Jan20

Therapy Update (Since You Asked!)

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Therapy Update (Since You Asked!)

Hellooo! So I’ve gotten quite a few requests for a follow up post about my journey that I started a month or so ago when I chose to go back to therapy. So, here it is! I’ll tell you what, the first few weeks were hard with a capital H-A-R-D. I forgot about the whole therapy process of feeling like utter shit after unearthing painful memories. So, for about three or so weeks, I was a hot mess. I was extremely depressed, mentally and physically exhausted, and retreating to old not so good habits.

But then, the hour long appointments began getting easier and I was even starting to enjoy going to them. First of all, I freaking love my therapist. She is so kind and easy to talk to AND she laughs at all of my bad jokes, which is a wonderful added bonus. On our first session together, she taught me about the importance of deep breathing when I am feeling stressed, upset, or overwhelmed and I employ that skill often now. It’s crazy how something that we don’t even think about, like breathing, can make you feel so much better and clear headed once you take a moment to pause and take a good, deep breath.

My therapist has also helped me with changing my thought patterns, because I tend to have an “it’s the end of the world” mind frame when something goes wrong, so we have worked on addressing that. It’s so nice to have a safe place to go and express my feelings and troubles every week with no judgement or backlash. I look forward to my therapy sessions and am proud of the progress that I have made thus far.

How do you do something good for your mental health? How do you calm yourself when you are upset? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

32 responses »

  1. It’s good to hear that its going well. I get into the same mindset but my Mum, a rationalist tells me “the only thing which is the end of yhe world IS the end of the world” everything else is surmountable. Be happy

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  2. Great post! I’m so happy you have gone back to therapy and are feeling confident in it again. I also go to therapy because it’s a nice space that offers unbiased opinions and provides no judgement. It’s so nice to have that “me time.” Whenever I remember, I do the deep breathing exercises. It’s just so hard to remember to do them when you are in the moment. I definitely need to work on that.

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  4. Good to hear its working and you have a good therapist. I have a routine and structure in the morning and evening, that provides the safety so that I can be spontaneous during the day. I also put my hand on my heart and tell myself “darling I care about your suffering”

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  5. Your therapist sounds wonderful and I’ve definitely experienced the effect that deep breathing has on your mental state. When you think about it, it’s quite obvious because you can’t really imagine anxiety, happiness or anger without the physical feeling and sensation attached to it. I suppose that’s why physical relaxation techniques offer a way of regulating your thoughts.

    A thing that’s helped me a lot is writing down little mantras on post-it notes and sticking them around the house. The mantras tend to change over time but one that I’ve been focusing on lately is “compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today.” If you find the post-it notes to be too ugly you might even be able to make some kind of artwork around the mantra and put that up on a wall. However, I enjoy the laconic nature of the post-it note, hah.

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  6. For me, diet, exercise, and meditation go a long way to improving my mental state of mind. I am slowly but surely trying to remove things that I feel are polluting my mind and body and get to as simple a life as possible. I’ve removed alcohol and now caffeine is on the list.

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  7. Great post! Everyone reacts differently when these thoughts arise in our minds.. When things do not go my way as planned and I have too much to do- I can feel myself get anxious. My chest tightens and I start to walk in circles and end up getting nothing done… I’ve been working on my “reaction” for awhile now and one thing that has been helping is personal development reading. Many of these books explain a few ways of coping when trying times occur. I also love how they have assignments to do- which are very effective. I know it’s probably easier said than done- but one small step can be the beginning of a journey to healing! 💞

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  8. Therapy is always hard for the first few weeks Sarah. But as you have discovered, it can become something beautiful once you push past that point. I find dog therapy always helps me calm down. We don’t have our own dog but borrow one occasionally and she is the best cure for stress I know.

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  9. I do restorative yoga. I’ve got great teachers and it is so peaceful. Sometimes I find it triggers emotional release and I’m in tears all class, but mostly it settles me right down.

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  14. For me it’s routine and structure. Every single day. Simple things so that my life is tidy and organised. Then I can move onto the more challenging tasks. Also I’m finding that writing a blog has really helped because I just love writing. I never knew it!

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Leave me a comment and let's chat!