Healthcare expenses are not going down. With more people on high-deductible plans, consumers are doing more research and trying to spend their healthcare dollars wisely. Most people want a good return on their investment before signing up.
Does Therapy Teach Me Insight and Self-Awareness?
Self-awareness is one byproduct of counseling that will return dividends over time. Most bicycles don’t have a dashboard, sensors or gauges to tell you how the bike is running. It either runs or it doesn’t, such as when you have a flat tire or the chain falls off. A vehicle has all kinds of bells and whistles to alert you to pending problems like running out of gas, overheating, low battery, etc. When it comes to the operation of yourself, most people would agree that life is likely to go smoother with similar warning signs and gauges. Counselors and therapists are great at helping educate you on what to watch for, how to pay attention to your body, connect to your emotions, and listen to your inner dialogue and thoughts. They essentially help you create a dashboard so you can monitor yourself and your operation as you drive through life. Along the way, therapy will help you better understand why you do what you do, why you think the way you think, and what drives your emotions. With awareness and insight, you have set the stage for better control and change if you desire it. Rather than being along for the ride, always surprised by what happens, your therapist will help you install a steering wheel so you can see things coming, make adjustments, and drive down a road that actually takes you where you would like to go. Most people would agree this alone is a worthwhile investment.
Will Therapy and Counseling Teach Me Coping Skills?
Once you better understand how you operate, you are poised to make some changes if you wish to do so. You will discover that like everyone, you have strengths and weaknesses. Some challenges you navigate well and others you fall flat or crash the car. With any job or career, a big part of being successful is learning the “tricks of the trade”. In life and dealing effectively with stressors and problems, there are a whole set of tricks, or coping skills, that will keep you on the road to success. Learning how to work through difficult emotions, adapt to change, modify faulty thinking, decompress and de-stress, navigate relationships and difficult people, and much more are the coping skills that most people cherish. The best part is that many of these coping skills are transferable to a variety of situations, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel each time you are faced with a new problem.
Is Mental and Emotional Health That Important?
Our society places a premium on physical well-being and physical attractiveness. People spend tons of money on clothes, makeup, jewelry, body sculpting, hair products, and so much more. When they look at the price tag, they usually say, “It’s worth it”. When you have a broken leg or a weird rash on your neck, you don’t even hesitate to make an appointment or go in to be seen by a professional. Many physical and medical conditions that are overlooked and neglected tend to get worse, just as it happens with mental and emotional health too. Hoping your depression, anxiety, trauma, addiction, OCD, or panic attacks, will be better tomorrow or next week is just wishful thinking. In fact, the odds are they will get worse not better. We don’t have an immune system for our mental and emotional health working behind the scenes and even when we sleep like we do for our physical health. That rash on your neck might go away in a week but you are not going to magically be untraumatized. If people spent even a tenth of what they invest in their physical health, our society would probably be pretty healthy mentally and emotionally. As noted above, much of what you learn in counseling and therapy provides long-term tools in your toolbox for tackling all of life’s issues. Quality of life encompasses more than the physical body you occupy. Stable thinking, perception, and problem-solving not only makes you effective in life but produce confidence and self-esteem knowing you can handle whatever comes your way. Mastery of emotions and how to handle them brings about peacefulness and calm. Most would say you cannot even put a price on such things as happiness and confidence are often at the heart of what people yearn for. In sum, we believe therapy is definitely a worthwhile investment.
If you are interested in counseling or therapy to help you navigate life and learn how to manage better, feel free to contact IPC so you can schedule an appointment with counselor, social workers or psychologists. Please call us now at 763-416-4167, or request an appointment on our website: WWW.IPC-MN.COM so we can sit down with you and complete a thorough assessment and help you develop a plan of action that will work for you. Life is too short to be unhappy. Find the peace of mind you deserve.
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