My biggest intention is to take better care of myself. When I first set that intention, I thought of it as “I want to lose some weight and take more bubble baths,” but after having thought on it for a while I realized it’s more than a nice bubble bath with a glass of scotch. It’s taking care of my WHOLE self.
I once told a friend that you can’t build a house unless you have a solid foundation. And so now I am taking my own Dr. Phil style advice and pouring my foundation. I got myself a therapist.
I was diagnosed with anxiety about four years ago, but honestly, I’ve been dealing with my anxiety for far far longer than that.
I’ve been thinking about seeing a therapist FOR YEARS but the bitchy thing about anxiety is wanting and needing to do the things you want and need to do but not being able to do them at all. Everything about scheduling an appointment just seemed too overwhelming to me.
So, what’s a girl to do when she has the deep desire to work on her issues but can’t overcome them long enough to work on them? Enter: Talkspace. Online therapy.
At first, I was super weirded out by the thought of “seeing” a therapist online. We all know that phones can be hacked. Emails. Apps. Whatever. The thought of my deep dark secrets being leaked to the world was scary. But then I researched it and realized, the software the group uses is actually really secure. And, my entire medical history is already online anyways. Everyone’s is, so you know, YOLO to that.
I LOVE Talkspace. I “text” my therapist whenever I want and I usually hear back from her once to twice a day Monday through Friday. She asked me to treat our “room” like it is my personal journal, a request I’m sure she was regretting as soon as she saw how very much I love journaling and how very much I need help with. And while I send “texts” to her, she sends me voice recordings back. I could send her recordings as well, or we could even schedule one on one video chats.
For now, I love the ease and pace of sending my messages and then having her respond at a later time. I also love the fact that as a busy mom I can listen and respond when I have the time. My therapist is a real licensed therapist in my state. In fact, she has a “brick and mortar” office about an hour from my house. She does this on the side and received additional training on how to be an effective therapist for online patients like myself. I’ve found that opening up to her has been far easier then I expected because I don’t have to look at her.
You guys, it’s not easy to write an entire article about how you need therapy and how at the same time it was such an overwhelming thought that you couldn’t do it for years. Or that you have a mental illness at all.
But look, it’s 2019, judging someone for being mentally ill is like judging a diabetic or someone with a thyroid disorder. It’s all chemicals and hormones being out of whack in your body and brain. There should be no shame and no stigma for having a mental illness and wanting to improve it, whether it be through medications or therapies.
Would you ever consider Online Therapy?
*This post was not sponsored in anyway by Talkspace. These are my own thoughts and feelings. I’ve also only ever watched the first episode of Parks and Rec, I don’t know why almost all my gifs came from that show.
