My first time at therapy was after my divorce. I just wanted to ensure I dealt with everything while I was dealing with the aftermath of it all. I needed to also ensure my full sanity so that I could show up as the best parent for my daughter. And since then therapy is something that has become a part of my life

Life is not easy for anyone, and we can’t predict nor control many of the issues that arise. What we can try to keep a check on are our emotional and overall wellbeing. Therapy is one such tool that can really help you see things via different perspectives, have a trustworthy person to speak to, open your heart out without feeling judged or ashamed. Therapy also helps you develop various skills needed to navigate difficult situations and people. I typically go to unload, because I stay in a city where I didn’t grow up, so even though I have lived here for over a decade I don’t have any go-to people. I also tend to maintain safe distance with extended family to ensure stable mental health and spirituality. It’s very easy to get into gossip, backbiting and such. Also, my schedules and life aren’t able to accommodate being social in the Hyderabadi scene, I don’t seem to have that kind of energy (grandma like I know). So for me to have someone I can just go and unload all my worries and thoughts, anxieties help me relieve the stress I carry. It also helps me hear my own thoughts and understand myself better, therapists help us gain perspective. This is something I seldom get in a healthy manner, so for me therapy truly helps gaining a different viewpoint on myself, my issues and thought processes etc.

I go once every few months, and maybe schedule regular sessions if the issue demands more unpacking. I have understood that time and money put in the right places helps improve the quality of life and mental health. Not just on an individual level, but if you’re sorted in your head then you can be a better person to everyone who is part of your life.

Finding the right therapist is also key, many people think any counselor can do the job. While that’s true technically, it’s not always the case because you may not like or feel comfortable with a particular therapist. The idea is that you need to find someone you can pay and not regret later. It takes time for some people to know the right therapist for them, in some cases the therapist may not be able to make the connection with the client enough to be able to help them. So it’s a two way street and a give and take relationship. So if you’ve had one session and felt like you didn’t like or connect with the counselor, try another one.

While India and the world is working hard to break the mental health related taboos, if you’re someone who goes for therapy, it helps to be open about it to people you feel safe telling. It makes it less strange, and more appealing after a time. And everyone should try therapy at least once in their life, in fact even therapists have therapists that they go to. We’re all human in the end, and to be able to navigate through life successfully we need help, and therapy is just one kind of help!