And let's face it, not all therapists are created equal. While some are practically miracle workers, others fail to provide the kind of insight and guidance needed for a client to gain the clarity and confidence needed to thrive.
We usually seek professional help when we’ve suffered for some time already. So therapy is usually focused on recovery from a chronic condition or critical situation, rather than pursuing flourishing.
The measure of success is reduction or elimination of suffering, not thriving.
Personally, I have a great deal of experience with a variety of practitioners. There were some helpful instances, but the biggest improvements in my mental health didn’t come through years of weekly therapy. Most of the time I left a counseling session more depleted than when I’d entered. An hour of rehashing all my pain left me feeling more helpless than ever.
Well-being increased as I got better and better at understanding, prioritizing, and meeting my practical daily needs: body and being.
Taking care of your body - nutrition, hydration, exercise, rest - is not an alternative to seeing a physician. Hopefully you’ll address your physical needs both with personal attention, as well as professional attention when you need it.
The reality is, the more personal attention you put into caring for your body’s needs, the less likely you are to need a doctor's attention.
Like our bodies, the better at caring for our beings we are, the less likely we are to find ourselves in crisis.
Tending is a universally applicable approach to our physical and psychological health. It is beneficial for those who are suffering, as well as those who are healthy.
