much by what is wrong that we forget to value the really important things, to enjoy our present, our affections and the people we care about.

For example, we can immerse ourselves in work so much that we neglect our relationship as a couple. Psychotherapy helps us to relativize problems and to value the really important elements.

Promotes self-knowledge and compassionate attitude

Going into a process of self-knowledge allows us to become aware of many thoughts, emotions and attitudes that we were unaware of. Sometimes, for example, we treat ourselves badly without realizing it; psychotherapy helps us to foment self-compassion, patience and to be more understanding with ourselves.

Strengthen your mental health to prevent possible emotional breakdowns 

Psychotherapy is an excellent resource to strengthen self-esteem and recover the harmony with our soul that we often lose in the chasm of daily stress. On the other hand, we already have numerous tools at our disposal to tackle the problem, psychotherapy will only help us to be aware of it and to choose the most suitable at all times.

Remember that we choose our destiny and we always hold the rudder with which to steer the ship. We can learn to keep it afloat or to navigate while enjoying the process. Do not be afraid to ask for help, it will not make you weaker, quite the opposite.

It is never too late to discover the benefits of psychotherapy and start enjoying our days without so much oppression or headaches. Psychotherapy is suitable for everyone, because we are human, we all go through difficult times and we don’t always know how to solve them on our own. Sharing our malaise and benefiting from psychological treatment can be a big decision, in the long run our mental health will thank us.