What Are the Benefits of Therapy?

Mental health involves emotional, psychological and social well-being.

Our world is fast-moving, and people barely have time to ask, “how do you feel”. Most of us carry a plastic smile with an “I am fine” tag. Almost no one is free enough to know how genuine the expression of being ‘fine’ is. A lot of emphasis is given to the aesthetic aspect and not on feelings or emotions. One must dress up, look good and pleasant and show up in society, leaving out how a person feels. It is high time to acknowledge the importance of what cannot be seen, mental wellbeing.

Mental health involves emotional, psychological and social well-being. Mental health is supremely important because it influences

• The way one feels.
• The way one thinks.
• How a person acts.
• How a person handles stress.
• The way one relates to others.
• The ability to make healthy choices.

A good state of mind is as essential as being physically fit. Therapy helps achieve mental health at any stage of life. Just like a visit to a doctor for a physical illness is needed, a person needs a therapist to help take care of their mental health. Mental and physical health are closely related. For example, an individual with physical sicknesses, such as diabetes or heart disease, could also have developmental issues, such as anxiety and depression. Similarly, untreated mental illness (such as depression) may increase the risk of several physical conditions, such as stroke, heart diseases, gastric issues and type 2 diabetes.

Therapy can help get rid of mental health issues and achieve the best of mental health in many ways:

• Therapy helps develop coping skills: It is said that a person may not be able to read a book well when holding it too close. Sometimes, things appear too blurry when going through difficult times in life. Therapy helps get an understanding of the situation from an expert therapist’s point of view. They help a person to understand difficult situations and develop healthy strategies to help cope with them. A person’s coping skills may be different from other people. The therapist will, thus, help foster the natural coping skills to get over difficult times, such as a failed relationship. Therapy may also help uncover the repressed emotions that lead to physical and mental illnesses. The coping strategy may be writing, music, meditation, singing or playing a sport.
• It helps improve relationships with others: Many are not able to develop healthy relationships because of some unfavorable experiences from the past. This may result in a vicious chain of toxic relations. The therapist can help overcome the cobweb of bad memories and fears. This will help one move forward in life without carrying the baggage of negative emotions. Therapy truly helps foster healthy and happy relationships.
• Helps improve the relationship with self: Therapy helps to get comfortable with own thoughts, aspirations and feelings. It instills the virtue of “self-acceptance,” making one embrace themselves the way they are.
• Helps increase productivity: Therapy helps keep away the negative emotions that wear people down. It helps focus on what can be made better, helping a person to do well in their personal and professional lives.
• Improves physical health: Mental health influences physical health and vice versa. A therapist helps channel energy toward physical activities, helping a person to be physically healthy.
• Helps adapt to changes in life: If wondering how to adjust to a sudden change, such as moving to a new place, a failed relationship or the loss of a loved one, then consider seeing a therapist. They help a person to accept the changes in a better way. It helps to feel happier on a deeper level without being overly influenced by the external world.