Why Therapy?
Every time I watch something on YouTube, I’m confronted with some advertisement that is urging me to be a better version of myself. Be it the innocent Grammarly, nudging me to write better (since obviously I don’t write good enough myself), or the more pronounced “Be a public speaker” ones. Nowadays, there’s even the blatant ‘Life Coaches’ as if I’m not living my life right… and then the very basic, very innocent ‘Healthifies’ (physical health and wellbeing is important). In each of these advertisements, there is a tiny nudge to be better; which is great too, we live, we grow!
But, whom do we go to when things go crashing; or when we just want to be ourselves for some time? Recently I’ve been taking therapy and I can tell you, with the constant aspirations, rather requirements of being a better person everyday, the one hour I spend with my therapist is the most calming and fulfilling time of the week. There is no rush… to go somewhere, be someone; while at the same time, there is all the time to go somewhere in life, be what you want to be.
Our time, our skill, it’s not really running out; we’re just made to believe so, because we’re so dispensable, especially with the population of India. Our aspirations are mostly those that come from outside, how often do we listen to what our bodies, our minds really want?
Trends! We are just chasing trends; be it our clothes, our bodies, or even something as basic as our beards and/or haircuts. So is the trend of being a better version of yourself. But does that really come from the outside, do we become better versions of ourselves from doing public speaking courses or by using healthify apps? Being better at something comes from knowledge about it, and how we can benefit from it. It’s not a task that needs to be done. It is a choice one may make.
Now some may say taking therapy is also a trend these days. Again, I’d say if you’re doing it as a trend, then don’t take it. Because then you’re probably doing everything else as a trend too. Gather knowledge about it, understand what purpose it serves in your life, and then decide to follow it or not. Following a trend is not bad, but chasing trends, hectic.
Why Therapy?
Therapy will take your hectic life, that belongs so much to others — your boss, your work, your colleagues, your friends, your partner, in-laws, parents, children etc. — and give it back to yourself. It will give you your time back. It is that one hour where you let someone host you, with you. It is that one hour where you can decide — do I really want to be a gym freak or am I just chasing a trend? Do I really need those public speaking skills, or do I just need someone to speak to, really?
Disclaimer: This is not the first time I’m taking therapy, so it’s not that I’m in awe of it and hence just fan-girling on Medium. Neither is it because now I’m going to be a psychologist so I must preach. Therapy is becoming a need (or a trend) these days because the external pressures today are just so pronounced that even for a three-minute song on YouTube, you’re reminded how you’re not enough, sub-consciously. Don’t even get me started on all the social media that makes us feel less-than. Then, how do you go back and see you’re enough? How do you claim your life back from the social media or the demands of the day? So, yeah… what am trying to say is that do we now see ‘Why Therapy?’?
