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It's tough for people to stay in therapy. There are many pressures to stop as soon as the crisis has passed. People feel, "I shouldn't need this as a crutch." Maybe other people ask them, "How long are you going to keep going? Shouldn't you stop now that things are alright?" Sometimes there is pressure from insurance companies to only do a limited number of visits. There is still stigma in our society about mental health as a medical condition that requires ongoing management, just like any aspect of our physical health.
The brain is a physical organ that requires care. We have to take care of our other organs, our lungs, our hearts, our skin, our digestive system. Why is there pressure to neglect what is arguably the most critical organ we possess? It takes a long time for our brains to get wired with particular patterns of feeling and behavior. Most people don't start therapy until adulthood, and at that point there are literally trillions of neural connections that are driving how we care for ourselves, or don't. Add to that the default brain wiring of the people in our lives, and you have a complicated structure that takes time to study, explore, undo and redo. It's hard to let go of some of the ways we are used to thinking and behaving. Fast change is exciting sometimes, but is also notoriously short-lived. Slower change over time is more durable. So if you feel like, "Enough already! I should be over this!" ask yourself: What could happen in my life if I gave myself enough time to make changes at a pace that wasn't too scary for me? What if I kept going to therapy after the worst had passed? If I keep going when I feel better, could I feel better still? If change feels like it is just too hard to make, what would happen if I stuck with treatment?
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AuthorTracy Bryce Farmer LCSW Archives
March 2024
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