If you are finding things tough at the moment I want you to know it’s ok. I want to talk to you personally, from a man’s perspective about my own experience of mental health difficulties in the hope it may make you realise, its ok to not be ok, no matter your background. My name is John Wilson, I am the founder of Seek A Therapy and I once had such bad mental health that I had a complete breakdown. Why did my mental health get so bad? Why did it escalate to the point I couldn’t take any more? I would say, in part, it was due to pride, perceptions of what it is to be a man, and the embarrassment that I refused to get help. In this article, I want to explore with you, from experience, how to overcome the embarrassment of seeking therapy. I know it isn’t easy and I hope this short article helps.
How I Overcame The Embarrassment
When I personally hit rock bottom, the realisation I needed help set in. I wish I had sought therapy before I allowed my mental health to get so bad, possibly after I had graduated from architecture. In reality, the reason I didn’t, was my ego. I must admit, when I was finally in crisis it was one of the hardest things to accept help.
As crazy as this sounds, I am a man. I want to be strong. I like to make others laugh and be one of those people to support everyone else. It’s not an unusual response to a crisis. These are usually things that go through most of our minds when struggling and why so many DONT seek therapy when they need it.
Overcoming Embarrassment Of Seeking Therapy
So how do we overcome feeling embarrassed and too proud? Particularly when we know people who have all types of therapy get so much from it for their lives?
Here is a list of ten ways to overcome the embarrassment of seeking therapy so that you can live a great life. These are my top tips and thoughts that hopefully, may help you to reflect on why you shouldn’t be embarrassed.
- Seeking therapy isn’t easy. It is damn hard to take the first step, particularly as a male. The fact it is so hard to go against our ego makes you strong, not weak. If you can overcome ‘what you believe’ people expect of strong people it actually makes YOU stronger than you realise. It will build your mental resilience simply by overcoming this obstacle.
- Understand that no one is judging you, only yourself. We all set standards for ourselves that we try to live up to. If we don’t reach those standards then that is where we start to feel we are less than what we want to be. The people that are kind will never judge you for getting treatment, those who do, are not worthy of being in your life anyway.
- Seeking therapy makes you stronger and more resilient. It honestly does. You understand how the mind works, in particular, your own, and you are less fearful of what others may think of you. You will build resilience by being able to experience tough times and develop strategies to deal with them in the future. Potentially even becoming a fountain of knowledge for those who have similar experiences to you.
- Therapy can give you focus, determination, and more kindness. Once you begin to understand your own thoughts and which ones are unhelpful you become aware of them. Being more aware of them allows you to focus on the positive aspects of yourself and life in general. Eventually, giving you the skills to be kinder to others and realise that most of us are facing difficult challenges.
- Getting therapy can give you better analytical skills around relationships. Sometimes we don’t realise that some people are toxic to our wellbeing. Whether a partner, a friend, a work colleague or even a family member. Sometimes, it is even our own thinking that can be the issue. It is only on speaking to a therapist you realise your thinking maybe the issue. Having therapy allows you greater analytical skills and build a life that works best for you. Therapy gives you the skills to build a better life.
- Most successful people have had mental health difficulties and understand how their and others’ minds work. It is a great strength to understand your own mind and emotions or having difficulties. What are your core values and how to live by them. Many people, throughout history, have had to build resilience before they achieve greatness. If you want to see just some of the people who had a mental health visit this previous article about famous people who had to overcome difficulty and mental health challenges before arriving at success.
- Successful people continue to look after their mental health as well as their physical and financial health. It isn’t a one-off, to be successful you must find balance in your physical, mental, and financial health. The most successful people will seek help and support of therapists to maintain a great level of abundance in every area of their life.
- People who aren’t in crisis also get therapy. That’s right, sometimes, just to let off steam and to ensure that they keep thinking the right way, many people get therapy simply to relax and destress more.
We hope these 7 reasons can help you to overcome the embarrassment of seeking therapy when you next consider seeking a practice.