What are you looking for?

Like if I try to break down what therapy offers me and how else I might get it:

• An understanding of how my nervous system works and how to take care of it. I could get some of this from reading, podcasts and courses. eg The Body Keeps The Score, stuff about polyvagal theory etc

• A sense of connection. I also get this from friends and family.

• Empathy that I don’t have to reciprocate. This is unique to therapy as far as I know.

• Insight into what’s going on for me; exploring how past stuff is impacting me. Journalling. Mindfulness exercises. Some of my friends really talk about this stuff well. Enough alone time.

• A totally confidential place to say whatever in a way that doesn’t connect to the rest of my life. Also unique to therapy.

• An increased sense of well-being, less anxiety. More exercise and meditation. Prayer, if that’s your thing.

• Goal-oriented work (I mean personal goals pertaining to focus, overwhelm, organization skills,). I can have “accountability buddies” use programs like Focusmate, presumably there are coaches that do this stuff etc.

Obviously one therapy hour per week doesn’t magically take care of all these things but it does help with a surprising amount of it. So for me, it feels efficient. But I definitely think you could get many of the benefits of therapy in other ways.

Also no one thing is for everyone. Not Brussels sprouts, not parenthood, not the new Spider-Man movie, not college, not therapy… not even chocolate. People are different.