Think you don’t need therapy? Think again! Professional mental health services are invaluable to everyone and anyone, especially in the modern day. Here’s why.
While almost everyone today is aware that mental health is important, many may believe that they themselves don’t need to explore avenues like therapy. Although the first steps, such as taking a mental health day, can make a difference, it’s well worth investing in professional mental health services. In fact, in an age where the term “self-care” is becoming more and more conflated with consumerism and external fixes, practices like counselling are more important now than ever. Discover why you need therapy in your life and take the plunge in contacting one of the many amazing counselling services in Hong Kong.
Invest in yourself: Why you need therapy
1. Having an impartial listener is invaluable
One of the first excuses someone may give as to why they don’t need therapy is that they already have someone in their lives who listens to them for free. While having a personal confidante in your life is important, finding a “neutral” person to speak with or vent to is hugely beneficial. A big reason why you need therapy is because counsellors are people that are, by and large, removed from the inner workings of your life. Not being part of your family, friend group, or work force eliminates countless unconscious biases and potential conflicts of interest. Although your BFF or sibling may offer insight that’s precious in its own way, even the most selfless individual could have something at stake that prevents them from being truly impartial. Additionally, healthy personal relationships have a give-and-take nature, unlike the one shared with a therapist which doesn’t require you to reciprocate the emotional labour of listening to the other person’s problems – try finding someone who’ll do that for free!
2. Mental health professionals have a background of training and knowledge
Mental health professionals have an extensive amount of training and knowledge that make them uniquely equipped to give insight into your thoughts or emotions. In fact, therapists can often draw on information that many don’t possess or won’t consider as relevant. Whether you have specific issues looking to be addressed, or are simply welcome to any advice and perceptions that could enrich your life, there are few people, apart from those who provide professional mental health support, that can be of substantial help.
3. There are specialists for almost every topic
A lot of individuals can be put off from even starting to work on their mental wellness out of the fear that nothing and no one will be able to help with their specific troubles. However, you’ll be relieved to know that if you’re willing to identify and communicate your needs, there’s a vast wealth of mental health specialists out there, with different areas of focus. In addition to being able to seek out a therapist of the ethnic background or gender that you feel the most comfortable with, you can specify your therapy to address everything from PTSD to LGBTQ+ issues. In fact, you’ll even find various forms of counselling, like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, that can be tailored to an individual. One-on-one therapy isn’t the only option either! Couples, family, and group therapy exist and can do wonders for mental health as well as with building community.
4. Preemptive mental health support
If there’s even one conclusion to be gleaned from the many reasons why you need therapy in your life, it’s that you won’t want to wait until you’re neck-deep in problems to start seeing someone. Preemptively taking care of yourself and building a robust mental health support network can make all the difference. Too often, people assume they don’t need to start going to therapy unless they are in crisis, when it’s infinitely better to try and curtail the issues you may have to face in the future. While the complexity of mental health often makes therapy and recovery challenging, you’d be surprised how much of a difference it makes by already having a working system of support. Pay it forward for yourself by starting therapy before you feel like you “need to” and start building a solid foundation of mental wellness.
5. You may find out something new about yourself
You know what they say: a little self-reflection never hurts anybody! It’s all too common that people remain a mystery, even to themselves. But, in fact, self-awareness goes hand-in-hand with inner strength and self-esteem. Therapy can do wonders in helping you understand whatever complicated feelings you may have, or uncover aspects of yourself that you weren’t aware of before. Especially nowadays, with the prevalence of technology, it’s easy to get sucked into the pervasive world of social media, which can slowly eat away at how you view yourself and the world around you. To put it simply, merely existing in the world as it is today may make you the perfect candidate for exploring therapy.
