“The mental health issues that led me to seek professional help were mainly symptoms of depression and anxiety; a string of unexpected setbacks, life changes, and uncertain short- and long-term futures led to a downward spiral. Most days were lifeless, unmotivated, and lethargic; setbacks and challenges were either met with resignation or anger at the sheer perceived unfairness of my life, and without something to distract it, my mind would inevitably wander to thoughts that were self-disparaging at best, and completely nihilistic at worst. In retrospect, the most vicious part of this was that in some twisted way, I believed I deserved what I was going through; I had tricked myself into thinking my emotional state was some ‘natural result’ of who I was, that the thoughts I was having were completely rational. If the thoughts that I would never be able to do what I love, that I was some faulty product on society’s assembly line, that I had wasted the time I was meant to explore, grow, develop, and find my direction in life were all logical conclusions, why fight them?

If not for therapy, I likely would never have found my way out of this pit. While medication treated my symptoms, therapy addressed the root causes of my issues: faulty beliefs and ways of thinking that systematically dismantled my self-worth. Therapy has greatly improved my self-awareness and granted me the means to be far more objective with myself and identify when my brain was tricking me into rationalising and believing negative thoughts. Much like how people’s voices sound very different to themselves than to others, having someone to provide an alternate perspective and highlight the patterns and areas in my thinking that were limiting my mental health was invaluable. Therapy also provided a much healthier outlet for my feelings than rambling to friends and family, which always came with immense guilt for saddling them with my issues that they were ill-equipped to help me resolve.

In short, I have benefited from therapy at multiple levels: at the surface level, the sessions and the advice received from them are immediately helpful and refreshing. My improved mental state and no longer needing to unjustly burden others with my issues have led to much better interpersonal relationships. At a more fundamental level, they have led to positive changes to my perspectives and ways of thinking, allowing me to enter and react to new situations with a much better mindset, both positioning and granting me the tools for continued growth.

Therapy has since become a regular part of my life, even after having dealt with the issues that caused me to seek help in the first place. Since then, therapy has helped me maintain a healthy, constructive, and balanced outlook through good and bad, such as burnout, existential crises, and moving overseas for university. Furthermore, much of therapy is also forward-looking, raising my attention to potential problems that could arise, allowing me to both prevent them, and respond to them healthily should they occur. I also recently entered my first relationship, and therapy has been incredibly useful for removing much of the guesswork and worries that arise from such a change. Moving forward, I foresee therapy not only as a means for me to continue improving my mental health, but also an invaluable tool to target and improve my flaws.”