Whether you are getting a diagnosis, dealing with the realities of a new diagnosis, living with an injury, having a limb removed or adjusting to life with a prosthetic – each situation is a trauma in its own right. You are having to grieve the loss of what once was and begin to live with a new reality. No matter where you are at in the process – grief has its own process – and you might need to grieve through the whole situation or just as the steps progress. Only you can know what your grief process is.
But one thing is for certain. You need to talk about it.
“I don’t do therapy. Therapy is for people who just want drugs. I don’t have time for therapy. I don’t want to look weak. “
The list goes on and on.
Whatever your excuse is for not wanting to go to a therapy type situation – its all simply just that. An excuse. We as humans are social by nature. When something good happens to us we want to call our loved ones and tell them about it. When you have a problem you want a sounding board to run your ideas off of. And the same holds true when a crisis comes your way. We are designed to talk about it. Penting up your feelings physically causes other issues. It will literally make you sick.
Why therapy?
Therapy lasts longer than just while you are sitting there. While you are talking through the issues and getting insight into your situation – you are also developing tools that will last long after you leave therapy. These tools will help you deal with other situations that come your way. Can you imagine taking an aspirin this week for a headache and it working a month from now on a future headache? That’s a very broad view of what therapy can do. Developing these tools can prevent other physical illnesses such as anxiety and depression that often lead to physical issues like headaches and even chronic vomiting, chronic pain and other serious illnesses.
Piling up your emotions can lead to a violent explosion later. Just because you aren’t talking about them, doesn’t mean they aren’t there. One day the pressure is going to build and the whole system is just going to explode – regardless of the bystanders. You, your relationships, your work – all of these things are affected.
Dealing with a situation head on through talk therapy allows you to gain an insight into the problem from a completely different perspective. You can go through the problem from the beginning, middle and end. If you are in the beginning – you can really see what\’s coming and the possibilities. In the middle you can work on seeing what result you want and how to cope with the changes. And if you are at the end of the problem – you can see the whole situation – what caused it, how you reacted and now how to cope with the changes that are a part of your new reality. This change of perspective will not only give you insight into yourself but allow you to see other people in a whole new way.
They say talk is cheap – but that only applies in sports. In the real world, not only is it necessary – its vital to a healthy existence.